Making the tires HAPPY! A Semi-Deconstructing of my suspension setup Part I

As I mentioned in the previous post, I will kinda-sorta-peel back the veil on what setup now runs on my S13.  Took a lot of blood, sweat, tears and many many red-eyed nights to figure it out but, I think it's pretty much almost there. First, let me take you back 3 years ago when my car was mostly a sorta "drift-fanboy" setup ALTHOUGH my car has not been super-duper slammed like most of them; I actually knew not to do that before all the magazines, publications, and online sooth-sayers deemed that it's a sin to do so. 

It was 2009 and I was still doing the regular once-a-month autocross practice events (with drift events thrown in-between) BUT no actual competition in the championships on Sundays. The suspension setup I was running was good for drift events but not good for going fast in the realm of objectiveness with the fastest time winning when you compete in autocross.  The setup was more of a I had to "drive around and compensate for it" case so, that in-turn discouraged me from trying to compete since I knew I wouldn't be fast enough to place in the top 3 each championship event and battle for the yearly points championship to get that coveted "Jacket" with your name on it.      

- Circa 2007 to 2009. Sportmax/XXR Wheels! -

What changed my mind or got the gears turning in my head was a conversation I had with a fellow autocrosser/close friend who asked me the basic question of: "Why don't you compete on Sundays???"  My answer was: "Uhhh, I just don't feel I'd be competitive or fast enough..." 

And from that response came my self-realization: "Heck, why don't I just become competitive and fast?" So after competing in every championship event for 3 years straight, I am now running as one of the top guys in the CST (California Street Tire) Class in my Southern Pacific region of SCCA's Solo2 Autocross.  Sometimes I ask myself: "How the heck did I get here?"

Seat time, seat time, seat time and a semi-pro suspension setup gleaned from an evolution of setup changes throughout the driving seasons helped too.  The main thing I learned was this: making the tires work correctly which in turn put them in their "happy place" was the biggest factor in going faster and being fast as well.

Besides, what else is linking and connecting your car to the pavement/road/asphalt?

Tires baby.....Tires.

- The result after 3 years of Trial and (T)error-