STX setup sharing thread (2019)

[CoolHandMoss]

There is an older “STX setup sharing” thread but things definitely change over the years. I thought it would be nice to start a new thread for anyone that would like to share their current STX setup and give feedback on how it’s working for them so people new to the class can see what is working and people contemplating setup changes can find some guidance. When I ran STS there was a new “STS setup” thread every year on Miata.net and it was interesting to see how the setups changed and what people were trying. For reference, there is also a lot of good discussion and development going on in this thread which will undoubtedly remain a good ongoing resource:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...=25779&page=90

Here is the original STX setup thread:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ht=stx+sharing

This is my setup:
2015 BRZ, ~32k miles (usually raced as #68 or 86)
Color: Red

Suspension -
Dampers: KW V3, adjusted pretty soft.
Springs: 350F/325R
Sway bars: Perrin front on full stiff, Whiteline 16mm set soft

Alignment & suspension settings -
Ride height: Haven’t measured lately but it’s High. Roughly 5 1/4" at the pinch welds last time I measured.
Alignment: -3.5 camber/0 toe front, -2.4/ 0 toe rear

Engine & drivetrain -
Exhaust: HKS EL header (wrapped), everything else stock.
Intake: Perrin CAI and elbow with lots of fancy gold space shuttle wrapping paper.
ECU: ECUTEK tune.
Whiteline transmission mount insert and shifter bushing.
Diff: stock

Wheels/Tires, etc -
Wheels: 17x9 Enkei RPF-1 45mm offset
10mm spacers and extended ARP lug studs in the front.
Tires: BFGoodrich Rival S 1.5 (245/40-17). 27-28 PSI depending on the lot. less than 27 has not worked well with only 3.5 degrees of camber.
Brakes: HP+ front and rear.
Battery: Braile 11.5 lb.
Other: Steering rack bushings, diff and subframe bushings are waiting to be installed, AMSOIL fluids in the engine, transmission and diff.

This is the first year racing this car, since my FR-S was totaled on the way home from Bristol last year. Currently the car feels very good at higher speeds generally but as one might expect with the unusual spring selection, it is quite pushy at lower speeds. I will be making adjustments to correct that and get it balanced out before the Finger Lakes Tour. The springs will end up something closer to square or I'll just swap them end for end. As it is, the car has proven itself reasonably competitive already this year, though nobody good enough to show that has driven it. The car took second at the Dixie Tour and had the fastest time in class on day 1 at the Charlotte Tour and the second fastest time on day 2, but with different drivers, so no overall finish worth mentioning. The softer springs provide outstanding grip in high speed sweepers and transitioning is still great. Unfortunately there is no amount of trail braking that is going to get it to rotate at lower speeds at this point, but that will be fixed soon.

Edited 4/27/19 to update spring rate/swaybar changes.

[tony_r]

Suspension/Align
ProParts Megans - 6k/7k (350/400)
8-12 clicks from soft front, 18-24 clicks rear
From pinch: 5 1/8" front, 4 5/8" rear
F: -4.3 camber, 0 toe
R: -2.5 camber, 1/16 total toe-in
22mm Perrin on medium
SPC arms w/ FRSport delrin inserts

Engine
Tomei UEL, HPS Tube, Perrin filter, Perrin 2.5" cat-back, custom OFT tune

Wheel/Tire/Brake
Both 245/40/17 REs and Rivals for whatever surface
17x9 TRM C4, +35 front +40 rear (spacers)
Ferodo DS 1.11 front, DS2500 rear, GT3 front ducts

Car works fine and can run with upper mid pack easy. Will not beat well setup cars with awesome drivers. Needs a diff, Mann rear bar, good EL header and full exhaust with custom tune to make up the difference. Also could use some more rear rate as it sits.

[Doozer]

This was set-up from 4 years ago but lap time still stands
2013 GT86 auto

This set-up was very understeery. Since it was a street car we decided it was safer. On other proper racecars, different shocks and spring rates turned it into another animal.

