MY DSM and racing (all types). Please look!!

[scheides]

The more I think about it the more I'd like to encourage the big brake kit or even doing a brembo conversion. DSM brakes were always 'decent' but never amazing. The brakes on my 2G downright sucked, even with nice pads and rotors.

Come drive my car and take it from 100-0 once, you'll want the brembos. With a nice pad and SS lines....drool....I love 'em!

[Kracka]

Your turbo/cam combo sounds good, stick with that.

Scheides is right about thr brakes, I've never felt the 2-pistons with pads/rotors were even near "competition ready" as I'll call it. Those 13" Baer Track Kit brakes I had were awesome for the money since the kit came with calipers, SS lines, rotors, pads, and hardware.

The kit I am talking about: http://www.maperformance.com/baer-claw-track-brake-system-1g-dsm.html

Regarding tires, I could not be happier with my Sumitomo HTRZIII's. They have very good grip, they are great in the rain, and after 3 auto-x events they are still wearing nicely. I was going to go with the Bridgestone Potenza RE750's like I put on my S2k and recommended to Scheides but they stopped making them (since been replaced by the RE760 Sports which are also supposed to be even better than the 750's, but not yet available early this spring). I started looking around at other tire options and saw that Sumitomo had this new tire out and figured I would give it a try since it was fairly untested at that point but I loved the Sumitomo HTRZII's that I had on my DSM.

[Kracka]

The strut bars I would buy:

front: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/89-94-Mitsubishi-Eclipse-Talon-FRONT-Upper-Strut-Bar-90_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33591QQihZ019QQitemZ 290258635189QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

rear: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/89-94-Mitsubishi-Eclipse-Talon-REAR-Upper-Strut-Bar-90_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33591QQihZ019QQitemZ 290258636829QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

I have an eBay front on Janelle's WRX and an eBay rear on my Evo. Both were cheap as heck but they are nice pieces.

[scheides]

Goddamn that baer kit looks like a good deal. Are those 2-pot or 4-pot calipers?

I had that front strut tower bar on my 1G and got one for my 2G, they are an amazing little mod (seriously).


Also if you don't have one already, a nice stereo is an awesome way to stay in love with any street car (esp a fast dsm!). Some nice components up front and a decent 10" sub in the back....a nice amp and a decent deck to run it all....ugh, really good for the soul (just like WOT!). ;)

[MustGoFaster]

Start on the driver mod NOW. It takes time. (unless you just got mAd sKiLz) You don't need this that and the other thing to come drive. All you need is a car that is in good mechanical condition. You don't need the best tires, suspension or the most power. Not to say they won't make you faster, but the driver mods takes time. You can't just bolt it on. Wanna borrow some books? I have a couple. I started with a stock turbo, fuel and suspension car, just get out and drive! Don't let modding the car get in the way of the true purpose of the car, DRIVING it. I read your post, you want the car to be good at it. You might as well be good at it too!

Start here, same price as a trip to rock falls.

http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/frmEventDetail.Show?psevent_id=9450

Good brakes are a good idea.
Stay with the 16G if your going to auto X.
Tires- been covered, you know what to do. Get wide ones if you can, more tire helps a lot.
Suspension- Your pointed in the right direction already. Ksports/ Megan isn't the worlds best stuff, but still controls the weight a lot better than stock stuff.
Power steering- Look at the VFAQ and do the mod they suggest for the power steering. I tend to out run my pump and need to do it as well, it can make things difficult.

[Matt D.]

Keep in mind that the treadwear rating of the tires they mentioned are in the 300-340 range. The tires I mentioned are 200. (Racing slicks are 40 treadwear, very soft.) These tires should last me through this year and maybe the beginning of next. The end of this year will mark 17 autocross events (6-8 runs each) and probably close to 20,000 miles of driving. They're at about 4/32 right now (measured them a week ago) and I flipped them side to side a month ago after getting my suspension installed.

While driving on the street you will not notice much if any difference between say a Falken RT615 and a Sumitomo HTRZIII. But once you start pushing the tire to the limit that's where the softer more aggressive tire will shine.

While I'm not trying to sway you from saving some money by buying a tire that will last longer, I feel you should buy a tire that will keep up with and make the most of anything you ever expect to throw at it.

Also, run the widest tire you can. The more rubber on the ground, the more traction you'll have. Your Evo wheels are great, you can fit 255/40/17s on there. Look at 17x9 wheels and you can fit 275s. I'm unsure what wheel and tire clearance is like on a DSM, but it really is something to consider.

[Matt D.]

Start on the driver mod NOW.
Best mod ever, hands down, no questions asked. Hughes will agree.

[Kracka]

The driver mod is really important; everyone thinks they're hot shit on the streets but when you start driving at the limit it really separates people. Take Chris Deutsch for example, I'm sure I'd be able to hang with him on the streets, but on the auto-x track forget it...he has way less power than I do but I can't even come close to touching him (riding along with him is great education though).

I will agree about the softer tires really shining at the absolute limit; Matt's tires will still grip when mine begin to let go. With that said, considering the amount of driving I do, I'm very happy I have 300 treadwear tires. You just need to weigh all the facts and figure out the one that fits your lifestyle the best. I am kind of wishing I would have done a 245 width tire on my Evo instead of 235's though; but I expect these tires to last me 3 summers so I won't be changing that any time soon.

[dsm9sec]

If I were you Aaron, I'd throw in some Hawk pads and just go run it as it is now. You already have a decent platform to start on.

[sleepydsm]

Going to a coilover setup on a 1G dramatically increases the inside of the tire to suspension clearance. I'm pretty sure you could run a different offset/wider wheel with coilovers installed.

I have a ST rear sway bar on my 1G, the car under hard cornering still plows traight (understeer). My car is probably too low, I wanna say the active toe in the back is hurting me a lot. So with my car low, it has some pretty negative camber, and I'm sure the rear toe is F-ed.

I also run 300 treadwear BFG KDW2 (Which are supposed to have some of the best Dry grip in this treadwear range)

I have the "1g big brakes" with stainless lines and axxis ultimates. I still don't feel like they do good enough job braking from high mph.

I too am looking for solid strut bars, I might have to end up maing some. I'd prefer a triangulated one for the front. I do understand that the strut bar alone can affect what class you race in for autox.