SE autocross and suspension thread.

[pictsidhe]

Yes, I looked at that possibility too. I think the spot weld flange above the top link needs some trimming, but then one could clamp on a machined bracket with a new hole above and forward from the existing upper pivot. Clamping to the flat where the existing hole is would provide enough stability.

I already have two holes in my bar, so bracket stability should be fine. It's tough stuff to drill. I did manage to squish the stock bar flat while it was on the car with a hydraulic crimp tool. But the somewhat thicker 918 bar needed beating with a sledgehammer.

 

[SE_PDX]

No setup tips, but I did enter my first 'real' autocross last weekend. Rainy conditions, but I was surprised how well the Hankook Ventus (OE tires) did in the wet. I heard that the better AX tires never got hot enough that day. I ran in Sport mode with full metal nannies since I'm still learning the ropes. That's it until March for autocross at PIR. I will need new tires for next season.

Anyways I was 2nd in Novice class on Saturday and 1st in "Not for points" class on Sunday, ahead of several Miatas, GR86etc, and Corvettes. My clean laps were 6-7 seconds off the raw winners' times over a mid-50's second course. My navigation skills need a lot of work :0

I rode in a Miata that podiumed on Saturday and a Golf R that won on Sunday - bonkers! I also rode in a CHEVY VOLT of all things that was 2 sec faster than I was on a 60 second lap. He normally runs a 350Z(?) but not in the rain. To be fair, his driving was very smooth and his lines were impeccable for that vehicle. The Cybertruck was a bull in a China closet but it looked like he was having fun.

 

[Giosan]

No setup tips, but I did enter my first 'real' autocross last weekend. Rainy conditions, but I was surprised how well the Hankook Ventus (OE tires) did in the wet. I heard that the better AX tires never got hot enough that day. I ran in Sport mode with full metal nannies since I'm still learning the ropes. That's it until March for autocross at PIR. I will need new tires for next season.

Anyways I was 2nd in Novice class on Saturday and 1st in "Not for points" class on Sunday, ahead of several Miatas, GR86etc, and Corvettes. My clean laps were 6-7 seconds off the raw winners' times over a mid-50's second course. My navigation skills need a lot of work :0

I rode in a Miata that podiumed on Saturday and a Golf R that won on Sunday - bonkers! I also rode in a CHEVY VOLT of all things that was 2 sec faster than I was on a 60 second lap. He normally runs a 350Z(?) but not in the rain. To be fair, his driving was very smooth and his lines were impeccable for that vehicle. The Cybertruck was a bull in a China closet but it looked like he was having fun.

You'll be surprised how much better the car brakes and handles with proper 200tw tires.

 

[pictsidhe]

Do you have part numbers for the camber correction hubs?

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31-21-6-892-533​

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Carrier Left 312010​

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$259.09​

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1​

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$259.09​

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31-21-6-892-534​

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Carrier Right 312010​

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$259.09​

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1​

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$259.09​

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31-20-6-866-022​

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Collar Screw With Spring 889520​

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$15.26​

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2​

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$30.52​

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The collar screw are the axle bolts that the manual says should only be used once. You are also supposed to change bolts holding the bearings to the hub carrier. My local Mini dealer has good prices on parts online. If I collect, no shipping This is still a rather pricey way to get an extra 0.5° of camber. It is legal for all SCCA solo classes, though.

 

[pictsidhe]

No setup tips, but I did enter my first 'real' autocross last weekend. Rainy conditions, but I was surprised how well the Hankook Ventus (OE tires) did in the wet. I heard that the better AX tires never got hot enough that day. I ran in Sport mode with full metal nannies since I'm still learning the ropes. That's it until March for autocross at PIR. I will need new tires for next season.

Anyways I was 2nd in Novice class on Saturday and 1st in "Not for points" class on Sunday, ahead of several Miatas, GR86etc, and Corvettes. My clean laps were 6-7 seconds off the raw winners' times over a mid-50's second course. My navigation skills need a lot of work :0

I rode in a Miata that podiumed on Saturday and a Golf R that won on Sunday - bonkers! I also rode in a CHEVY VOLT of all things that was 2 sec faster than I was on a 60 second lap. He normally runs a 350Z(?) but not in the rain. To be fair, his driving was very smooth and his lines were impeccable for that vehicle. The Cybertruck was a bull in a China closet but it looked like he was having fun.

