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I would like to hear what you guys have as your auto-x suspension set up. I'm looking for faster times but it sucks when my friend's bone stock Prelude is kicking my *** .

My current set-up:

Megan Racing Street Series Coilover
Neuspeed Front Strut/Tower Bar
Rear Strut/Tower Bar
SPC Rear Camber Kit
DC Sports Tie Bar
Stock Rear Sway Bar (Would upgrading to DC5 22mm make alot of difference?)
205/50/15 Falken Azenis RT615 Tires

What else would you guys suggest to upgrade my set-up?
Also need some things to get me more lower-end power!

 
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I don't AutoX but the rear sway would get rid of some understeer for sure. Might want to try that since it's such an inexpensive mod.

 
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I'm not a suspension expert but our cars tend to understeer alot when you push it. I'd soften up the front and stiffen up the rear. Yes the rear sway should help make the car feel more neutral and even provoke some oversteer. PM Zyzzx i think his name is or Boilermaker or Robbclark. These guys do alot of auto x and can give you the advice you need. Also alot of Auto x just rely on tires alone apart from suspension. Start out with some good tires and go from there.

 
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well, you have to ask yourself, how much seat time does your friend have compared to you.

just attend more events and get better at driving your car before you go modding it. throwing on more parts onto your car does not guarantee you anything, and may even cover up some flaws you have.

also, adding additional parts to your car bumps you up in class, possibly making you less competetive.

 
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Driving skills play a HUUUGE factor on autox/road racing/any kind of racing. Switch cars with your buddy and see if he beats you...if so, then you know you just need a little more practice.

 
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Don't mod any thing else. The only thing you need is Seat time seat time and more seat time. Suspension tuning will not make up for improper driving in a competitive environment.


Other wise... I'd start out with fine tuning what you've got rather then buying more stuff.. So... #1 Priority would be your alignment. So what is it set to and has it been optimized. #2 would be your dampers, Have you spent any time tuning with them?

after thats been done, and you've got more seat time both to evaluate the new tuning as well as improve your own driving. Then it would be time to re-evaluate what else may need tuning.


So start there, and happy tuning.

 
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I have had been to maybe 4-5 events, whereas it was my buddies first time going out . Also, I switched cars with a friend and have gotten faster times (Prepped Integra).

I am for sure my alignment pays a huge part in this, since I haven't gotten my alignment done ever since I got my car + dropped. You guys are right about understeer though. I find that the car is hard to keep going in the direction I'm pointing at at a high-speed sweeper. Zzyzx, what alignment settings would you recommend?

 
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as much negative camber as you can get up front and still maintaining 0 toe

-.75ish camber rear, 0 toe

 
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^more or less.

For a dedicated autocrosser/open track alignment on this car... I'd be looking to run at least -2.5 deg camber if not more towards -3. For something more friendly towards tires and daily driving, then aim for -1.5 to -2.

Toe adjustment will be used more for fine tuning. Toe out on the nose will make the car more responsive to initiating turns. where toe in will resist initiating turns. Toe out on the rear will create more oversteer while in the turn, where as Toe in on the rear will make the car a bit more stable. So tune accordingly. though starting out at or near 0 toe front & rear wouldn't be a bad Idea.


BTW, How low do you have the car dropped? as the suspension on this car doesn't react well to much more then an 1 to 1.5 inch drop.

 
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I am probably lowered about 2.5 inches

Someone I autox with suggested:
-2.7 degrees camber and 1/8" toe out at the front
-0.5 degrees camber and 0 toe at the back

It is his settings on his dd/track RSX-S.
What do you guys think?

 
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well trying to go after a prelude can be kinda tricky especially the last gen I know cause I have a 99' prelude and 2003 civic and there is a big difference in the two cars. First Honda did not design the civic as a performance car. where the prelude was basically designed as a track car with blinkers a horn and a nice interior. It has a limited slip in it that is going to get your friend a lot more traction than you. A wider wheel base, stiffer chassis, better suspension. and it's just plain faster.

The best thing you can do like everyone else is saying is practice get one of the instructors to ride along with you and give you tips.

But If you want some help on getting a base set up for autox I would raise the front so you have a 1.8" drop and a 2" drop in the rear this will help with your brake bias. The stock rear sway bar is about the size of a coat hanger so If you do upgrade to a bigger bar you will lose a lot of body role which will help gain a little bit of speed. Maybe try putting in an ignalls engine dampner or energy suspension motor mounts it will help you get a little more power down to the ground. You could also try some headers to help shift the power band down to the lower end.

But if you really want to go faster just more practice and play around with the tire pressure till you can find a nice setting. You can pick up a second or two just with tire pressure.

 
Rep Power: 380

THat setup looks pretty much like what I'm running.

for your ride height... 2.5" drop is definitely hampering your cars handling.

Your Tuning Schedule should look like this.

1. Raise the car up an inch and get a proper alignment.
2. Run the car in competition
again to re-asses how it handles and to improve your driving more.
3. after reassessing the car, it would be time to experiment with tuning your dampers. Soft = Grip... tune accordingly.
4. Once the car is more finely tuned with your alignment and Damper settings then its time to start looking at tweaking the cars roll couple distribution by messing with your anti-roll bars. Once again, Soft = Grip. I personally run a 15.9mm front bar and a Hotchkis 25.4mm rear bar. If I were running stiffer springs on the front I wouldn't be running a front bar at all.
5. After messing with your anti-roll bars its time to reassess the car...again. You may need to re-tune your alignment as well as damper settings at this point.


basically you tweak one or two things and then drive the car... then tweak one or two things and drive the car some more... Suspension tuning is best done methodically and slowly.

Happy tuning.

 
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Thanks for your tips Zzyzx!
So to counter my understeering problem, I should set the front shocks to alot softer and more harder in the back to help the back swing a little?

 
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More or less. you are basically slowing the weight transfer process on the nose and speeding it up on the rear.

 
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what alignment setting do you recommend for autox but not enough to produce lots of tire wear?

 
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i just got a rear 19mm sway a week ago and my car feels like its on rails around turns lol

f-ing love it! i now have the 19mm sway/tein springs/koni shocks/front and rear strut bars/ and lower tie-bar (also have "the stiffy" damper which is fun for driving around and helps lower end for sure)

 
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I have virtually the same exact set up man.. and what they say is true. Seat time.. can handle what i got... Ive been driving on it for about 2 years learning the set up.. Now im getting ready to actually tune my suspension, getting the car corner balanced and an aggressive tune thats still semi street worthy. it takes time and practice.. So when you can just go out and do it.

 
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You can easily run -2 degrees up front with little camber wear if you have camber plates.

I would run as much negative camber up front as possible. If you want to save tires, then 0 toe, if not then 1/8th toe out.

The rear keep between -.5 and -.8 camber, 0 toe (or 1/16th toe out).

Something along those lines.

 
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Thanks, I'll try those settings out when I get around to doing my alignment
I got my 22mm DC5 Rear Sway installed today, I regret for not getting this earlier. I love it!