Elantras and Autocross, Are they competitive? Options

[slows gurl]

Body roll FTW!!!!

[Bobzilla]

Here was my first ever auto-x. Stock GT-hatch springs on stock struts, tib rear bar, sonata 16's and 205/55/16 Kumhoo KH16's...


This is following spring, H&R's added to stock struts, 16x7 Konigs and 205/45/16 Sumitomo tires.... they were cheap but sucked balls.



This was later that year on 225/45/16 Hankook RS2's. Great size tire for the Elantra.


This is what they looked like on the car:

[slowgls]

Never really seen pics of your car Bob, it does look good though.

[Bobzilla]

"DID".... it DID look good. Konigs have started to peel with age and 4 Indiana salty winters, cancer has popped up on the right rear quarter panel and she's been hit twices in hte last 3 years. Still a great car. Still uber dependable, but she's getting rough. What do you expect for 10 years? April 15th this year was our "10 year anniversary".

Here's a couple vids I found from back in the day....





that second one is fun at 1:45.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nBMtFDRSOY&feature=g-upl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeOkvT5aeT4&feature=g-upl

I think if I was to re enter this car into auto-x again, I would go back to a free exhaust, 225/45/16 Toyo R1R's, Tib struts and Eibach Tib Sway bars (IIRC, 27mm frt/22mm rr) with Ground control coilovers running 450frt and 650lb rr springs and my CAI, rear disc swap and HAwk HPS all around and try to get it reclassed into STF. It would be ~145hp at the flywheel right at redline/fuel cut, gearing would put you right around 62mph in second and the extra stiffness in the springs and 2.5* camber up front should get you plenty of grip.

[Bobzilla]

Well, since the vette is not done yet, yesterday was our first auto-x of the season, so I brought out the retired racecar for this. Blown out struts, less than 1* of negative camber up front, every bushing screaming for mercy, and 205 width LRR tires make for a painful auto-x experience.

Came in 2nd of 3, got beat out by a brand new bone stock Fit. No grip on acceleration, no grip braking, no grip in the slaloms, no grip in steady state cornering.... just absolutely miserable. I gave up my last run of the day because it was getting hotter, the track slicker and the car worse. AS much as I've always loved auto-x'ing Porky, yesterday was painful. She really showed her age in a lot of ways. Yes, functioning struts, decent 225 tires and some new bushings everywhere would have helped.... but she's too damn big, way too damn heavy to be doing it on LRR 205 tires and a soft-ish suspension like I have now.

Good thing she's the Daily Driver and not the racecar. I'd probably slit my wrists before going through that again.

[slowgls]

Came in 2nd of 3, got beat out by a brand new bone stock Fit. No grip on acceleration, no grip braking, no grip in the slaloms, no grip in steady state cornering.... just absolutely miserable. I gave up my last run of the day because it was getting hotter, the track slicker and the car worse. AS much as I've always loved auto-x'ing Porky, yesterday was painful. She really showed her age in a lot of ways. Yes, functioning struts, decent 225 tires and some new bushings everywhere would have helped.... but she's too damn big, way too damn heavy to be doing it on LRR 205 tires and a soft-ish suspension like I have now.

Sounds like me. Haha, but i still find it fun.

[RPW00Mirage]

personally i feel the XD to be a great track car, and i've always wanted one to do so. i will have to run kristen's just once in SP to see how it stands against the corolla.

on another note, both the GLS and S are going to make an appearance at limerock park in june. i'll be driving the GLS and my father will be driving my S.



This post has been edited by RPW00Mirage: May 7 2012, 01:54 PM

[Bobzilla]

personally i feel the XD to be a great track car, and i've always wanted one to do so. i will have to run kristen's just once in SP to see how it stands against the corolla.

on another note, both the GLS and S are going to make an appearance at limerock park in june. i'll be driving the GLS and my father will be driving my S.

I've always thought the XD would have made a great ITA road race car or something made for track days. IIRC, Jay got one gutted down to 2400lbs, so add a cage and you're looking at a 2650-lb car with driver. Pull the stock cams and go with something not sucky, stand alone ECU, good 4-1 header and a 2.25" mandrel bent exhaust with no cats and a magnaflow round under the car and oval out back to keep you out of trouble with the sound police. LSD. Koni's and GC coilovers with 450/650 springs, Tib frt and rear sway bars from Eibach(27/22mm) and a set of 225/45/16 on 16x7.5 wheels with a 38 offset and I think it would be hell on wheels. You'd be looking at ~170hp at the front wheels, a usuable rev range up to ~ 7k rpms, enough rubber to turn and enough roll resistance to keep it flat.

Auto-x is just too... "fast" for a heavy car like ours. Every turn, every input has to happen RIGHT NOW because you'll have 15-30 turns in that 40-second ride. Where as road racing you get 8-14 turns in a minute and a half to 2 minute ride.

[RPW00Mirage]

I've always thought the XD would have made a great ITA road race car or something made for track days. IIRC, Jay got one gutted down to 2400lbs, so add a cage and you're looking at a 2650-lb car with driver. Pull the stock cams and go with something not sucky, stand alone ECU, good 4-1 header and a 2.25" mandrel bent exhaust with no cats and a magnaflow round under the car and oval out back to keep you out of trouble with the sound police. LSD. Koni's and GC coilovers with 450/650 springs, Tib frt and rear sway bars from Eibach(27/22mm) and a set of 225/45/16 on 16x7.5 wheels with a 38 offset and I think it would be hell on wheels. You'd be looking at ~170hp at the front wheels, a usuable rev range up to ~ 7k rpms, enough rubber to turn and enough roll resistance to keep it flat.

Auto-x is just too... "fast" for a heavy car like ours. Every turn, every input has to happen RIGHT NOW because you'll have 15-30 turns in that 40-second ride. Where as road racing you get 8-14 turns in a minute and a half to 2 minute ride.

i feel the GLS will be a much better track/autox car than the S. where you guys feel the GLS is heavy, its much lighter and quicker than my S. and much stiffer. and no ABS X.x

[Bobzilla]

I think the biggest benefit te Elantra has over the corolla is the Beta II. The string midrange saves downshifting because it makes power in places most econo-cars dont.