So I'm thinking about doing Autocross next year...

[BoredRec]

So now I need to improve my suspension. Already semi-started. Ordered up some Falken Azena's and some Prelude upper control arms so I can fix the camber. Already have some R1 13lbs rims. Next step is bracing the car. I wanna brace the front and rear strut tower's, and also brace the lower control arms. A friend of mine said he got a Cusco bar for his EG hatch, but I doubt they make them for ours. Also have plans for getting some Ground Control coil-overs with some Koni shocks. What about the tranny? Would getting something like the Phantom Grip benefit in autocross? Does anyone else have any suggestions? I have realized my car will never be fast in the 1/4 mile, so I want to focus on something a little more realistic.

[86AccordLxi]

DC sports at one time made a strut bar for the 3g, but they're very hard to find now (i found mine on ebay for $35 ). There was a thread discussing the bracing of the lower arms and i think it was decided that it wasn't worth looking into because the 3g doesn't have problems there (see Jim for further info). In regards to the phantom grip, my understanding is that with a system like that, you'll tear up the diff inside of 20-30k miles. could be wrong though. GC and Konis sounds great, though good luck finding the konis as they're out of production. Good luck though!!!

Alex

[BoredRec]

If I can't find Koni's, what's the next best available option? And for going Autocross, is it a good idea to upgrade the brakes...i.e. cross-drilled rotors, rear disk conversion?

[86AccordLxi]

You'd probably be ok just putting in better fluid and better pads (I'm def. not the authority on this, but that would be my suggestion). If you can't find Konis, revalving Bilsteins would be your best bet, though I think that's more expensive. At least try and get the front Konis and you can probably get away with using rear Tokico struts (I"m running these at all 4 corners and there's a little bounce in the front but the back seems fine).

Alex

[86AccordLxi]

If anything, before you start autocrossing, maybe take your car out stock and learn how to autocross like that before fully setting up your car. Also, be sure to check out www.honda-tech.com and their Road Race/ Autocross forum. Read through a bunch of threads there to get an idea about how to set up (or not set up) your car. Good luck.

alex

[wprocomp]

you got the right tires alright...those have great grip....I have done some AX myself(look in my sig for pics)...I would reccomend having a alignment done after you put the lude arms on...alginment can mean alot when you are AXing....also you should be in class STS for starts....

[BoredRec]

Alignment is no prob, got a big Hunter unit sitting right next to me at my shop, I have no desire to run my tires like I did the last set.

[danronian]

Be sure to upgrade the sway bar bushings with poly units and possibly the sway bars themselves with thicker aftermarket units. That always helps alot with cornering.

[AZmike]

I'd recommend that you go stock at least once to see how you like it. Are you going for fun or for points? If you care about your score then you need to pay attention to which mods you do to your car since some things will hurt your score by changing your class more than they'll help your raw time.

My dampers made the biggest difference, especially in the slaloms. As for alignment you'll want maximum caster (keeping both sides equal) and I've had good luck with about half a degree of camber all around. Some front toe-out might help your turn-in a little, but I keep mine at zero so I don't have to reset it every month.

edit:
I forgot to mention, even on some really fast courses (third gear) my stock brakes have not faded. Since the course is too short for the brakes to heat up much there's not a lot of point in upgrading specifically for autocross unless you don't like the front/rear balance as-is; the stock brakes are more than enough to exceed your tire's grip.