I ran at NC autocross state championships weekend before last. Saturday, Vitour front, Yokohama rear. Got my *** kicked. Wasn't really warm enough for the Vitours. Sunday my heat started wet, I put my ECS02s on. I kicked ***, until the course dried out, then slipped back, but not too badly. The ECS02 have much higher rolling resistance than the stock kooks, so I don't really want use them as dailies. Some people use them as dual duty tyres. The stock 'kooks will get shredded if you autocross in the dry. Since they are great daily tyres, I'd recommend you pick up a set of wheels for autocross. Smaller diameter helps with acceleration and also lowers the car a little. But if you go to a lower load rating tyre, you'll need to up pressure. So stay away from 18s. 15s are a major hassle with the rear brakes. 16 or 17 are the easy choice. There isn't a big selection of wheels in 5x112.
I've found a '919 JCW rear stabilizer bar to be optimum for both daily use and autocross, with added holes. I used various crude methods to mash bars flat before welding up a 10lb tool with a pair of m16 bolts that I apply an impact wrench to. Changing the rear bar should take a competent mechanic 3-4 hours if they read my guide. Somewhere near the beginning of this thread. The battery does not need to be removed or disconnected, the rear subframe needs to pulled back and down, after disconnecting arms.
I run nannies as off as they will go. That does require some sanity to be applied to the situation when things get a little too sideways... It's been educational, as well as entertaining for spectators. I am way, way better at controlling it now. If I'm not going sideways, I'm not winning... Fortunately one of the venues I go to has more runoff than other sites have total space, so I can really let rip there.
If you see an EVX M3P, make friends and get a ride along. They are bonkers fast.

No setup tips, but I did enter my first 'real' autocross last weekend. Rainy conditions, but I was surprised how well the Hankook Ventus (OE tires) did in the wet. I heard that the better AX tires never got hot enough that day. I ran in Sport mode with full metal nannies since I'm still learning the ropes. That's it until March for autocross at PIR. I will need new tires for next season.

Anyways I was 2nd in Novice class on Saturday and 1st in "Not for points" class on Sunday, ahead of several Miatas, GR86etc, and Corvettes. My clean laps were 6-7 seconds off the raw winners' times over a mid-50's second course. My navigation skills need a lot of work :0

I rode in a Miata that podiumed on Saturday and a Golf R that won on Sunday - bonkers! I also rode in a CHEVY VOLT of all things that was 2 sec faster than I was on a 60 second lap. He normally runs a 350Z(?) but not in the rain. To be fair, his driving was very smooth and his lines were impeccable for that vehicle. The Cybertruck was a bull in a China closet but it looked like he was having fun.

 

[Brawndo]

Car is a good AX car with the rear bar but starts pulling power on longer courses / back to back runs. Long press stability control, keeps most of the TC on but it's not intrusive to times. It will let you spin the car should you be able to summon that much rotation.

Small lot, single driver is the way.

 

[pictsidhe]

Car is a good AX car with the rear bar but starts pulling power on longer courses / back to back runs. Long press stability control, keeps most of the TC on but it's not intrusive to times. It will let you spin the car should you be able to summon that much rotation.

Small lot, single driver is the way.

I've only had it pull power on 70s + courses. It cools down quickly, a couple of minutes and the battery is back under 100F. I've spun mine a LOT. I do set it up kinda loose though. At a recent wet event, I added an extra 3 psi to the back tyres to try and avoid any understeer.

 

[pictsidhe]

Car is a good AX car with the rear bar but starts pulling power on longer courses / back to back runs. Long press stability control, keeps most of the TC on but it's not intrusive to times. It will let you spin the car should you be able to summon that much rotation.

Small lot, single driver is the way.

I had a codriver for my last event. Course length was high 60s. Battery temps were fine. Brakes didn't get as blue as the previous day when I was on my own... Maybe able to just set up fogging nozzles for long and hot courses. The one where it cut power air temp was high 90s. Car is now out of warranty so I can do naughty things to it.

 

[Giosan]

I had a codriver for my last event. Course length was high 60s. Battery temps were fine. Brakes didn't get as blue as the previous day when I was on my own... Maybe able to just set up fogging nozzles for long and hot courses. The one where it cut power air temp was high 90s. Car is now out of warranty so I can do naughty things to it.

I had my brakes turn blue during fun runs, where you're back on course just a few minutes after getting off, over and over. I don't know which of these mods helped, but I bent the brake dust shields out some, to catch more air. Also partially cut and angled the cut portion of the plastic under car panel ahead of the front wheels, to direct more air towards the brakes. Plus I was so low that I was scraping them often before cutting them partially. Finally, I think the choice of wheel design makes a big difference. I was racing with 17" Motegi Tracklights the final year and I don't remember smelling brakes that whole season. We still have nowhere to race on Oahu going on 1 year!

