Awesome autox vid
 

Perhaps the best in car vid I've seen. Cam was inside the radiator opening of a Miata. Definitely looked like a "how big are your balls?" type course :D

www.unix.eng.ua.edu/~mblackwood/Nov072004b.wmv

hoyl crap that autox track was fast. the track around here are more technical IMO that was pretty much open with not too many difficult turns. anyone who went to the tirerack in south bend michigan can vouch for that. Very cool vid though.

I agree. I enjoy high speed courses but if they're not technical all you get is the highest horsepower cars at the top. There were too many places where you could just point the car through rather than have to move it around.

yep my thoughts exactly. they're definately still fun.

here the tire rack place i was talking about.

http://www.sbrscca.org/solo/TTR_test...stTrack400.jpg

as you can imagine makes for a very fun track and on top of that that have slaloms on the corners as well. very tough track.

i have never autox my car but have tracked it. My understanding was that the courses are usually much tighter .this vid actually inspiored me to go out and try it this summer.

They normally are. That vid is a big exception to the rule.

Wow, that is a huge course! Very cool vid, thanks DamonB.

also..that course seems hard to know actually where the course is.

?? Didn't look very fast. Think he was in 2nd the whole time and never even hit the limiter in a Miata. I think the camera perspective just makes it seem larger and faster. Definitely some weird use of cones, as it seems like they used parts of the course twice.

-Andy

I was at that autocross. It was the last event held by the Alabama Region. I am not sure if this was from my work or run group but I would of been working at the worker station visible at :58 seconds into the video.

It was a VERY fast and long course but a typical one for our region.

The results can be found here
http://www.alscca.org/solo2/2004/Nov_7_sum.htm

There were only about 25 Miatas at this event, I have no clue who on the results could of recorded this. And nevermind my 7th place finish in ES. :(

this makes me want to try auto-x someday...

maybe after I try my hand at rally.

Someone posted that vid a couple of weeks back on our local region board. You can expect to see a lot of East Tennessee Region guys, including myself, at some of your autocrosses next season.

Not that fast? Are you kidding me? He was only at the top of second gear, but that's simply because the car wouldn't accelerate any faster. He basically had it floored through two gears with no steering input. I could've cleared 90MPH on that first straight alone!

Courses like that are fun every once in a while, but they're not very challenging. :nonod:

You're right, the miata driver could have been faster as he was off the cones in spots, and not even on the gas when he could have been (of course, that's easy to say just watching the video, being in the car might be a different story). However, if a Miata is rev limiting at less than 60mph, I sincerely doubt you'd be doing 90mph on this course. My bet is that even a much higher hp car would be just banging the limiter in 2nd in the 60-70mph range, or barely making it to third.

I'll stick to my opinion it wasn't that fast by National standards. YMMV. Course differ very much from region to region, so what may be fast one place is ho-hum in another. I agree that speed isn't necessarily challenging.

-Andy

Actually, the math tends to see it my way. (BTW, my car makes the same power as a Z06 -and weighs less, hence the Z06 figures)

http://www.albeedigital.com/supercou...0-60times.html

Stock Z06: 0-60 4.1s, 1/4: 12.5 @ 115 MPH
Stock 1.8L Miata: 7.8, 15.9


So by the time he's hit the top of second gear (roughly 60 MPH), I've have nearly FOUR MORE seconds to accelerate beyond 60 MPH. FOUR.
Just interpolating the 60-115 times (8.4s), four seconds would get you right around 90 MPH.

cool vid

if that was the case than z06's would be dominating soloII which they aren't sure you can get up to 90 no problem but you have to stop so you would have to brake earlier than the miata so the differences are really smaller...i find a 30 mph top speed difference on this specific part of track highly unlikely sorry.

I don't think the math works that way. Even if you assume that the Z06 accelerates after 60mph as fast as it averages below that (it won't since you have a shift and then the slower ratio of 3rd), you don't have enough distance to get up to that speed. Even if you did assume that the Vette accelerated that well after 60mph, it would only get up to around 80 given the same distance taken by the Miata to get to 60. And that's also assuming it was all in a straight line, which as easy as the start of this course was, it still wasn't a straight. Not arguing you'd be moving pretty quick by autox standards on this course, but nothing extraordinary. My last autox I hit the rev limiter in 3rd, that was extraordinary.

