i was looking into starting auto cross next year with my my 89 vert and i was wondering if any one auto crosses in the 2nd gen and might have any helpfull tips and such.

thanks

-also which is a better shock/strut co.for the rx, KYB or TOKICO

 

Seat Time, Seat Time and MORE seat time.

Spend your $$$$ on basic maintenance issues, have a good set of tires and LEARN to DRIVE the car. Dont worry about the "stuff"; after you are outdriving the capabilites the cars current setup: THEN YOU WORRY ABOUT MODS

 

All i planed on doing next year is rb headers+bonez high flow cat, bonez intake and mazdatrix strut tower brace with torque dampener. I would love to get some seat time in but i would like to practice a little off, course but i know of no where in the BBR region of the SCCA to practice besides whipping it around in the packing lot.

and also do you think that it is unusual to autocross in a auto with a high stall torque conv?

thanks

 

Technically the headers will take you out of class. Autocrossing in the SCCA is a great way to get experience - they do have test and tune days.

An auto transmission along with a vert are going to hurt; I've seen a vert in the atlanta region though and they didn't make it look too boring. Auto cars are probably less usual in any race circle.

Autocrossing in my 2nd gen is fun, though I think I do a lot better with PAX and my mom's automatic maxima thanks to torque. I have fun trying to get up with Carl in his s4, konis, lsd, al hood, and hoosiers.

Take your time learning and try to discover that going faster actually slows you down. Consider better shocks, wider wheels, and wider tires (better springs and sways are nice but outclass you.)

 

if you are autox'ing in a rx you will be in the CSP class which is a pretty tuff class, i did my frist run last spring and did pretty well over all but i finished dead last in my class which was 4 cars. but when you autox power is that last thing you need, the first thing i would work on is suspension and tires, then the cooliong system. if you are putting out alot of power with your stock suspension then all you are gonna do is doughnuts through the sharp turns, once you get the suspension worked on and you can stick to the ground then work on getting out power. but i completely agree with Banzai start stock go from there and then next event put another mod on and so on

 

^ All good advice. I wouldn't bother modding the car yet. The first mod you need is driver skill. If you've never done it before, you need to get experience. Get consistant, then try to get better. Your car will fall into a class of cars that should be similar, but driver skill is what can set you apart. You can put a bad driver in a good car and he will run a slower time than a good driver in a bad car.

Show up early, be respectful, and learn from everyone around you because everyone has something to teach, whether it be to teach you how to do something, or they may be an example of what not to do (even if they don't know it). Find out who the more experienced drivers are, watch what they do, ask them why they do it. If they watch you run, ask the more them what they think you can do better. Its amatuer racing so remember to have fun, even if you come in last place all the time. Everyone is there to have a good time and your attitude with people can make all the difference between.

Also, the "Race Car Tech" section on here has more info on autocrossing.

 

Right on Right on, i couldnt of said better

 

Thanks all, i was going to look into the rb suspension package for the vert nxt year i just wanted to get a more rigid feel out of it for better cornering. and as for the headers im not looking for more power but my cats are bad and exhaust manifolds are bad in general so i was going to switch them out instead of oem. And as for a susp. comp who do you think is better KYB or TOKICO?

Thanks

and for tires i run BF traction t/a on stock rims i think that they are pretty good but if you know of better please do tell. but i do like BF so i was looking at the KDW2 the best in class in ultrahigh performance.

 

i'm planning on starting next season too

first major mod i have done to the project car in preparation was a 5 speed and 4.1 open diff (lsd in future). completely different car after the install (in a good way) and worth the time since i had already done a full engine rebuild (total cost was less than 250 dollars, don't ask how).

anyways like they said to do, i'm focusing on getting the car in stock specs otherwise... an 800 dollar exhaust isn't going to fix my positive camber on the drivers front.

that transmission swap will also free up some weight... and is my recommendation, you need any help let me know... i ran into ALOT of problems following our "official comprehensive trans swap writeup" and ended up not following it at all, then again you have an s5 so u should be good with it.

 

I'm going to autocross my TII for the first time this year, too. I have no experience with cones, the only experience I have is heavy mountain driving. My main concern is too much power - even though the motor is stock, the car is very hard to control precisely under high boost.

I have both KYB and Tokico struts... they're the OEM Infini IV struts (KYB front/Tokico rear). I like them... they're tight and don't allow much body roll, but still comfortable for street use. I hope they will be good for autox.

My question is do wheels have any effect what class you are put in? I want to upgrade to FD wheels for the increased width. Right now I have stock TII 16x7's with Kumho Ecsta ASX's.

 

be ready for tight turns in a small area

 

FD wheels will require a 1" spacer which not only isn't safe but won't keep you in class unless you maintain the overall offset of no more or less than +/- .25"

Nobody suggests FD wheels with 1" spacers (esp aluminum with re-studs) for anybody putting this kind of load on their wheels.

