How to turn my s13 coupe into a track car? stick with coupe, or go hatch or s14?

[DJ_Sunrise]

Hey guys, im kinda stuck on this one.. what do y'all think is necassary to turn a coupe into an autox champ? ive done my 300z tt brake conversion front and rear, so i have the stopping power.. but what are the other necassary upgrades(besides SR), more specifically, which brands can i trust when it comes to suspension? there must be atleast a dozen different brands making TC rods and such.. sorry its such a generalized question.. makes me feal like a newb.. *sigh* :wavey: heres the other thing.. the coupe is what, 100lbs lighter in the back? so it has understeer... the HB is 50/50, so im wondering if i should keep my coupe, or go to a hatchback, or can i somehow compensate for the difference? or should i just try for an S14... uuughh.. this is bothering me so damn much.. i need to know what to do with my car! oh yea, and where can i find out more info on autox? :hs:

~Sunrise

[s0ldats]

keep what you have... hit up splparts.com for the necessary multilink parts.



SCCA.org for auto-x info.

[Maeda]

Corner weighting.

[wootwoot]

coupe is way more of a race car. move your battery to the back

[ThatGuy]

coupe is way more of a race car. move your battery to the back

How is the coupe more of a race car? Last time I checked mine didn't come with a cage, or better brakes. As far as I can tell both the Coupe and Fastback are "way more" of an economy, compact car. I understand the chassis "may" be more suited for racing, as it is more rigid then the FB, but neither is a race car. :rolleyes:

By the way, Sunrise, read up as much as you can on Auto-X. SCCA'a website has lot's of info for you. Google and Search are your friends. Good luck with your project. :hsdance:

[Andrew Bohan]

SR is not necessary, and fastback is not 50/50

but coupe can be a race car. not that hard to find out how to do it.

[wootwoot]

christ all mighty that guy! i said it is MORE of a race car. no need to go getting all technical and just looking to rip on blokes for christsake. its lighter, lower center of gravity, and a stiffer chassis. doesnt that make it MORE of a race car over the other now? quit looking for little kids to pick on!!:wtc:

[ThatGuy]

No






Message length :D

[Drift Style S14]

Hey guys, im kinda stuck on this one.. what do y'all think is necassary to turn a coupe into an autox champ? ive done my 300z tt brake conversion front and rear, so i have the stopping power.. but what are the other necassary upgrades(besides SR), more specifically, which brands can i trust when it comes to suspension? there must be atleast a dozen different brands making TC rods and such.. sorry its such a generalized question.. makes me feal like a newb.. *sigh* :wavey: heres the other thing.. the coupe is what, 100lbs lighter in the back? so it has understeer... the HB is 50/50, so im wondering if i should keep my coupe, or go to a hatchback, or can i somehow compensate for the difference? or should i just try for an S14... uuughh.. this is bothering me so damn much.. i need to know what to do with my car! oh yea, and where can i find out more info on autox? :hs:

~Sunrise

where the hell did you get your info? stick with teh coupe. i believe the coupes the lightest model of all the 240sx. lighter=better?

[mikespeed95]

coupe also is a little stiffer compared to the hatch.

you also need to figure out what class your goingto attack.

but honestly, no matter how good the car is, if you dont learn how to drive it your gonna get waxed at nationals and local events. start gettign seat time as much as you can, worry about the modifications later, learn your driving style and go from there.

[mrmephistopheles]

christ all mighty that guy! i said it is MORE of a race car.
Like a 4 door accord is more of a race car than an accord wagon. I'm hearin' ya.

[OptionZero]

Driver>Car.

[aznpoopy]

Driver>Car.

yah. just get it in good running condition and go to the track. worry later about mods and crap. read up on the rules for different classes to see what is and isn't allowed in whatever class you decide to run in. that way u'll know what mods (if any) you'd like to throw in the mix.

[sykikchimp]

I think you should go enter an auto-x event and see if you actually like it before commiting all this money to building an auto-x car. Lots of enginuity, and tuning go into competitive cars. And there are multiple classes that the 240 can run in depending on the class. Some much more expensive than others.

