Yeah I know the earlier cars are lighter. But this is what I own.

Is anyone doing any good with an X in stock class? Any setups someone can point me to?

My preference is Kumho 710 but it seems all they have which will fit a stock wheel is the OE size in a square shoulder. 245 isn't much tire for a 3500 lb car. So I'm guessing the Hoosier A6 in a 255/35 might be a better bet. An inch more tread, an inch less diameter, and supposed to fit a 8.5 (stock) rim.

For alignment, I know there's info on the X forum for aggressive alignments, including rotating the strut bolt for more camber. That should be straight forward.

I suppose I can kinda answer my first question by going through all the National Tour results for the last couple of years. If there are no X's in the trophies, maybe the car just doesn't have it in it. Nitto racers need not apply.

 

You will need a heluva lot more tire than a 255 to keep up with everything else, nevermind get past them. In the end it'll most likely be an exercise in frustration. Not tryng to be a naysayer, just realistic. Also basing it on some of my friends experiences.

For reference the solstice & 08 Sti run 285's & 295's. I know the 295's were on the 8.5 inch Sti wheels. Car felt like a marshmallow.

As for past results, there may be a couple last year and a couple this year (at least the AST crew in STU) but not much beyond that.

 

I'm sure you're right about the odds of success. I checked tour results back to the last Nationals, and no Mitsu's at all. It's pretty much a Honda S2000 world.

That won't necessarily stop me. This is kind of a side project. I'm a national driver in a prepared-category car. The X is a DD and sees fairly regular rallycross use and is very competitive on courses smooth enough for it's low ground clearance (i.e. 3 class wins and 2 event overalls). But there are some special high-speed AX-type events I want to run with the X and the rallycross tires can't cut it. They just tear up.

So I really just want it set up to the best it can be. Has to remain stock to remain legal in RallyCross Stock/4. And I think all of the autocross tweaks for AS will likely be beneficial for RX as well. Thanx for your info on what size tires the STi and Solstice run. I also know that FS was won at Nationals with a Shelby Mustang with 285/18s on what I assume are 8" rims.

But I've noticed my 245 tires come quite close to rubbing the front vented panel on turning in. While I might be able to run tires as big as 285's on 8.5 rims, I'm not sure if they'll clear. Modifying that panel for clearance would be illegal as would any serious interference or rubbing. So I was interested in what others have done using stock wheels -- if anything. Maybe the answer is no one has done anything serious with the car wrt stock class.

 

If you're talking about the stock 245/40/18s, the 285/30/18 is a good deal shorter, so it may not rub that panel (or rub it severly enough to cause an issue). The real issue (from what I've seen) is being able to clear the strut - I'm not sure if spacer allowances in Stock are enough to clear it.

That said, if it DID work, the X would probably be pretty fun in AS, especially at ProSolos or in the wet. Jonathan Roberts seemed to be able to hold his own in an STI, so you never know.

 

285/30/18 doe rub in the front and back (I've not had it on a stock wheel though, this was on a 10.5" wheel). It also will require fender work (rolling at the very least in the rear).

I say either run in STU on street tires or, if your region has it, in a tire class (T-AS). That way you can stay on street tire and be ok.

Unfortunately, the X in stock everything else simply won't be competitive (nationally, possibly locally) in either of those classes (too heavy, too softly sprung, etc.).

 

I guess I'd consider a 6 time national champion a "national driver".

For the PCA events i'm sure you could get away with the 255/35-18 A6 on the stock wheels. anything else is going to be too tall or too wide to fit on 8.5's.

 

Yikes...outed. But that was in my younger days. These days just a national trophy is a very good day.

I'm inclined to agree with you. Except Strano's car is killer with 285s on 18x8's, so I guess it must work. But a tire that wide would almost certainly run the edge of the tread into the forward inner panel on turn-in. I guess I could do a cardboard and tape thing and check the clearance statically. Not sure how it will be different when rolled over in cornering. Was hoping someone on this forum had already done my homework for me but I guess I'll have to get off my lazy ***.

 

If you wanna try a set of 285's for fitment, we usually throw out a set about every 2 months. They'd be pretty dead of course but it could answer fitment questions with out spending 1200 bucks on a guess.

 

So as I'm surfing the classifieds on sccaforums I find this:

http://sccaforums.com/forums/thread/363493.aspx

...which appears to be Roberts trying to order s2k parts for his STi?

 

doh!

So much for that, I guess.

 

Thanx, but I can probably learn more measuring one of your mounted tires. You guys probably carry at least one mounted spare in the trailer, right?

Goofygrin...you said you had interference with the fender lips. What about that vented plastic inner panel in front of the tires? Are your 285's short enough to clear that panel at full lock?

 

yeah we've got those too. Stop on by.

 

I get rubbing at full lock on the front and back plastic. In the rear to make it fit I had to roll and pull the fender. In the front, I had to pull the fender slightly. I also run -3*+ camber in the front and in the rear I float between -1.5 and -2.0*.

Again, I'm running these on 18x10.5+15 wheels, so YMMV on stock wheels. Also, do to the way I have my suspension setup, I have about 3-4mm of clearance to the coilover spring. I think the way the stock struts are setup this is a non-issue (the spring is way high on the stock setup).