I'm not sure what the limitation on wider wheels is; according to the rulebook it looks like it must be the stock size (height and diameter) which would limit you to 16x7 (TII & GTUS) and 15x6-6.5(coupe + vert)

Of course, I doubt anybody would actually check tires and wheels at most local events unless you're really good.

rulebook

 

Make sure that you can pass tech and come with extra air in your tires. Wash your car so you look good and bring cool clothes because there will be girls.
Having your own helmet is helpful, using the loaners is annoying.
Make your numbers good the day before. Crappy numbers suck too.
Make sure you get a lunchbreak, or make a stop at Burger King before you get there.
Get there early so you can deal with any problems at tech or registration.
Review the schedule, read the rules and any FAQs you can. It sucks to get there and not know what your doing.

Now for driving tips...

Slow in, fast out is the fastest way to go through a corner. It's called late apexing and you'll hear it over and over again. This is where you will lose the most time because if your like most people your going to enter the corners too fast and understeer. If you understeer in a slalom, or two connected corners it starts a chain reaction that really screws you up.

Get off the brakes before you enter a turn. It's a habit of newbies to stay on the brakes as the enter the turn. You should brake in a straight line, get off the brakes, and turn in. This will help to keep you from understeering.

Go slow in the slow parts, and fast in the fast parts. At first it's hard to recongize the difference between the two. A lot of times, in slaloms and chicanes especially you'll find that you can go faster than you think and you can makeup seconds there. In the slow parts like carousels and hairpins you have to go slower than you think. If it feels fast, go faster, if it feels slow, go slower.

Try to find where your tires are. It's difficult to know how close you can really get to a cone before hitting it. In fact most new drivers will drive at least a foot away from the cones and not hit any their first time out. You can makeup a couple seconds by going right up next to the cones. One of the best drivers I know taps each cone as he passes by it, but he never knocks them over. He just taps it with his tire. Try practicing this on the highway at night. If you have a lane/ shoulder that are paved sepertley with a crease you can usually feel that with your tire. Try experimenting and feel out where your tires sit.

 

Wow, thanks for the advice, guys. I might have to reconsider those wheels then, because I only use my car for making runs on US129 and backroads... wheel spacers would probably not be safe for that either. Perhaps I'll look for some aftermarket 16x8's with the correct offset.

Thanks for the driving tips, GSM. I know some friends of mine have some cones sitting around, so perhaps we can practice our clearance somewhere in the coming months. On helmets... is any DOT certified racing helmet going to be okay? Even a ~$100 one from Walmart? I don't really care if it's stylish, I just want to pass tech and keep my brain intact. Are there any cons to cheap helmets?

 

any dot helmet will work. where i go and autox my inspection is a joke the only have 2 rules wear a helmet and no loose objects in the car. they walk around the car and shake it and make sure the battery is bolted down and after that its go time

 

Thanks all this really helps. LizardFC, where do you do your mountain driving because I’m not all that far from you? I usually hit some stuff of 221 around here we got some tight stuff out my way, its pretty fun.

And about suspension I was thinking about for the future and how mine are probably kind of worn down. Has any one used any adjustable shock/struts and about what would be the best setting. I know that you want a stiffer fide so it doesn’t pick up on the inside, but again to stiff is just as bad.

Thanks

-also, why dont verts in autocross have to have roolbars? is it because it is usually under highway speeds that autocross is dirven?

 

That's pretty much it. Rollovers are pretty rare in autcrosses (and when they do they're not usually in convertibles). Roll Hoops are not required in convertibles but they are encouraged.

 

The two biggest upgrades you can make to your car will still keep you in stock class.

Competition tires on their own set of wheels.
Adjustable shocks.

Some people say that you can learn easier with good performance street tires. It could be true but I have no opinion on that.

The difference between KYB and Tokico is subtle. I don't know which one is better. People used to say that KYB were better when they were more expensive but then when Tokico was more expensive they started saying Tokico were better.

A front swaybar is still legal in stock and it can help a lot.

The next two things are springs and swaybars but they will put you into Street Prepared. You can buy a package built for your car or you can design your own but then you can really screw up the handling of your car. It's tricky and best done after you have experience.

I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of the newer Street Touring classes.

HP modifications just don't really matter until you have experience. A tune up is all you need.

I could probably beat any Rx7 with less than 2 years experience with my bone stock Suzuki Swift and Kumho Victoracers. And I have.

Spend your time working on the nut behind the wheel.

ed

 

I know that you are expected to do some work at every meet, i was just wondering what kind of work it is.

 

im not an autocrosser but in short courses (like mountain roads ) skill and tires are the most important thing to being quick

 

Working at autocrosses is typically being at a corner to count/see/fix any cones that people hit and report them. Typically all regions have good help learning to work. Other positions could include time reporting or sound monitoring, but probably not on your first time out.

 

That goes double for auto-x. Tires will be your most significant upgrade after driver skill.

Everything else will squeeze a fraction of a second here and there.

 

does any one know when next years schedule will be released?

 

bump

 

Im pretty much screwed as far as winning. Due to some of the mods I have, I think I'm in street mod.