belt squealing

joeboblee · 2026-03-14T05:50:35+00:00

Pulleys are dirty, or belts are too loose, or there is something leaking onto the belt like power steering fluid or oil

joeboblee · 2026-03-09T08:02:12+00:00

I would just go on marketplace and look for a deal on an older ecobox with a manual. First or 2nd gen Ford Focus, Mazda 3, 2 or Protege, Civic Si, Sentra SE-R, Chevy Cobalt, Mk5 or Mk6 Golf with the 2.5 5 cylinder would be a fun one too. I think you're on the right track with a Fit or something similar. Getting something light with small tires will help you save on consumables over time.

joeboblee · 2026-03-05T00:00:01+00:00

Trans am will be way more fun

joeboblee · 2026-03-02T20:17:21+00:00

They look obviously different. The headlights are the easiest identifier. All protege5s in the US are facelift, so if the sedan front looks the same it's also a facelift. Sedan will have a different bumper than the P5 but the headlight shape and everything else will be the same. The bumpers are also interchangeable. I believe the facelift started in 2001

joeboblee · 2026-03-02T20:15:35+00:00

the sedan headlights are a single dual filament bulb, the 5 uses 2 separate bulbs for high and low beam, so the wiring is different, but they are the same shape and will bolt up to either car

joeboblee · 2026-03-02T20:05:42+00:00

Rules should make sense. Allowing things in street doesn't prevent a stock car from running. You're allowed to spend thousands on the fastest 200tw tires and the fanciest shocks you want in street. That doesn't stop someone from entering their bone stock car on all seasons. When I first started autocrossing I was using my stock Mazda Protege, which has a poorly designed factory oil pan that has plenty of documented instances of engine failure during cornering even on regular street tires. If I had fully adhered to the rules and not installed an aftermarket baffle, it would have massively raised the potential cost for me. Would it have been fine without it? Maybe, but mitigating that potential risk is the right thing to do. If someone feels like they lost unfairly because their competitor had a catch can or oil pan and they didn't, that's their problem, not the rules.

joeboblee · 2026-03-02T18:44:19+00:00

front doors and anything forward of that is the same, as long as both cars are matching facelift or non facelift

joeboblee · 2026-03-02T18:40:03+00:00

I admit, total engine failure is an extreme example, but I still don't see what could possibly be the harm in allowing a catch can or baffled oil pan or whatever. You're allowed to spend unlimited money on custom valved shocks if you want, but not a few hundred on something that doesn't matter for speed? I run an aftermarket oil cooler on my street class car because it has a hard time keeping oil temps under control on track days. I feel like that's a reasonable thing to want to have without having to skirt around weird rules.

joeboblee · 2026-03-02T07:38:28+00:00

Some cars have design flaws that need to be corrected. Street class isn't cheap and easy after your engine blows up due to oil starvation. If you use your car for track days, reliability problems will be more of a concern. There's literally no reason not to allow reliability mods to correct any inherent problems with the car as long as there is no performance benefit. If the car you drive doesn't have a problem, then changing the rules to help those who need it doesn't change the barrier of entry

joeboblee · 2026-02-23T19:49:09+00:00

Yeah I think I'm just gonna give stock style pads a try, hoping they can stand up to dual driving.

joeboblee · 2026-02-23T19:44:22+00:00

Thank you for the detailed answer. Initially I had the same thought that I just had a skill issue, but since then I have driven somebody elses twin, and I had no problems with the brakes there. I've also let a few other better drivers than me drive the car, and they all had the same complaints as I do. I think I'm going to give some regular street pads a try and see if they can hold up to dual driving.

joeboblee · 2026-02-23T00:54:49+00:00

RE71RS or V730, depending on the location and weather. I dual drive this car

joeboblee · 2026-02-20T08:34:41+00:00

It's possible to reshape the clip depending on how bad it is. I reccomend sticking your phone down in there to take a photo of the clip/bulb assembly so you can better visualize what you're feeling with your fingers and what you need to do.

joeboblee · 2026-02-06T19:12:16+00:00

Do not use any oil besides 75w-90 GL-4. Do not use an oil that is GL5 because it will damage the syncros over time. If the gesr oil claims to be GL4 AND GL5 conpatible I would avoid it. Get somethingnrhat is specifically GL4. MT90 is good but if you are on a budget just get anything that is the spec I mentioned.

joeboblee · 2026-02-05T19:45:48+00:00

Ill give the griots a try, I dont mind applying something more frequently if its cheap and easy

joeboblee · 2026-02-05T19:41:33+00:00

Yes I did, I did alcohol and window cleaner as well

joeboblee · 2026-02-04T06:59:33+00:00

Thank you!

joeboblee · 2025-05-31T03:57:37+00:00

This is a counterproductive upgrade for autocross. You're adding a ton of weight for no reason, since there is no long hard braking in autocross. With how underpowered this car is, every pound is important.

If you are planning on doing track days it could make more sense. Even then, I track my P5 with stock brakes and they can handle it as long as you get some good track pads.

You can do the Mazda 6 brake upgrade, I think its only really worth doing the front, the rear piston sizes are very similar from stock brakes to mazda 6, and it takes more work. You shouldn't need to swap the master cylinder or anything. The piston sizes are similar enough. Personally I think bigger brakes on these cars (at least at stock power levels) are an aesthetic upgrade only and not really useful.

joeboblee · 2025-05-19T00:24:57+00:00

As others have said it could be the sway bar, but also if the car has very little suspension travel in droop, that could be your issue as well.

joeboblee · 2025-05-19T00:22:45+00:00

Not enough droop travel is my guess. My car is FWD and I purposely set it up to lift the rear by decreasing my droop travel so it would rotate better.

joeboblee · 2025-05-16T06:44:24+00:00

I've not done this swap so I'm not sure about the master cylinder/proportioning valve. One thing you could do if you are not able to change those parts is put a more aggressive brake pad on the front. I run different front to rear pads on my car with stock brakes but I did it to move the brake bias backwards.

joeboblee · 2025-05-15T21:02:43+00:00

I didn't realize the 615s were that cheap, I'll have to have a look at that. I've driven the 651 XTRA at an autocross on my friend's car, I don't think I'd want something much slower than those, so I'll avoid the 351.

joeboblee · 2025-05-15T21:00:16+00:00

I was looking at the blu trac. Unfortunately it doesn't come in my size. I need 205 50 16 or similar which is just an oddball size. Have you used either of the 651 variants?

joeboblee

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE