Upgrading suspension before new tires?

[BrantyB]

I would suggest GT3 lower front control arms, they will HELP with tire wear, not cure it. They are not cheap but offer the biggest bang for your buck. And I would not do lowering springs, they are not necessary. Then drive the car...alot. Then see if it needs anything else to fit you. Probably sway bars and wider wheels down the road. Its real easy to dump money into an autocross car that doesn't pay off.

Also, your tires are not good for autocross, but they will teach you how to control the car with their limited grip. Again, you'll learn more and when you do eventually get ax tires you'll already have a good base.

Resist the temptation for immediate satisfaction and think of it as a learning timeline that will eventually reward you.

[phook]

Originally Posted by BrantyB

I would suggest GT3 lower front control arms, they will HELP with tire wear, not cure it. They are not cheap but offer the biggest bang for your buck. And I would not do lowering springs, they are not necessary. Then drive the car...alot. Then see if it needs anything else to fit you. Probably sway bars and wider wheels down the road. Its real easy to dump money into an autocross car that doesn't pay off.

Also, your tires are not good for autocross, but they will teach you how to control the car with their limited grip. Again, you'll learn more and when you do eventually get ax tires you'll already have a good base.

Resist the temptation for immediate satisfaction and think of it as a learning timeline that will eventually reward you.

I would like some GT3 lower control arms, but the costs definitely deters me from this option.

I was considering upgrading the front sway bar if I didn't do anything else to the suspension.

The "paying off" part doesn't really apply to me too much. I autox for fun and driving improvement and can care less about trying to trophy. The money spent on the car is for enjoyment as I also take it to HPDE and to the canyons a lot.

I am also aware that the Potenza S04 aren't the best AX tires. I got them at the time because they were a good price (installed) from Costco. I was new to AX at the time and figured they would be my learning tires before I upgraded to something more serious.

I'm now at the point where my tires have almost no thread left and I have at least 2 handfuls of events under my belt. I just didn't want to upgrade to something like RE71s (I know they aren't available anymore - haven't kept up with what 200tw are the rage these days) and then have them wear out on me too quickly.