sikz28

First and foremost I want to know how well an fbody competes with a nissan 240sx. I plan on going to my first autox event next month and I talked my buddy into taking his 240. It will be his first event also. I had to do a lot of $hit talking to get him to go so now I just want to make sure I haven't bit off more than I can chew.

All of his 240 friends are going too and some of them have some pretty fast cars (400+ rwhp in 2900lb cars) I know they would hand me my a$$ on the drag strip, but is that much power really any advantage on an autox course?

Is there any safe, leagal way for me to practice before the event?
Or any words of wisdom from you more experienced racers?

KeithO

http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread...light=national

Follows the links for how the sanctioing body views the different cars. F-bodies fare pretty well with good drivers.

If this is truly the first event for all of you, the smack talk will stop after the first run. Chances are the best driver will have the best time, not the best car since you guys will all be learning.

If you want to get a "leg up" on the other guys, tell the people at registration and tech that you are a newbie in a Camaro/Firebird and ask who the local f-body hotshoe is then go introduce yourself. Don't be shy and ask for help. My guess is that you will get a ton of help and input from this guy. ...also, try to get a ride with the guy if it's allowed at the event. It's a real eyeopener.

bryanz882

First autox event? I just did my first a few weeks ago. Everyone will tell you how your car will have a disadvantage. Don't listen to them. Sounds like his 240's been souped up quite a bit so if he didn't have enough handling mods then he may hit some cones if he doesnt use his power wisely.

It's 90% about the driver, 10% about the car. Every novice has a disadvantage because of lack of experience. Memorize the course. Always LOOK AT THE NEXT TURN, even if you havent gone through the turn coming up. It may sound funny like you will hit the cones but trust me it works and you set yourself up to enter the next turn at max speed. Wide Open Throttle during any straightaways! I took the chair instructor at my autox organization with me, and he yelled at me for not flooring it. It's great though to get yelled at for not going fast enough :-).

PS.. this may sound kinda funny but I swear playing Gran Turismo 1,2, or 3 for ps2 will help you race better in real life

Soma07

If its you and your buddies first event you'll probably suck so bad it won't matter what you're driving

Anyways F-bodies can be pretty quick in the right hands as long as the course isn't too tight. That said they are definately not the easiest cars to autocross. Being wide, long, and heavy with poor visability make sure of that.

bryanz882

True. I think I've gotten used to the limited visibility though. And on faster courses I think we have a little advantage. People who have good autox experience and drive Subaru WRX's happen to be a little difficult to beat though in any course

JordonMusser

its mostly about driver.

besides that you will be classed against cars like yours, but still.. I usually race in a local street tire class called "SSM". its basically any car/any mods on street tires. I have won in a 90hp VW golf, and my 700+hp camaro.

cause I dont suck

JimMueller

If it's a technical course (lots of tight corners and few straights), it'll favor the smaller, more agile cars. As others have stated, it's all in the driver.

Some tips to try to remember (in fact, print it out and tape it to your dash so you can re-hash it before your runs):

