Tires/Setup Questions

[MurrayPeterson]

The parts I was warned about on the Mazda forum was to ensure the provided bushings are properly greased or suffer from I think clunking noises.

Clunking is a natural result of using aftermarket sway bars

My experience with lubing poly bushings is that they collect road dirt and wear out faster.  I no longer use any lube on my bushings.

[Midnightsky]

The parts I was warned about on the Mazda forum was to ensure the provided bushings are properly greased or suffer from I think clunking noises.

Clunking is a natural result of using aftermarket sway bars

My experience with lubing poly bushings is that they collect road dirt and wear out faster.  I no longer use any lube on my bushings.

Interesting, well myself being a construction worker I would be picking up much more dust/dirt than most......should I be considering skipping the grease too then? Or be ready to replace the bushings once a year if I grease them?

[MurrayPeterson]

I wouldn't grease them.  My experience is that they should last more than a year.

Also, expect your end links to be "consumables".  They wear, and even a small amount of play is a prime cause of clunking sounds.

[Reijo]

Mine have been in for many years ... clunking a bit ... should change 'em .. never lubed them.   Just live with the squeaks ... because race car!   

[MurrayPeterson]

I should have mentioned that -- I have never had a Heim joint fail, but they all get noisy.

[Midnightsky]

I wouldn't grease them.  My experience is that they should last more than a year.

Also, expect your end links to be "consumables".  They wear, and even a small amount of play is a prime cause of clunking sounds.

Good to know, and the endlinks I bought are pretty beefy so hopefully they last 2-3 years along with the bushings.

[Tuna]

PM me the Mazda forum install link please? I've done enough sway bars in my time to know what I'm doing, but I'd like to see the specifics.

Cheers

[Midnightsky]

Well decided to spend my day pouring over the last item I wanted to investigate/change on my car before next season, brakes.  The two things Im looking at today is pads and rotors.  What Im looking for is a sharper initial bite and pads/rotors that can handle some heat.  Ive identified two brands that I think have proven their merits, Hawk, and Carbotech.   In the past I have used the HP+ and been very happy with the bite once they have warmed up but was never a fan of daily driving them from the noise.  Also whatever pads I choose also have to deal with winter and perform decently for ice racing which would probably negate the HP+ from Hawk and the XP8 from Carbotech.  Both those pads would require too much heat to get them into their primary operating window for any type of winter driving and if they got cold sitting in a longer grid at YYC then they would not work as well during the first 1-2 braking zones of my runs.   For the HPS from Hawk and AX6 from carbotech they seem to offer a good operating window temperature wise with good upper tolerance for what my needs would be.  I have used the HPS before so I think Id like to take a stab at the AX6 next year.  For rotors, if I go with a blank rotor and we are running almost hot laps on a hot day down in Fort McLeod the chances are the rotors will retain too much heat and possibly overheat the pads.  So Im thinking slotted rotors would be a good choice, possibly from stop-tech or DBA to protect myself from possible overheating into those heavy end of runway braking zones at Fort McLeod.  Drilled rotors seem like overkill for autocross in my slower Mazda 3 unless I start going to Castrol for lapping which isn't likely for another year or two or more.  Lastly of course I have not forgotten about brake fluid, after I double check with the Mazda forum to ensure the factory system can take DOT4 without any issues, my plan is for DOT4 fluid to protect from boiling over. 

Now I know many will say stop fussing about car setup and get some seat time.  I agree seat time needs to stay top of my list for next year.  But ultimately I feel I can push myself to gain the resources I need to do everything I have planned minus the Koni yellows.   I really want to come out the gate swinging next season and use my H-Street PAX to full advantage.  I will definitely be planning for the autocross school as well to help me sharpen that loose nut behind the wheel too.  I am really looking forward to next season and fighting hard for a spot in the top 20 PAX.

[MurrayPeterson]

Your stock rotors and a good DOT3 fluid will never overheat, even at the fastest and toughest Fort Macleod event.  Go ahead with different pads if you want more initial bite, but leave the race track stuff for a car that will be tracked.  And even then, swap out the track rotors and pads only when going to the track.

[Robp201]

Now I know many will say stop fussing about car setup and get some seat time.  I agree seat time needs to stay top of my list for next year.  But ultimately I feel I can push myself to gain the resources I need to do everything I have planned minus the Koni yellows.   I really want to come out the gate swinging next season and use my H-Street PAX to full advantage.  I will definitely be planning for the autocross school as well to help me sharpen that loose nut behind the wheel too.  I am really looking forward to next season and fighting hard for a spot in the top 20 PAX.

Just curious.... what excuse do you plan to use once you do all these mods and still not be top 20? Will you blame the car? Or will you maybe look at your driving and lack of seat time?
I am no expert in anything but I do know from being on the national luge team for 10 years in my younger days, it is all about seat (in our case lay down) time..... I had the greatest sled money could buy every legal modification to the sled but I was still not fast till I put my time in the sled... took me a long time to realize this, but once I did I was constantly running top 5 in the world....

It's the old saying "just cause you have the fast toys, doesn't mean you can play with them like they were meant to be".

