Okay im thinkin ditch my currnt setup of 18" 35 series wheels and trd drop, and exaust. and go to ultra lightweight 17' centerlinre RPMs they make Volk's look like a joke. the RPMs are stronger and way lighter, ultra sticky R compound 40 series should give a much ,much better ride and the full hotchkis setup with the TRD struts. It should autocoss quite well, no winner but it should spoil someones day losing to a Econo Box, be quite a bit faster due to the tires and exaust. I dont care what people say the stock exaust gives quite a bit more low end acceleration, that exaust bypass valve must work .

 

autocrosses have different classes.

with those mods youll be in SMOD or a street prepared class. So be prepared to be up against far more prepared cars if you go that way. Depends on your local region what sort of competition there will be.

Personally I would go with some 15 or 16 inch wheels just to save money. Spending a grand or more on wheels, then another 600-800 on race tires to have a non competitive car would be kind of ridiculous.

Im autocrossing mine with 205 kumho victoracers on the stock steel wheels.

 

If you use street tires you can get into the STS class.... it is a tough class but a blast to run in..... :D

 

Careful – sticky tires + high center of gravity can = roll over.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'll be surprised if they allow you to autocross an xB. I'd think that whoever is running the even might think it's too much of a rollover risk. Just my two cents.

If you do go, get pictures! :wink:

 

I've seen a guy autocross a pick up truck..... anyways with a drop and sways I believe he would have a hard time rolling it over....

 

I have been involved with auto x for 10 years. my two cents on the xb... with the power to weight ratio, r- compound tires, adj koni shocks , the car would perform well in its stock class. The factory susp. tuning and geometry is good. The xb would be more fun in sts. ground controls on koni sport adj shock, you will need adj sway bars, the intake, exhaust, and strut bar will also be legal. an agressive alignment and the lightest 14 or 15 inch wheels and falken azenis tires . Thats the set up!!!! on a street compund tire the roll over risk is minimal. r compound tires and an improper suspension can leed to problems though. The above is just my opinion, Its how I would spend my money to auto x the xb and be competetive(sp) . oh yeah, they let me run a full size van once with 6 guys in it, they will let you run an xb.

 

swaybars can make rollerover risk higher. Notice how many stiff swaybar equipped cars will lift a wheel off the ground in a corner.

swaybars increase weight transfer (a bad thing for performance by the way)

before you flip out and ask "WELL WHY DO PEOPLE USE SWAYBARS THEN!?"

The answer is: Because the reduction in body roll and camber change is worth it, and because springs stiff enough to resist roll adequately would be too stiff to deal with road irregularities.

 

yep, car should do decently in HSTOCK.

(the the rear suspension geometry is the opposite of good)

 

Actually to put that more in depth having a front sway bar is worse for autocross.....in most cases anyone that does alot of road racing (i prefer this to autocrossing) they will either take the front sway bar off completely or stick with the stock front sway bar and go to a beefier rear......this will keep you from over loading your suspension to much and not worrying about rolling the car over

 

The lifting on cars with big bars is not always the effect of the bars, but more often the geometry of that particular car...(vw, neon,nisan ,tercel etc...) and how it reacts to having the amount of suspension travel reduced. cars with big bars and proper shock damper do not have this problem. cars with big bars and improper shock valving do have this problem. also, the lifting of rear inside tire is not the same rolling motion that puts one on its roof. The only way big bars are to increase a risk of roll over is if ther is sufficient mechanical grip in the contact patch to allow the car to transfer 100% of its rolling energy from one side to the other. Have not found tires that good yet , but sure would like to....

 

hmmm, good point, I suppose the standing wave you can build up in a rolling suspension would be the biggest threat, not a slight increase in weight transfer.

 

I think , and would you agree that the biggest threat would be a large transfer of energy from one side to the other that was not well controlled? btw, what kind of car do you race? how many scion guys are getting into auto x? I cant wait to see someone race a box that rocks!!!!!!! wrote that then noticed the xa part, my bad , great shocks though!!!!! how are the trd pieces working? here , I just found this..... This is the typ of transfer Im thinking.... This is a friend of mine , his susp. is stock, except for lowering springs, he is on Hoosier auto x tires, you can see how the car almost "snapped" onto its roof... go to eric16v.baked.net/ then videos, then roll-n .

 

I have been autocrossing for 2 years, Ive autocrossed a modified WRX, an M5 (briefly) and a Z06 for a full year.

Haven't autocrossed the XA yet, plan to March 7.

Not putting too much development into it, I am building an Ultima for racing.

But the TRD springs with Konis shocks feel pretty darn good. The rear of the car feels noticeaby less retarded, and there is way more grip. Im still on the stock tires too. Will be interesting to see how it feels on the race tires in a couple weeks. Might get the hotchkiss swaybar set, as body roll is still more than Id like, and I don't want stiffer springs.

A Z06 will spoil you like that though!

 

just watched that video, yeah when he goes from a hard left immediately to a hard right he snaps right over. Im going to have to watch for that when I autocross. Hopefully the lower height from the TRD springs will help. I'll also be using spacers to increase the track a wee bit.

 

well , you already have a better susp. set up... his set up could not handle the amount of mechanical grip that the hoosiers had..... love the z06. the m5 was a handful?

 

the m5 was pretty remarkable considerinng it was a 4000lbs car. Definitely had some issues, like non adjustable front camber. (Set to 0 from the factor)

The z06 is just perfect in every way, except that I couldn't afford to autocross and daily drive it all the time

 

yeah , heard that .... my first autox car was a 1972 bmw . 2002 tii with bogey turbo gas , and korman front bar.. fun car, would never ever turn... ever!

 

Check this out:

http://www.houscca.com/solo2/results03/03REG03P.html

18th out of over 200 drives using an ASTOCK pax in the M5

I was on used hoosier road race tires, otherwise stock.

not bad for a massive heavy family sedan!

 

Ive converted to spec miata racing, now i run the spec car in dsp , I also run a 94 miata r in c stock, not competetive yet though.

 

yep, miata is a nice sane way to race. cheap, properly built, fun.

unfortunately I don't really fit in one as a daily driver. Im sure I could manage to fit with a lower race seat and such.

But, since I am single and young, my roomate and I decided this was the time to go nuts and built an ultima kit car =)