Life Question for you race car driving types

**pr_capone** · 12-21-2011, 12:31 AM

Considering dunking some dough into the car. Specifically, I'm looking at a front and rear stress bars and a poly lower engine mount bushing which can be had under $200.

I'm planning on doing auto-x with the car in the spring as well as take a class from evolution driving school so cornering/handling is of utmost importance.

Would I be better of spending money on the stress bars or a 67mm throttle body which is a massive improvement over the stock 63mm? Now, my car is NA so I'm thinking that gains from a throttle body would be minimal vs the stiffness the bars would bring.

I could instead pick up some good quality plug wires and a set of 15mm wheel spacers and widen the car out a bit.

Essentially... wot gets me the most bang for the buck? Still can't afford turbo ($4.5k not including install) and probably never will buy it even if I can afford it.

**hometeam** · 12-21-2011, 12:37 AM

What are you driving and what is your budget, if its a throttle body OR a strut bar it does not seem very high. Also widening out your wheels alone isnt going to do much for handling, spend that money on a good performance alignment.

**pr_capone** · 12-21-2011, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hometeam

What are you driving and what is your budget, if its a throttle body OR a strut bar it does not seem very high. Also widening out your wheels alone isnt going to do much for handling, spend that money on a good performance alignment.

I'm driving a 03 Focus SVT. I have a tune on the car and recently replaced the suspension with the stock ones which are an outstanding value for performance. Car was recently aligned due to that and I have already put on some Conti ExtremeContact DWS tires.

Budget is around $250 + reasonable shipping. Most of my shopping has been done at fswerks and central florida motorsports.

johnny961 · 12-21-2011, 01:21 AM

As far as engine performance goes with a pretty much stock engine(which yours is from what I gather) bigger throttle bodies are a waste in most applications. Unless you go to a forced induction setup(i.e. turbo or supercharger) or make internal mods to your engine that require more air intake, most likely the stock throttle body is not a restriction at this point.

**hometeam** · 12-21-2011, 08:57 PM

Man for 250 bucks your not going to go much faster. You said you had an alignment, but is it a PERFORMANCE alignment? If it does not contain copious amounts of negative camber, then its not :P

Conti DWS are decent and good street tires for all weather, and could do double duty as auto X.

You want to get faster around the track for 250 bucks? Man thats tough. There are alot of small improvements that could be made with that money, my advice is still that good alignment and some decent pads and rotors.

With that tiny budget IMO thats the best you can do, when you can brake later, and enter corners at a higher speed (made possible by the negative camber you will be running, allowing more contact patch of the tire to stay in contact with the road surface)

If you have a couple bucks left over go for an X brace over a strut brace, as you dont have to spend alot, and are able to control the body roll MUCH better with an x brace.

12-21-2011, 12:31 AM
pr_capone ** SOC & ** YOU Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chiefs Hell Casino cash: $10018214	Question for you race car driving types Considering dunking some dough into the car. Specifically, I'm looking at a front and rear stress bars and a poly lower engine mount bushing which can be had under $200. I'm planning on doing auto-x with the car in the spring as well as take a class from evolution driving school so cornering/handling is of utmost importance. Would I be better of spending money on the stress bars or a 67mm throttle body which is a massive improvement over the stock 63mm? Now, my car is NA so I'm thinking that gains from a throttle body would be minimal vs the stiffness the bars would bring. I could instead pick up some good quality plug wires and a set of 15mm wheel spacers and widen the car out a bit. Essentially... wot gets me the most bang for the buck? Still can't afford turbo ($4.5k not including install) and probably never will buy it even if I can afford it.
Posts: 19,884

12-21-2011, 12:37 AM	#2
hometeam Supporter Join Date: Jul 2011 Casino cash: $4111956	What are you driving and what is your budget, if its a throttle body OR a strut bar it does not seem very high. Also widening out your wheels alone isnt going to do much for handling, spend that money on a good performance alignment.
Posts: 10,644

12-21-2011, 01:21 AM	#4
johnny961 Starter Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: in a cave Casino cash: $9956152	As far as engine performance goes with a pretty much stock engine(which yours is from what I gather) bigger throttle bodies are a waste in most applications. Unless you go to a forced induction setup(i.e. turbo or supercharger) or make internal mods to your engine that require more air intake, most likely the stock throttle body is not a restriction at this point.
Posts: 924

12-21-2011, 08:57 PM	#5
hometeam Supporter Join Date: Jul 2011 Casino cash: $4111956	Man for 250 bucks your not going to go much faster. You said you had an alignment, but is it a PERFORMANCE alignment? If it does not contain copious amounts of negative camber, then its not :P Conti DWS are decent and good street tires for all weather, and could do double duty as auto X. You want to get faster around the track for 250 bucks? Man thats tough. There are alot of small improvements that could be made with that money, my advice is still that good alignment and some decent pads and rotors. With that tiny budget IMO thats the best you can do, when you can brake later, and enter corners at a higher speed (made possible by the negative camber you will be running, allowing more contact patch of the tire to stay in contact with the road surface) If you have a couple bucks left over go for an X brace over a strut brace, as you dont have to spend alot, and are able to control the body roll MUCH better with an x brace.
Posts: 10,644