New owner -- need autox setup help

[dpnsx]

Hey everyone -- I'm the proud new owner of a '91 silver, and I thought I'd go ahead and introduce myself. First off, I wanted to say thanks to everyone on this forum. All of the advice and info was invaluable during the purchase process.

Now I'm looking to start taking the car to some autocross events and maybe an HPDE eventually, and I was hoping to get some advice in setting up the car. Specifically, I was looking for some suggestions for tire pressures and alignment settings. I'll be running the stock suspension, with Yokohama AD08s on the stock rims. Thanks again!

 

[VegasSpeed]

That is great to hear. You probably should post this in the track section honestly. This isn't a new owner thread but more about track setup. As far as alignment goes there is definitely a more aggressive stance you can go with. I can get those specs since I just aligned and corner balanced my car. The tires you chose are great for track. I highly recommend taking the car out there and doing an HPDE. I will be going on one this weekend with the Porsche club of Las Vegas. I would add -2 camber front and back. The NSX has camber adjustment in the stock suspension geometry which is great.

 

[nsxtasy]

I'd suggest starting with the stock settings on everything, including tire pressure and alignment, for your first couple of events. That will give you a standard baseline from which you can make whatever changes you like. Better to start with something that's a standard to use for comparison and go from there, than to take a guess on what might or might not make sense.

 

[Thunder]

Congratulations!, for tire pressures, front 33 psi, rear 40 psi :smile:

 

[docjohn]

very nice to see you wanting to explore your talent and the cars'. I would echo Ken's suggestion and only add that if tire wear is not important to you meaning you can afford to change rear tires before 8k miles then try the aggresive 91 oem alignment.Also pm shredr he has competed in autox at the national level in his nsx.

 

[tbromley]

Hey everyone -- I'm the proud new owner of a '91 silver, and I thought I'd go ahead and introduce myself. First off, I wanted to say thanks to everyone on this forum. All of the advice and info was invaluable during the purchase process.

Now I'm looking to start taking the car to some autocross events and maybe an HPDE eventually, and I was hoping to get some advice in setting up the car. Specifically, I was looking for some suggestions for tire pressures and alignment settings. I'll be running the stock suspension, with Yokohama AD08s on the stock rims. Thanks again!

Gotta love that color! :biggrin: Sounds great and I know you'll love it and I actually like the wheels you have on the car and they look really good.

Is it completely stock? Give us the particulars and more pics. Welcome and have fun! Be safe while your at it. :wink:

 

[mcano]

Congratulations on your purchase and you will definitely have fun with your NSX: I participated in my first HPDE at NSXPO in Las Vegas and prior to going I raised similar question in a couple of threads (see links below) and I received a lot great advice, including from docjohn and nsxtacy. I followed their advice and had a blast.

Best,

Mario


http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142011

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141852

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142642

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140955

 

[dpnsx]

Yep, car is completely stock (for now), with 77k miles. I do have my eye on a new exhaust once I get the clutch and timing belt sorted. By the way, if there's anyone else in the bay area, there's a car control school at infineon on the 5th and an autox at great america the next day. I'd love to see some more nsx's out there!

 

[shrddr]

here's the reply i PM'd him, just in case others are interested...

-----------------------------------------------------------

first of all, let me say i am glad to hear you are competing in autocross with the NSX. a lot of people like to say that the NSX will never be competitive, and i think that is nonsense. it is still an uphill battle... but it can compete with the top dogs.

sounds like you are going to be competing in the stock class like me.

i'll start with alignment settings...

FRONT: get as much front negative camber as you can! with the stock suspension, you will be able to get -1.0 to -1.5... in other words, not too much, but max it out to whatever you are able to get. set your front toe to a very slight toe out (like 0.05" on each side), or neutral toe is fine too if tire wear is a concern for you.

REAR: i like the rear at about -1.8 to -2.0. set the toe to be slightly toe'd in (like 0.05" to 0.08" on each side).

as for tire pressure... that is hard to pin down because it really depends on each tire. i have never autocrossed with the AD08s, but my starting guess would be about 35-37psi in the front, and 37-39 psi in the rear. you will have to adjust from there based on how much the tires are rolling over in corners.

the NSX is very softly sprung by modern performance cars standards, so it is going to flop around a LOT, which is going to make it quite tail happy at an autocross where the car gets thrown around from side to side. i STRONGLY recommend getting a bigger front sway bar (i use the dali racing 1" bar because it fits in my car without needing to modify the spare tire tray).

i have been maintaining a blog of my progress with the car since i began autocrossing it in late 2009. feel free to take a look: http://nsxftw.blogspot.com

v

 

[shawn110975]

One thing I learned the hard way is you can easily over steer and lose control. mine is a 92 and after 2 360 over steers I learned real quick how my car performs and how to handle her. its not like any of my other Honda's/Acura's handling wise.

but congrats on the purchase and welcome to the club of the "Ferrari Fighters"

Oh yeah kinda raced a DB7 yesterday after I passed him he passed me,

then when he got stuck in traffic I slowed down to give him a OK thumbs up rolled my window down and it was a Tampa Bay Bucs Player LOL I dont know his name but I knew his face. LOL

dont race I know but top speed wasnt that high so no harm done.

 

[dpnsx]

That's interesting -- I had exactly the opposite problem. I took the car out for an autocross last week and I had tons of trouble getting it into the corners. I'll grant I was probably just coming in too fast, but I just kept plowing straight instead of turning in. That's why I was asking about setup to begin with.