Ohlins 380lbs spring ft and rear
3 clicks hard rear
8 clicks hard front
Cusco fender braces
Tanabe lower front sub brace
Toyota hardend frame bolts
Whiteline 22mm front sway (set loose)
Whiteline 18mm rear (set medium)
Whiteline rear sub bushing (full bushing)
CF drive shaft
JP auto works A/T vacuum delete
5:1 Final Drive (OEM diff)
Airaid intake
Delicious FF tune
ACE A350 header and front pipe
RacerX front LCA's (solid bushings)
RacerX rear UCA's
RacerX rear LCA's
TRD door latches
front caynards
Perrrin steering rack bushings
Hardrace stiff motor mounts
Rays 17x8.5 SL's (37et)
20mm spacers rear only
Maxxis RC-1 235/40/17 (treadwear 100)
AP 5200 Sprint kit (ft only)
CL-6 sintered pads (ft and rear)
Essex "harness" bar
51.3% cross weight
45% rear weight
5.6 caster LF (I forget, have to check notes)
5.5 caster RF (I forget, have to check notes)
4* camber LF
2.5* camber RF
4* camber LR
2* camber RR
2mm toe out front
0 toe rear
57cm ride height LF (measured from center of hub to fender with driver (78kg)
57cm ride height RF
57.7cm ride height LR
57.5cm ride height RR
total weight 1218.6kg with driver (2681lbs)

Link to tire temps:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80118

Old video:
50+ cars on track, start at around 2:15 for hot laps
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL7uYz5_3bk&t=277s[/ame]

[smg1138]

This has been my STX setup for a few years now. Planning to finally add camber plates when I get my coilovers rebuilt at the end of this season.

2013 Scion FRS

Suspension
Dampers: RCE Tarmac 2's (Recommended Settings)
Springs: 400F/400R
Sway Bars: Strano front, stock rear
Rear LCA: Whiteline (stamped steel version)
Endlinks: Whiteline adjustable (shorter version)

Alignment & Suspension Settings
Ride Height: 13.25" hub center to fender
Alignment: -2.7 camber, 0 toe front | -2.2 camber, 1/16” toe-in rear

Engine & Drivetrain
Exhaust: Perrin 2.5" Resonated
Header: JDL UEL
Intake: Stock box with K&N filter and Perrin tube
ECU: OFT Stage 2

Wheels/Tires, etc
Wheels: 17x9 Enkei RPF1 35mm offset
Tires: Bridgestone RE-71R (245/40-17)
Brakes: Winmax W3
Battery: Shorai 5 lb
Bushings: Steering Rack, Shifter, Differential, Subframe

[Clutch Dog]

My car just bought in January this year after years of ****ering around with other chassis (yaris, s2000, rx8, 2.5rs coupe and a ND1)

Purpose: Be the ultimate combo of street-able, track-able and STX classing. Able to go from auto-x to the hpde's up north and be driven between the two. So stock seat, add a little more of everything but keep Reliability near max

With how I drive, I wanted the car to rotate on all four wheels vs just oversteer with the back. So at the very limit there is some understeer to make it more stable mid corner. I have a messed up driving line and perspective (years of awd driving and rally-schools have sort of improved and worsened my driving philosophy)
2015 Scion FRS -> BRZ tS clone
35.6k Miles, second owner

Raced as number #400


Suspension :
Shocks: Koni Adjustable Yellows. I have the fronts at 1 3/4 turn hard ( outta 2) Rears at 1.5 turns, and i change rears more if the surface is smoother or rougher)
Bumpstops: Stock FRS
Springs: Swift Spec-R (4.4 kg front/ 5.3 kg rear)
Sway Bars: Whiteline Sway Bar 22mm front Adjustable/ Whiteline 18mm Rear Adjustable (Front set full tight, rear set middle)
Endlinks: Whiteline adjustable front and rear ( Buy the vehicle kit from whiteline)
Rear LCA: Cuscio V2.0 Adjustable rear, for toe and camber adjustment
Front Camber Bolts: Whiteline
Strut Tower Tie: STI Flexible Strut tower
Extra: Lower Flexible Draw stiffener from 2015 JDM tS (the 2018 usdm ts uses a different set up)


Alignment & Suspension Settings
Ride Height: 13.25" hub center to fender (About 1.5" lower than stock)
Alignment:
Front Camber: -2.25 * ( stock top hats whiteline camber bolts only)
Rear Camber: -2.0 rear ( cusco rear could dial in 3.25 from what the guy said)
Front Total Toe: 1/16 out
Rear Total Toe: 1/16 in
Front Caster Matched: 8 Degrees (again stock top hats)


