So I've just completed a year of Autocross, as are a lot of other folks on here. I was thinking we could start discussing the best setup for the car.
From my experience:
Tires:
The best AutoX tire you can get is pretty much undisputed right now. The Bridgestone RE71R's are killing everybody out there.
As for size, I ran two different ones this year. First ran a set of 205/45R16's, and then I ordered a second set of 205/50R16's. I much prefer the 16" sizes to the 17"... mainly for the cost.
Pro's for the 45 series were the lower center of gravity, the 2lb difference in each tire, and slightly quicker acceleration thanks to being shorter. I also found they slid easier than the 50 series coming around corners which helped with rotation sometimes. They also slid during fatal upsets... more on that in a bit.
Pro's for the 50 series tires were the 30% cheaper price, wider rubber, better biting grip on hard corners (sidewall would flex more and bit rather than slide) and the taller tire gave me a slightly higher top end in each gear.
The 50 series IMO was the clear winner for me. It is however not something I would recommend for a novice, simply because I found it had much more bite on the back end and with this tire I actually put my car on two wheels at one point. If you don't react properly in a situation like that, you could put the car on its roof.
For both tires, the optimal tire pressure was 51psi in the front, and 46.5psi in the rear. If I was diligent about bleeding off the air after each run, I got a sweet spot for traction there.
Finally, in terms of wear.... I got about 100 runs on a set of tires. That was with flipping them front to back, and inside to outside. They also bite right down to the cords, so don't be afraid to push them that far if you have to!
For 2016, I keep hearing that Toyo is going to come out with a new tire... I still have about 50 runs left on my current set, so I will wait and see before I make a decision.
Wheels:
This year I ran Sport Edition (made by Koosie). I got mine for 79$ a pop, and I picked up a total of 6 rims. That way I always have 2 spare tires at the event just in case I cord a set.
They look not bad, only weight 17lbs, are under 100$ on TireRack (sometimes even $79). They are also hubcentric so you are not dealing with hub rings at all. Only real cons are that the hub caps fly out pretty easily. If you run these, just pop them out or you won't have a complete set by the end of the season, haha. Overall they make a great AutoX tire.
Traction Control:
If you are going out there for the first time, just use sport mode (click the TC button once). Also, if it is raining or the pavement is cold as ice... sport mode is a really great tool for getting a clean run right off the bat without too much risk of losing it. It is not that invasive, and even in dry conditions I rarely feel it get involved. We had an event in the rain last weekend, and I easily beat everybody in raw time using this tool. With TC full off, the result was too unpredictable; one part would be great, while the next corner it would let go.
That said, full TC off is by far the fastest mode for the car on a dry warm day. So hold the button down for 10 seconds, you will see a little countdown bar on the screen while you do this. It lets you put the car on the ragged edge, but it will definitely let you spin it if you are not careful.
Sway Bars:
I ran my car totally stock this year so I could decide what I wanted to do for next season. In stock form, the car is quite good.... but I feel the back end is prone to slide out too much anytime I try to do trail braking. I have to spend a lot of time ensuring I am totally setup and straight going into a sweeper, while other cars can trail brake and upset the car to get rotation and pick up time. Some of it has to do with it being FWD, but I think that the car might benefit from a slightly stiffer front sway bar.
I am leaning towards putting in a stock Fiesta sway bar (from a base model) next year. It is stiffer than the ST bar, but not as stiff as some of the aftermarket ones. I've heard that it gives the car an improved balance.
There are some people that do rear sway bars, but everything I have observed tells me that it would just create more drama in the back. You want a tiny bit of roll in the car for the rear tires to bite instead of skidding around uselessly, and you also want your rear inside tire to remain planted... a rear sway bar is not going to help get either of those.
I think this can be debated though as some people do prefer the feel of it.
Shocks:
Not much for me to comment here as I ran stock dampers... I would have liked to have more stiffness in the front and maybe even a little bit softer in the rear. Next year I am going with Koni Yellows. Hoping that will help me out.
Brakes:
The stock brakes in this car are nothing short of amazing. I couldn't ask for better brakes, they never faded and were usually stronger than the tire grip. The bad part of course was the excessive dust they produced.
I don't know what to recommend here, but if anybody knows of brake pads that perform better than the OEM without the dust, please share your experience.
Pics:
Anyway, I hope you guys find this useful. Please do share your own setup and feedback from your season this year. I am interested to see what people thought of the car.