- Arrive at the event with a full tank of gas. This prevents the weight of the gas sloshing around in the rear of the car and affecting the balance. You could also choose to keep the fuel level low which would accomplish the same thing, but at the risk of starving your fuel pump or running out of fuel.
- Walk the course at least twice by yourself. They may have a novice walk-through by an experienced driver to give tips. They may even offer a novice ride-along instructor, but they would be available to all novices.
- All loose articles in the car can become missiles, remove or secure them
- If they have copies of the coursemap to handout, take one to study in your free time
- When waiting in line to run, or just killing time, picture lining up at the starting line and imagine your run, following the correct route. If folks are standing too close to you, feel free to move your hands like you're driving and make screeching sounds
- If you have a stick shift, I'd recommend shortshifting into 2nd gear soon after you leave the starting line and staying in that gear for the entire run if possible. Powershifting 2nd gear might cause wheel spin, which slows you down. No shifting in the corners.
- If an automatic, I don't know
- Keep your hands at 9PM and 3PM and try not to one-hand steer
- When leaving a tight corner and heading into a straight, 'unwind' your steering wheel slowly. Centering the wheel too quickly will upset the car and your rear-end will be all over the place
- All windows down for a clear line of sight. If it's raining, I'll let you decide
- Recline passenger side seat enough to see out the entire window
- Adjust the rear-view mirror as far as up and out of the way as possible to improve your vision
- Front tire pressure ~38-40psi cold, rear ~30-32psi cold
- Go slow into corners, and speed up as you leave the corner. If the front end is pushing, you're going too fast
- As soon as you've turned the front wheels to make a maneuver around a cone, forget about that cone and look for the next one. If you're going around a circle for instance, concentrate on the entry cone, then once you start to turn to go around that cone, pickout the next 3rd cone(s) until you find the last cone before the exit. Looking forward keeps your reactions smoother.
- When walking the course, look for entry/exit routes which can make a straight even longer
- If they have a slalom with an optional entry (you can go either left or right around the first cone), pick the entry route which would put you in the best slalom exit to least upset the car's balance going into the next maneuver. Choose the exit which is more flowing instead of a sharp turn, for example.

That's all I can think of right now. Hope that helps, and Good Luck!

sikz28

Thanks Jim
There is a lot on that list that I didn't know. Are you going to the mscc event on 5/8?

JimMueller

I didn't realize you were referring to our MSCC event. Yes, I plan on being there barring car problems (the usual caveat!)

I can clarify on a few points I made above now:

- There is a novice instructor and novice walkthrough
- They will probably have the coursemap posted on the side of the trailer, but I doubt they will have copies to distribute. If the design doesn't change, you can print it out from the web. I think I posted the link in another post.
- Unless they change the course, there will not be an optional entry slalom this month.

I run in what's called GT Race because of engine mods. I'm the only regular F-body in our group which has to run in race.

I look forward to meeting you! Chuck, Jeff, Jason, and William(?) will probably be there in their F-bods as well. Chuck is the reigning champ. I think the only thing my car needs is a better driver.

bryanz882

Here are the results from the first autocross my club had.

first autocross results

Go down to class I and look for Hartling, Bryan car 601. This was my very first autocross and I have an f-body. As you can see, almost everything below me is an import. Almost everything above me is also an import. But mostly the 'n' for novice is at the bottom. Check out other class standings. In class G theres a mustang gt in the middle of the pack, same deal.

There is no relation between what car you have and how well you do. There is a relation between how much experience you have and how well you do though. I think there is also a relationship between how correctly you modify and set up your car and how well you do (given that you have experience).

JimMueller

Dang, I wish MSCC used PAX We only use raw times, and get a 3 second penalty on every cone we hit.

JimMueller

Sorry I didn't get to chat with you again after my coursework, what were your times? What did you think of the event?

sikz28

I had a blast. Autox is definitley for me, I think I need some serious practice though. My first (worst) run was a 76.??? My third and fun runs were 67.1 and 67.6. I let one of the instructors there drive my car once and he got a 60.??? so obvously I need some practice. I placed second in the novice class. I can't wait to try it again, but I only get one weekend off per month so I don't know how long it will be before I can make it back out there.

It was good to finally get a chance to meet some people from this board. Everyone out there was super cool, no egos or immature kids like at a Bithlo, just friendly competition. Hopefully I will be able to come out again sooner than later, I plan to graduate from UCF in August and with any luck I will have a new (weekend free) job shortly there after.

Oh and for anyone else who has been reading this post, my buddy with the 240sx never showed, he remembered on Thursday that he had to get lasik surgery on Saturday At least now he will be able to clearly see me hand him his a$$. Once I get some more practice

JimMueller

If you have any control over which weekends you get off, our events are usually the second weekend of each month. Our club meetings are the first Thursday of each month. Details can be found at the MSCC website.

If you really want to improve, take the Evolution driving school courses...

Evolution website

Register for Evolution events