STS Modding

[reptar]

So, I have a few autocrosses under my belt now, I'm getting to the point where my times are more consistent and not too far off the leaders. Basically, I think I'm driving well enough now that some modifications would actually help (aside from the weight reduction from a lighter wallet! :)).

So, I'm wondering what you guys think would give me the most benefit (staying within the STS rules)? I'm planning on switching to a different tire next year, so let's leave that out of the discussion for now. I'm torn as to whether I should go for improving the suspension... likely with the Koni/Eibach combo, or go for more power (headers, exhaust, etc).

Here's what I've got now that's significant:
- Intake
- F/R Strut Tower Braces
- Kosei K1 wheels (16x7.5)
- Kumho Ecsta Supra 712's
- Schroth 4 point harness
- Energy Suspension bushings (not installed yet)
- Trunk mounted battery (not installed yet)

[EricF]

Kumho MX is supposedly pretty good Tire, someone was running them at DC Tour
this weekend, otherwise the Azenis are the hot STS tire, or the BFG KD if you have $$ ;)
I would go for firming up the rear with a rSTB before playing with the front one, perhaps losing the
front one, or at least starting with a smaller sway bar in the front I believe the SVT bar is smaller.
Koni adjustable struts if you want em..get the essentric strut bushings for camber adjustment.

A nice light weight seat.

I would stick to the handling first... only cause cars with 70hp that handle great seem to rip
up the courses.. hehe..

get the battery in the rear too.

Dunno thats all I can think of for now..

[headwig]

I think Reptar already has a RSTB, that would be the F/R STB's...notice the plural use. I would say either way you want to go would be fine. Basically here's what I would do: find the best deals and get what you can. Look around and if you find a good deal on the suspension parts, then get those. If you find a good deal on some engine performance parts, then go with those. Just my .02

[EricF]

I understood that he had both, it was a suggestion to soften up the front a little
or to go with a smaller sway bar in the front. Some people run without a sway bar.
This will help the car oversteer and rotate for you.

Sure you can load the modifications on.. but its the fine tuning that really helps.

[reptar]

Thanks for the input. I agree with you about not just "piling on" modifications. The guys that go fast seem to have their cars well tuned, not necessarily with just a bunch of parts.

So, you'd rate a sway bar adjustment as being more beneficial than springs and struts? I guess I feel like I'm reasonably happy with the way the car rotates now... the only time it really understeers is in off-camber corners or if I've totally blown my braking. I can get some rotation pretty easily by tapping the brakes or lifting the throttle. I'm also still driving with the spare tire... I'm planning on starting to drive with that out, probably starting next event (I've been focusing on finding good tire pressures so far this year). Of course, it might be interesting to take off the front strut tower bar (and sway bar?) and see what how I like it when the car is really loose.

I've thought about lighter seats... the problem there gets down to bang for the buck. Since the seats have to be adjustable for STS, I'm wondering how much weight I really save for my ~ $800. (I'd replace both seats)

This sort of brings me to another question I've been wondering about. How much has anyone played with their alignment settings to improve the car's handling? I'm still running factory settings, but I know alignment changes can significantly affect handling.

[EricF]

The only reason I mentioned sway bar, is because I think thats my next step, if I'm staying stock.
I do have Koni's and yes they work very nicely.

[ssix]

This is my take on this...
If you really want to be serious about winning, and not just doing well then you NEED certain items. You will need some Koni Struts that allow adjustability, most autocross courses are about transition. You also need a great set of springs, and as far as I know the only way to go for the Cougar for all out balance and adjustability would be Ground-Control. The reason I say this is because you can start at a certain point in pounds say 350lbs and then tune the car from there with swapping springs. Ground Control is the only company that I know of available for the Cougar that you can purchase springs in increased increments of 10lbs and relatively cheap until you find the correct balance. I am saying this if your goal in winning ONLY, this has nothing to do with street comfort. Larger rear swaybars and rear strut braces are also a big help, but you have to start somewhere, and as I said it's just my opinion, and you basically need to do one thing at a time.
Adding power is just gravy after you have the handling maxed, unless the courses you run on are made up of mostly straights, because at least for me I couldn't even get the 180 or so h.p. I had down to the ground when coming out of turns with single wheel drive.

[reptar]

Thanks for the feedback. Courses around here tend to be fairly open, but the little cars with great handling still tend to dominate.

Your point about winning vs. "doing well" is a good one. One question I come back to on this topic is can the Cougar be a "winner" at the higher levels of autocrossing? I know this isn't necessarily critical to winning at the local level, but the Detroit area is full of national-level competitors, so it is a bit more of a reasonable question here. A quick glance through the (stock) specs of your typical STS cars shows the Cougar has one of the better power/weight ratios (beaten only slightly by the 2.5RS and older BMW 325is... no one runs the BMW around here, but I suspect it would be a great car). The Cougar is, however, much longer and heavier than the rest of the typical competition.

Still my boss likes to tell stories of beating the local TransAm and Camaro boys with his Monte Carlo in the good old days...