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Post your autocross setups

12K views 27 replies 10 participants last post by  BA5 
#1 ·
So autocross season here starts up this week. I have just come back into work and will be trying to dial in my suspension this season. I want to know what y'all are running and how you like it and what you'd like to change. I know it will be different for each driver since no one drives the same. Btw I have a 5th gen.

My current setup is koni ground controls 450f 500r. And I will be installing my complete energy suspension in the near future hopefully. I have taken her out to autocross before and the ass end is way to happy in the Slalom, but under wide turns sometimes it will have slight under steer but sometime some oversteer, depending on how I'm taking the turn. Oversteer too hot in the entrance. Under steer ifi push too hard in the turn.

So feel free to post your setups and make suggestions I might like.
 
#3 ·
you have oversteer because your rear spring rate is higher than the front, and the rear of the car is pretty light due to our terrible weight distribution. Switch the springs front to rear and it will feel more balanced. You can also soften up the rear shocks which will help the rear end stay a little more settled. Everything else sounds like you need to adjust your driving style to better fit the car's characteristics

My setup:
H&R race springs (400f/350r)
KYB AGX
stock swaybars
17x7.5 DRAG wheels with 235/40/17 Toyo R888's
 
#4 ·
On street tires I would (personally) aim for something like a 600-800lb front spring depending on how aggressive you want it. 500lb in the back is probably ok, you could definitely raise it though.

On sticky tires you would probably want something more like 800-1000lbs in the front on a stock weight car.

Anyway, messing with suspension can make for a loose car, have fun with it. Better than it being boring to drive.....



Just mild speculation, though, don't really autocross the Prelude.
 
#5 ·
see thats what i was thinking of the front spring rates, but there was a local guy around here who autocrossed his lude and said 450 500 or 450 550. his name on here was 00mugenlude i think, his name was jeff. he doesnt race his lude anymore tho just his s2k. i guess it was a good starting point as far as spring rates. now i've seen people say their lude understeered stock and some that say it oversteered stock. my oversteered. im asuming that just driving style right there or some people just not knowing correctly.

i've seen people say that 400 and 500s werent streetable, but i think it rides beautifully on those rates so ill probably up it to somewhere in the vasinity of 6-700f and 5-550r.

as for tires im planing on keeping them street, but the stickiest street tires i can find. Im leaning towards the dunlop z1 star specs, but nothings final yet. if i did go race, you already know it would be hoosiers, but that day is a whiles away.

besides that i know i need more experience and to become a better driver. i had a 5 second improvement over my last 5 runs tho. was pretty happy with that.
 
#10 ·
see thats what i was thinking of the front spring rates, but there was a local guy around here who autocrossed his lude and said 450 500 or 450 550. his name on here was 00mugenlude i think, his name was jeff. he doesnt race his lude anymore tho just his s2k. i guess it was a good starting point as far as spring rates. now i've seen people say their lude understeered stock and some that say it oversteered stock. my oversteered. im asuming that just driving style right there or some people just not knowing correctly.

i've seen people say that 400 and 500s werent streetable, but i think it rides beautifully on those rates so ill probably up it to somewhere in the vasinity of 6-700f and 5-550r.

as for tires im planing on keeping them street, but the stickiest street tires i can find. Im leaning towards the dunlop z1 star specs, but nothings final yet. if i did go race, you already know it would be hoosiers, but that day is a whiles away.

besides that i know i need more experience and to become a better driver. i had a 5 second improvement over my last 5 runs tho. was pretty happy with that.
Have we met?

I was running 450/450 on OTS koni/GC and the car was great, although with a little snap oversteer on cold tires. I was, however, on race rubber and that can change a number of things.

I'd have to know more about the car and your driving style to really give you any productive advice, but the Prelude makes for a fun autocrosser with a little tweaking.

I have the GPW s2k that I'm running now. I installed Motons over the winter break and I hope to get them dialed in sooner than later. I learned a lot at a recent event but Pungo doesn't give me much opportunity to get a feel for the car.

I'll be out there on the 6th, look me up.

Wow, I don't think I've posted here in a few years. haha
 
#8 ·
I'm anxious to see how I do this year. I do it more for fun than to be competitive.