A prime example was this past weekend watching a few drive other people's cars for the day... .. both extremely good drivers but the one with the seat time made it look smoother and in the end faster.
I will never forget a few events ago when James broke the civic and jeff let him drive the corolla, James found 2 seconds in the car and jeff figured he had that car fully maxed and pushed to the limits of what that car would run and some where James found 2 more seconds. And first thing jeff said "dammit I need to drive more to find that time"

I'm not trying to rain on your parade at all, I think it's awesome you are looking at every angle possibile to be "quick out of the gate next year" and enjoy all the posts of people's views but I am still a firm believer in getting your butt in that seat and drive drive drive!!
Just watching my son drive this year at events he is getting faster and faster and smoother each event. No mods to the car at all expect some tires becuas he knows too that he needs to know the cars and it's breaking points before he can be fast. Just this weekend I turned off the traction control just so he could have a little more realization of feel of the car without all the grannies holding him back. And again I go back to and I know sounds like a broken record "seat time"

Also I believe if you change to slotted rotors you will no longer be in stock anyways... I am curious of this cause I would like to look at differnt brakes as we did experience some good brake fade today. 

[partsunknown]

Take a look at Stoptech Street Performance pads. I ran them on my 2004 Mazda 3 with blank rotors and they were great for a daily driven vehicle. Good cold bite (even during the winter if that matters to you) and I never had any issues with brake fade during the +30c days autocrossing at fort macleod. The only downside is that they're fairly dusty

Like Murray said, a good dot3 fluid will be more than enough for autocross

[K.P]

Check out Ewald Performance. In January of every year Frank has a sale on Gloc Pads and they are 20% off. I was able to get pads through him cheaper than I could find them from any US store (after conversion and tax). I can't say enough good things about the service Frank provided and the Gloc Pads are great.

http://ewaldperformance.com/

[MurrayPeterson]

Also I believe if you change to slotted rotors you will no longer be in stock anyways... I am curious of this cause I would like to look at differnt brakes as we did experience some good brake fade today.

How did you manage to get brake fade today?  Today's course(s) were the most speed maintenance (and least braking) of any course I remember.

BTW -- thanks to Tom G for a great couple of courses.  Seemingly simple, but tough to extract those last bits of time.

[Joe-G]

Well decided to spend my day pouring over the last item I wanted to investigate/change on my car before next season, brakes.  ***snip***

I think you're over thinking it. But if you want to prep yourself for next year, I would do:

1. Good Fluid - I find that Motul RBF600 doesn't last as long, requires frequent bleeds, and easily boils (on some cars) at the track. Endless RF650 is overkill, but I've used it with good results. I hear Castrol SRF is also very good, less maintenance, and is probably less hydrophilic than the Endless RF650.

2. Swap out pads for events - Whatever "race" pad you decide on, you'll always be better off swapping pads for events if it's your daily. I would skip over the Stoptech Street performance pads. Great on the street, "OK" for light autocross, no-go on the track. FWIW, you'll need to match your brake pads to your driving style and overall grip.

3. Rotors - Blanks are all you need. I wouldn't worry too much about heat dissipation. Drilled rotors are no good with high heat applications and are prone to cracking. Slotted rotors are cool, but unnecessary with modern brake compounds IMO.

Have you ever experienced true brake fade after a long straight at Castrol, or at Race City? Maybe elsewhere? I don't think we go fast enough at any of our locations to really experience rock hard/no-brake situations. If you've experience fade I'd chalk it up to over-driving, stomping on the brakes when they're cold, or not standing on the brake hard enough

Anyways, that's my 2c from one newb to another 

[Midnightsky]

Now I know many will say stop fussing about car setup and get some seat time.  I agree seat time needs to stay top of my list for next year.  But ultimately I feel I can push myself to gain the resources I need to do everything I have planned minus the Koni yellows.   I really want to come out the gate swinging next season and use my H-Street PAX to full advantage.  I will definitely be planning for the autocross school as well to help me sharpen that loose nut behind the wheel too.  I am really looking forward to next season and fighting hard for a spot in the top 20 PAX.

Just curious.... what excuse do you plan to use once you do all these mods and still not be top 20?

Not sure where your getting the "excuse" part from, the only complaint Ive had in the 3 events Ive done this season is tires and who can blame me they are oem, but it hasn't stopped me from having fun and knocking off the dust from the loose nut behind the wheel.  I think you have gotten the wrong impression about me. Having been around autocross and rallycross on/off for the past 5 years I well know the importance of seat time and experience.  Unfortunately the past couple years finances have been very low and prevented me from getting the seat time I had wanted.  I am expecting a better winter with my career and better finances to help me push forward for next season.  In the 3 events Ive done this year I have identified some weak points I wish to address, brake bite, rear swaybar, and tires.  None of them are crazy expensive and none of them should reduce my seat time next season.  The brakes as Murray pointed out only really require better pads and Im willing to try that and leave the oem rotors next season unless I encounter some issues.  The DOT3 fluid is a cheap and easy change which can be done with the pads, Ive boiled fluid before so that's why I was thinking DOT4.  Ive also got about 3/4 of a can of superblue DOT4 in my garage that needs to be used so I may end up going with DOT4 for that reason, undecided at this point.  As for the Koni Yellows, I had mentioned before that I was looking to just learn a bit more about them and not committing to adding them.  I don't feel that Im leaving seat time high and dry or over focusing on setup, the two work hand in hand to acquire good runs and place well.  Sure I could start with just tires and leave out the swaybar and brake pads out, but why limit the car if I am confident the finances will be available? Do I expected to be in the top 20 first event, absolutely not, but by mid-season I believe it is an achievable goal.  And that's just it, a goal, no guarantee it comes true, but I want to set that as a point to push myself to improve each event.  Heck if it takes me 3 years to get there that is totally fine, I will keep taking the autocross school each season and finding those mistakes Im making to continue improving my runs.   I am in this for the long haul and have no plans on moving from H-street with my Mazda, my focus will be on seat time.