 

[wahoo5]

here's the reply i PM'd him, just in case others are interested...

-----------------------------------------------------------

first of all, let me say i am glad to hear you are competing in autocross with the NSX. a lot of people like to say that the NSX will never be competitive, and i think that is nonsense. it is still an uphill battle... but it can compete with the top dogs.

sounds like you are going to be competing in the stock class like me.

i'll start with alignment settings...

FRONT: get as much front negative camber as you can! with the stock suspension, you will be able to get -1.0 to -1.5... in other words, not too much, but max it out to whatever you are able to get. set your front toe to a very slight toe out (like 0.05" on each side), or neutral toe is fine too if tire wear is a concern for you.

REAR: i like the rear at about -1.8 to -2.0. set the toe to be slightly toe'd in (like 0.05" to 0.08" on each side).

as for tire pressure... that is hard to pin down because it really depends on each tire. i have never autocrossed with the AD08s, but my starting guess would be about 35-37psi in the front, and 37-39 psi in the rear. you will have to adjust from there based on how much the tires are rolling over in corners.

the NSX is very softly sprung by modern performance cars standards, so it is going to flop around a LOT, which is going to make it quite tail happy at an autocross where the car gets thrown around from side to side. i STRONGLY recommend getting a bigger front sway bar (i use the dali racing 1" bar because it fits in my car without needing to modify the spare tire tray).

i have been maintaining a blog of my progress with the car since i began autocrossing it in late 2009. feel free to take a look: http://nsxftw.blogspot.com

v

It was great to see your car at Nationals last Fall. I came by a few times to introduce myself, but never saw you with your car. I have autcorssed my NSX locally a couple of times, but I was at Nationals with my MINI JCW in STX. Best of luck in the upcoming season.

 

[CL65 Captain]

here's the reply i PM'd him, just in case others are interested...

-----------------------------------------------------------

first of all, let me say i am glad to hear you are competing in autocross with the NSX. a lot of people like to say that the NSX will never be competitive, and i think that is nonsense. it is still an uphill battle... but it can compete with the top dogs.

sounds like you are going to be competing in the stock class like me.

i'll start with alignment settings...

FRONT: get as much front negative camber as you can! with the stock suspension, you will be able to get -1.0 to -1.5... in other words, not too much, but max it out to whatever you are able to get. set your front toe to a very slight toe out (like 0.05" on each side), or neutral toe is fine too if tire wear is a concern for you.

REAR: i like the rear at about -1.8 to -2.0. set the toe to be slightly toe'd in (like 0.05" to 0.08" on each side).

as for tire pressure... that is hard to pin down because it really depends on each tire. i have never autocrossed with the AD08s, but my starting guess would be about 35-37psi in the front, and 37-39 psi in the rear. you will have to adjust from there based on how much the tires are rolling over in corners.

the NSX is very softly sprung by modern performance cars standards, so it is going to flop around a LOT, which is going to make it quite tail happy at an autocross where the car gets thrown around from side to side. i STRONGLY recommend getting a bigger front sway bar (i use the dali racing 1" bar because it fits in my car without needing to modify the spare tire tray).

i have been maintaining a blog of my progress with the car since i began autocrossing it in late 2009. feel free to take a look: http://nsxftw.blogspot.com

v

Are you really running 245/45/16s & 295/40/17 rear? What size wheels & offset?

When I was running 235/40/17 on 17x8 on the front they barely fit.

 

[nsxtasy]

A setup that works for an experienced, competitive autocrosser (a) may not work for a novice, and (b) may be awful for street use.

Since you're a novice autocrosser, I still say your best bet is to leave it stock while you're learning how to autocross. As you develop your autocross experience as well as your experience with the car's handling, you'll have a better feel for what the car is doing and for what changes you'll want to make.

 

[shrddr]

That's interesting -- I had exactly the opposite problem. I took the car out for an autocross last week and I had tons of trouble getting it into the corners. I'll grant I was probably just coming in too fast, but I just kept plowing straight instead of turning in. That's why I was asking about setup to begin with.

yeah, that is (most likely) caused by you simply entering the corner too fast. the most typical progression when learning to autocross is:

1. too much understeer because of too much corner entry speed
2. feeling like it is impossible to find a right balance as the car shifts from corner entry understeer to mid/late corner oversteer in the same corner. this happens when you learn to start dialing back your corner entry speed... the moment the front tires bite and gain traction, the car will start coming loose.
3. learning how to use trail braking to induce corner entry rotation.

keep at it... you are REALLY going to enjoy this!

 

[shrddr]

Are you really running 245/45/16s & 295/40/17 rear? What size wheels & offset?

When I was running 235/40/17 on 17x8 on the front they barely fit.

yes i am... on the stock wheels (16x7 and 17x8.5). in the SCCA stock class, i am limited to stock size wheels with a maximum offset difference of 1/4 inch from stock. i do use a 1/4 inch spacer in the rear so the tires dont rub against the spring perch. in the front the tires rub the fender on full lock quite severely... but when racing i am never anywhere near full lock

 

[shrddr]

It was great to see your car at Nationals last Fall. I came by a few times to introduce myself, but never saw you with your car. I have autcorssed my NSX locally a couple of times, but I was at Nationals with my MINI JCW in STX. Best of luck in the upcoming season.

let's make sure to find each other this year