Best Shocks/Sway Bar Options for Street Class

[Crash]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and my FiST just crossed 50,000 miles () and along with new brake pads, I'm looking into new shocks, and maybe even a sway bar for autocrossing this year.

I wanted to start this thread as a place that those that have experimented with shocks and sway bars can share their experiences and advice. I want to stay in base Street class as this year will be first time competing. I know I should probably try actually competing first before sinking money into anything, but I thought this would be a fun topic.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks guys! (Sorry if this has been posted before!)

 

[shankster]

I got my '14 FIST about this time last year and immediately installed Koni Sport shocks/struts (adjustable for rebound only) and a '17 FIST front sway bar based on research off this and other Forums. I got 16" wheels and 205/50/16 RE71R tires. The car was competitive right off the bat in local HS SCCA autocross. As far as settings on the Konis I ended up at 1/4 turn from full stiff on the rear and 1/2 turn from full stiff on the front, 30psi front tires and 35psi rear. I'm considering trying an Eibach rear swaybar (the ST has none) just because they're relatively cheap and because others have reported good results - it's maybe a driving style thing on whether you go front or rear sway bar. I suspect if you're smooth and precise, go with a thicker front bar, if you're aggressive and like to hang the rear end out try a rear swaybar.

I'd like to know if anyone out there who's tried a rear swaybar saw any changes in front tire wear. I can't decide whether it would help or hurt but I'd really like to get a set of tires to last a full season of local autocrosses. Front tire wear (outside edge) has been pretty shocking. Without any legal way to get more than stock -ve front camber it may just be something we have to live with but would appreciate feedback anyway.

 

[shankster]

Just following up on my last post. One correction - my tires are 205/45/16, not 205/50/16. I traded FiSTs for a run with a kid (an extremely talented kid I might add) at an autocross last year. His was stock apart from some relatively sticky tires (Nexen N FERA SUR4 I believe - a good option if you're on a budget and want to use the stock wheels). When he pulled back into grid his eyes were really big - he liked the way my car handled and I let him have another run which ended up being his fastest (and I think dangerously close to mine). Next event he showed up with Koni yellows and 205/45/16 RE71R tires and I think he top PAXed the event (if not that event it was one shortly thereafter). He runs his stock front swaybar as I think he has a late '16 which I believe has the fatter 22mm swaybar from the factory.

We've been battling ever since near the top of the results. I know you didn't ask about tires but he went to 205-50/16 RE71R and he also runs approx. 40psi in the rear tires for more rotation. I don't know if the tire size makes much difference but the 50s are a tad wider than the 45s which gives the nod to the 50s but they also change the gearing slightly so for tight courses where you're not near the rev limiter in 2nd 45s are probably best, for fast open courses the 50s will get you a couple extra mph in 2nd. There is also something to be said for keeping the center of gravity on our tippy little cars as low as possible so 45s win out there. The 50s are significantly cheaper. And then there are the 215/45/16 BFG Rivals - I'd like to try them but they're a bit spendy. One other note on wheels/tires - be careful on wheel width and offset as it's easy to inadvertently get something not legal for HS.

Bottom line, I'd recommend going to Koni Yellows and see how you like that before doing anything else - its a no-brainer in my book. I'm still not sure what the best direction to go on swaybars is but the Konis are a big jump and provide some ability to adjust the balance of the car. The one thing that sucks about the Konis is you have to remove the rears to adjust them - not a big job but also not something you can do on the fly at an event or a test-n-tune. The front swaybar is not a fun or cheap install as you have to drop the subframe so that takes some commitment.

 

[RAAMaudio]

A bit different setup and I have setup dozens of cars and done well in them. BC coilovers with stiffer Swift springs, best I could get in early 2014 but have worked really well, stock front bar with stiffer bushings. Stiffer bushings in the rest of the suspension but with free flexing as lined not twisting a big chunk of rubber(you might not have this option due to class rules) No rear bar, no chassis braces, car is very fast and easy to drive. I do have more rear camber to match the front added camber to keep the tail tucked in high speed corners, car is incredible neutral in all conditions.

I rebuilt an expensive race sway bar to fit the the rear of the car, custom mounts, 5 way adjustable, teflon lined links and found I did not need it so never even installed.

Anyway, springs and shocks or coilovers if you can and add as much front camber and save your money by not buying braces that just slow you down by adding weight. Then see how the car works before messing with the sway bars.

