Lions3

I got my 94 only 3 weeks ago. I'm mostly doing minor bolts on's for go fast, but my main concern is chassis and suspension mods to be competetive in Auto X.

I've been shopping and comparing for about..3 weeks and I need some help choosing the right components for my car. My plans are:

SLP Weld on SFC's
KYB AGX shocks
LCA's and relocation brackets

I'm not too familiar with the suspension setup on these cars yet, so I need some education on what components to get. I know you can get new chromoly K members, pan hard bars, bigger sway bars etc..

I need a winning competition without spending insane amounts of money for a finite performance improvement over the "next best mod".

Thanks!

Soma07

If you really want to be "competative" then stay away from SFC's of any kind. Even the two point variety knocks you up two classes into Street Modified where you need some pretty serious mods to be competative.

IMO just go out and run the car as is before you put down any money for mods. Unlike drag racing in auto-x the driver is by far the most important factor. Having a fast, expensive car means nothing in autocrossing. I've seen a Ford Escort station wagon run quicker times than a brand new Z06 Vette. Not that the vette guy was a bad driver but the guy in the Escort was just that much better.

You'll also quickly learn that tires are by far the most important "mod" you can do. No street tire even comes close to the grip you get from a race tire.

Lions3

What tire and wheel size should I run?

I remember reading an article in GMHTP where 16"'s were rated best for consistency and comfort, but bigger rims posted better, but inconsistant numbers.

Soma07

In stock classes you're restricted to the stock rim size (16x8) but you can run whatever tire size you can fit on it.

For tires most people run Kumho Victoracers or the Hoosier A3S03's. Neither are cheap nor are they well suited to street driving. That means you'll need a spare set of rims to run them on unless you like buying tires alot.

That said I would hold off on buying them until you get some experience. There's no sense in chewing up expensive rubber when you're just learning.

WOT

Yeah don't get the SFC's! I wish my car never came with them. I've done two autocrosses so far and have been doing my best to keep mods at a minimum but being that I'm already in SM it's kind of a drag.

auto-Xer

Heehee, stupid SFC... I just said the hell w/ it and jumped into Street Mod (SM). Now I can do anything I want to my car. I'd rather loose and have my car the way I want it (and not have my t-tops leak in the rain). But the front sway bar can be changed and so can shocks w/out changing your class. I'd go w/ a 32mm front bar and not sure about shocks for stock springs. But if you have about 30k or more miles on your car, consider changing them. I usually get about 3rd or 4th here in DC. The cars that beat me are usually people that compete on a National level, and win by seconds rather than by 10ths of seconds. I've been catching up though at an alarming rate Got Toyo RA-1s on now and my times dropped about 2-3 seconds on a 60 second course. The fastest thing we have here in F-Stock is a woman driving a 1LE (Karen Krause). But I think she would be fast in anything she drove actually. Her car seems like it was a Wednesday car... Stock w/ different CAI and CAt back did about a 13.7 in the 1/4 mile.

--Kevin

WOT

Any reason why you wouldn't go with a 35mm bar? I have 32/19 with my stock springs and am considering a 35mm front bar with a 19 or 21 in the rear.

lons94z

The subframes are out. If you are in a region where a serious SM comp. is from you will be beaten badly. F bodies can no longer keep up with SM.

So that leaves you ESP

What will make you faster is....
Wheels and tires.
I use 17x11 wheels with Kumho V700's. May be switching to Hoosier next year.
Good limited slip.
I and everyone else who want to be competitive uses the Torsen T2R. It is a high bias unit and way different from regular Torsens.
Shocks and springs.
I use Strano valved and shortened Bilsteins and Ground Control coil overs.

You would never notice LCA. If you had 315's and a T2R you would not need LCA lowering brackets and whatever you do DO NOT BUY the KYB shocks.
Search past posts on here and LS1.com You also need to know what class you want to be in.

auto-Xer

Everyone has their own opions on swaybar combos, but you really need to consider your spring rate/shocks as well when making your choice, as the swaybar helps to determine the load on the spings. Im more setup for roadracing actually. I have 32/21 swaybars and 650#/225# springs (the rear is different because of my coilovers, the spring is in a different location w/ a different geometry). I've had instructors drive my car (they compete at a national level) and they liked how my car was setup. But you need something that lends itself to your driving style. Some people like to rip their car around the track and make it do their bidding, while others are smooth and flowing w/ their driving style. But seem to be fast if your good at them. I would imagine that the smooth guys would have an advantage in less hp cars though.

--Kevin

lons94z

Sam Strano posts on here sometimes so he may see this. He was not only the National champ in ESP and Pro Solo champ in FS he is also an Evolution autocross school instructor.

And he will tell you ripping the car around will be slower. I dont see anything wrong with driving agressive. But there is a difference. You can be to smooth. I only know of one guy though who is. And if he reads this he will know I am talking about him. He drives in FS and is very good. Better than me for sure. I just wish he would push harder sometimes.

David_Dymaxion

I did 2 autocrosses with an Audi, and 7 with my Camaro. The Camaro is so much faster I had trouble keeping up with the car. I didn't even squeal the tires until my 3rd time out. I'm not completely incompetent, I took a couple of firsts in street tire, and usually rank ~25 to 50th percentile in overall pax'd results for my local club.

So anyway, I originally wanted to jump in and supercharge the car, now I'm glad I waited. It took several autocrosses just to "catch up with the car." I'd suggest run stock for a season, and then decide. The car is fast enough you'll definitely have fun! It is also fun to beat cars costing 2 to 5 times as much.

2002Z28SSConv

First thing to do is decide what class you want to run in. Check the rule book and be sure of what you are allowed to do to the car. If you're not very experienced, I recommend running in stock class if you can. Get an extra set of wheels and put street tires on them. That is the cheapest way to get started and get used to what the car can and can't do. After you feel like you are getting the absolute most out of the car and you're ready to move up to prepared class, get Hoosiers or Victoracers. Then if you feel like it add the springs and shocks. Maybe throw on a front sway bar too. Look in the rule book for what you're allowed to upgrade and pick & choose what you want to do next.

But most of all... Have fun!
I can't believe that all these guys get off on drag racing but don't like autocrossing. It's what I look forward to all month.

Sam Strano

I'll try and be brief....

F-stock is the easiest class to prep the car for, and it's a super competitive car there. I prefer F-Stock for a couple of reasons. It's cheaper, there is more competition to check you progress, and you can't blame the car because the mods are VERY limited. FWIW, a properly setup FS car drives about 140% better on the street than a truly stock car. The shocks and a front sway bar change are HUGE. I've run pretty much every front bar on the 4th gen. I do use a 35mm front bar, regardless of the car running FS or ESP, or SM.

ESP. Car can be competitive there, but be ready to spend $2k to do it. I also run cars there. (I won National Championships in both classes this year, FWIW). Fun cars, but easier to screw up, harder to learn driving.

SM. THis is where 2-point connectors will toss you. F-bodies are fast becoming no good here. Hard to run with a Supercharged M3 and all...... Car is still capable, but you can't make a Camaro smaller and more nimble. You can add power to cars that are.....

GET A RULEBOOK!!!!!!!!!!! The rules are clear (if you have a rulebook). And you don't want to get bumped classed unknowingly. Plus most of the common mods can't hope to make the car anywhere near quick enough to cover the class bump.

Just an FYI..... Karen Kraus' car is a 96 1LE (that makes sway bar choices different). Her car has gone as quick as 13.41 @ 106. However, it does NOT have a different intake on it. Only a drop in K&N filter and a Cat-back exhaust. BTW, it's also got about 250k miles on it too!!!!