Thought something like this might help out some of the new guys aspiring to start some competative racing.
I know I've seen alot of people post questions on what is the correct order to start buying and installing mods on their cars.
So here's what I think is the best approach to preparing a car for competition, keeping in mind that with each step of the process driver skill needs just as much (if not more) upgrading than the car does.
So you've got a brand new Subaru and you want to make it faster... where do you start.
Thats easy, start with the driver. Come to an AutoX, get some seat time as both passenger and driver. Learn whats important from those who've had a season or two to make their own mistakes. Burn those RE92's till they scream for mercy. Better you learn how poor they perform on the track than on the street.
That is why tires are definitely the foundation of any competition based vehicle. They are the place to start when you want to go racing, and frankly... the same goes for street use too. They will give you immediate imporvements and are worth every penny. It is an expensive mod, probably one of the most expensive, but if you can save the dough (that means not wasting it on BOV's, body kits, and even exhaust for that matter) you'll be more than happy with the result. Don't waste your money on expensive tires like Michelin Pilots or Goodyear F1's, there are realy only two tires to consider in my opinion, and they are the Kumho MX and the Falken Azenis. Both are relatively inexpensive... and both are at the top of the street tire classes of the SCCA series. Don't start with R-compound tires, they are far more effective if you have the suspension and driving skills to work them to their limits.
Now take your new rubber the the track, do some more autoX'n, learn how tire pressure effects the balance of the car.
I personally feel that suspension is first and formost when preping a car for racing. So after you've snagged your new rubber, look into the whole springs/dampers/coilover/swaybar market and decide what you want your car to do.
Alot of people have trouble deciding whether or not Coilovers are right for them. There is no definiative answer. There are alot of spring/strut packages that outperform the cheaper coilovers. At the same time, coilovers often offer more adjustment, and the inverted types (DMS, JIC, TienRA...) offer higher stiffness which translates to a more stable alignment during cornering. For a spring/strut package, look to spend around $250-$350 per corner. For coilovers, if they are cheaper than $2000 for all four, walk away (unless they're used ofcourse). Look for bottom adjust rears if possible (its a bugger to adjust top adjust rears) and if its in the cards, seperate compression and rebound adjustment is a valuable tool when tuning for rotation.
As far as sway bars go, forget the front... a stiffer front bar will only make the understeer worse. For more stability in a slalom use your compression adjustment on your dampers to gain precision and response. For the rear, look for an adjustable bar. There is no need to spend enourmous amounts on a JDM bar, its just a bent up steel rod, Whiteline realy offers the best bang for buck option for this kind of part.
Now that your suspension is almost done, continue to spend some time racing, you'll appreciate your mods more if you try them out before and after installing them.
If you're now at the point when you think you're ready for R's look into getting camber plates. You'll chew through your R's in a couple races if you don't give them the camber they need. Camber plates will also increase the life and grip of street tires. The plates that Tony has created eliminate the need to purchase an ALK, so put that money towards plates.
At some point in your suspension modding schedule, you should try to pencil in some time to focus on your brakes. There are two paths to choose. Keep the stock system, upgrade rotors, pads, lines, and fluid. Or get a big brake kit, and do the same. The latter is ofcourse more expensive but if you buy the right parts, you'll realy be able to feel the benefits (especially when everyone else is blowing through the stop box)
Now you're set for chassis mods, and if your income is similar to mine, you've probably had your car for at least a year or two by now. I avoided engine mods till my 60,000km warranty had expired. Its not necessarly unwise to mod before, but expect to have the dealer look closer at any failure you may have should you choose to boost the power. Lets face it, an extra 40hp is going to make alot of parts work alot harder... though it shouldn't cause failure, it will shorten the life of some components. Its unfair to expect Subaru, and your dealership to replace parts broken by a heavy left foot and a bunch more pep under the hood.
When the time comes for engine mods, you realy have to decide early on how far you want to take it. Do you want to go balls out at swap turbos and intercoolers, upgrade fuel systems, even your gearset... Or.. do you want some more go down low and an overall peppier car. I chose that latter route, mostly due to budget restrictions. My advice for those who choose this route is to get your exhaust (I took a rather cheap path there, Bosal DP ($375), Ultimate UP ($175), and stright pipe axle back ($80)) and then go straight to Japanese Auto and ask Yoshio to set you up with an AutoX tune. The street tune is alright, but in my opinion, the AutoX tune is virtually the same... just stronger. Expect to lose a little mileage in the city, but honestly my hwy mileage improved by about 60km/tank. My EGTs and Boost stability improved alot too. Frankly next to tires, this is the best money I've ever spent on the car.
An air filter, some quality synthetic oil (AMSoil or Motul) and some quality plugs are also relatively cheap HP mods that are worth the money.
At this point, you're more than likely hooked on racing, so there's no point in telling you to head back to the track, cause I'm sure you're already there. If R-comps still haven't made it to your car, and you think you've got the dicipline to use them to their potential... now is the time to buy. We've been pretty sucessful with the Kumho and Toyo R's, I've heard that the Yoko R's are poor in comparison, and the Hossier and Michelin R's are too expensive, and too soft to make them worth it for a season of racing.
Now... if you have any money left, and you realy want that body kit, or wing.. I guess you could snag it now. But there are still alot more things you can buy that will improve your times and your enjoyment.
Look at upgrading to coilovers if you went to the spring/strut route. You can get good money for used spring/strut packages. Look into possibly a steering rack upgrade, maybe even a new clutch, transmission, or bigger brake kit.
Seats are a great way to keep you right in front of the wheel where you want to be, but keep in mind Subaru seats are actually pretty good, so if you're not going to pony up the coin for something serious (Sparco, OMP, Momo...), keep the cash for something more useful.
For now I'd say thats about it. If anyone sees something I'm missing, post up and I'll add it in. My fingers are tired, and I think I may have just made the longest post in SPDA history.
Hope this helps those who are wondering which direction to take with their Subaru's. As always, every member is more than willing to offer their advice on mods, and being the group we are... most of the mods out there are at least on one of our cars!
Cheers,
-Pete
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