What does OPPO think...

"Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen" (sportwagen)
08/28/2014 at 18:10 • Filed to: None

About modifications? I am considering going for a Malone Tuning Stage 3 kit for my 2011 JSW TDI along with H&R RSS Club Sport coilovers and shocks. Maybe some 17/18 inch wheels with 235 width tires... for the Track Day BRO!

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

What should I do?!?! Should I save money?!

DISCUSSION (28)

AM3R > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 18:12

I love em.

My coilover recomendation: KW street comforts. As you can tell, they are really comfortable. This is great if you daily drive your car, because it'll still be a champ on the track but it won't break your back all the other times you drive it.

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 18:14

How much do those wheels weigh? Koni Yellows rule my life. What is the application? Car/what will it be used for?

efme > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 18:20

save money for what....

RallyWrench > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 18:24

I like KWs a lot, I've installed & worked with more than I can count & never been disappointed. I also work on a lot of TDIs & JSWs, and none of them are modified. So you should do it & report back, so I can do these things when I get my brown manual JSW TDI someday ;)

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > mcseanerson
08/28/2014 at 18:39

dd (75.5k miles and counting :) and occasional autocross vehicle

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 18:40

Can you fit 16's? I would go 17 over 18 if you are tracking it.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > RallyWrench
08/28/2014 at 18:41

the issue is that I have exactly zero dollars right now.... I want to do it but I'm not sure if it would be worth it :(

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
08/28/2014 at 18:43

It's on stock 205/55R16s right now... It was offered with 225/45R17s from the factory too

RallyWrench > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 18:53

That's the same reason I don't own one myself, I understand! At least you've got a nice stock TDI, and that's pretty damn good.

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 19:02

Smaller rims will give you better grip, ride, and spare you money on tires, the only real reason to get bigger rims is to fit bigger brakes.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again.
08/28/2014 at 19:19

probably no on the bigger brakes... Though the smaller wheels do sound better...

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 21:44

I'm going to tell you what was told to me. Hold off on mods as long as you can to focus on improving as a driver. Also when you do mod plan around what class you want to be in.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > mcseanerson
08/28/2014 at 21:53

Okay! My only issue is that my car feels like a dog sometimes... especially on the AutoCross track (JayHawk Jake was around 8 seconds a lap faster than me) Hell even Buick was faster than me in his sketch-mobile :( I feel like 185WHP and 350WTQ would help solve that (probably) for only $650

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 21:56

Was that in your car or his? If it was his car was that raw or pax? What tires are you running?

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > mcseanerson
08/28/2014 at 22:01

What do you mean? Jake's runs were in his car and Buick's were in his Buick... what does the second question even mean?? I am running BFGoodrich Touring T/A 205/55R16s with about 50% tread left.

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 22:25

Ok. First mod, buy better tires. Second mod, learn to be a better driver. I believe so much in driver improvement I think paying for driving schools is a better investment than any car mods when starting out. The guy who smoked me by five seconds in a similar Miata? His son drove the same car and ran times on par with mine. I got beat by five seconds purely by a better driver. You're not gonna gain five seconds from a mod. Raw vs. Pax represents your actual time vs your time based on class. Slower classes have time taken off while faster classes can have time added.

Here is a link to the results from my last autocross. Yes it has been longer than I care for, it sucks when your car is broken. The fastest guy in street category is in an e-street Miata. I was also in an E-street Miata. Raw time is your actual time. My fastest time for the day (Sean Sims 1995 Mazda Miata) was 54.282. My pax time was 44.185 based on my class. The fastest driver that day in Street was in the same class. Scott Singleton in a 2000 Miata. We had the same tires, basically the same motor, the only real advantage he had was better shocks and springs. He ran a best raw time of 49.512 and a pax of 40.302. The way I know for certain though that I was beat by a better driver and not a better car was his son drove the same car (Jeremy Singleton) and was only one place ahead of me out of the whole street category.

When you compare yourself to other cars compare the pax times. What you really want is fastest in class and faster than yourself. Don't spend money on anything that classes you out of street to begin with because you should assume everyone else will do whatever mods are possible in their class so only having some mods will make you slower than others in your class.

My overall advice? Buy good summer tires and wheels to go with them just for autocross. Buy the lightest wheels +- 1 inch of your stock wheels and the same width. If you still want to mod your car just buy a set of koni yellows. You can't change your springs in street category.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > mcseanerson
08/28/2014 at 22:44

Hm, well the only autocross I've been to was the one at Blacktop Nationals which was basically pay to play with no class system... I agree on the tires actually and I think that the Koni yellows are a good idea too.

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 22:48

I would just buy tires to start. Wheels to go with if you want one set for the street and one for the track. Where are you guys at? The big reason for summer tires is it will be the biggest boost and almost nobody runs all seasons at these things. Koni yellows are great but you will learn faster on stock shocks because you will be fighting more for every fraction of a second.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > mcseanerson
08/28/2014 at 22:52

I'm in Wichita, Kansas (LOL turns). We don't have too many autocross events around here and the next one is in Salina (100 miles away) and the next one after that is in Yoder (60 miles away)... that's what I get for living in Kansas I guess :P

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 22:54

These wheels with these tires. Start with that, focus on going faster and when you think you as a driver can't go any faster than buy shocks.

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 22:59

I live in Ohio. Despite everyone elses mocking, I'm looking at you Demuro, midwest states are actually great for car guys. Just ask Peter Egan. Where I live there are basically no autocrosses within an hour of me. The plus side though is just over an hour away are four differnt regions. The main reason I asked where you were at is if you live somewhere with snow and winter you can use summer tires as an excuse to buy winter tires.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > mcseanerson
08/28/2014 at 23:03

Hm, well those wheels are expensive for 16's... part of what I'm looking for is slightly more rubber (tires spin all the way through second gear because TORQUE) which will help put the power down and give me slightly more grip. Why 16 and not 17?

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 23:19

16 is lighter and to stay in the street class(the cheapest class) you have to keep the same width so a 17 would just be a heavier wheel with the same contact patch. You need to practice throttle control not worry about extra rubber making you faster. The summer tires will be substantially grippier though. Are your tires spinning all around the course or just at launch?

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > mcseanerson
08/28/2014 at 23:20

Both. I have to stay off the throttle in the corners or I will just understeer like crazy or burn through the tires :( do not want to do that...

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 23:26

Understeer is common in fwd and you learn to tune and drive around it. Just playing with your air pressure can make a big difference. People hate on fwd all the time but to be honest I kind of liked my old Mazda 3...we won't say better but differently than I like my Miata.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > mcseanerson
08/28/2014 at 23:30

TBH I love my JSW and I kind of think the suspension is pretty good (like almost GTI levels of good) for it being a 3200 LB station wagon... When I was on the course I had the PSI up to about 40 (5-10 more than stock) because I had heard that higher PSI is better... is this true?

mcseanerson > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen
08/28/2014 at 23:36

......no. You typically want to go lower. On summer tires like the direzzas they have indicators to show where you want them to wear to and you play with the tire pressure accordingly for each given day.

These videos are old but still considered relevant by those in the know.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > mcseanerson
08/28/2014 at 23:37