STF -- any autoxers going to give this a shot?

[dtoups]

The SCCA has established a new Street Touring class aimed at small FWD cars that are not 1989 Honda Civics, which get a class of their own. Competition in this class will include the Fit, base Mini Cooper, the Mazda 2 and 3, Ford Fiesta and Focus, Toyota Yaris and a couple more.

Very generally, you are limited to basic suspension and tuning modifications: Tires, wheels, springs, shocks, intake, exhaust. With the exception of the Mini, all the cars are starting from scratch, development-wise, so I'm going to concentrate on the basics rather than throwing money at the skinny end of the curve.

To start, I'm going to order RPF-1s, 17x7.5, +48 offset. Anybody running these? Any issues on a lowered car? For tires I'll go with the Direzzas in 225/45/17. That should raise the top of second gear to 61 mph.

In the coming months I'll add a front bar, an intake, camber kit and perhaps some coilovers if I can find what I want. I haven't seen spring rates as aggressive as I would like (probably 550 or so front, 450 or so rear) on the adjustable coilovers I've seen. Looks like Eibach will let you choose spring rates but the dampers aren't adjustable.

If anyone has recommendations, chime in. I'm not opposed to a spring/shock combo but again haven't seen anything available in Koni Yellows, PSS9s, or any of the other folks I would gravitate toward.

Note: I've been racing for a decade with some success, including four years in Street Touring prepped cars of various kinds. I have some broad knowledge and preferences about what works and what I like, but am not at all mechanical. Anything that gets done to the car will be done by a raced shop or a buddy, and that limits the amount of experimentation I can do ...

[sohcsol]

1) You can order BC Racing type BR coilovers with custom spring rates for around $1k. Right now I have 5kg/mm f/r but am thinking about switching to 8kg and 7kg f/r respectively. The shocks are 32-way adjustable, ride height will go as low as the crz permits and there is about 1 degree of front camber adjustment built in.

2) For the rpf-1's why not go with 16's? Youd save a few pounds on both the wheel and the tire, be able to have a bit more sidewall for more grip and the 225/45-17's are going to rub if you lower at all. Can run a 215 or 225/45-16 without much problem.

[InsightRacer]

Originally Posted by dtoups

The SCCA has established a new Street Touring class aimed at small FWD cars that are not 1989 Honda Civics, which get a class of their own. Competition in this class will include the Fit, base Mini Cooper, the Mazda 2 and 3, Ford Fiesta and Focus, Toyota Yaris and a couple more.

Very generally, you are limited to basic suspension and tuning modifications: Tires, wheels, springs, shocks, intake, exhaust. With the exception of the Mini, all the cars are starting from scratch, development-wise, so I'm going to concentrate on the basics rather than throwing money at the skinny end of the curve.

To start, I'm going to order RPF-1s, 17x7.5, +48 offset. Anybody running these? Any issues on a lowered car? For tires I'll go with the Direzzas in 225/45/17. That should raise the top of second gear to 61 mph.

In the coming months I'll add a front bar, an intake, camber kit and perhaps some coilovers if I can find what I want. I haven't seen spring rates as aggressive as I would like (probably 550 or so front, 450 or so rear) on the adjustable coilovers I've seen. Looks like Eibach will let you choose spring rates but the dampers aren't adjustable.

If anyone has recommendations, chime in. I'm not opposed to a spring/shock combo but again haven't seen anything available in Koni Yellows, PSS9s, or any of the other folks I would gravitate toward.

Note: I've been racing for a decade with some success, including four years in Street Touring prepped cars of various kinds. I have some broad knowledge and preferences about what works and what I like, but am not at all mechanical. Anything that gets done to the car will be done by a raced shop or a buddy, and that limits the amount of experimentation I can do ...

Cool. I just started in AutoX with a local club that runs indexes (which means no class restrictions). I haven't been paying much attention to SCCA because my intake and wheels put me out of H Stock. But I fit right into the new Street Touring. So I'll have look into it.