From my experience:
Tires:
The best AutoX tire you can get is pretty much undisputed right now. The Bridgestone RE71R's are killing everybody out there.
As for size, I ran two different ones this year. First ran a set of 205/45R16's, and then I ordered a second set of 205/50R16's. I much prefer the 16" sizes to the 17"... mainly for the cost.
Pro's for the 45 series were the lower center of gravity, the 2lb difference in each tire, and slightly quicker acceleration thanks to being shorter. I also found they slid easier than the 50 series coming around corners which helped with rotation sometimes. They also slid during fatal upsets... more on that in a bit.
Pro's for the 50 series tires were the 30% cheaper price, wider rubber, better biting grip on hard corners (sidewall would flex more and bit rather than slide) and the taller tire gave me a slightly higher top end in each gear.
The 50 series IMO was the clear winner for me. It is however not something I would recommend for a novice, simply because I found it had much more bite on the back end and with this tire I actually put my car on two wheels at one point. If you don't react properly in a situation like that, you could put the car on its roof.
For both tires, the optimal tire pressure was 51psi in the front, and 46.5psi in the rear. If I was diligent about bleeding off the air after each run, I got a sweet spot for traction there.
Finally, in terms of wear.... I got about 100 runs on a set of tires. That was with flipping them front to back, and inside to outside. They also bite right down to the cords, so don't be afraid to push them that far if you have to!
For 2016, I keep hearing that Toyo is going to come out with a new tire... I still have about 50 runs left on my current set, so I will wait and see before I make a decision.
Wheels:
This year I ran Sport Edition (made by Koosie). I got mine for 79$ a pop, and I picked up a total of 6 rims. That way I always have 2 spare tires at the event just in case I cord a set.
They look not bad, only weight 17lbs, are under 100$ on TireRack (sometimes even $79). They are also hubcentric so you are not dealing with hub rings at all. Only real cons are that the hub caps fly out pretty easily. If you run these, just pop them out or you won't have a complete set by the end of the season, haha. Overall they make a great AutoX tire.
Traction Control:
If you are going out there for the first time, just use sport mode (click the TC button once). Also, if it is raining or the pavement is cold as ice... sport mode is a really great tool for getting a clean run right off the bat without too much risk of losing it. It is not that invasive, and even in dry conditions I rarely feel it get involved. We had an event in the rain last weekend, and I easily beat everybody in raw time using this tool. With TC full off, the result was too unpredictable; one part would be great, while the next corner it would let go.
That said, full TC off is by far the fastest mode for the car on a dry warm day. So hold the button down for 10 seconds, you will see a little countdown bar on the screen while you do this. It lets you put the car on the ragged edge, but it will definitely let you spin it if you are not careful.
Sway Bars:
I ran my car totally stock this year so I could decide what I wanted to do for next season. In stock form, the car is quite good.... but I feel the back end is prone to slide out too much anytime I try to do trail braking. I have to spend a lot of time ensuring I am totally setup and straight going into a sweeper, while other cars can trail brake and upset the car to get rotation and pick up time. Some of it has to do with it being FWD, but I think that the car might benefit from a slightly stiffer front sway bar.
I am leaning towards putting in a stock Fiesta sway bar (from a base model) next year. It is stiffer than the ST bar, but not as stiff as some of the aftermarket ones. I've heard that it gives the car an improved balance.
There are some people that do rear sway bars, but everything I have observed tells me that it would just create more drama in the back. You want a tiny bit of roll in the car for the rear tires to bite instead of skidding around uselessly, and you also want your rear inside tire to remain planted... a rear sway bar is not going to help get either of those.
I think this can be debated though as some people do prefer the feel of it.
Shocks:
Not much for me to comment here as I ran stock dampers... I would have liked to have more stiffness in the front and maybe even a little bit softer in the rear. Next year I am going with Koni Yellows. Hoping that will help me out.
Brakes:
The stock brakes in this car are nothing short of amazing. I couldn't ask for better brakes, they never faded and were usually stronger than the tire grip. The bad part of course was the excessive dust they produced.
I don't know what to recommend here, but if anybody knows of brake pads that perform better than the OEM without the dust, please share your experience.
Pics:
Anyway, I hope you guys find this useful. Please do share your own setup and feedback from your season this year. I am interested to see what people thought of the car.
![[rockon]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_headbang.gif "Rock On [rockon]"){kind=icon}
I'll follow up with a serious question, do you have an accessport? I just figured the extra fun factor for daily driving is appreciated, and load the stock tune for competition. I was wondering if you do that by chance. 
