BP Pro autox upgrade ideas?

[cojsl]

So, I'm hooked on Autox now. The car (90 Pro LX) will be a daily driver, and I want to race it 2x a month in HS (or the regional street tire stock class). Here's what's on my list of stuff to do for autox:
- get a helmet because running to get a loaner is a hassle
- zx2 struts (other better ideas?)
- good brake pads (KVR, others?)
- tires (i've heard to wait to spend on tires until you get faster, learn on cheap ones)
- cat back exhaust (corksport or pacesetter?) SS is nice, but I like the dual tips and lower $$s of the PS
- K&N filter (do these make a difference in HP?)

Anything you'd add/change or suggest?

[roymacavoy]

considering the tires are the only thing that touch the road, I would not go cheap. Especially at the speeds you will reach. I would recommend all poly bushings. Weight reduction, as much as you can.

[prakashkamath]

for struts go to john bleakly ford, second on the list:

http://209.60.227.212/frparts.asp?searchtype=cat&partstype=SUSPENSION

for brakes, go to stage four motor sports:

http://www.stagefourmotorsports.com/

i recommend you stick with your mazda oem air filter:

http://www.imazda.com/forums/showthread.php?t=993

[1967cutlass]

Advance the timing to 18 degrees BTDC and use premium fuel, then do the rest of your list and you should be good.

[therieldeal]

ive been told the pacesetter exhaust sounds like complete poo, but you could always put a different muffler on it.

i got my HJC helmet from these guys:

http://solotime.com/index.asp

its snell 2005 so it will be good for a long ass time... and it was only $70

[cojsl]

thanks for all the suggestions!

[jay]

Magnaflow mufflers are surprisingly quiet for the near total lack of backpressure they have. If you are an autx n00b, run hard cheap longlasting tires at first. Autocross ain't hardly a high speed endeavor, lots of courses are such that you never get out of 2nd gear. Hard cheap tires will teach you smoothness and how to maintain (or avoid) slides. When you get better at it, get stickier tires. You'll be in a better position to appreciate the extra grip, and you'll spend less time wrecking them by driving like how beginners *think* is fast.
Run synthetic oil, make sure your cooling system is up to snuff, make sure your battery holddown is REAL strong, invest in a good tire pressure guage and check 'em between every run, and have yerself a grand ol' time. One other tip, bring chalk or shoe polish along. Run a stripe from the shoulder tread down to about halfway down the sidewall. If you find that you're missing most of the stripe, you need to add more air pressure. You wanna see the mark scrubbed off just a bit down the sidewall.
Bring lunch, and drinks.

[therieldeal]

Bring lunch, and drinks.

woo hoo, autox!!



just kidding.. i had to.. lol

[Tazman2]

You can have tons of suspension mods but without the tires to help hold them up you're going nowhere! Get some decent springs too while your at it as i don't see any listed.

[photoeye0]

I'd say
-your local parts store's good pads
-some Azena's and steelies or half ass junk yard rims
-ZX-2 struts
-H&R or eibach springs
-Poly end links

In that order and a helmet
And cross your socks off. Spend you money on seat time for now. IMHO

[cojsl]

Got a helmet! Thanks for the continued ideas and tips! I didn't list springs because it appears that non stock springs aren't legal for stock class.

[photoeye0]

The only thing I think you could get away with would be a cat-back.

[cojsl]

ok, got KVR pads from CS, they don't seem to stop faster or bite harder than the prior pads, but they seem to be easier to modulate. OTOH, the fluid got thoroughly flushed and the rotors turned, so it's hard to isolate what changes did what.

[1967cutlass]

ok, got KVR pads from CS, they don't seem to stop faster or bite harder than the prior pads, but they seem to be easier to modulate. OTOH, the fluid got thoroughly flushed and the rotors turned, so it's hard to isolate what changes did what.

I'm pretty sure normal pads are 100% fine for autocrossing in these cars, for future reference.

[Henchman]

Did you upgrade the brake fluid to Ford DOT 4?