Fiesta ST autocross accident

[PWRSRGE]

Questions for you guys The high for the day I autocrossed was 55°. So I didn’t have any temperature issues.

Popped the hood open in between runs and had the heater on the whole time. I was using both the front facing vents and the feet vents. Is it better to use all the vents or just the top ones? Which solution would get rid of heat the most?

 

[PWRSRGE]

Also, how much fuel are guys running with? 1/4 tank? 1/2 tank? I’m assuming anything in between quarter to half a tank is ok. And 1/8 or less can cause fuel cuts.

 

[hawyee]

No

The most I ever manage to fit in my mkv gti was 255. Anything more would’ve required wider fender or fender flares.

Mk7s and even mk8s are common in the class and can definitely fit 265s on a 9" with the right setup, not sure if it's actually better for them to max width though. And yeah when mine was stock I had to blast the heat for longer courses in hot weather but you should be ok without when it's cooler. I usually just use the top ones and close the middle with the outside vents angled out the window. As far as fuel goes if you want to pinch pounds probably a quarter tank but I was never too worried about it.

 

[RAAM]

I gave up on building a car to a class decades ago after winning a lot of events in the best car in class it got boring. All my cars since then were built to what I wanted them to be and then ran in whatever class I had to. It turned out for me that I liked this much better, especially when I would take 2nd, 3rd, 5th at a national level event in the wrong car and beat most of the right cars, far more satisfying

In the early days I had boxes of trophies and plaques and eventually donated them to be reused and never accepted another one.

Rick

(Civic needs all the tire love it can get, helps it feel better because so dang ugly

 

[M-Sport fan]

Even with their superior tire/wheel width and power, aren't the Civics significantly more portly than our rides?

 

[PWRSRGE]

Mk7s and even mk8s are common in the class and can definitely fit 265s on a 9" with the right setup, not sure if it's actually better for them to max width though. And yeah when mine was stock I had to blast the heat for longer courses in hot weather but you should be ok without when it's cooler. I usually just use the top ones and close the middle with the outside vents angled out the window. As far as fuel goes if you want to pinch pounds probably a quarter tank but I was never too worried about it.

That’s crazy. Must be nice running 265’s. Are they running stock fenders?

Thanks for the other advice

 

[PWRSRGE]

I gave up on building a car to a class decades ago after winning a lot of events in the best car in class it got boring. All my cars since then were built to what I wanted them to be and then ran in whatever class I had to. It turned out for me that I liked this much better, especially when I would take 2nd, 3rd, 5th at a national level event in the wrong car and beat most of the right cars, far more satisfying

In the early days I had boxes of trophies and plaques and eventually donated them to be reused and never accepted another one.

Rick

(Civic needs all the tire love it can get, helps it feel better because so dang ugly

That’s how feel now. It got old doing big builds. So I just want to be on street classes with the minimum mods possible.

 

[PWRSRGE]

Even with their superior tire/wheel width and power, aren't the Civics significantly more portly than our rides?

The car looked solid while it was running.

 

[tri-pedaler]

Well, it finally happened - I had a big two-wheeling incident in AutoX. Grissom aeroplex, so very grippy concrete. New-to-me RE71RSs on 16s. First run on them, had a tank slapper in a chicane as the tires were warming - nothing unusual, and I don't mind getting the rear out in this car. When it swung back the other way the driver's-side tires hooked up, and up it went.

I was able to ride it out (those years of two-wheeling a four-wheeler in high school paying off? Or just lucky) on two wheels.

The passenger side came down hard. Shrugged in shock to the corner workers, and then completed the run w/o red flags.

I'm not sure of the takeaways to be honest. I'm running Koni yellows full stiff, no rear bar, and have 4 years of experience in this car. It felt like a fluke, but a sobering one at that.

This is a forum, so we'll all have our advice or theories - that's ok. And I had a great rest of the day driving (including fun rain runs!). I wouldn't dissuade anyone from running this car, but I do wish I could get the roll center down a pinch.

As MG's motto as it - Safety Fast!

Pic of AI slop of my car on the corner. Like the longitudinal trans and inboard rear springs? :-O

 

[Intuit]

I know that's an AI generated image, but did you really get up that far?
If so, looks like you got them beat. Congrats?

 

[HAHAFiST]

My only thoughts are maybe full stiff on the susp isn't the way. you need more pliability especially when going 10/10 on a flat surface. Just a guess though.

 

[tri-pedaler]

My only thoughts are maybe full stiff on the susp isn't the way. you need more pliability especially when going 10/10 on a flat surface. Just a guess though.

It’s for rebound, not compression. But who knows…

 

[madhatter]

whoa. that ai image didn't even get the oil pan right lol. glad you're ok. hate seeing this thread bumped.

 

[Dialcaliper]

It’s for rebound, not compression. But who knows…

Especially on a rough surface, cranking up rebound without adding compression will cause your outside wheels to “jack down” or basically suck down onto the bumpstops until you’ve got no suspension travel left. Not saying that’s the cause of the incident, but probably didn’t help.

One big problem with Konis is that everyone somehow thinks that “full stiff” is like turning them up to eleven and somehow better than finding the proper tuning to match your spring rate, which is the least amount of damping that will keep the spring and the car body from oscillating on settling into a turn or on recovery after a bump.

I always recommend with Konis to start at full soft and dial in just enough until the car feels stable and confident. Any more than that and you’re just making the ride stiffer and more uncomfortable without making the car faster

 

[SteveS]

Especially on a rough surface, cranking up rebound without adding compression will cause your outside wheels to “jack down” or basically suck down onto the bumpstops until you’ve got no suspension travel left. Not saying that’s the cause of the incident, but probably didn’t help.

Autocrossers apparently do this on purpose nowadays. At least Miata owners do. It's discussed all the time on the Miata forum.

 

[tri-pedaler]

For sure. Without a proper test and tune, it’s a crapes shoot. Working with a skid pad to see where it breaks traction (front v rear or neutral) would help. Then slalom work to see how it transitions.

That would be great for a nationals prepped car. For me, running about six autocrosses a year, it’s simply not in the cards to get this sort of tuning in. Perhaps someday.

 

[tri-pedaler]

Especially on a rough surface, cranking up rebound without adding compression will cause your outside wheels to “jack down” or basically suck down onto the bumpstops until you’ve got no suspension travel left. Not saying that’s the cause of the incident, but probably didn’t help.

One big problem with Konis is that everyone somehow thinks that “full stiff” is like turning them up to eleven and somehow better than finding the proper tuning to match your spring rate, which is the least amount of damping that will keep the spring and the car body from oscillating on settling into a turn or on recovery after a bump.

I always recommend with Konis to start at full soft and dial in just enough until the car feels stable and confident. Any more than that and you’re just making the ride stiffer and more uncomfortable without making the car faster

I will say that the konis have been great since I daily this car and have to handle expansion joints and the porpoising that you and I have talked about @Dialcaliper . But adjusting the rears is a pain and generally only gets done a few times a season. So that affects the ability to test in tune. The fronts are much easier and I would like to experiment around with those - but again, I only get so much time on course, and adjusting tire pressures is much simpler

Last thing, it does seem that the compression on the konis is considerably softer than OEM. Overall, it feels like the car was better for autocross stock, but it’s become a much much better daily driver with konis. I suppose I could get them revalved somewhere to get some of that turning back.

 

[madhatter]

it has always been my opinion that the OEM dampers on this car are stiffer than the springs. I've enjoyed the handling. my wife won't ride in the car because she hates the ride so much. Oh well. Its my car