sc or turbo?

[madmax3208]

well i know that in autocross it is all about acceleration and a sc would def push my car threw the straights but would a turbo be better for over all power? which would be better for autox and which would be better for the street.

[Toysrme]

More important than anything else is driveability.
If you crack the throttle plate open and the tires are spinning, you're shit outta luck. If you've got a ton of rpm before the turbo is spooled and useful, it's simply dead weight.
I'd go with a smaller turbo. Pleanty of boost down low, while maintaining a good bit of accurate driveability. (hell of a lot easier to live with off the track too).

[brink]

I've got no personal experience with either but observations. Like toysrme said, small turbo is nice for autox... I'm not sure how small you'd have to go to get good gains out of it.

On the courses I've driven and seen people drive, you're typically between 3k-4500 rpm in second gear... so you're probably not going to get full boost from a s/c that much except for quick peaks on sweeps. Some corners are actually down to 2500rpm or so. OTOH, I've heard of much more open autox courses where one can stay in boost consistently.

HOWEVER, to contradict myself... I remember talking to a guy with an older boosted (s/c) MR2 on a pretty tight course... I asked him about lag and he said that it revved pretty quick for him and he preferred to not upset the balance of the car with a sudden surge of power. As I recall he turned in pretty decent times.

You know, I'm really not sure what to suggest. I think I personally would go like the guy I mentioned above... but only for the balance issue. My N/A motor has developed a certain peakiness at the start and middle of the powerband -- and it's sort of disconcerting when it kicks in. I've really had to learn how to compensate for it... but it still catches me off guard in corners, sometimes. I can't imagine what a turbo kick would do to my driving.

[SmokingTires]

Originally Posted by madmax3208

well i know that in autocross it is all about acceleration

Actually, your near 100% wrong. Powerful acceleration is not a big worry in auto-cross. More than anything it is your handling, and ability to run a smooth line without unsettling the car. Having tons of power mearly unsettles the car and causes you to loose time. It's a waste of your money, and will bump you into a Modified class that will be matching you up with built STi's and EVO MR's. You would just be screwing yourself by boosting.

There is less focus on accleration and more on keeping your RPMs in the power band through a turn. Smoothness is the main key.


As soon as they post the times, I will link it for you guys to see the times of the SRT-4's I beat last Sunday ( All I have is a strut brace and some shitty tires)

[terrastrife]

autocross is all about not slowing down, but keeping speed consistant ^^