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Good tire and Camber set up for Auto X ?

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Tallmadge
#1
Hey whats up,

So ive been wondering the past few weeks what a good tire is to buy for auto X and a decent alignment. I was looking into getting Toyo Proxies RA1 .I'm not sure what kind of toe and camber our cars run stock . don't get me wrong the car does great the way it sits , I just want to improve it a little bit. Any help is appreciated !
 


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Milwaukee
#2
The biggest question you have to ask yourself, is how deep do you want to get. What class do you want to run? Have you autocrossed before? Do you want to be competitive?

My advice if you're a complete newbie is just run the car completely stock a few times and see how you like it/how you do. If you want to dive deeper into it, then ask the question of how stock can you stand to keep the car or how bad is the itch to mod the car. Once you start getting a feel for that, you can see what tires will work best for you.

Street tires are awesome and a great tool to learn with. I prefer either the Bridgestone RE71R or the BFGoodridge Rival S. Really sticky, and available in the sizes I run.

If you're making the jump to R-Compounds(where the RA1 would be classified), those toyos are a great learning tire in that category.

In the end, it's all about how far in do you want to jump all at once, and how competitive do you want to be. The r-compound tires will push you from a lot of the classes these cars are competitive in already into classes where you may not keep up with the other cars.
 


OP
T
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Tallmadge
Thread Starter #3
ive done autocross quite as few times before. being this car is my daily I'm trying to run an alignment that's not gonna destroy my tires . on my summer wheels ive got BF Goodrich Sport Comp 2s. I did 4 events and a track day and some spirited driving last year on new tires and they got beat up pretty good. they still have some life but its time to invest in something decent. I may just put tires on my stock wheels that I use in the winter just to throw in the back so I don't have to destroy good tires in a season. but yes I'm trying to be pretty competitive . my friend who has an E36 Bmw went to Pittrace with me for an Auto x event and he has been track driving close to 15 years and told me I'm doing well he sees a lot of him in me 10 years ago. I was looking at soft compound Nankang N2 SRs for a cheap tire.
 


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Location
Peoria
#4
I was curious whether anyone recommends different camber for the rear compared to the front. I recall that, if enough range is available, something like -2.0 front would go well with -1.5 rear on a front-wheel-drive car. And yes, I know, good luck getting -2.0 or even -1.5 stock for that matter. It's the concept I was wondering about - about a 0.5 difference front to rear.
 


jeffreylyon

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Pittsburgh
#6
I was curious whether anyone recommends different camber for the rear compared to the front. I recall that, if enough range is available, something like -2.0 front would go well with -1.5 rear on a front-wheel-drive car. And yes, I know, good luck getting -2.0 or even -1.5 stock for that matter. It's the concept I was wondering about - about a 0.5 difference front to rear.
It's kinda moot - rear camber is not adjustable on the FiST. I have a set of knuckles that I keep meaning to drop off at my local machine shop to have machined to add -1.5? of rear camber. @Rammauto went so far as to cut and re-weld the mounting flanges on the rear axel to get some more negative camber.
 


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453
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156
Location
West Bloomfield
#7
Hey whats up,

So ive been wondering the past few weeks what a good tire is to buy for auto X and a decent alignment. I was looking into getting Toyo Proxies RA1 .I'm not sure what kind of toe and camber our cars run stock . don't get me wrong the car does great the way it sits , I just want to improve it a little bit. Any help is appreciated !
Before you think about modding your car for AutoX you need to know what class you are trying to be in. To be competitive, you need mod for that class. If it's just for fun than it doesn't matter so much.

The most competitive class for Fiesta's is HS. This allows alignments, dampers, tires (200TW rating and above) and a few other odds and ends like cat-back exhausts etc. If you're shooting for this class then I would recommend a set of RE-71R's and an alignment that basically maxes out negative camber. You want a lot of negative camber up front.
 


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Location
Milwaukee
#8
Before you think about modding your car for AutoX you need to know what class you are trying to be in. To be competitive, you need mod for that class. If it's just for fun than it doesn't matter so much.

The most competitive class for Fiesta's is HS. This allows alignments, dampers, tires (200TW rating and above) and a few other odds and ends like cat-back exhausts etc. If you're shooting for this class then I would recommend a set of RE-71R's and an alignment that basically maxes out negative camber. You want a lot of negative camber up front.
This!

The car is hilariously capable stock with just a set of tires on it. If you're going with the stock wheels, and want to keep the stock sizing, the Falken Azenis is a good tire to start with. If you wanted to try out the 215/40-17's, the Dunlop Z2 star spec is another great option.
Personally, I have a split size setup for autocross(17's in the front and 16's out back) and I run 215/45-17 RE71's up front with 205/50-16's out back. (adds more rotation and a bit more MPH in 2nd).

As others have mentioned, it's all about how deeply you want to dive in.
 


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Ottawa, ON
#9
Do you have any clearance issues with the 215/45 's? I was looking at some Hankook RS4's but they are not available in 205/40 and the dealer recommended the 215/45
 


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Milwaukee
#10
Do you have any clearance issues with the 215/45 's? I was looking at some Hankook RS4's but they are not available in 205/40 and the dealer recommended the 215/45
215/45-17's will fit at stock ride height. I have no experience with rs-4's personally, but I know they are a good tire in previous generations(RS-3, RS-2)
 


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Peoria
#11
FWIW, I just went in for the first alignment on my '16 bought in December. From the factory, the fronts were -1.3 and -1.4 camber! The rears were -0.3 and -0.8.
 


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albuquerque
#12
FWIW, I just went in for the first alignment on my '16 bought in December. From the factory, the fronts were -1.3 and -1.4 camber! The rears were -0.3 and -0.8.
Interesting numbers on those back tires. What numbers did you go with for you alignment? And are you happy with them?

