ritzblitz

What wheels do you have? That's weird that those tires rub.

roman944

yup that's the class they put me into, E-Stock; no mods but the weltmeister strut brace

I'll keep an eye out on an extra set of wheels too, but how limited am I with an early car?

NCporsche

roman944; another 944 AXing, great, this is one of the reasons these cars are driven.

To be competitive it takes time and practice. If you want to take the time and practice, get some cones and find a parking lot, early morning works best. Set the cones up and have fun.

You've been discussing upgrades and the tires scrubbing in the front. Let me repeat an earlier post.

Put some 15" tires back on your car. Fresh tires will do more to make you competitive than any throttle or suspension upgrades.

Fresh tires and a set of phone dials should not set you back more than $800.00.

roman944

that's the first thing: new tires or another set of wheels+tires; then go again and see how I do with good wheel/tire, from there on now it will be much easier to say where I need work

atleast this gave me an idea of what I am getting into! I mean I couldn't do much; I didn't think it was THAT BAD, but for that kind of driving, what I have now won't work at all lol

Techno Duck

Not limited at all having an early car. You can find 15x7 cookie cutters for probably less than $200 for the set.. some guys give these away practically for $100 a set. Tires are cheap also, go with 225/45/15 all around so you can rotate to all 4x corners.

I started out with auto-x also in my n/a. Now ive moved on a little to DE because its no longer fun with turbo lag in my 951. But i still do go occasionally to work on my car control. No better place to learn it than at an auto-x.

thewerxracing

It sucks that the ONLY mod (a Strut Bar) takes you out of ES. Get rid of that thing and stay in E-Stock. Its the only budget class you can run a 944 in.

If you want to own E-Stock, grab some adjustable struts and Hoosiers.

But for fun, another set of cheap wheels (200$) and some lightly used rubber will give you more potential than you'll know what to do with.


Over the winter practice your heel-toe downshifting and left-foot braking. That'll get you ready for the stickier tires in the spring.


EDIT:

Early Car? For what youre looking to do, you are fine. For serious competition, there was a thread around here that talked about the most desirable 944/924 for autocrossing. Im currently setting up a 1984 944. So Im in the same situation as you. Im running with an old set of bridgestones and twenty year old struts. Over the winter, the car is getting New Adj Struts, Hoosiers, Brake Lines, Bushings, and other little things. But now, Im shaking down this car as its only my 30th day of ownership and 2nd 'cross with it.

roman944

what's wrong with strut bar? when they were putting me into a class, they asked if anything was done to the car, I told them there is a weltmeister strut brace; the next thing they did is ask about my tires - to which I literally replied "they are regular all seasons, just that they are very big"

everyone laughed; I guess when they saw it they wreen't laughing anymore, because it's sad

my brake lines are already SS, I think I screwed up with bleeding brakes and didn't use the best fluid; so those are a couple of things to do

well, we'll see how exactly all this goes

as far as the desirable car goes - almost feels like the early cars ARE desired; the only drawback is that they were not turbocharged; then other times feels like more people favor late model cars (partially for cosmetic reasons and some options)

roman944

Allright, here are some fresh shots:

the silver 944 (or bluish?)

http://solopix.flr-scca.com/2008/10-5-08/index7.html

http://solopix.flr-scca.com/2008/10-5-08/img_1567.html

and mine:

http://solopix.flr-scca.com/2008/10-5-08/index3.html

thewerxracing

a Turbo on an AutoX isnt that great unless its tiny and spools like the dickens. Unlike the one on my WRX.

I thought the Strut brace takes you out of ES. I think since its your first ever they might have let you slide. But if you start beating people, then they are going to protest. (Trust me, they complain).

Im glad youre having a good time. Here are some from my weekend. You can see where I need the new struts...

roman944

looks like your car could use some cleaning too! faded paint? I found out that a rubbing compound can take a lot of that stuff off

look at this:



and now look at this:



also what kind of lip do you have on the bottom of the bumper?

I think I would like to try the car out with just a good set of tires, but then again, I don't really want to miss any action and miss race days because of work being done on the car

I'd really like to see the car progress in a nice way and get things done that I need; but I want as little downtime as possible; I think maybe new fresh rotors, some Hawk HPS pads, new good brake fluid (my brake lines are already SS); then a set of new R compounds, maybe bigger sways, check the bushings; maybe some shocks and 250# springs in front - or coils all around if I am lucky - and loose the torsion bars

but all in time; for now maybe over witner the car will get some fresh brakes, a good tune up (new plugs, wires), and tires; then we'll see, I have plenty of time and I'm in no rush!

roman944

just found this one:

I'm begining to question my body-roll as well, but I LOVE that picture!

I am driving. With instructor.

Can your car do this?

ritzblitz

Haha I love how soft 944/951 suspension is in general. Cool pictures.

knfeparty

I have a lot of pictures like that, especially like thewerx's pic with the rear wheels at full extension. The rear end of my car loves to get in the air.

I used to have the valence kissing the ground, but then I got the m030 struts (with m030 springs) and although the car has a lower static height, the dive is lessened. Still pretty bad, but lessened.

Techno Duck

I think its a good idea to auto-x atleast a season on street tires before you use r-compounds. Focus on car control first. One of the best ways to learn that are on tires that slide a little. R-compounds as many have said in the past mask poor driving technique.

I did about 5 years of auto-x in my n/a before i sold it. I dont take it as seriously as i used to with the 951 due to the turbo lag. I mostly go just to continue working on my car control.

I had 200lb springs in the front and stock torsion bars in the back. About a 1'' drop all around. Check out how tucked the rear wheel is in the fender here. This was with v710's which were incredibly grippy.



Heres my 951 at an auto-x last year. Stock springs with Koni struts. Way to soft.. the front splitter rubs on the pavement at some points.

roman944

Very nice Jon!
Actually, with a rear wheel tucked, does it rub in the back at certain points on the fender?