What I learned at my first autoX

Well, skill counts. Alot

First first run was a horribly digusting 64 second. My car got loose on the first turn and the rear swayed back and forth thoughtout the first stretch. This car is way too tailhappy. I can still remember what the announcer said. "I can't believe he finish without hitting a cone."

The second run was my best, 56 seconds. Yeah, 8 seconds faster on a 1 minute course is alot. I'd began to figure out the car's strengths and limits. Now if only I can get more seat time.

The third run had a slower time of 57 seconds, but I was going through most of the course faster. The reason I was slower was I lost the tail end through the first 180. The car was about to spin out. I had to do lots of counter steer. Yeah it ended up as an unintentional drift My exit speed out of that turn was slower than if I had gripped. But it beats the heck out of spinning out.

I had finish my runs half way thru the day but man did I have fun. I saw alot of cool cars: a lotus elise, a ford cobra replica, truimph spitfire, a 67 corvette, a skyline GTR R34 (people tell me there is usually at least 1 GTR), several J spec right side drive wrxs, and several pretty sick project cars.

The time some people ran were just amazing, there was a quick rx7 and many quick vettes. But some turbo and nonturbo miatas as well as a modified civic putting down some really good times. It's all about skill, got to get me some more =)

Can anybody give me some advice, I don't think I floored it more than one during each run, the rear tires just broke loose when I tried to put down power (my car doesn't have than must power, relatively speaking, the tired shouldn't brake that easily).

 

Who'd ya race with? Where are you from? What mods do you have done to the car? And for that matter what type of car do you have?

Other than that, congrats and welcome to the club of sick and twisted addicts that hang out here. As far as advice... proper car setup (and better dedicated race tires) will help keep the rear tires planted. But the best driver on a bad setup can still outdrive a new driver on the best setup. So don't worry too much about that at first. By learning on a loose car you'll be forced to learn how to drive smoothe and be easy on the gas. Smooth is fast here. Jerk the controls around and you'll be all over the course. Get as much seat time as you can. That includes riding with other drivers. Find a good driver in a car similar to yours and ride along as much as you can. Watch everything he does and be a sponge. That's the quickest way to improve. After a few events you can start worrying about sway bars, tires, shocks and springs.

 

I raced in the san francisco bay area chapter in Oakland today.

The suspension is stock. The tires are a 2 -3 year old set of Pirelli P7000 all season street tires.

I have a 35mm bar in the mail and a set of bilstien shocks waiting to go on the car. I probably need better tires too. But I'm waiting for my paycheck.

Mods like that will probably improve my time but what I really want to do is improve my driving. Today I got a good feel of the limits of the stock suspension. The next event is in december, it'll probably rain. I wonder what's it like driving in the rain.

 

Free tip for the day:

I would have to say that the biggest mistake new guys make is turning the wheel too far. Tires only have so much grip. That amount of grip is split between acceleration, braking and turning. You can brake and steer at the same time. But the more you do of one the less you can do of the other. The more you brake the less you can turn, etc. Once you exceed the amount of grip you have available the brakes will lock, the front wheels will plow or both. Adding more brake input and steering more is the first instinct for most new drivers. Actually, sometimes you will find that when the front starts to lose traction and push out, either turning the wheel back a little in the direction you aren't trying to turn or letting off of the brake pedal will allow the car to regain its grip and turn in just like you want it to. This is a very hard lesson to learn because it feels so unnatural.

Give it a try next time. Turn the wheel until you start to feel the front tires slipping. Back off just a bit and they'll grab. Turn the wheel further and all you'll do is wear out the outside edge of your tires.

Free tip #2:
Remember - smooth is fast. Be nice to the controls. Don't jerk the wheel or slam the pedals. Squeeze the gas and brake pedals. Unsqueeze them when you let off too. Smoooooth.

Free tip #3:
If your club uses a computer system, hack into it through the wireless network and change your times.

Just kidding about that last one.

 

Jabberwocky hey bro.

Like 2002Z28SSConv said... find that spot to brake before the turn so u dont have to brake while in the turn, and start accelerating after the apex of the turn..

Get those Bilsteins on there too... You'll be like wow.. and also get some lower profile/ wider rims.. some 17x9's or something with some good Z rated tires..

The tires are obviously the biggest improvement in holding... but the shocks and that sway bar gives it an awesome feel..

Im thinking about putting poly end links on the rear 19mm sway bar.. I have some tail wag cuz of the nitto drag radials.. gonna play with it back there to see if i can eliminate it.

