Vengie, my 2011 Ford Fusion and my best friend, has become my autocross vehicle.
Because the autocross season is over for people that aren't amazing, I have decided to use this time to modify her and hone my technique. I will keep track of my modifications here.
I have straight piped my car, and a harness bar as well as a harness are on the way. (I got pretty beat up at my first autocross)
Here are some Initial D inspired pictures. My entire life revolves around Initial D. Lol.
In reply to The_Lily :
How much was the beat up belts vs seat? I suggest putting a camera on the driver so that you can see what was happening. I remember being amazed at how much my seat flexed at the Challenge one year.
In reply to Stampie :
That is a good idea, but in my case, I was not staying in place especially through the slalom. This seemed to be caused by not being stuck in place and I got bruised on my leg from hitting the door. Thank you for the suggestion, though!
So, I got the harness bar and harness. However, my father and I tried to mount the harness bar, which super didn't work. I have no idea how Ford made it so impossible to mount a harness bar with the seatbelt bolt.
So, I have been doing some research, and have found literally nothing about how to mount a harness bar to my year of Fusion. This is slightly more than slightly frustrating.
The_Lily said:So, I got the harness bar and harness. However, my father and I tried to mount the harness bar, which super didn't work. I have no idea how Ford made it so impossible to mount a harness bar with the seatbelt bolt.
So, I have been doing some research, and have found literally nothing about how to mount a harness bar to my year of Fusion. This is slightly more than slightly frustrating.
There are plenty of great fabricators in this group that could help get this fabricobbled and installed safely.
I am a bit worried about harnesses and a stock seat. There are lots of compromises when using harnesses with a stock seat (the submarine belt being one as well as the harnesses slipping off shoulders due to not having a hole in the top of the seat to retain the shoulder straps).
Edit: I can't remember exactly where the bad decision triangle is, but I'd suspect you are close enough to get some help in illinois.
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
The BDT lives in all of us.
IIRC the donor for the LMP360 came from the Dad referenced here. Canton is about 2 hours from the BDT, though with our westward expansion to MO it is now technically inside it.
If not resolved by post UTCC October timeframe I can probably lend a hand. I am in the Champaign area.
nocones said:In reply to wvumtnbkr :
The BDT lives in all of us.
It certainly does. I am always super excited when I see any of yalls projects.
I think we need like the "95 line" down here. Stampie, Me, Michael, some others I'm not thinking of right now. Not quite as high quality (with the exception of Michael), but just as bad of decision makers.
In reply to wvumtnbkr :
That's true, but I want to stay in the certain class for autocross.
In this class, you can have a harness but not aftermarket seats. As for the shoulder issue, the harness bar that I got has little rectangular things that keep the straps in place. Thanks for the info, though!
In reply to nocones :
That's so cool! I remember the Brighton. It was an amazing car as far as I can remember, though I was like nine when he got rid of it. Lol.
We would appreciate the help if we don't get it figured out by then!
The_Lily said:In reply to wvumtnbkr :
That's true, but I want to stay in the certain class for autocross.
In this class, you can have a harness but not aftermarket seats. As for the shoulder issue, the harness bar that I got has little rectangular things that keep the straps in place. Thanks for the info, though!
Those keep the ends in place and help a bit with the drivers shoulder area, but not ideal. I would be concerned about using the harness on track and on the road, but you should be fine during autocross.
nocones said:In reply to wvumtnbkr :
The BDT lives in all of us.
IIRC the donor for the LMP360 came from the Dad referenced here. Canton is about 2 hours from the BDT, though with our westward expansion to MO it is now technically inside it.
If not resolved by post UTCC October timeframe I can probably lend a hand. I am in the Champaign area.
I would like to apply for the BDT as the western extension...
The_Lily said:In reply to wvumtnbkr :
That's true, but I want to stay in the certain class for autocross.
In this class, you can have a harness but not aftermarket seats. As for the shoulder issue, the harness bar that I got has little rectangular things that keep the straps in place. Thanks for the info, though!
Can you swap to a different OEM Ford seat? The seat in the Fusion sport might have more aggressive bolstering, or if you're allowed a Focus ST seat might work well. What else does the class you're autocrossing in allow as far as modifications? Is the car a 5 speed? You might have lots of fun with a big rear sway bar, sticky tires and some different alignment settings.
Thanks to The_Jed, I got a 22.5 mm rear sway bar from Steeda for Christmas.
It was horrible to get the original sway bar out. I think one of Vengie's parents is a dodge. Lol. Anyway, the struggle was very worth it.
After application of the sway bar, she has not understeered at all. The front and rear feel perfectly balanced and I can take corners a LOTT quicker than before. My dad, The_Jed, also took her for a drive after slapping it on, he said the same. He said, "She handles like a scalpel." I said that she now feels as smooth as warm fondant. Lol.
Next, though it won't get me much power, I plan on getting an aftermarket air filter for less restriction. Then, I'll get tires for the beautiful Mustang wheels that I plan on slapping on before this autocross season.
P.S. My dad and I kinda gave up on the harness. Too infuriating. Lol.
It is without a doubt the most balanced and best handling car I've ever driven.
I am planning to autox on my current wheels and tires until the tires die. Then, I'll get Riken Raptor tires and wheels to go with them. Is anyone wanting to get rid of 17"-18" diameter, 7.5" wide, +35mm to +40mm offset wheels?
so, the following suggestion is a little bit off (dunno if you're allowed to run spacers) at +46mm...
but the Kia Optima ~2011-2014ish had various 18x7.5et46 wheels.
https://www.wheel-size.com/size/kia/optima/2012/#region-usdm
Sometimes they come up cheap because the paint fails on them (I picked up a set of 4 for $100 back in 2018); or you can find them in the junk yard? I'd have to look back on one of my OneLap threads to find a weight on them.
Sounds like a cg lock would help here.
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