Stock IX, What should I get for autocross?

[driftxsequence]

The car is high miles like every other IX, and while talking to a shop buddy today he said i'll probably want to go through the car's bushings and rubbery bits.

With that said, should I stick with stock rubber replacements or poly? I do plan to daily drive the car so I dont want it to rattle a ton, or ride like a brick. I enjoy its fairly plushy ride.

As of now, all I know is I want to get some sticky tires. The rest? A little guidance needed...



And of course, I do want to be able to drive it through the snow during winter time :)

[nando]

How much experience do you have? If you are a n00b all you need is maintenance and tires with good tread on them..

[driftxsequence]

I've got about 5 track days under my belt and 4 or 5 autocross days. not a total dumby, Plenty of gran turismo practice too LOL

[Fraser]

If the bushings need replacement I would go ahead and address them- stock should be just fine for a daily driver/occasional autoxer/track day car.

Other than that I would leave it alone unless you're hell bent on actually being competitive. The iX is not exactly a brilliant autocross car and hard to compete in really any SCCA class. It's easy to get sucked into the abyss of upgrading everything but generally unnecessary depending on what your plans for the car are.

[ThatM20Guy]

I went with 80A poly bushings all round on my car. Probably not necessary for a daily but I wanted a happy medium between rubber and 95A poly/75D.

Also isn't the caster angle of the IX not optimal for autox?

[bluebmw.com]

The iX is not exactly a brilliant autocross car and hard to compete in really any SCCA class. It's easy to get sucked into the abyss of upgrading everything but generally unnecessary depending on what your plans for the car are.

+1

I would start with a RWD e30 if autocross was my goal. Rallycross? iX all day!

[nando]

Unless you're a serious hotshoe with a big budget and time to compete nationally - the platform doesn't matter. The ix is just as good as anything else - most of the guys who "win" simply show up more often, spend more on tires and are simply better drivers.

Chasing platforms to "win" autox is completely pointless.

Even when my ix was stock / auto, i would have schooled most of the RWD cars simply because they never showed up anyway (but they all talked big game, of course.)

[driftxsequence]

Believe me, I wont be going all crazy on this car with fully adjustable bits. My other toy is destined for that route. While replacing the gas tank this weekend I saw the RTABs were all cracked and figured since It'll be autocrossed this summer, I should upgrade. But if you're saying stock is fine I'll R&R and add some sticky tires.

[Fraser]

Unless you're a serious hotshoe with a big budget and time to compete nationally - the platform doesn't matter. The ix is just as good as anything else - most of the guys who "win" simply show up more often, spend more on tires and are simply better drivers.

Chasing platforms to "win" autox is completely pointless.

Even when my ix was stock / auto, i would have schooled most of the RWD cars simply because they never showed up anyway (but they all talked big game, of course.)

So true. I've spent too much time with over-serious autox/rallyx guys that it's easy to get in the mindset of preparing a car for a specific class to be competitive nationally. But you're absolutely right that in most regional events driving ability is way more important than how capable the car or it's setup is. Our iX is regularly faster than STi's and other far more capable cars simply because the drivers only come out for an event or two a season.

[nando]

Believe me, I wont be going all crazy on this car with fully adjustable bits. My other toy is destined for that route. While replacing the gas tank this weekend I saw the RTABs were all cracked and figured since It'll be autocrossed this summer, I should upgrade. But if you're saying stock is fine I'll R&R and add some sticky tires.

yeah I wouldn't get too worked up with specifics. new stock parts will work fine.

it's not like any of us are getting paid for it, lol. Just show up and have fun. Somebody will always have a newer/better/faster car. :)