I agree Driver>Car

[uno]

The coupe will be fine. Just relocate the battery like mentioned, you have brakes, now get some good tires, then suspension. Forget the sr, you don't need it if you're going to auto-x and too it may not be legal if you swap it in. Also when you go crazy bracing stuff, it may put into a category you don't wanna be in. So get the rule book first, and then decide on what you want to modify.

[OptionZero]

tires, biatch

[Zen S14]

If you stay stock you can run Hoosiers on aftermarket rims and still be in the GS class. That might still not be good enough as Minicooper S with Hoosiers are also GS class. You will be far more competitive though. The brake upgrade might already put you in a higher class though.

If you do any more suspension mods you will end up in STS, which means no Hoosiers, and much tougher competition power wise. However, you will still be the underdog due to lack of power despite better suspension. WRX with suspension work are in STS also.

If you go SR you will be in SM which means totally trailered cars will be your competition as well. You will really be facing very tough competition since you will be running against many of the best drivers as well.


Bottom line. Keep the car stock, run Hoosiers and learn to drive better. Your car will exceed your skills pretty quickly if you start modding it but you will still not be the top dog car wise in autoX. I have an auto S14 and it is not competitive in GS because of tires. A set of Hoosiers can reduce 3-5 seconds off of a 45 sec track.

Oh yeah, autoX events are all about not having loose stuff. Therefore if you move the battery make sure it is bolted down tight.

[LanceS13]

If you've never done this before...forget Hoosiers...or any R compound tire for now. Decent street tires have a much shallower learning curve. Once you wear those out, you might be ready for R compounds.

If you haven't already, read the simplified rule set in the Motorsports forum.

[nlzmo400r]

it sounds like its your first tmie even trying an autoX, which is fine, everyone starts somewhere (best of luck btw), but Z brakes werente the smartest 'first' mod to your car, those automatically put u in SM class as off SCCA, which can be tough, because SM allows coilovers, brakes, R tires, and engine swaps. Choose a class, decide which one fits your skill (and budget) and do every modification that u see fit taht will help you gain an edge in 'that class'. First, its all about seat time, experience makes all the difference in the world, trust me

[LanceS13]

He can run STX with brakes. Still won't be competitive, but you have to run street tires in STX so it's a decent place to get seat time for a beginner.

[DJ_Sunrise]

thanks guys =). i was just worried about the Coupe being competitive vs. the HB. i know im sticking with the S chassis, but why have something good, when you can have something better :rawk: . thanks for the help everyone! btw, the 300z setup came on the car hehe.. so maybe ill sell it, make some cash.. = more track time.

~Sunrise

[OptionZero]

or...do what i did, forget trying to be competitive, just go out and DRIVE in whatever class, learn how to control a car. People don't come down on you for whatever class if you're not out to actually win anything and you're a total newb (myself).

I plan on getting some Azenis Sports and running STX, since I really don't wanna run a 7 inch rim and 225's (max allowed under STS i believe).

STX lets you do anything to brakes and run tires up to 255's if i recall correctly. I'm trying to (unsuccessfully) find some 16x8's to cram more tire.

Running on $35 used Falken Ziex's in back is no way to improve your time, i maxed out my car's limit during my 2nd autoX...very frustrating not being able to push any harder cuz ur too poor to find tires!!!

[FallbrookS13]

what does it take to turn ur car into a autox car? weird question. start autocrossing then figure it out. and yeah you dont need an sr20. ur KA is fine. get as fast as u can with ur KA then upgrade as u get better. u can be an auto cross champ on a stock car ... obviously good tires will help but learn the limits of ur car while its stock then upgrade as u improve your skill.

[JKim0901]

I have a coupe and a hatch cant seem to find the difference yet although the coupe does feel slightly stiffer, but im sure that minimal difference wont get me anywhere faster.....

Worry about stuff like this later on, its mostly driver when it comes to any kind of racing, a guy could have a coupe and i could have a hatch both cars with the same exact modifications, if the guy in the coupe knows how to drive then im sure he will just leave me in the dust.

[MakotoS13]

if you want to win at autoX your car needs a better driver. try fixing that problem first.

[MasterOFDrift]

"what does it take to make your car a autocross car?"

put a number on it and take it to the track!!!!

seriously run stock. novice the first few times. auto x is awesome you need skills more than you would need awesome mods at first.