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Old 10-27-2005, 04:26 PM   #1
lDeez lNutz
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Question STi weakpoints....

What is a major disadvantage the STi has in regards to road racing for example or auto-x? Basically what can i drastically improve to help me do better in road racing/auto-x?

So far I'm blown away by how it handles, I'm very satisfied with the power as well. I thought about weight reduction but I don't want to strip out any luxuries, being my first new car and all. I'm kind of reluctant to do any power upgrades because the car is fast as it is.

help a newb out
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Old 10-27-2005, 04:33 PM   #2
fastfreddy
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The driver is always the first place to start.
After that figure out which classes you want to run - these will deceide your mods.
I'd begin with getting to grips with the car before touching it - learn to drive the base car, and you'll figure out the weak areas.............If you have to ask, you're probably not driving it hard enough yet
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Old 10-27-2005, 04:51 PM   #3
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^^ everything he said. fix the nut behind the wheel first. you will notice weak areas once you have driven the car to its limit. mod it accordingly.
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Old 10-27-2005, 05:12 PM   #4
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Driver is the biggest thing...that's where I need to improve. Mechanically, I've got the car in a place I like for the most part. A simple way to improve the handling is a sway bar kit and a rear strut bar. Just make sure the rear bar exerts a little more force than the front bar. Driving the car stock for a while to learn it is not a bad idea...it gives a good base to know if you have actually improved anything.

I went all out from the get-go, but that's more akin to my personality and I probably would have been better off from a performance stand-point modding in slow stages. Or better yet, not modding and going to a sweet driving school.
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Old 10-27-2005, 05:13 PM   #5
cellobro
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Thumbs up I hear solid advice

wow, I do believe I have seen WISDOM in this thread, nice. I didn't begin adding to my 05 wagon until I wanted to go faster, now with a bit of experience, I actually KNOW what I want to do next...
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Old 10-27-2005, 05:20 PM   #6
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Better seat and harness, as I am a small guy I wiggle around in the stock seat and belt when turning. Springs (think JDM pinks, Prodrive) and swaybars will help with the overdampened struts and body roll. If you want to keep power upgrades to a minimum, an EMS like the COBB AP or TXS UTEC will help, also a downpipe + catback (plus you get to hear the sexy boxer growl). Also lighter wheels and grippier tires. Just a few simple upgrades that can help. Those are probably the mods I am going to get (and hopefully stop at). Anyone else have any ideas?
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Old 10-27-2005, 05:22 PM   #7
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I agree with what everyone has been saying. I did an auto-x stock first then did swaybars. They made a huge difference.

As far as weekpoints, I honestly don't know of any. The only thing to keep in mind is the advantages and disadvantages of AWD. On smaller tracks and auto-x's it is beneficial for handling and acceleration. On a larger track the weight and drag created by the AWD may hinder the car on high-speed parts of the track.
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Old 10-27-2005, 05:23 PM   #8
NattiRex
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I would drive it hard first as mentioned then you will find by experiance what the weak points are... You may find that the handling is fine but the brakes need some work to fit your driving style, or perhaps you would prefer a little more tail happy car, just bolting on any suspension package may not give oyu that!

Patience is your best mod IMO!
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Old 10-27-2005, 05:37 PM   #9
lDeez lNutz
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awesome.

thanks for the advice. i'm definetly working on my driving, still getting used to the car. i can drive the car very comfortably now, but coming out of a corner is kind of strange with this car. i'm not used to this much grip, it seems unstable almost with the way i drive it. definetly has a hint of understeer when i come out of a corner. i came from the mr2 world so i'm used to having the rear slide out more.

can DCCD necessarily be an advantage? i've read the auto setting is optimal for most driving conditions.
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Old 10-27-2005, 06:03 PM   #10
supersport
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Setting the DCCD more to the rear may create more of a loose condition that you are used to in your MR2, but it depends more on your driving style. Swaybars will counteract the push just as easily and the car will handle better.

On a side note I have a friend that was looking for a car in the 90's (Mitsu GSX, MR2, RX7) His dad always told us the MR2 was "tailhappy" so much so that we joke about cars being "tailhappy" to this day. My buddy ended up getting an MR2 turbo and crashed it on a twisty road. he said the rear end got away from him.

I guess his dad was right.
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Old 10-27-2005, 06:31 PM   #11
lDeez lNutz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by supersport
Setting the DCCD more to the rear may create more of a loose condition that you are used to in your MR2, but it depends more on your driving style. Swaybars will counteract the push just as easily and the car will handle better.

On a side note I have a friend that was looking for a car in the 90's (Mitsu GSX, MR2, RX7) His dad always told us the MR2 was "tailhappy" so much so that we joke about cars being "tailhappy" to this day. My buddy ended up getting an MR2 turbo and crashed it on a twisty road. he said the rear end got away from him.