You can see from my sig. my current setup, which is close to what you are planning. This setup seems to work good but I'm at the stage where the driver's setup makes the biggest difference . I have HKS Hypermax coilovers which have spring rates of 6/5 kg/mm. What you are suggesting is more like 10/9 kg/mm which would probably be too stiff for street use. But I might go to wider tires/wheels someday.

[Kyleseghatch]

PMed you a link to some CHEAP CHEAP mint, brand new RPF's, dtoups.

[InsightRacer]

Read through the (Draft) rules from the SCCA site. All looks good except:

14.2 BODYWORK

F. Addition of spoilers, splitters, rear wings, bumper covers, valances, side skirts, and non-functional sccops/vents is allowed provided that either:

1. It is a production part which is standard or optional equipment of a US model of the vehicle.

2. It is listed in the vehicle manufacturer’s US accessory catalog for that vehicle for normal highway use. This does not allow for parts sold through a manufacturer’s performance catalog (e.g., Ford Racing, HPD, MazdaSpeed, Mopar Performance, Mugen, NISMO, SPT, TRD, etc).

Parts must be installed as directed by the manufacturer. Exact replicas (including weight) from alternate sources are also permitted.

Which basically says, no aftermarket aero. The stock aero is lame. None of this effects performance so why should it matter ?

[Kyleseghatch]

way to kill downforce SCCA...

[dtoups]

Originally Posted by sohcsol

1) You can order BC Racing type BR coilovers with custom spring rates for around $1k. Right now I have 5kg/mm f/r but am thinking about switching to 8kg and 7kg f/r respectively. The shocks are 32-way adjustable, ride height will go as low as the crz permits and there is about 1 degree of front camber adjustment built in.

2) For the rpf-1's why not go with 16's? Youd save a few pounds on both the wheel and the tire, be able to have a bit more sidewall for more grip and the 225/45-17's are going to rub if you lower at all. Can run a 215 or 225/45-16 without much problem.

Sohcsol, thanks! I'll take a look at the BC coilovers.

I was inclined to go with the 16s as well, but didn't see a 16x7.5 for the RPF-1. Can you point me to them?

Any idea where the 225/45/17s would rub -- can I use a spacer?

[dtoups]

Originally Posted by InsightRacer

Read through the (Draft) rules from the SCCA site. All looks good except:
<<<<snipped>>>>

Which basically says, no aftermarket aero. The stock aero is lame. None of this effects performance so why should it matter ?[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE]

Correct! Mainly it was because the Evo people were getting so silly.

I think you would certainly be able to run SCCA locally. Just ask the other folks in class. You might have an issue if you start entering regional competitions and tours, but usually no one gives a hoot about non-performance modifications like this.

*Definitely* would suggest more tire up front, especially since you've done so much toward making the car competitive otherwise. Good luck!

[sohcsol]

Originally Posted by dtoups

Sohcsol, thanks! I'll take a look at the BC coilovers.

I was inclined to go with the 16s as well, but didn't see a 16x7.5 for the RPF-1. Can you point me to them?

Any idea where the 225/45/17s would rub -- can I use a spacer?

I believe the rpf's I was considering were 16x7 at 11.2lbs? Not sure if there is a 16x7.5 out there but I see varying sizes for sale all the time in honda tech classifieds. Could still run a 215 wide tire on 16x7's, the crz wont take anything much wider in front.

The 225/45-17's, or anything taller than stock diameter, will definitely rub inside the fender liner in front and back when the wheels are turned. Depending on wheel offset and lowering, hitting the fender may also be an issue. Try to keep the tires tucked in if your lowering more than 1.5", keep a high +45 or +50 offset. There is no room for tires up front once you start lowering, mine is rubbing the stock 195/55-16's inside the fender liner. My autox tire size will be either 205/45 or 215/40-16's.

[xdmitrix]

I'm using 16x7 rpf1s on my cr-z I love them. You can get them on tirerack.