Anyway, I think we are beating this to death. I don't think it was that fast, others do. We can leave it at that.

-Andy

Wow, putting the camera down there really adds to the sensation of speed. I've got some on-car footage from inside the cabin that doesn't look nearly that fast, even in places when I shifted in to 3rd (this was in my old Impreza 2.5RS , probably 60-70mph)

It would be interesting to hear what his top speed was on that course. Even the first gear section looked really fast from that point of view.

-s-

You are figuring time to speed, not distance. A typical 16sec 1/4 mile car would cover the 1/8 mile in a little over ten seconds with a trap speed around 70mph. A typical 12.5sec car would cover the same 1/8 mile in a little over 8 seconds, trapping around 90mph. Look it up if you doubt me, I just happen to have a 16 sec and mid 12 second car so those numbers are familiar to me.
Those mph's are close to what you are talking about, so let's use that 1.29 ratio in speed. A stock geared Miata tops out around 60mph in 2nd. 60*1.29 = 77mph. Take into account that stopping will take a little longer, you wouldn't hit 75mph. If that is a 6 gear miata, top speed in second drops to around 50mph.
Regardless, my car is on par with a Z06 in acceleration and I usually log top speeds around 60mph at the local autoX. That course would be faster then what I am used to, but regions vary. Aren't autoX's supposed to stay under 60mph?

lmfao, it looks like a crop circle.

Indeed I was, but your facts back me up. Assuming that the Miata had it floored to the redline in second gear (which was pretty close to what happened), he covered 1/8 @ about 70 MPH. A Z06 will cover that same 1/8 in about 8 seconds at 90 MPH- exactly as I claimed.

AMRX7- I never said the Z06 would accelerate the same from 0-60 as it does from 60-115. Re-read the post. I INTERPOLATED the time it would take to get to 90 MPH based on the time it takes to go from 60-115. It was a rough guess, but it's a fair assumption: 0-60 in about 4.5 seconds, 60-90 in four seconds, 90-115 in four seconds...

BMS2004- the Z06 DOES dominate SoloII Stock class. Quite handily, I might add.

1st to 3rd- MOST autocross events do not reach speeds over 60MPH. However, that's not to say that they can't. I've run several that were well over 60MPH at times. Heck, I broke 60 at last weekend's event in the rain! (see attached GEEZ Plot...

autoX vids > math racing

I wasn't arguing that the Z06 would accelerate that fast, just that even it if it did, it would still fall well short of 90mph in the distance available. Since we're thwack thwacking this to death...

You said a Miata would do 0-60 in 7.8s....

-which would imply it's average acceleration to do that would be 11.28 ft/s^2
-at 11.28 ft/s^2 for 7.8 s, the Miata would cover about 343 ft of distance

So how fast would a Vette get in 343 ft?

-using your 4.1 0-60 implies the Vette accelerates at around 21.5 ft/s^2
-so the Vette would cover the distance of 343ft in about 5.6s
-assuming that 21.5 ft/s^2 acceleration is constant, the Vette gets to about 82mph

And that's assuming better than possible acceleration, and that the Vette would just floored in a straight line. Even if the Vette just floors it through everything, it's going to scrub off some speed in turning.

So, I'll buy a Z06 getting into the low 70's if the driver decided to shift, but no where near 90mph. I've driven enough autox courses that this one sure didn't look like it was abnormally fast. Of course, the simple thing would be to ask one of the faster cars at the actual event if they made it to 3rd gear, and if so for about how long.:):)

In any case, it's a nice video, though I think the perspective makes the speed seem greater.