I guess his dad was right.
i personally don't know your friend, but i used to get sick and tired of hearing how people thought these cars are too "tailhappy". the car is simply less forgiving, people dive into corners without knowing this. the weight bias is mostly in the rear of course, but not as much as people think. the short wheelbase also contributes to the cars' "unique" handling characteristics, but i guess that goes with most MR platforms. it's definetly not the car of choice for an amateur enthusiast, and it's not as light as it looks. it weighs damn near 3,000 lbs with a fully loaded mr2 turbo. but something about having the engine right behind your head gave me cargasms .

anyway you're kind of right when you say they're "tailhappy", i just think it's blown out of proportion. people make it sound like it's death on 4 wheels, it just takes a little more getting used to is all . when you harness the MR, the reward is well worth the time put in. why the hell did i buy an STi again?
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Old 10-27-2005, 08:36 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lDeez lNutz
i personally don't know your friend, but i used to get sick and tired of hearing how people thought these cars are too "tailhappy". the car is simply less forgiving, people dive into corners without knowing this. the weight bias is mostly in the rear of course, but not as much as people think. the short wheelbase also contributes to the cars' "unique" handling characteristics, but i guess that goes with most MR platforms. it's definetly not the car of choice for an amateur enthusiast, and it's not as light as it looks. it weighs damn near 3,000 lbs with a fully loaded mr2 turbo. but something about having the engine right behind your head gave me cargasms .

anyway you're kind of right when you say they're "tailhappy", i just think it's blown out of proportion. people make it sound like it's death on 4 wheels, it just takes a little more getting used to is all . when you harness the MR, the reward is well worth the time put in. why the hell did i buy an STi again?
because 4wd > *

flamesuiton.
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Old 10-27-2005, 09:19 PM   #13
HappyIdiot
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This might not apply to you since you don't plan on tracking your car, but I was talking to a someone with an STI and he said after a few laps, his brakes were done. He said they started turning into mush and that made it harder to drive fast. Other than that, he said the car handled great in stock trim.
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Old 10-27-2005, 10:41 PM   #14
f4phantomii
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EarlQHan
Also lighter wheels and grippier tires.
There are grippier tires than the stock ones!?!

Yikes....I'd hate to even think how insane stickier tires would be!

-Michael
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Old 10-27-2005, 10:49 PM   #15
HappyIdiot
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Oh, yea there are a lot of sticker tires. Look at tirerack and do a comparison between tires.
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Old 10-28-2005, 02:20 AM   #16
lDeez lNutz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyIdiot
This might not apply to you since you don't plan on tracking your car, but I was talking to a someone with an STI and he said after a few laps, his brakes were done. He said they started turning into mush and that made it harder to drive fast. Other than that, he said the car handled great in stock trim.
that's interesting. i just read about water cooled brakes on wrc cars in another thread

that's beyond what i had in mind to improve the car overall...do you know the specifics when he said they were 'done'? were the pads gone? or the rotors? calipers? i see a couple sti's upgrading to bigger lighter multi-piece rotors, i guess the stock equipment isn't up to par for road racing?
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Old 10-28-2005, 07:54 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lDeez lNutz
awesome.

thanks for the advice. i'm definetly working on my driving, still getting used to the car. .
Thats the key. Trust me when I say that (and this is by no means a knock against you) that you are nowhere near good enough to get the max out of your STI. The car just has INSANE capabilities. I have had mine for about 4 months, and I had a VERY modded WRX for 3 years before that.

I can do things in the STI now, that no way in hell could I do 4 months ago.
All because I, as you say, "am getting used to the car". Basically expect the car to continue suprising you on an almost daily basis with the things it can do.
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Old 10-28-2005, 02:03 PM   #18
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I mean that there was bad brake fade
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Old 10-28-2005, 02:24 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyIdiot
I mean that there was bad brake fade
I changed to steel braided lines and ATE Super Blue fluid, that made a night and day difference. The stock brake fluid has much to be desired.
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Old 10-28-2005, 03:11 PM   #20
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Even GOOD brake fluid that has been in there for more than a year or so, isn't really that good any more.
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Old 10-28-2005, 03:23 PM   #21
supersport
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimBlake
Even GOOD brake fluid that has been in there for more than a year or so, isn't really that good any more.
In sense you are right brake fluid doesn't last very long, that's just the nature of the beast, but high quality brake fluids do not absorb as much moisture as cheaper fluids do, thus they last longer.
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Old 10-28-2005, 04:10 PM   #22
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Not quite. The fluid only absorbs moisture that makes it into the system. If the fluid stops absorbing, moisture can still enter the system.. it just pools up. If anything, high performance fluid needs to be changed out much more regularly to keep corrosion from occuring within the brake system.
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Old 10-28-2005, 07:20 PM   #23
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I was told something entirely different but I see your point. I plan on changing mine regularly so it's not an issue for me.
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Old 10-28-2005, 08:44 PM   #24
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better tires make a huge differnce, but get to konw your car and you will find its weaknesses
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Old 10-28-2005, 10:16 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beaverboy
Not quite. The fluid only absorbs moisture that makes it into the system. If the fluid stops absorbing, moisture can still enter the system.. it just pools up. If anything, high performance fluid needs to be changed out much more regularly to keep corrosion from occuring within the brake system.
DOT4 has a higher absorbtion rate than DOT3, hence DOT4 needs to be flushed more often. I have all the numbers in a manual somewhere. DOT4 is much better when new but it degenerates faster than DOT3.
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