i participated in my 2nd autox event today. id like to let you guys know and who ever searches for this that Tein SS dampers are not that great for autox. i bought them w/ no intentions of doing any sort of competion driving. they work great for daily driving, but understeer A LOT. the rears were stiffer than the front, tires higher in rear, and ST 19mm rear sway, azenis on a 91 integra. i know im an inexperience driver and need lots of improvement and seat time, but i think the crappy spring rates, 0 degrees of neg camber, and inexperienced driver cause my car to understeer into cones. mostly my driving IMO, but helped along by the dampers.

does anyone run these dampers, w/o revalving and higher rear rates, and still be competitive in STS???

 

I don't have any experience with your car. But, if I were you, next time, I would find a pro. Have him/her drive your car with you in it. Watch and pay attention and see what they do with your car. It is true your car may be set up wrong, however it may be best to learn how to drive with what you have and that will get you faster, instead of trying to "upgrade" your car. Once you get faster and to the limits of it's design, then start changing your car.

Congrats on participating in autox You will be a great driver in no time.

 

Nick,

Talk to Carl H (white rusty integra), or Rich W (black civic with teamslow.org on the side) on solo2.org or at the next event. Both know how to set up a FWD honda.

Even without major changes there are some tricks to get a honda to rotate and not understeer as much. Alignment helps, and you can visit some local autocross friendly shops that will help you out. Negative camber and toe out are your friends. post this over on http://www.solo2.org and I am sure rich and carl will chime in. They probably will here as well.

Overall I would learn how to drive first, then start making calculated modifications to the car. Whenever you change a part you want to know specifically what adverse condition you are trying to fix. Adding a swaybar just because everyone else has one does not cut it.

See if you can sign up for the instruction runs. AndyH, CarlH, Matt G. (the fast one), would all be helpfull to break bad habits and get you started on working on building a good skillset. I wasted a year doing the wrong thing so I had to break the bad habits and then learn the good habits. If you can avoid starting off wrong you can learn much faster.

Using the Tein you may be able to get different rate springs. If you can, balancing the car with the springs can be pretty easy.

The people at the events are pretty friendly. If you approach anyone they would be happy to help.

Matt G (with the black integra)


Modified by MattG at 9:18 PM 4/25/2004

 

thanx. i talked to carl and rich yesterday at event. richs civic is setup w/ 600f/800r GC and konis and comptech 22mm rear sway. and he looked like he was drifting.

i didnt ask about carls integra. although he was fast. i know hes got a rebuilt b18b.

how do i sign up for instuctional runs??? ill get on solo2.org

 

this is my thread
http://www.solo2.org/ubb/ultim....html

thanx for any help

 

i didnt ask about carls integra


koni's, carrera sleeves, 380f/450r springs, ST 25mm front 19mm rear anti-roll bars

 

it seems like stiffer rear springs are needed... but i cant do that now, i just need to drive more and learn to drive better

 

Ummmm,
Did anyone else notice he said tire pressures were higher in rear? I drive a 91 si and this is my first season with this car so I'm still trying to get the tire pressures dialed in. So far I like 42lbs in the front and 34lbs in the rear. from my experience more air pressore will make that end stick better until you reach a point where you have too much and the car will snap (break loose with little warning) on you. Depending on what tires and how much camber you have pressures will vary, but start with 42 front and 28 rear and watch the sidewalls to see how much they roll over and adjust from there.

Billy B.

 

wow

i went through the same exact thing a few weeks ago. i also got suckered into buying those crappy coilovers. first off, what car are we talking about here?

on my ek coupe i run the ss (448F/224R), comptech rear sway/tie bars, stock ex front sway, front strut bar, es master bushing kit, and azenis. pretty similar to your setup. yeah those spring rates are terrible, and you can only go to 336R w/o having the revavled. doing so is not even worth it. just sell the teins and put the stock suspension back on, or get something that is going to help you.

i was having terrible understeer with the front and rear shocks set at about halfway. after about 3 autox events trying different settings, and still plowing, i finally got it setup right. front shocks full soft, rear full stiff, comptech bar on the middle setting, tire pressures of 35F 29R. put the shocks like that and see. if it doesn't rotate take 2lbs out of the rear and go from there. you'll really have to play with the tire pressure, but don't touch the shocks.

now actually ... the car does what it's told pretty well. no understeer at all, neutral most of the time, but oversteers just enough when i get on it. i'm quite happy with it, and once i learn how to drive, i'll be selling those worthless teins and getting some yellows w/ ers springs.

 

well i didnt exactly get suckered into buying them. i had no plans for autox the car at time of purchase. i didnt even know where the nearest ones in my area were. i dont know how i discovered autox??? but i read plenty about them and people complaining about them performing like ***. but thats why they are called Super Street. and they do great IMO for my street driving. my first two years of college, starting june 30, i have my car on campus(us naval academy), so thats when i might get the rears revalved for higher rates. and maybe a larger rear sway as soon as i learn to drive.

but i thought, and read that higher pressures in the rear tires would induce over steer. but jwn7, ill try that shock setup sunday. i was running full stiff rear and like 5 clicks from full stiff in the front. and 30fr and 35rear in the azenis 195/60 14

i really appreciate all the help and ill keep up this thread and let you know how it goes on sunday.
and this is for my 91 integra

 

Heh, the drift part was hooliganism behind the wheel, not the car. If you noticed my last run I was driving like a ***** to make sure I put up a clean run.

Try reversing those pressures front and rear this Sunday, and come talk to us again if you want us to keep an eye on you when you run.

 

yeah, id definately come talk to you to watch me run. thanx. youve been really helpful, everyone

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nickgmiller04 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i was running full stiff rear and like 5 clicks from full stiff in the front. and 30fr and 35rear in the azenis 195/60 14</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah that's gonna give you serious understeer. start at 38F and 32R and reduce as needed. you'll probably end up around 35F and 28R give or take. full soft front, full stiff rear is for sure what you need. don't even mess with that, just adjust tire pressures.

when you finally get it to rotate it feels great. but this is unneccessary ... some real springs in the rear would be wonderful.

tein wants $75 a piece to have the shocks revalved + shipping to and from. so about $200 and then you'll have to buy the springs. not to mention the ~800 you've already spent. just sell them and get a functional cheaper suspension.

 

i dont know what im going to do. nothing anytime soon, thats for sure. GC+koni will cost me about 700 or so new, or 400 or so for revalve w/ springs, with the price you say, with an estimated price for springs. i just have to deal w/ what i got now and learn to drive. ill take your advice on the tire pressure.

 

nick-

i would say keep what you have and just get the rear's revalved. do you have your stock suspension to put in while the tein's are off getting revalved?

also what i've found in my experience running azenis below 30psi is that while they won't roll over they will heat up faster, which isn't what you want. i used to run as low as 29psi in the front, but have since then started running 34psi up front and 30 psi rear and that is basically the pressures that the tires stay at on their own assuming i dont spin