-Andy


[QUOTE]
AMRX7- I never said the Z06 would accelerate the same from 0-60 as it does from 60-115. Re-read the post. I INTERPOLATED the time it would take to get to 90 MPH based on the time it takes to go from 60-115. It was a rough guess, but it's a fair assumption: 0-60 in about 4.5 seconds, 60-90 in four seconds, 90-115 in four seconds...
QUOTE]

Average acceleration calculations, very nice... :D

Don't forget that the Miata should be able to hold its speed for longer because it will be able to brake later. The higher speed the Z06 acheives, the earlier the driver will need to apply the brakes to decelerate to cornering speed.

Needless to say, I think most of us would enjoy being in the Z06 between corners, even if the top speed reached is only 5-10mph higher than the Miata.

Why are autocrossers even talking about top speeds in the first place? Get back to adjusting your tire pressures and damper settings people!!!

-s-

I'm with Andy on this one. The course wasn't that fast. It's the camera angle/position that gives that impression. A Z06 would have been near the top of 2nd gear on several spots on that course, but I didn't see anywhere that would have necessitated/allowed a 3rd gear shift. What also gives the course the impression of super speed is that there are no tight/tricky areas ... so the Miata driver never really slows down.

The South course at Nationals was faster than that.

Hell, we never have really fast courses here in Buccaneer Region... Usually very tight and intricate..

Though, the last course for the season was very fast.. and had a return loop.. ended up topping out 3rd gear at the end straight away...

I was talking to an S2000 driver that said he hit the top of 3rd gear at an autocross in the West Michigan region. Of course, they were running on Grattan Raceway. ;)

browsing threw the results I am amazed to see...
'HS' Total Entries: 2 Car Model Time Diff. From 1st
1Tm 8 Chris Warren 1988 White Integra 74.977

The 88 integra in H-STOCK in a bigger corse where more powerfull cars would have a bigger advantage pulling out such a great time!? Unless I am missing something I give him great props.


btw cool vid

Chris Warren is an autocrossing machine, it is ALL driver and not the car! If you look at other results from the region he consistanly places among the top in pax time. He has been doing it for years in the same car. I was told that he has over 1000 autocross miles on the car.

At that event in the video he would of placed first in the following classes with his time.
SS, AS, BS, DS, ES, FS, GS, HS, BSP, DSP, FSP, PB, EP, DM, STS, STX, SM, SM2

Man, thats insane. I'd like to see a video of him driving the crap of his car to pull such times.

*note to self, take evo driving school ASAP

That was an awesome course. RX7's love fast courses like that in my experience. One local club I go to has no space for their courses and I'm always in first gear with my FC during their events. The other local club in Eugene has courses that put me at the top of second at times, which is a lot more fun! Stupid dodge Omnis always kick my a$$ though. My street tires have to go.

I've got a newb question for the autoxers. I would get so confused knowing where to go on an autox course because to me it just looks like a bunch of cones. How exactly do you guys know where to go??? Sorry I'm retarded I know but this is one of the reasons I don't autox, because I don't want to look stupid :)

I'm wondering the same thing :P

Keep your eyes up and look far ahead. Just go out and have fun and don't worry about looking cool!

Sweet vid though, niceness :bigthumb:

Don't be afraid to autocross, it is nowhere near as difficult as it looks from that video. A view from the drivers seat is much better than the view from the grill. The key is walking the course. All good autocrossers walk the course multiple times before the day's runs begin. I have even seen at regional and national events where they open the course up for walking during lunch. I usually walk the course twice and study it well enough so that I can close my eyes and can see the entire course in a "drive through".

The Alabama region will also lime the course. They have the same machine used to lime the lines on a baseball field. They will go along the outside lines of the cones so it gives you a much better idea of where you are supposed to be. They were not visible in the video but the course was limed at that event. FYI: There is no penalty for running over the lines, they are just there for visual reference and cones are the only thing that count against you.

thanks for the input guys I appreciate it alot! If they let me walk to course I'm sure that would make things way easier because here they have a pretty small but difficult course so lots of turns and things like that. Well you guys might have talked me into getting up the nads to go and compete in one of these things. Still if I screw up I'm going to feel like such a jackass :)

Hopefully, Alabama region uses flour instead of lime. Lime hurts the eyes when its windy out .... and lime doesn't do wonders for paint. :)

It could be flour, I just assumed it was lime because it is a lime machine that they use. I will try to remember and look at the next event to see what they fill it with.

