5SpeedP5

Well heres my dilema.... the first autocross of the season is coming up, and i have both cars... i want to take the p5 but i wont beable to get my dunlops put back on (snowtires right now) in time... so its snow tires on it.. but otherwise itd be good to go

the se-r well its suspension aint the greatest compared to the p5 in my opinion, but it does have the LSD advantage. but it only has ~35% tred left on its yokohamas.

so my question is... which should i take sunday? what should i do to make the situation on either car better for autocross currently?

Phantom Cruiser

Take both!

Davard

As long as it's not raining, less tread is usually good.

Compared to the P5 on snow tires, the Sentra is probably faster, but you have to use a different driving style. While the P5 uses all 4 tires for cornering, the SE-R generally uses only one (the outside front). This requires you to be brutal to get the car to work right, literally throwing the car onto that outside front tire. Not particularly elegant, but it's the fastest way to get a stock suspended SE-R around a corner.

Redfyre

You have both!?! I'm so jealous! Have fun which ever one you choose.

carguycw

I would take the SE-R. It may not turn in as well as the P5, but it's faster, it has an LSD, and 14" tires are cheaper and more readily available in common R-compound sizes. IMHO the SE-R classed better in Stock class because the P5 runs in the same class as the lighter, stiffer ES, and if you decide to run STS, the SE-R has the advantage of the viscous LSD, which almost no other car in the class can use. However, to be fair, both cars can be fun.

However, if you decide to autocross the SE-R, I would be consider a couple of hints given to me by a long-time SE-R autocrosser...
1) Be careful when lowering the car. You must use shorter struts or really stiff springs in order to avoid running out of front suspension travel, which will put make the car understeer like crazy.
2) If your SE-R has ABS, pull the fuse before you autocross it! The SE-R's ABS is a 2-channel system that's split diagonally, so if the car lifts the inside rear tire under hard trail braking (which it will do EASILY on R-compounds), the computer will panic and totally release the outside FRONT brake, the one that's doing most of the work. This is usually followed by loss of control and massive conage.

Good luck! You'll have fun either way.

5SpeedP5

well then, im taking the SE-R for sure now.... thanks for all the tips guys! any further input on autocrossing the SE-R would be greatly appreicated. I always figured that it would be a good car for autocross, its just the susupension stock doesnt feel as good as i wish, but oh well, ill get the fixed eventually.

oh yea it doesnt have ABS....

carguycw

My main suggestion for the SE-R is to install new struts and replace the suspension bushings with new OEM parts (Energy Suspension sells a complete poly bushing kit if you intend to run STS or DSP). This will do wonders for the suspension and make the car feel much tighter without costing too much.

mazdaspeedwest

doesn't matter which one...just go have fun and get some seat time.

and here's a nice pic describing Davards explanation....and yes, it's very brutal, but cool as hell to watch (even better when your driving )