Engine & Drivetrain
Exhaust: OE
Headers: OE
Axle-back: JD Muffler Delete with Muffler delete cap ( it was cheap..)
Intake: Stock box with K&N filter.
ECU: OFT Stage 2 W/85 Tune
Soon: Crawford intake manifold spacer with Aluminum intake that has been flow matched ( secret sauce from the old wrx days in the 00s)
Differential: 17+ Swapped 4.3 stock LSD, Motul 300 Gear oil filled

Wheels/Tires, etc
Wheels: 18x7.5 Subaru OE tS Rims 35mm offset
Tires: Humho V720 (225/40-18)
Brake Calipers: OE
Brake Pads: Stoptech
Brake Rotors: Stoptech Slotted
Brake Lines: Stoptech Braided
Battery: OE
Bushings: OE

Interior:
Titan Racing shift knob
Schroth 3 point ASM DOT legal harness
Verus Engineering Throttle spacer
Clutch Spring Delete
Soon: 949 Racing Steering Wheel spacer

Exterior
Soon; BRZ tS wing, 2018 Brz bumper, with fog delete, Verus Engineering hood vents


Im sure I am forgetting something, once iget the alignment set up Ill post it.
Im thinking -2 camber front. -2 rear, slight toe out up front, toe neutral in the rear. and as much caster as we can find. not excessive but itll get stability for streeting driving.

[cjd]

I'm intrigued by the setups that are way outside of being STX legal (well, @Doozer seems to have posted setup on a track car... not sure if it's actually autocrossed in STX). Does no one care? Is it just not competitive locally so it doesn't matter?



2017 Limited PP BRZ
RCE T3's, currently 8k square
RaceSeng front cas/cam
RaceSeng rear -1" tops.

Strano FSB
Mann RSB, stiffest setting
RacerX rear LCA with STX legal bushing
Whiteline swaybar endlinks, F&R
Whiteline rear subframe inserts
Whiteline diff mount inserts
Whiteline steering rack bushings


SPC rear toe-arms (probably not legal, also no performance benefit... except when I'm doing alignments where they're infinitely better than the eccentrics.)

Ace 350 header, ceramic coated
3" catted/resonated front-pipe
Thermal R&D catback
Grimmspeed intake
EcuTek, Delicious (remote) tuned
Kartboy shifter insert
Kartboy short-shifter
non-PP rear brake calipers
AP Sprint front calipers
Ferodo DS2500 (for now...)
Spiegler stainless lines F&R

Grimmspeed hood struts
Shorai 5lb battery
RacerX catch can
RaceSeng Sphereology shift knob
Cusco accelerator pedal cover
STi lip and side skirts, spats soon as I fix them



Off the car at the moment: Grimmspeed front strut tower brace; also have 7k and 9k springs (ran 7f/9r the first year I had the T3's)



wheels/tires:
17x9+35 TC105n with 245/40/17 RE71r (3rd season)
17x9+40 949 6ul with 245/40/17 Rival S (also 3rd season)
have a test-n-tune + event on a concrete site in 2 weeks, which is the reason I haven't put the 255/40/17 RE71's onto wheels quite yet...


Ride height: approx 30mm drop pre corner-balance
Front camber: -3.8°
Front toe: 0.1° toe out
Front caster: max (~6.8°)
Rear camber: -2.5°
Rear toe: -.07° toe in


Car weighs in at around 2800lbs with me in it and a quarter tank of gas, give or take.


Toe arms, as noted, are not legal (almost for sure... I forget if that' ever been challenged). There is also no performance benefit I can identify; still regular rubber bushings, slightly larger metal bit... and SO much less headache doing alignments. Were I running anything but locals, I'd go back to stock - but I'd also align with these then swap, to get the RLCA set right and then only have to get the toe arms back to the right place for both toe and camber to be correct. None of my local competitors have cared so far - if someone did, I'd do the switch again.



I have a Verus rear diffuser I haven't put back on the '17 (only just found the drill template), but I created a custom mount solution so it's a ~2 minute removal, ~5 minute reinstall - I don't autocross with it on the car.


Current challenges: confidence, rain performance (driver a huge part) and top speed is too low. Taller tires will help a tiny bit on the latter, thus the 255 switch. Practice will help with the former... so far it's been ~40° temps and stuff falling from the sky in various stages of existence (not always liquid... in fact, we had to delay an event a couple hours to let ice on course melt...) for the two events we've had, and it looks like for this coming Sunday as well. Crazy me is considering 225 re71's on 8" wheels for rain days... Also a diff if the budget comes around again.