 

Do you guys think it's pointless to have suspension parts lying around. Should I install them. I just wanted to do a couple of event on the stock suspension. For some strange reason I think I can learn more on a weaker suspension.

I'll try your advice, come to think of it, I did jerk the wheels a bit. I think I need to get the turning speed right so I can use more throttle. My goal is to keep the tires from slipping too much. The funny thing is that the car doesn't feel out of control when it slides.

 

"the rear tires just broke loose when I tried to put down power (my car doesn't have than must power, relatively speaking, the tired shouldn't brake that easily)."

It may be that the tires _shouldn't_ break loose. But if they _are_ breaking loose when you apply power, you're applying power too hard or too soon _for your car_. Because you don't think you have that much power you may be nailing the throttle too hard. Squeeze it on.

"For some strange reason I think I can learn more on a weaker suspension. "

Not a bad thought except for one thing or maybe two. Better shocks will help you learn because the car will respond more quickly and more predictably. This is especially true if you're driving on worn out shocks now. Otherwise, you're wise to focus on driving rather than mods. But, if you get discouraged, better tires will help your times like nothing else.

"The funny thing is that the car doesn't feel out of control when it slides."

Yeah, you can control slides. But, as you saw, it's slow.

 

Free Tip #4: Force yourself to look further ahead than the next pylon. Reacting to the course as you encounter each feature is slower than seeing where it's going ahead of time and driving accordingly. And yes, this one may take some time to master.

Free Tip #5 (on edit): Do your early learning on your current tires. Might as well tear up the ones you already have on there instead of more expensive ones while you're on the steep part of the learning curve. You won't be as likely to learn bad habits that grippier rubber might cover you for. And you'll end up being 'smoother', which is particularly useful on a wet course.

Norm

 

Hey thanks guys. I appreciate any and all the advice. I quick question though. To be smooth, does that mean not turning the steering as fast or can I turn in fast.

I'll definitely try loosening up the steering when I feel the front end slipping.

Should I ease into the gas right after the apex or a little later. The rear seems to spin if I do it after the apex. Maybe just a tad later.

Also, after hard braking should I let the car ease into the turn or should I try to feather the throttle. I've notice that the easiest way to lose the rear is to jump on the gas right after a hard brake, when most of the weight is shifted up front.

Finally, I've been told to brake in a straight line, and I've notice that the car goes sideways if I brake while turning. But does braking in a straight line contradict following the ideal line for a turn.

 

www.autocross.com/evolution

I might be biased, but it's the best money any autocrosser can spend! And that's coming from a parts guy! Parts help, but autox is primarily a driver's sport. Learn it, learn it right.

 

Yeah, I've thought about that too. Most people tell me I should auto x a bit more so when I do go to school, I can get more out of it. some people have also suggested books, anyone have a favorite title.

Is it safe to practice in an empty parking lot?

 

I disagree. Go to a school ASAP. Better to learn the right way from the start, rather than have to break bad habits later.

Books, Secrets of Solo Racing, most other racing books aren't bad either, but Autox is not exactly the same. Similar but not the same. However, you can't go wrong with Carroll Smith's "drive to win" either.

Empty lots? It's your neck, I wouldn't recommend it.

 

That depends on how many cops you know. Otherwise you run the risk of getting slapped with careless, wreckless, tresspassing, along with several other tickets if you get caught. Plus without actually setting up a course with cones and timing lights you're not gonna know what is faster and what just feels faster. You can find the limit of your cars abilities just driving down the road. Just be safe about it and don't find the limit when any other car, person or object is around.

You're much less likely to get a ticket that way too. Think about it. If a bee flies around in a circle for 20 minutes you will notice him and most likely swat him. If he just buzzes everybody's heads in the room once and goes on, nobody will be ready for him. Make yourself a big target and you ask to be hit.

 

Yup.

Quote:

You can find the limit of your cars abilities just driving down the road.

Not likely. You'll get into the 80% range of maximum lateral grip, maybe, but even in the absence of all other traffic you'll always leave some extra margin when losing grip at either end could involve a curb or an agricultural expedition (or a ditch, tree or utility pole, for that matter). The 20% that you won't be seeing is the 20% that you need to see for it to count for much of anything at auto-x.

And nothing you encounter in street driving approximates the continuous stream of extreme maneuvers that constitutes an auto-x.

Norm

 

It's so tempting to just go out and drive. Like the car is asking for it, heheh.