H Stock set-up. Noob questions.

[Greasyman]

I haven't even bought an SVT yet, but there's one I have my eye on. I might have it soon enough to run it Sunday in a local street tire class in H-stock. Should I run with or without a front sway? More pressure in the rear tires than the front? Anything else?

I'm not a beginner at autocross, I have an SSM Miata I've been running for a couple of years, but if I get the SVT I'll be interested in running it, just to see what it'll do.

[Sponsor]

[wrc_fan]

If its an SVT w/o all the options, I'd say go for it. Set up is a good question, especially the sway bar. It may come down to testing to figure out the best configuration. Course dependency may have a say in this too.

In my focus with street tires, I would run 5psi higher in the front. With Rcomps, I am usually 2psi or less higher in the front.

When you buy tires, take a close look at gearing. General comments on the SVT is that it is geared tall, so a small tire with a bit of stretch may be the way to go. Again course dependancy here.

I think that an SVT with good dampers in H stock would be a blast to drive, makes me kind of want to go look for one.

[Paladin]

find some stock 16" wheels off of a zx3. they are a bit lighter. also pick up a summer tire liek the dunlop direzza 101's a set of starspecs might give it away as cheating a bit,lol.
besidses you'll never really get up enough heat to warrant using star specs on most small courses. ive had no grip issues with my direzza 101's on my stock svt wheels.

also a neat trick would be to pick up the frpp dampers from ford and re use the stock svt springs. its all black so it'll look factory. i think there might be one or two tricks but its not really necessary. a stock svt will autocross pretty well, the best thing to do is run it for 2 or three seasons and figure out what yo uwant to do to improve upon it.

[GodLovesUgly]

^^cheaters never win.

you can't change the diameter of stock wheels.
and if you're in a stock class and want to be competitive you probably want to get race tires.

[Paladin]

i think h-stock bars the use of r comps. then again the star spec isnt an r comp.
also going to 16"s with an oem should still be within the rules.

[GodLovesUgly]

all stock classes allow r-comps. if we are talkin SCCA rules.

also, in stock classes you have to maintain the stock diameter. in this case the SVT comes with 17s so you have to use 17s. non SVT/ST models go to f-stock.

however, i believe you can stretch the width of the wheel .5" (someone correct me if i'm wrong.)

[wrc_fan]

Here you go:
13.4 WHEELS
Any type wheel may be used provided it complies with the following: it
is the same width and diameter as standard, and as installed (including
wheel spacers if applicable) it does not have an offset more than
+/- 0.25 inch from a standard wheel for the car. The resultant change in
track dimensions is allowed.
So same size, but you're allowed +/- a 1/4 inch in offset. Tires have to be DOT legal, so DOT legal Rcomps are allowed, with Hoosier A6 being the tire of choice in most cases.

Also, all stock Foci are currently are classed in H-Stock

[GodLovesUgly]

yo WRC, even though all foci are in h-stock, you can't swap for 16s can you? (makin sure i understand the rules.)

[wrc_fan]

Originally Posted by GodLovesUgly

yo WRC, even though all foci are in h-stock, you can't swap for 16s can you? (makin sure i understand the rules.)

Per the stock rules, you can't update/backdate between different models and trim levels unless you change everything associated with that given model/trim.

Since the SVT was only offered with 17x7 wheels, that's what you get to use.

I'm pretty certain that since most other foci had the 16x6 as an available option (no trim package required) it is OK to run the 16x6.

As far as wheels and tires are concerned though, if you had an Hstock SVT, the extra inch of width whould be more advantageous then downsizing to 16 or 15's.

[GodLovesUgly]

Originally Posted by wrc_fan

As far as wheels and tires are concerned though, if you had an Hstock SVT, the extra inch of width whould be more advantageous then downsizing to 16 or 15's.

i dunno, the gearing seems to be better with 16s then 17s for the SVT. plus the reduced weight may make it worth it as well, but it's not even allowed so oh well!

thanks for the info man.