[smg1138]

@cjd That's a really nice setup! I'm especially jealous of that Ace 350 header. Did you find the Mann rear swaybar to make a significant difference? I've considered getting one.

[cjd]

Originally Posted by smg1138

@cjd That's a really nice setup! I'm especially jealous of that Ace 350 header. Did you find the Mann rear swaybar to make a significant difference? I've considered getting one.

Thanks! Right now I need to learn confidence left-foot braking. Weight transfer is just there, totally in my control, yet I can still dive-bomb slaloms. It's crazy to me, being able to ride the line where the car starts to rotate more than you want (or give it a little extra when you need it) on sweepers.



The '17 has a stiffer (stock) rear bar and I wanted to be changing fewer things when I had to shift everything over to the '17 from the '14, so I got the Mann rear bar - and I'm basically using it where it matches the stock '14 sway, so I haven't explored how it works on softer settings... that's part of what the test-n-tune is for! Also for LFB practice. I'm tempted to switch to the Karcepts front sway, but man is that pricey, and I don't know if it matters right now. I mean, I get it, but... probably diff first. I had money for that this year, then a furnace died and my tax cuts cost me 7% more (income went down, taxes went up) so... maybe next year.


Ace was mostly because I couldn't find a replacement Nameless header... that got crushed in the crash. I think the Ace is a little better overall though - definitely doesn't have the dip the Nameless did. And the tune is SO much better than what I used to have. So well balanced for autocross. And the 3" FP was noticeable at the top, just doesn't quite feel like it wheezes, where it did with the stock FP.


Confidence + pulling it all together and I could be fast.

[Lincoln Logs]

2017 Toyota 86 - #337

Suspension :
Whiteline MaxG Coilovers (AST5100 Single Adjustable)
6kg Swift Springs Front/Rear
Vorshlag Camber Plates
Stock Sway Bars

Alignment & Suspension Settings
Ride Height:
Front | 13.5" hub center to fender
Rear | 13.75" hub center to fender
Alignment:
Front | -3.5* Camber, 0 Toe, 7* Caster
Rear | -2.25* Camber, 1/16th Total Toe In

Engine & Drivetrain
Thermal R&D Catback
OpenFlash Performance V3 Header with overpipe
Stock Front Pipe
OFT OTS Stage 2+ Tune
Perrin Oil Cooler

Wheels/Tires/Brakes:
17x9, +40, Konig Hypergram or Konig Dekagram
Bridgestone RE-71r (245/40/17)
AP Racing Spring BBK
Porterfield R4-S Pads Front & Rear

A few thoughts on set up. These cars seem to like square rates with the stock sway bars. With a bigger front bar it favors a touch more rear spring than front from what I can tell. I like the square rates for autocross but suspect they will be a little twitchy on a high speed track. I generally run lower spring rates than most set ups due to our local lot being incredibly rough but I like the softer set up on the street. For my uses it's plenty fast and regularly one of the fastest STX cars locally.

[CoolHandMoss]

Thanks for all the responses so far. It really looks like setups have not changed too terribly much since 2013 when we have the most posts from the older thread.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by CoolHandMoss

Thanks for all the responses so far. It really looks like setups have not changed too terribly much since 2013 when we have the most posts from the older thread.

Well if you look closely, every single setup posted so far is on different spring rates, dampers, and alignment, which I guess is kind of like how it was before too... I mean, I don't expect everyone to converge on one identical setup, but I'm surprised it hasn't converged more.

I want to post mine up in full detail after I get a set of fresh tires and a few events in them, hopefully being much more competitive than I have been. But here's the quick rundown because I'm in full support of this thread.

tldr setup: I'm copying Tony's setup notes above with similar alignment and such based on what Jeff Wong developed in 2017, there probably isn't a better budget autox solution for this car than ProParts right now.
ProParts Megans F-6k R-7k
Tomei EL header, stock exhaust from the header back (I like quiet)
OFT with WayneRom canned tune
RPF1s 17x9 +45 with a 5mm spacer on all corners (ARP extended studs and gorilla steel extended lugs)
Bridgestone RE71R 245/40/17
Ferodo DS2500 pads on stock calipers and discs

Edit forgot some details:
Front Swaybar: Whiteline 20mm - full stiff, works well on a warm grippy day, but in cold and damp I'm getting a push which I think softening will help with.
Rear Sway: Stock
RacerX Rear LCA's with STX legal bushings
The technically illegal SPC rear Toe arms (both by letter clarification and percentage of metal) but I really don't see any benefit other than making my life easier DIY alignment changes, If I got to a serious event they'll come off and stock will go back on.

