Stock Elise autocross setup advice?

[Snowphun]

Going to my first autocross in the Elise this weekend at Devens MA, which is mostly asphault, some concrete and usually long fast courses. I have a completely stock 2007 Elise, no sports package, no LSD. Stock AD07 tires with 5k miles on them.

Suggestions for starting pressures? It will be cool about 60 degrees.

Thanks.

[kestrel74]

22 cold 26 hot

[hroundy]

Start with the factory settings. They will most likely be ok. I find that if things are not sticking well, go lower on the end that does not stick.

Have you been to the Stirling Moss Run Off (this weekends NER SCCA event) before? If not you will get in a few runs in the morning. The afternoon is dedicated to those at the top of the year's points.

The only other event in New England this weekend that I know of, is being run by CMC in Portland ME on Sunday. Cumberland Motor Club

[Snowphun]

I'm going to Devens Saturday with SCMC, the SVT Cobra club. Many less participants so they aim to get ten or more runs.

Thanks for the input.

[fun4two]

I found in my few auto crosses, I liked the feel of the car with a bit higher tire pressure in the rear than in the front. I had mine set to 30 front and 36 rear. I also like the increased pressure from the stock numbers as it made the car seem to react a bit faster going into the corners. You def want the rear a little higher because you have narrower tires compared to the AO48's with a bit less grip in the front, your going to expierence a little more understeer entering a corner, nothing severe (at least from my expierence, but I came from a subaru wich just won't turn in at all). So thats what I reccomend to start with and go from there. I also made sure that my tire pressures were a few pounds higher the night before so that I didn't have to carry an air pump, all I needed was a pressure guage to adjust the pressures down as the day got warmer. Good Luck

[MikeinAlexandria]

At the Lotus school in the UK, the Elise cars we drove were completely stock, right down to the 26 and 28 psi in the tires, front and rear. The instructors noted that the cars are ready for track or autocross without any changes. Of course, if you are an amazing autocrosser (I am absolutely not, at all, normally in the slowest third of drivers when I had a BMW, not sure how I would do with the Lotus) you might want to go with lighter, wider wheels and stickier tires. But, the gist of what the Lotus guys were saying is learn to drive the Elise well in stock form too. Good luck, have fun and get there early to walk the course! I have to walk a course about five times to memorize it... which means starting from the moment they finish laying it out.

[hroundy]

Originally Posted by Snowphun

I'm going to Devens Saturday with SCMC, the SVT Cobra club. Many less participants so they aim to get ten or more runs.

Thanks for the input.

Good choice. Many more runs.

[CosmosMpower]

Try 21F 23R cold or around 23F 25R hot. Try and get your camber shims (except abs) removed if you get a chance before and set the toe.

[Surferjer]

Agree on the quickie alignment work, do that. It will really help the handling if you maximize front camber and I personally liked the rear with 2+ degrees of negative camber.

As for stock tire pressure, I don't think you need to go as low as Cosmo said, I'd start at 24-26 and bleed them back depending on handling. If it's loose, bleed more out of the back tires.

[fsparv]

Originally Posted by hroundy

Good choice. Many more runs.

Yes, probably a good choice not to do the stirling moss for your first event, but hope to see you at SCCA events next year. Russ and I will be happy to have the company of another elise owner Howard only shows up occasionally. We also had one fella in an orange one this year, but I forgot his name since he only came once.

It's good to run with more than one club. Different clubs give you different things. SCCA has more drivers, with consequently fewer runs, but a more competitive atmosphere than most other clubs. Marquee clubs such as Renegade miata and BMW club tend to be competitive for the marquee, and cars and more variable if you are not on the marquee. The only Lotus club in NE that I know of is Nelli and they don't run auto crosses, so I've decided to make SCCA my main club and use the other ones for fun and practice. That said, I've only been doing it for a year or so, so I reserve the right to change my mind . I'm also influenced by the fact that I had a friend from college running in SCCA, so that helped get me started there.

Also, be *very* careful about changes to the car because it's really easy to knock yourself out of stock. (for example, seemingly minor stainless steel break lines are not stock legal and put you in ASP with the exiges and s/c elises that have 50 more hp than you and better suspension). For the first year it won't matter so much, but if you get excited and start changing stuff you could wind up in ASP or SSM (with me) quite easily. I'm bumped up to SSM on what amounts to a technicality I inherited from the previous owner, but rulz is rulz and I'm definitely required to run in SSM. Of course if you don't care what class you run in, just want to have fun and aren't focused on winning a class have whatever fun you like with the after market tasty bits .

Even if you run with other clubs, many of them use the SCCA classing to figure out which class you fit into with their club.

Best of luck!

Now comes the hard part... waiting for next year

[roger reid]

I have a 2010 Tesla, similar to an Elise. My question is how to reduce the front understeer for autocross. In the front, do I attach the sway bar in the inside (closer to the pivot) or the outside (end of the bar)? How about the rear?

Roger

[Snowphun]

Thanks for all the input. The SVT club was a great group to run with and we got a lot of runs, though we had to work two long shifts as a result. It's clear I didn't drop tire pressures low enough, I was having a hard time believing such low pressure was the right way to go. I also checked my alignment after the event and could certainly dial in more camber.

Overall the car was a lot of fun on the runway. I don't autocross much as I've got a kart and track car but the Elise really shined so I'll be back a few tiems next year. Devens is a great place for autocrossing.

Paul