Y'all need something that produces torque. 
The Forte with it's 165ft-lbs in the midrange will ignite the inside tire on corner exit if you aren't light on hte throttle. 2800lbs, 225's on 7.5" wheels (STF limits) and 175hp/165tq with that torque filling in the 2500-4500 range.
Granted, the RSX (or pretty much any honda) won't ever have to worry about that!
OldGray320i wrote:
To really get where you want to be, have a hot shoe drive it and show you, and do the auto-x schools. My boy did it and dropped at least a couple seconds a lap. And then he beat my by over 2 sec in my own car. Dang kids.
Somebody mentioned massive, massive understeer, in a fwd car, and I know my car ('12 Focus) had it really, really bad. I mean, really bad. Except it was me, not the car.
For fun, I added a rear bar to help reduce said massive understeer. It didn't. Same as before. 
.
The loose nut behind the wheel needs a lot of work.
I've actually auto-x'd FWD cars with massive understeer. The 02 Elantra and the 94 Swift GT both refused to turn. Everyone that drove them agreed.
Gosh I cant wait until I get back so that I can atleast drive down the street in my own freaking car again! Id also like to do some HPDE events/trackdays as well if not more than autox. Well I took you guys' advice..kinda... and the following parts will be accompanying me to my rookie auocrosss/track events upon my return (meaning they're already at my house or in the mail):
- energy suspension lca bushings
- BC BR type coilovers 10/12 springrate
- hawk hp+ brake pads front and rear
- Motul RBF 600
- Technafit stainless steel brake lines
With regular maintenance and a set of tires I should be good for a while. I think these mods should only add to a good time!
ALSO...ill be picking up another set of rims. I want a little wider stance to fill in the wheel well. Had 17x8 rims in mind. what tire size usually accompanies this rim? I do not want to stretch at all
A 225/50R17 or 225/55R17 are the perfect size tire for that size wheel. I still suggest leave the coilovers and polyurethane bushings in the box for a year or so until you've raced enough to know what you need. Have fun, because that's what racing is all about. I also would suggest you look into a cheap track only car, because if (or when) you put it into a wall, you will still be able to drive to work.
well the reason that I have to install the bushings and coils is because my stock bushings are torn and I already have awful cheap coilovers on my car. so I needed to upgrade those parts. my stock suspension is long gone lol
In reply to Mr_Clutch42:
Also why not go wider than 225?
Intaildc5: First nothing wrong with playing with a car and adding goodies BUT.....
As someone who has been road racing and autocrossing for the last 26 years and has someone who has also been instructing at track days and manufacturer events I can almost gaurentee like most newbies the bulk of the understeered is driver induced...................95% of new drivers do the following; charge up to a corner, stand on the brakes, snap the steering wheel, then just as the car starts turning abruptly let off the brakes and stuff in a large amount of throttle. The effect of this driving style is the rapid weight transfer compresses the front end much more than smooth driving, the abrupt release of the brake & simultaneous large throttle input throws the front end up like releasing a bow string. This obviously takes all the weight of the front end and you might as well have 2" wide tires on the front
Now why do I bring this up even after others have said the same more or less. Becuase even after you replace the worn parts you are still going to use the aforementioned driving "technique" and be tempted to adjust around it. The end result will be a goofy set up that makes the car frustratingly slow.
Go to a pic-a-part wrecking yard or check the forums people are always getting rid of stock parts cheap. Places like Rockauto have the bushings cheap very often you can get the whole control arm for the same price. Also while I do like a wheel that fills the fenders, go with the stock size even if you use cheap steelies, the smaller tires will require smooth drivng and they are cheap. You are likely going wear the fronts while you are learning. Get the car back to close as stock as possible and then learn to "rotate" the car. Once you learn to steer the car with the peddles then start bolting on the goodies to get the balance you like. If I can suggest one technique to perfect first, learn the fine art of trail braking, you can pick great lines and be looking far ahead but if you still upset the chassis everything else is meaningless.
Finally I only bring all of this up becuase I have seen so many guys get all stoked, start changing everything, then after getting mixed results, sell off the car and take up some other hobby.
Tom
Tom1200 wrote:
Intaildc5: First nothing wrong with playing with a car and adding goodies BUT.....
As someone who has been road racing and autocrossing for the last 26 years and has someone who has also been instructing at track days and manufacturer events I can almost gaurentee like most newbies the bulk of the understeered is driver induced...................95% of new drivers do the following; charge up to a corner, stand on the brakes, snap the steering wheel, then just as the car starts turning abruptly let off the brakes and stuff in a large amount of throttle. The effect of this driving style is the rapid weight transfer compresses the front end much more than smooth driving, the abrupt release of the brake & simultaneous large throttle input throws the front end up like releasing a bow string. This obviously takes all the weight of the front end and you might as well have 2" wide tires on the front
Now why do I bring this up even after others have said the same more or less. Becuase even after you replace the worn parts you are still going to use the aforementioned driving "technique" and be tempted to adjust around it. The end result will be a goofy set up that makes the car frustratingly slow.
Go to a pic-a-part wrecking yard or check the forums people are always getting rid of stock parts cheap. Places like Rockauto have the bushings cheap very often you can get the whole control arm for the same price. Also while I do like a wheel that fills the fenders, go with the stock size even if you use cheap steelies, the smaller tires will require smooth drivng and they are cheap. You are likely going wear the fronts while you are learning. Get the car back to close as stock as possible and then learn to "rotate" the car. Once you learn to steer the car with the peddles then start bolting on the goodies to get the balance you like. If I can suggest one technique to perfect first, learn the fine art of trail braking, you can pick great lines and be looking far ahead but if you still upset the chassis everything else is meaningless.
Finally I only bring all of this up becuase I have seen so many guys get all stoked, start changing everything, then after getting mixed results, sell off the car and take up some other hobby.
Tom
Well im already balls deep in mods haha. Everything is being overhauled....engine...suspension...interior...exterior..not to be redundant but the mods that are already on the car suspension wise are hasport motor mounts, BC racing coils and energy suspension LCA and rear sway bar bushings. Once again my wheels are enkei rs7s wrapped in cheap rubber.for brakes is have stock rotors and calipers with technafit ss brake lines, hawk hp+ pads and motul RBF 600 fluid. Everything else suspension wise is stock. My plan is to go get a proper alignment and buy some performance rubber and drive as much as i can. I feel like this is a good starting point. I just dont know wether to buy 225s or higher
mentioned in one of the other threads … tire width shouldn't exceed wheel width … at least not by much .. a ball park guess for the tread width of a 225 tire is going to be in the 7 1/2" vicinity… so keep that in mind when selecting tires
I run 195's on 7" (and sometimes 7 1/2" rims… could go to 205's or 225's .. but no wider)