I want the Karcepts front bar (in case someone reading this doesn't know about it), but probably won't buy it this year unless I decide to make a run at Nats in this car and I have time to test it.

Front camber is at -4.1° and I think I'll be upping it to -4.3° after scrubbing in another set and paying attention to outer edge heat after a run, if you're serious I'd be surprised if you're much less than -4.0° up front on an STX car these days.


This is my only car, it gets DD duty since I bought it over six years ago, currently at 78k miles, replaced a few coil packs and replaced the clutch a few weeks ago, it's been great! I've tried a few parts, some I liked, some I didn't, Raceseng Camber Plates and top hats, Mann Rear Bar, Nameless muffled catback, Bilstein, I've had Eibach, Hyperco and Swift springs on the car, Motul, Redline, Royal Purple fluids, Dunlop Z2SS, MPSS, Firestone Indy 500's, this is a great car to tinker and learn on.

[CoolHandMoss]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Well if you look closely, every single setup posted so far is on different spring rates, dampers, and alignment, which I guess is kind of like how it was before too... I mean, I don't expect everyone to converge on one identical setup, but I'm surprised it hasn't converged more.

I agree with you. I expected more people to be running similar setups as well. But the variation keeps the competition interesting in a sense.

[Locust]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Well if you look closely, every single setup posted so far is on different spring rates, dampers, and alignment, which I guess is kind of like how it was before too... I mean, I don't expect everyone to converge on one identical setup, but I'm surprised it hasn't converged more.

I want to post mine up in full detail after I get a set of fresh tires and a few events in them, hopefully being much more competitive than I have been. But here's the quick rundown because I'm in full support of this thread.

tldr setup: I'm copying Tony's setup notes above with similar alignment and such based on what Jeff Wong developed in 2017, there probably isn't a better budget autox solution for this car than ProParts right now.
ProParts Megans F-6k R-7k
Tomei EL header, stock exhaust from the header back (I like quiet)
OFT with WayneRom canned tune
RPF1s 17x9 +45 with a 5mm spacer on all corners (ARP extended studs and gorilla steel extended lugs)
Bridgestone RE71R 245/40/17
Ferodo DS2500 pads on stock calipers and discs

This is my only car, it gets DD duty since I bought it over six years ago, currently at 78k miles, replaced a few coil packs and replaced the clutch a few weeks ago, it's been great!

Did you have fitment issues that required that spacer?

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Locust

Did you have fitment issues that required that spacer?

The 17x9 +45 rubs the inside fender liner at full steering lock, I think that's a universal limitation of the chassis and it'd happen with any wheel with those specs, it's really only an issue maneuvering parking lots or a tightly set up grid, many people prefer getting +35 wheels for that reason, you don't have to think about it.

However! Wheel offset can be a noticeable change in handling, going with the +45's and extended studs means I can easily go +10 on each wheel and play with it, wish I could say I did it on purpose but I lucked into it and I'm glad I have the option. (as you can see Tony is running staggered up above, and he's underselling himself, he's got a good setup going)


I forgot to mention sway bars in my above post:
Front: Whiteline 20mm swaybar - full stiff, works well on a warm grippy day, but in cold and damp I'm getting a push which I think softening will help with.
Rear: Stock

I want the Karcepts front bar (in case someone reading this doesn't know about it), but probably won't buy it this year unless I decide to make a run at Nats in this car and I have time to test it.

Originally Posted by CoolHandMoss

I agree with you. I expected more people to be running similar setups as well. But the variation keeps the competition interesting in a sense.

That makes more sense
Honestly, zero offense intended to anyone/everyone in this thread, but there's only one driver/car combo in this so far that I'd put money on to trophy at nats so take everything with a grain of salt. Cheers to making the thread though, I think sharing info makes everyone faster, even if it's from a scrub like myself.