I just registered for my first autocross event :)
 

It begins next sunday, im so excited.

SO what are some good tips for doing autocross. thanks

DO the novice walkthrough even if not required in your region. Ride with an experienced driver (may not be able to do this until after your first timed run)..

Buy tires and suspension quickly if you don't have them.. (race tires will make you a better driver) I recommend victoracers (kuhmo) for a cheap beginner tire I ran several seasons on my first set.

Brake before the corner not in it.. And whenever possible I steer with the rear.

The car goes where you are looking so look down the track, also don't overreact at the slalom.. Small quick turns of the wheel will keep you from doing 360's on a reletivley straight area of track.

Have fun be safe and remember it can take years to be good.

Yeah they do require us to walk the course (which is a great idea to do anyways) and they will give us the option to ride with an experienced driver.

I dont have good tires, but i figured i might as well get use to cheap tires and practice with those so I wont be dependent on "good" tires... and i cant afford them :lol:

And yeah I know not to break during the turn because you loose all possible grip that way.

and I never raced with a RWD car so this might be interesting.

and thanks for all the tips :icon_tup:

No problem... It's a rush..

I have been doing it for 14 years and each time I learn something new..

When I went out my first time, I tried to run as fast as possible right out of the gate, I went into almost every corner hot (too fast). Each run I was slow down a little in each corner until I figured out where the limit was. In retrospect, it probably would have made more sense to take it easy at first and go faster with each successive run....then agian I won the novice class :lol:

^^^ Like he said, start slow and work your way up. You'll notice you get better times the smoother you are. I've only hit one cone in my AutoX career, and you'll notice they're very strict at these events are are not a fan of drifting, so try not to get too sideways, haha. Otherwise, just make sure you have no leaks, good seat belts, lots of tire tread, check your hubs to make sure they're tight (grab your wheels and pull back and forth and make sure there is no play, and or popping sound), and that your battery is tied down. Otherwise you might not pass inspection.

I just did too! Yay, for being a true autocross race car driver!

Slow in, fast out. Keep your eyes open and ahead, and build up your confidence level each run!

^+1

I've only been to 1 autox novice training course, my biggest problem was looking ahead, and going as fast as possible w/o taking out cones and changing your line to be faster. Because your first run you took a certain line, and forcing yourself not to follow that same line again to improve your times. Ie. Where you can go wider into a turn to carry more speed through the corner...

Tyler makes a good point, I almost didn't get to run because the front wheels had some 'slop' from the wheel bearings and tie rods. We had to pull the wheels and tighten the bearings and the tie rods before I 'passed' tech.

What are you running with (car/mods)? What class? Where at?

Good luck and I bet you'll have a blast!

I need to remember that, I sometimes love to take a corner as fast as I can lol

Slower is faster!!!

SLow in fast out? whats is this a Porsche?=P No but you are right...

A good concept that really helps with AutoX also is; the least amount of friction you put on your tires, the faster you can handle. Ie, brake before a turn, then figure which race line will put the least amount of friction on your tires, because in AutoX that doesn't always mean taking the widest turn. Make sure when you exit a turn you have as straight a line as you can make towards the next corner. Remember that it's usually corner after corner, so you have to set up the exit of one corner towards the beginning of the next, etc. When you start to get all of this down and can put it all together you'll notice your runs seem alot more "calm." The faster and smoother you get in AutoX, the less jerkyness you'll get, meaning you'll be alot smoother, and you'll be pulling more g's. I always noticed my fastest run, usually seemed the most calm.

ok I have a question,

how much should i fill up my gas tank? should I fill it up all the way, half way, or quarter? Im just curious because I want to make the car light, but idk if i want the extra weight in the back.

I do half... maybe 1/3 but not lower since I don't want to run into fuel starvation problems

well for n/a fc's, its more like slow in, slow out

its true.. autox is weird, the fastest drivers always look like they are driving the slowest.

its not like road course racing, where quick times mean maximizing the straights and keeping high cornering speed. in autox, since there really is not enough distance between turns to benefit from maximizing the straights, it is more about taking the physically shortest route through the course and maintaining full grip, if that makes sense

and it really is about memorization more than anything, so that you know exactly where your car needs to be in the course at all times. Always look ahead to the next few corners too, dont drive from cone to cone

This makes me wonder if my weight would have much influence in autox (I weigh a hundred pounds). In all seriousness, what difference does +/- a hundred pounds make at this point if any at all, not just in terms of driver but liquids, different rims, etc.?

Study the course as soon as you see it, and then walk it as much as possible, twice at the very least!

Our cars show their age when compared to the modern one, traction control does wonders :blush:

About the amount of gas question... in which most cases I would say run as little as possible. But not in the fc.

Maybe it's just me and every other fc I know in person, but when you're under a half tank I get fuel cut when I corner too hard to the left. And trust me that's the last thing you want when you're having a good lap. Is for you're car to lose throttle half way through a turn. It sucks, cuz one day, I thought I was a genius for only doin a third tank. But every left turn I took, would have fuel cut. So now I always make sure I'm at over 3/4 a tank. The extra 10-20 lbs isn't enough for me to notice faster times, lol.

In all honesty, if I was concerned with weight and little details, I would have been competing nationally already :)

They do influence your times, but when you're just starting out, you've got so much time to knock off elsewhere that the little things don't matter.

:icon_tup: Tip of the day.

As fun as it will be to look for ways to improve the car, don't worry about anything car wise for the first few events. Make sure everything is in proper running order, tire pressures are correct, etc, but don't worry about how else to improve the car. The biggest gains your first few events are going to be in improving you - the driver.

Autocross is a blast and one of the main reasons I need to get my TII back up and running.

Excite! Perhaps I'll see Mac this weekend at Fontana?

Let's keep these tips rolling!

Yeah, trying to get more people involved locally too, but times are rough :(

that is great advice :nod: