Just did my first autocross today, and it was a blast. I am very, very pleased with my times. They put me in a class with modified EVOs and STIs simply because I have sway bars. My buddy who also has a G37 sedan came along. He has no sways and was placed in another class; didn't seem right to me.

EDIT: Turns out they put me in the wrong class; was placed in correct class on next autocross.

Anyway, I did HPDE at a local track earlier this year and had painful understeer, so I upgrade to good summer tires and Hotchkis sways (front at stiffest and rear at middle setting). The car drove TONS better this time around. However, I still have a bit more understeer than I'd like- only noticeable on long/wide high speed turns. Should I adjust the rear to the stiffest setting to give it a bit more oversteer- hopefully balancing out the understeer, or should I just loosen the front and keep the back the same?

Opinions please!

 

Bump for sedan X hotchkis sway bar settings

 

Didn't get any replies, but still want to share results in case it helps someone.

I adjusted the rear sway bar to the tightest setting and it does make a noticeable difference. On the autocross course, it felt like there was near zero front push/understeer; it felt nicely balanced. This could be because this course's long sweeper was lower speed as compared to the previous month's course, or it could be the tighter sway bar helping. In city driving, the tightest setting is not to my liking. I love pushing it full throttle mid turn which never causes the rear end to kick out thanks to AWD, but with the tightest rear setting, the rear end feels light and does kick out a bit - it could get dangerous if I'm not careful. I plan to go back to the middle setting for daily driving and just adjust it for autoX.

As for how a 3800 lbs car performs on a tight track- very, very well with sways. Last month (my first time to autox), I got 4th of 30 in PAX and true time for novice class. This weekend I got first in both PAX and true time! The announcer even made a comment about doing so well in such a heavy car. Unfortunately, this means no more novice class for me.

Lastly, any advice for class options? Since I have sway bars front and rear, I am in STX class and my times place me in the middle of the pack- the BRZs run the class. If I were to remove one sway bar (the front would be the best to remove), then I could run in FS where I would have placed 2nd and 1st the last two events. To make the decision harder, I just got my swift springs in the mail, so if I install them, then I have to stay at STX.
What do yall think? Keep the front bar, install the springs and don't worry about competing in STX class, or remove the front bar to fit the F Stock class and beat GTs and SSs with a Japanese sedan?

 

Goodto know i actually bought the hotchkis las week and am still waiting on delivery. So whats the best setup on the sways for daily driving? Also you should install the springs man im actually going to buy springs from a member on here in the near future. Itll make the car look amazing and the challenge is way more fun

 

Dunno man, it sounds like you already doing well the sways but why not try to improve? The only thing is like you mentioned, the more you mod the more your class changes. I just did a track day and didn't notice the understeer you mention in long turns, but my car is RWD and dropped so maybe that's why.

 

For daily driving, I prefer tightest in the front and middle in the back; seems that's what many of the Xs are doing. I may get used to the tightest on the rear and decide to keep it that way though. Awesome on the springs man. Which ones did you get? I'll get mine installed next week, so hopefully it'll both help with autox performance as well as looking better; us AWDs have some serious wheel gap up front.


Thanks man. I'm just going to stay at the 'modified' level and see how it plays out. I never intended on even being competitive to begin with, so I shouldn't over think it; it's just for fun. I bet the RWD has a lot to do with the lack of understeer. You have the ability to use the throttle to help you get around a corner.

How did your tires hold up on the track? Did you have any problems going into limp mode? The one track day I did ruined my tires (they were near the end of their life though), and I think the car went into limp mode -it seemed to stop letting me get into high RPMs. Plus, the car sputtered and died a couple times when I was trying to make one last run. I'm a bit worried about doing that again.

 

I have Michelin PSS and they held up wonderfully. I never went into limp mode (what oil did you run?) either. The only problem I had was boiling the clutch fluid but a quick swap in the pits and I was back in business. With that said, I don't plan on tracking the car too much more (maybe 2 events a year) because I plan on buying a miata soon to fill that void.