[Shotimes] advice on autocross handling

[Donald Mallinson]

Josesph,

I would first start out with equal tire pressure all the way 
around.

As I remember the older R1's sometimes worked opposite the 
way a regular tire works.  A typical tire will stick better 
the more air you give it.  Let air out, and it slides more.

The R1's could sometimes work the opposite, so you might 
want to call BFG or the Tire Rack and see if your model R1's 
work that way.

But starting out with equal tire pressure is a good place to 
start.  42-45 all the way around.

You are right that you seem to have the back a lot firmer 
than the front and that makes the car want to oversteer.

I doubt that the rear strut tower brace is contributing to 
the oversteer, this just helps keep the relationship between 
the two towers stationary, and I would not remove the brace 
thinking it will tighten up the back end.  SAme with the 
front.  Adding a front STB will not solve the problem either.

A smaller bigger front bar or smaller rear sway bar might 
help, or go to stock rubber bushings in the back.

Other than those changes and tire pressure, you are left 
with driving style.  Smoother driver motions will help keep 
the suspension settled and help prevent oversteer.  Drive 
the best line, and let the power work for you.

If the car is all over the place, your best solution is to 
SLOW DOWN and you might be surprised that you actually go 
faster!

REmember anything with wheels can be turned into an over or 
understeering pig,  you just need to find the right 
combination of inputs to make it handle right.  Suspension 
mods are little tweaks that you can do to go a little 
faster, once you find out what the basic car wants.  IF you 
are fairly new to autocrossing (not sure about this, but it 
sounds like you might be) and of course your son is new to 
this, the best thing to do is start with ONE setup on the 
car, don't even fiddle with tire pressures much, and 
starting slow, get used to the car and how it drives.  Once 
you get as fast as the car and tires allow, then start 
making suspension changes.  By doing things in this order, 
you will have the driver "feel" to know what you like and 
don't like in suspension changes.

Hope this helps some!

Don Mallinson

van Oss wrote:
> I am asking for advice on setting up my 91 for an upcoming autocross.
> PLEASE don't give glib responses, I really want substantial advice.  (You
> know who you are.)  I pose you a multi-dimensional problem.  Please respond
> to the whole thing.
> 
> As some of you read in the recent "Annie" thread, I went Solo II
> autocrossing in this car on 8/3 and found the rear end was WAY too loose.
> The configuration then was:  Eibachs front, Cargo Coils rear, 24/26 bars
> (rubber front, Delrin rear), Goodrich R1 comp tires (45 front, 40 rear),
> Quaiffe, SHOnut bias plugs, stock brakes, REAR strut-tower brace (not
> front).  My sense about this setup was that the rear end was (between the
> Delrin SFB bushings and rear STB) way too firm.
> 
> At the same location, same club, on Sept. 13, we're having another go at
> Solo II.  There are two key possible differences to be aware of:
> 
> -- IF AND ONLY IF I am able to convince my hyper-conservative 16-year-old
> (same one who went to Driver's Edge) to give it a go, I would like to get
> him out there for some "driver education" in my 91.  Parents of teenagers,
> you know what I mean.  I will not push him, but I will want him to have the
> experience of pushing himself and (not necessarily to the same degree) the
> car.  He would need a mildly conservative setup, I think.
> 
> -- Our club seems to run hot and cold.  If the president (Rick) is out of
> town, everybody relaxes and the course is higher speed, using fewer cones
> and a much more open, high-speed layout.  If Rick is in town, he uses every
> cone the club owns, and sets up a tight, lower-speed, technical course (to
> suit his Civic RSi, it's been said more than once).  We don't know which EM
> will be in charge of the upcoming event.
> 
> My son Patrick would run as a novice (obviously) with me in the passenger
> seat, and he would run much more for learning than for anything else.  IF I
> can get him to run, "successful" runs for him would supersede any interest
> in my own runs.
> 
> Aside from switching to rubber or ASB bushings in the rear, do you have any
> other advice on setting up this car or preparing my son for the event?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Joseph van Oss
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