AutoX Part/setup Questions

[1991E30M42]

It sounds like the car has plenty of upgrades over stock and should be plenty fun.

Question. How long have you been autox'ing?

IMO, if you haven't been AX'ing for over 4 years you have plenty of learning to do.

TIP. Dont change anything but tires and JUST CONCENTRATE ON DRIVING. LEARNING.

[Jaxx_]

assuming that:
tire pressures are the same all around
camber and tire pressures have been matched
you are at a neutral state of turning(not entry or exit, no throttle)
have no rebound or compression dampener adjustment (are the konis adjustable)

and you are:
spending a lot of time sideways and it's not because you're working the wheel like a handsaw(that is weighting and unweighting extremely quickly and not smoothly), then you need less rear bar, or more front bar.

or:
you are understeering you need more rear bar or less front bar.

small tweaks can be made with tire pressures once you get in the ball park, but you need to decide how the car should handle first. In my experience E30s are fastest when they oversteer slightly, but are mostly neutral. This is also personal preference, depending on your technique. I find that a neutral car is easy to manipulate into a various amount of situations.


As you know, you should evaluate spring rate and sway bars together as they are directly related when it comes to turning.

I know you said other feedback is appreciated, the driver mod is the most crucial. If you're not in the ball park of CSP miatas (~103-105%) something probably isn't right. Additionally, the R888 won't be a competitive tire in open class. You need a full slick to be "serious."

Next time you're out at an event have someone who is quick in an FR car drive yours and see how they do.

[Northern]

Car: 1990 325iS
Poly mounts/bushings everywhere
GE coilovers 450/650 rates
Koni Sports (stock length)
GC Race plates/RSMs
offset CABs

New: 205/50/14 R888's


The car is driven 60mi daily to work and back, but I'm attempting to become more competitive, not so much in any specific class/PAX (currently in DSP) but more so in how fast my car is comparted to the FTD.

The car corners very well most of the time (when I was on street tires) and was very predictable, although I spent most of the time over driving the tires and getting sideways a little more than I really should. The R888's will be a nice addition I hope.

Looking for suggestions/feedback on my autox setup for a number of things.

1: Swaybar(s): I'm running all OEM bits, but I do have a 25mm IE bar and GC m3 droplinks, but I'm not sure if the 25mm bar will be too much, especially with the m3 droplinks.
Also, what should be done about the rear bar? stock? bigger? disconnected?

2: Spring rates: Should I look into going any higher than where I'm at now? would 500/700 make enough difference to bother?

3: Brake Pads: I'm running hawk HPS which are terrible for performance and feel. Before, I had Hawk HP+, but they were embarassingly loud to drive around with. What sort of streetable autox pad options are out there?

Any other suggestions related or not are appreciated.


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