225/45R17 Nitto NT01's
17x8 +38 Evo wheels
Function/Form Type 1 coilovers with a fair preload
Progress rear sway bar with adjustable endlinks
Front strut tower bar
Poly sway bar mounts up front

I want to get stiffer springs in the near future, something in the 7-800F and 600R range.
 
#12 ·
450 certainly isn't the stiffest you can go, but I ran on 400 lb/in for years and it was great. I thought it was pretty good for a street tired car. I wound up doubling my spring rates when I went to r-compounds, though.

Although I do have an older car, I also run softer in the rear. I've rarely (if ever?) heard of someone who knows what they're doing running a significantly higher rear rate in a prelude like the civics do. My theory as to why is that the prelude has a longer wheel base than the civics.
 
#13 ·
I run my 87 DX in the SMF class. Runnin CRX coilover sleeves up front w/450lb springs, stock springs out back w/1.25 coils cut from the top. Stock shocks. 14" 195/60 Sumitomos for tires. The reason I'm in SMF is because of the Delta cam n Bisi adj cam gear. I can actually hang, timewise, w/higher hp cars only due to the handling. Setup right now is pretty balanced, especially in slaloms, leaning toward slight oversteer...
 
#15 ·
You wont be competative until you get some seat time anyways, just go out and have some fun. Don't worry about your times, just get some experience
 
#19 ·
Yeah, I am pleased with it. Although it is a little big for the car. I have to have my head in the sunroof lol.

Didn't do as well as I had hoped on Sunday, but I definitely learned a lot. I have to get used to driving with an LSD; it understeers A LOT when I'm on the throttle haha.

Does anyone know about the STF class? Preludes aren't in any of the Street Touring classes, but based on the other cars/allowable mods, it seems like it would fit in. It's weird how slow of a class it is...
 
#20 ·
I don't know of the preludes being classed competitively in any of the new ST classes. I chased ST for years but the car is too heavy to compete against the much lighter civics, even though it has better driving dynamics. In the new classes I believe the older preludes are still against the civics (although I have often considered that the 2nd gen might be competitive against them) and the newer ones are in whatever STX became and are facing against WRX's and the like.
 
#24 ·
As far as STF goes, the Preludes would be in STF...I thought about running STF myself with my 2g. IIRC no R-compound tires to worry about...but then Id have to put a stock cam back in it, with or without the adjustable cam gear...
 
#26 · (Edited)
I run (ran?) a DSP car. I'm in the process of changing from autocross to Time Trials and Hill Climbs, but I believe in the SCCA they run the same classes (since it all falls under the solo umbrella).

DSP 1989 Honda Prelude 2.0 SI 4ws - #18

Rebuilt B20A5
Cam Gears - +4/-4
Port matched - intake and exhaust
Pacesetter header
High flow cat
chopped exhaust w/ glass pack
Redline oil and MTF

Ground Control Adj. Spring Perches
800f/600r
No front swaybar/Modified OEM rear
Koni reds (in desperate need of revalving!)
Orijin Motorsports UCA bushings
New OEM radius rod bushings
Cusco f/r STB
Alignment -
- Camber 3.5 deg front/ 2 deg rear
- Caster - 4 deg front
- Toe - zero all

15x8 +25 Konig wheels
225/45/15 Hankook Ventus Z214 (C71 compound)
Extended lug studs
Skunk 2 lug nuts

Hawk HP+ brake pads

Kirkey intermediate racing seat
No radio
No A/C
 
#27 ·
ba5, how competitive were you? I went to spectate an auto-x today. just curious as to how deep I should dive into my car. it will still be a DD. planing to start next season as there is only 1 event left here.
 
#28 ·
Nationally, not so much. I still think it could be decent in the ST* category, but I'm not so sure about DSP. You're up against 3 series BMW's and Acura ITR's. The car has a weight advantage, but also a pretty big power disadvantage.

Locally, however, the car can be butt-stompingly fast. It's very easy to drive and a lot of fun to boot. Basically, so long as you're not racing against someone with the 'setup to have' the prelude is plenty competitive.
 
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