New to S-197s

Hi there and welcome.

My car makes a slight rapping noise when you start it up. In my case I believe its the motor slowly building oil pressure thus making parts like valves, cams etc be noisy for a few seconds. Are you sure you're not experiencing that?

You're going to love this car for Auto-X. That's what I have used my car for so far and I can tell you that it is a great platform to mod. It all depends on what type of budget we're talking about for your mods. What you need to do is reign in the car's weight and body roll. To do that I suggest a pair of sway bars (though you could just get the rear because the front is thick enough) and some lower control arms ( I prefer the J&M type with spherical bushings also great for cornering). You're looking at about 400 bucks worth of pars for both which will go a long way toward your car feeling more solid at the track.

if you had more money to spend I'd say go with a Watts link (the Fays2 that I got is about 600 bucks). It makes the car more predictable and solid much like an independent rear suspension car. Not only this is great for the track but it is even better on the street where potholes, and expansion gaps make your life miserable when attempting good cornering.