 

[pictsidhe]

I had my brakes turn blue during fun runs, where you're back on course just a few minutes after getting off, over and over. I don't know which of these mods helped, but I bent the brake dust shields out some, to catch more air. Also partially cut and angled the cut portion of the plastic under car panel ahead of the front wheels, to direct more air towards the brakes. Plus I was so low that I was scraping them often before cutting them partially. Finally, I think the choice of wheel design makes a big difference. I was racing with 17" Motegi Tracklights the final year and I don't remember smelling brakes that whole season. We still have nowhere to race on Oahu going on 1 year!

They're not lacking ventilation. Fast course probably engaging the eLSD a lot.

 

[Dee M]

Hey all. I've been running my SE in AutoX this past season, just wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. What a blast! I ran the year with stock 17x7 wheels, with 2mm spacers up front to fit 225/45-17 Potenza Race tires. I got them on deep discount, and they're sticky when warm, but the car can't really get enough heat into the rears to really make them work, which has had me oversteering all over the place this year. Lots of fun but not especially fast.

I mostly just wanted to leave a huge thank you to the folks posting here, especially pictsidhe, for all of the info. The Rear swaybar how-to was hugely helpful when I installed the NM 22mm bar (oy was that a PITA!), and the crash hub parts numbers helped out a ton as I was super confused that my mini seemed to have camber correcting hubs from the factory already (the 849/850 part numbers). This saved me ordering the wrong parts for swapping during the off-season.
Thanks again!

One question I do have for the group, what wheels are y'all running? I am looking to run 16x7s with a tire that comes up to temp more easily, and stay in GS, but the options in that size, bolt pattern, and 47-50mm offset seem super limited. Currently considering OZ Ultraleggeras but would love to find a less pricey option that isn't 22lbs if folks know of one.

Attaching some pics of my car at a few events, and one loaded up for race day the night before.

 

[Brawndo]

Not sure if you saw, but our cars look like they may drop to HS next season - the Focus ST and GTI mk7 would as well if it goes through.

Also an updated Bridgestone (RE71-RZ) is incoming and historically the new Bridgestone is almost always the best tire. They don't mess around.

Good luck out there.

 

[pictsidhe]

My spies tell me that the Mk X Civic Si and the Mk7 GTI are staying in GS . However, the Mazda Speed3 is going to down to HS along with the SE. Those things are quick. One of the HS Civic Sports in my club won Nationals this year, which made me feel much better about rarely beating it last year.
I've run various wheels. Most are redrilled from 5x114.3 I paid $$$ for the first set, then made a redrilling jig and tools to do more myself. I do have some 5x112 BBS RG-F 16x7s, originally intended for VWs. A hub ring swap and they fit perfectly. They are not cheap if bought new, however. Don't be afraid to get wheels with too much offset and use spacers with them. See if you can find some Autec Wizards, either Mini or Mercedes fit. I was looking at those when I cheaped out and found used 5x114 Kosei on fleabay.
I'm in the process of ordering a custom set of wheels from China right now. I have my fingers crossed the that the insane tariffs will be thrown out by the supreme court before they show up. Even if not, they'll still be cheaper than US options. Most of the Chinese custom wheel manufacturers seem to specialise on absolutely hideous bling wheels, but there are some who do more performance oriented ones.

Since I wore out my RT660s, which are a great beginner tyre, I've been running various tyres on the front, but mostly Yokohama A052 on the rear. I really like them there, I'm not alone in FWD for that. Others prefer RE71RS on the rear (the Civic Sport alien). The Re71rs is being replaced by the RZ version next year. It's hard to go wrong with Bridgestone, they are popular for a reason. I've not tried them on the rear. The Yokohamas are prone to overheating if used on the front, they are the best tyre for cold weather. I've sprayed them on the back at 80F... I have run Vitour P1 on the front. They need heat, ideally 90F+ weather. I've also run Nankang on the front. They didn't feel great but were pretty quick, possibly because I had 225/45 pinched on 7" wheels. They tolerate southern heat very well. They aren't horrible when cold, unlike the Vitours, which are just scary.

Sizes, I suggest 205/50 or maybe 215/45 on 7s. I don't like pinched tyres, 205s were my favourite on 7s. Avoid tyres with a low load rating, or you'll need to run crazy pressures. My record being 44psi hot on 245/35-15 84W on 15x9s. Trying lower just slowed me down. Those did stick better than anything else, though.

Which tyres are good for you depends on your local weather, but Bridgestone front and either Bridgestone or Yoko rear would be a great place to start for many. Ask people at your local club, or just look at what they are running... There is a new Vitour P1 coming in for next season optimised for cooler temps, the x-01r compound. I'll almost certainly be getting an enormous set of those to chase Teslas in EVX. The best 'wet' tyre is the Conti ECS02, not the DWS which will chunk. I used to do quite well in the wet on RTs, which suck. On ECS, I do really well, probably top 10 pax if everyone had run in the pissing rain.