I just ran an event last weekend completely stock. Another fiesta owner let me drive his HS Fiesta with konis, re71r's, front sway, and exhaust. I put my best time of the day in his car and am sold on konis and re71r's (I'm currently running Federal rsrr which get hot and greasy I've noticed). I'll hold off on a sway bar.

Very curious to see how do next month with the shocks, alignment, and tires.
 


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#13
The other tires to consider, would be the Rival 1.5's. they tend to work better on concrete from what I've noticed. So if your local events are on a concrete lot(or you're planning on going to nationals, which is on concrete) you may want to consider the BFg's as well as the 'Stones....

food for thought.
 


Kazz

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Peoria
#14
Interesting numbers on those back tires. What numbers did you go with for you alignment? And are you happy with them?

I just ran an event last weekend completely stock. Another fiesta owner let me drive his HS Fiesta with konis, re71r's, front sway, and exhaust. I put my best time of the day in his car and am sold on konis and re71r's (I'm currently running Federal rsrr which get hot and greasy I've noticed). I'll hold off on a sway bar.

Very curious to see how do next month with the shocks, alignment, and tires.
The rear couldn't be changed but basically ended up with -1.5 in front! I've still not been to an event. This Spring/Summer has had other priorities so far. But I did just drive out to the Octane Academy and back putting over 2,000 miles on the car. Took her through Medicine Bow National Forest. I'm very, very happy!
 


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albuquerque
#15
The rear couldn't be changed but basically ended up with -1.5 in front! I've still not been to an event. This Spring/Summer has had other priorities so far. But I did just drive out to the Octane Academy and back putting over 2,000 miles on the car. Took her through Medicine Bow National Forest. I'm very, very happy!
A couple days ago I put Koni Yellows on front and rear. My alignment is this Friday so in the meantime I decided to play around with a pair of camber bolts in the front. I'll take them off before the alignment, but until then I'm driving around with serious camber. Whiteline claims the bolts add 1.5 deg, so I'm guessing I'm somewhere between 2.5 and 3. You can see the camber if you look at it but it's not extreme enough to be noticed if you're not paying attention.

I have the rear shocks close to full stiff and the fronts are a quarter or so from full soft. Tire pressures are 36psi on all corners.

The first impression is that the car feels lighter and jumpier in front. Torque steer is a little more pronounced and the car is influenced more by irregularities in the road. I hit the gas coming out of a u-turn and was surprised and how quickly the car whipped around.

The good stuff happens in the turns and corners. I have my go-to on ramps that I'm intimately familiar with. Perfect for testing out new setups.
I'm loving how planted the car is through these turns. With the stock suspension, rotation is comical, and I'm constantly pumping the throttle to make small corrections. Now the car doesn't seem to rotate quite as soon, and my corrections are fewer. When oversteer does kick in, it feels broader and more controllable. It's easier to sense it coming on as well.

It will be interesting to see what the car does when I got back to maxed stock camber without the crash bolts. I'd also like to compare the shocks a bit stiffer in front. I'd like it to feel a little less jumpy while driving straight but keep the new planted-through-the-corners thing I've got.

The ride quality with Koni's at near full stiffness isn't too much bumpier than stock. I'm certainly feeling the road more, but it isn't jarring or annoying.
 


Kazz

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Peoria
#16
My goal was to make the ride less harsh (bouncy with winter setup) without losing handling. I'm happy with just the rear mod so far. Keep us posted!
 


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244
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Location
Milwaukee
#17
A couple days ago I put Koni Yellows on front and rear. My alignment is this Friday so in the meantime I decided to play around with a pair of camber bolts in the front. I'll take them off before the alignment, but until then I'm driving around with serious camber. Whiteline claims the bolts add 1.5 deg, so I'm guessing I'm somewhere between 2.5 and 3. You can see the camber if you look at it but it's not extreme enough to be noticed if you're not paying attention.

I have the rear shocks close to full stiff and the fronts are a quarter or so from full soft. Tire pressures are 36psi on all corners.

The first impression is that the car feels lighter and jumpier in front. Torque steer is a little more pronounced and the car is influenced more by irregularities in the road. I hit the gas coming out of a u-turn and was surprised and how quickly the car whipped around.

The good stuff happens in the turns and corners. I have my go-to on ramps that I'm intimately familiar with. Perfect for testing out new setups.
I'm loving how planted the car is through these turns. With the stock suspension, rotation is comical, and I'm constantly pumping the throttle to make small corrections. Now the car doesn't seem to rotate quite as soon, and my corrections are fewer. When oversteer does kick in, it feels broader and more controllable. It's easier to sense it coming on as well.

It will be interesting to see what the car does when I got back to maxed stock camber without the crash bolts. I'd also like to compare the shocks a bit stiffer in front. I'd like it to feel a little less jumpy while driving straight but keep the new planted-through-the-corners thing I've got.

The ride quality with Koni's at near full stiffness isn't too much bumpier than stock. I'm certainly feeling the road more, but it isn't jarring or annoying.
On the street, I run 2psi higher than the door sticker calls for, and have similar handling from my car. It's truly comical how easily you can control the rear slide(rotation) with the throttle on these cars. With my auto-x dedicated setup(16" sparco's with 205-50-16 RE71r's) I run 36f/42r and have similar rotational characteristics, but with better frontend grip(especially transitionally in slaloms and offsets).

I look forward to seeing what kinda front numbers you get with the crash bolts vs the stock bolts, and seeing if we can get Ford to ammend the FSM to make it an acceptable thing in HS... ;)
 


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