Lol, ur way ahead of most car "enthusiasts" just by showing up and giving it a try. Most kids are too afraid of not looking cool to even give autocross a shot, and they miss out on all the fun. Truth is, no one cares how you look. Real racers are cool people, not like street racers and show posers, etcccccccc.

Couldn't agree more :bigthumb:

well I mean like if I run over cones and just don't look like I know what the fuck I'm doing it doesn't matter who you are the coolest people will still think "oh my god this damn newb" I've been a couple of times and thought it was awesome just didn't have my car at the time. Maybe when the season comes back around I will go and make an ass of myself :)

My first autocross was not an SCCA event. The North Alabama Corvette Club held time trials a few times a year at the same place the SCCA holds their events. I was envited to attend by a man that I had went and test drove a 1st gen he had for sale (I didn't buy his first gen; I ended up with an '89 GTU). That man happens to be speedturn on this forum. I don't remember exactly how he knew about the event but they did not turn away our Mazdas.

I was only 18, I had only had my GTU about a month and it was raining! I had done some drag racing and street racing but nothing prepared me for what I was about to do.

Because the field of cars consisted of 30+ Corvettes and 2 Mazdas the course was setup for full speed. It had a huge sweeping turn (100 yards in diameter?) A 180 turn, a 5+ cone slalom spaced out so far a schoolbus could of navigated it and then some offset gates that could be taken at full throttle. I found out later that they use the exact same course configuration for every event.

Now the embarrasing part. I spun out, not just sideways, I spun around multiple times on the first turn of my first run! I remember being scared that they would ask me to leave when I finished my run. I had no clue what I was doing. I think I even hit a few cones in the slalom. Instead of criticism and an envite to leave, I had many other drivers approach me and give me pointers on what to do the next time. Even being an outcast with the "wrong" car nobody said anything derogitory towards me, it was all encouragement.

I didn't miss a local event after that for quite a few years. I could not get enough. I was an addict.

Don't be afraid to attend an event, everyone has had a first autocross at one time in their life. At every event in Birmingham we have at least 5 people that have never done it before. The organizers have a quick "newbie" class on how the timing is kept and the penalties for hitting a cone. Those people are usually placed in the first work group so they can see how things flow before they actually do it in their car. And usually some otherdrivers offer them a ride along so they can see it from a car first and they are given pointers on how to be smooth and safe (fast comes later).

And don't worry about hitting a cone. EVERYONE does it, often!. I don't think I have attended an event where I didn't hit at least one cone. When I had my track car I once had to take home a cone, because it melted and stuck to my header. What a stinky mess that was.

Autocrossing is not for everyone, long hot days in the sun just to get 5 runs does not sound like fun to most people. But you will not know until you try it.

wow thanks man! If everyone is the encouraging in my town I would deffinatley go! I'll try it once and see exactly how it goes. Maybe someone would be nice enough to take me for a ride once, like you said, around the track in a car. The only time I've seen a second gen in an autox it was a prestine 88ae and it popped a coolant seal and that was that so I'm kind of scared I'd mess my engine up. This was a nice aniversery eddition to with like 40k original miles on it but I guess thats all in the name of the game. I saw a third gen tear the vetts a new one though and that was great! But there are vipers and everything else that come to this one so they are all the big dogs and I would just be a little puppy :)

More information was posted about this video on the ALSCCA forum. The driver was Matt Blackwood and was 1st place in CSP at the event. It is not clear if it was the video from his fastest run. He was 7th fastest overall for the day.

Also posted was another video by the same person. This one is older and in a BMW but you get to see the same facility with a different course layout. The first half of the video is incar and the second half is from a door mounted camera on a different run.

http://www.unix.eng.ua.edu/~mblackwood/autocross.wmv

I have been looking for video of Chris Warren who could of finished first in almost every class in his H-Stock 1988 Integra but I have not found any.