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Stock class, bushings are out, sorry, perhaps just front sway bar bushings are OK, some classes only allow one sway bar change, front or rear, see how the car works before doing any changes in that area.

Stock springs might be required, stock shocks and springs are not sell sorted out so look into a shock that is better valved than stock.

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TIRES, they will make the biggest improvement, find out what others run by checking the forums.

Save as much weight as you can on wheels if you can go down to a 16 I would probably do so if you can get the right tire in that size, lightest wheels allowed and lightest tires, huge improvements in all aspects of performance will be gained.

 

[shankster]

Stock class, bushings are out, sorry, perhaps just front sway bar bushings are OK, some classes only allow one sway bar change, front or rear, see how the car works before doing any changes in that area.

Stock springs might be required, stock shocks and springs are not sell sorted out so look into a shock that is better valved than stock.

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TIRES, they will make the biggest improvement, find out what others run by checking the forums.

Save as much weight as you can on wheels if you can go down to a 16 I would probably do so if you can get the right tire in that size, lightest wheels allowed and lightest tires, huge improvements in all aspects of performance will be gained.

Yes, stock springs are required for SCCA H-Street. Any shocks/struts can be used as long as they don't change the ride height or any alignment setting. Wheels can be + or - 1" diameter from stock and for all the reasons you mention (including tire availability) 16" is the way to go. The wheel width must be the same as stock and the wheel offset must be within 7.00mm of the stock wheel. As I mentioned the hot tires to have are the Bridgestone RE71R or the BF Goodrich Rival S 1.5 - size is unlimited as long as they fit on the aforementioned wheels. You can change the swaybar at only one end of the car, not both. You can use whatever bushing or endlink you want with the one swaybar you elect to mess with. I believe you could just swap out endlinks and bushings on the front stock swaybar if you wanted. As the FiST doesn't have a rear swaybar you can elect to add one but you'd have to leave the front one stock in every way. That is basically all you can do with the suspension in HS. For alignment, only front toe is adjustable so you probably want slight toe-out. The other worthwhile mod is a cat back exhaust. I disagree on being too concerned about wheel weight. A few pounds per corner has been shown to make no difference whatsoever - with identical car and tires with a national champion doing the testing. Unless you like throwing away money a $100 18lb cast wheel works just fine. I'd definitely resist that flashy 25lb chrome wheel but that 12lb $500 forged Enkei is probably overkill unless you're nationally competitive and looking for thousandths of a second. After you've done what you can to the car good attention to detail helps (it's free!)- monitor tire pressures before each run, use a spray bottle to keep tire temps from getting too high and spray the intercooler right before a run. Remove all the weight you can from the car (spare tire, jack, floormats etc), run as low fuel as you dare, some will even run with an empty washer reservoir. You can make subtle improvements to center of gravity that should theoretically help - all windows down, back seats down etc. Last but not least - don't forget to turn traction control off - that's worth a second - ask me how I know

 

[RAAMaudio]

I have never ran anything close to stock for autocross, HPDE, Time Trial, rally, etc so my setup can be quite different than what works best following a stock class rule set and light wheels are a huge benefit for use outside autocross which I have done on and off since the early 70's. I have seen really wide tires on skinny wheels make the faster times but I would not want them for any other purpose where higher speeds are concerned. That said, autocross is great fun and I think everyone should do it at least once in awhile to sharpen your reflexes and make you a safer driver on the street or track. I had to go to HPDE and other track type events due to to many injuries and not able to function well chasing cones, etc...I loved to be the MC though and even more the starter but it was painful to stand that long.

THe problem with HPDE and the higher levels of track events is $$$$ which I have spent far to much on and can no longer afford it since retired 5 years ago and had an eye injury as well

I have never been to nationals but have beaten quite a few champs over the years but had my butt handed to me as well at times

 

[RAAMaudio]

I had to drop the subframe just to install solid steering rack bushings and marked everything very carefully but still ended up needing a $200 race level alignment done just for the subframe as I am quite used to doing my own race and street alignments but the subframe just was not something I could get right.

Since then I sold all my alignment tools, corner scales, etc....full time RVing and no place to use them but mostly just not going to do much motorsport activities now, if any and I can still do a very good job with just some string, jackstands and a level. If I still had all the tools and a good place to work I would of done the subframe alignment and full race setup, street setup, marked everything, kept a log, etc....

But, I setup the ST so I only had to change the dampers between street and track use and it turned out really well for both, just messed it up when I installed the rack bushings in AZ heat without all my tools.