Hello, all. I just ordered the S5 Sportback and am on an 8-10 week wait. I've daily driven a Mini Cooper JCW, heavily modded for AutoX for the last 6-7 years. I did a lot of posting, mostly on modding and AutoX...here's one of the threads.

https://www.motoringalliance.com/for...xperience.html

I will likely not mod the S5 much but I will likely do a bit of AutoX in the B Street class just to help hone my driving skills on this new and very different platform. I've always liked audi's and almost got a TT years ago but went with an emotional buy for the Mini because of my history in the UK years ago. (many years)

My test drive of the S5 was exciting. It will be a great daily driver and also serve my need to occasionally cart work clients around town...which I never did in the Mini, of course. Also, looking forward to a bit of track time and cross country treks on occasion...I hate to fly.

 

Welcome to the forum! I'm excited to see what your S5 turns into for AutoX, what plans do you have to start the build?

 

Congrats on your purchase - you've made a great choice. Make sure to show it to us, when you have a chance.

 

Thanks for the welcome.

Well, my last experience with my MINI was great fun. I was fielding a car that wasn't really competitive in the classes I pushed into (STX and DSP) but that was most of the fun. The S5 Sportback certainly doesn't really fit the mold for AutoX because of its heavy weight and slightly longer wheelbase...too much luxury all around such as the chair massager, which is awesome, I must say.

So, I'll start out with going into the B Street class. I'll post what that means and how the mod rules apply to the S5 Sportback specifically and what mods I'll do and why. I also did some how to's with a friend and might do the same here if it works out. I will not likely move beyond the B Street class...but that's what I thought last time with the MINI. Ha. I guess I'll start the thread in the AutoX section like I did last time. If there is interest I'll keep posting, if not, no sweat.

I'm a big advocate for participating in AutoX even for folks who don't think they could drive well enough to compete. Bottom line, I believe autoX to be one of the cheapest and best ways to learn to be a much better driver which makes anyone much safer. I'll check out the other autoX threads first to make sure I'm not duplicating thoughts that are already out there.

I just wish I didn't have to wait till August for the car!!

 

Wheels and Tires

The first investment for improving handling is much lighter weight wheels and good performance tires. My selection for both will be first supportive of the AutoX needs and second for looks.

Tires are simple. I live down south so cold weather is not much of a problem so I will get extreme summer performance tires suitable for AutoX. SCCA rules for B-Street class requires a minimum UTQG Treadwear Grade of 200. I work with a national level SCCA AutoX driver (he usually places in top 4 or 5 in the STX class) who highly recommends the BF Goodrich g-Force Rival S 1.5 tire. in a 245x40x18. I'll provide more perspective on that later. These tires will wear much faster than others but the grip is incredible except below 40 degrees. I'll daily drive these as well.

Wheels are much more complicated. Standard manufacturer wheels are 18X8". I'll stay there because larger wheels don't perform as well on the track or in autox. If I do anything different I may go ahead and get 18X9" wheels...that extra width makes a difference in sidewall stiffness.

Surprisingly, the color of wheel is my biggest dilemma. I want the car to look good and I'm not sure which direction to go. I'm very open to advice in that arena. The car color is the Daytona Grey Pearl. I'm considering doing a blackout package as well. Just not sure what to do there yet.

 

I've been looking for a place to start a thread for my S5 SB build for autocross. There is no dedicated forum for AutoX within the professional racing section. Also, there are no new posts in that section since 2016.

Looking for advice on where to put this...??