Kentetsu

When you're doing it on old, wornout, skinny snow tires!

Ran my first event last Saturday. Best $20.00 I ever spent. Killed no cones, did not run off course, and finished 4th in Street Prepared. I am definitely hooked!

Where most of the drivers were able to "drive" around the corners, I was powersliding all the way. I was pleasantly surprised at how well balanced my car was, considering that I have not touched the 21 year old suspension yet. Heavier sway bars and tires are currently at the top of my list, and I've got an extra set of stock springs that I might cut down since the cost would be free. I felt that I had more than enough power for the course, so I think I can back off on that part of my modding for the time being.

My "copilot" is my six year old son Riley. He's the one who is always there asking if he can help me when I'm working on the 7, so I figured he'd earned it. Now I've got all three of them out there everytime I pop the hood!

For anybody who has ever considered racing, I cannot recommend this option enough. Just go to an event and watch once, or better yet jump right in and try it out. The cost was only 20 bucks, and they had loaner helmets available. Everybody there was very friendly and helpful. I couldn't have asked for a better introduction into this type of racing.

I learned more about how my car will act in extreme situations in those six 1 minute runs, than I have in my 2.5 years of ownership. I also learned a lot about my own abilities too, and I'm now much more confident in my daily driving (thinking about crash avoidance and stuff like that). It would have been worth ten times the cost for the experience that I've gained. So, just get out there and do it! Don't wait twenty plus years like I did...

fcdrifter13

Cool man. Now try gmykana(sp)

Chamele03

DIDNT HIT ANY CONES? you must have been doing something wrong........ nah, glad to see you enjoyed yourself I havent found anything more fun, If I could just keep a car in working order so I can attend.
But all that I have talked to say that If you do not loose it or nock over a few cones you are not pushing it hard enough, Maybe thats why you where only 4th..... Joking,

once again, goodonya, and welcome to a hole nother money pit

Kentetsu

lol, I was so nervous on my first run. I just kept worrying that I was going to run off course or something. Then when it was my turn, the guy said to go and the next thing I know I'm parked on the grid again. I couldn't remember a damn thing about my run! I had to go ask the score keeper how many cones I killed, and couldn't believe it when he said I had a clean run. I walked the course like 8 times before the start, and that really helped out a lot.

I kept thinking that maybe I could get a better time if I drove a little slower, but everytime I took off it was nothing but complete ***** to the wall, all out flying. The old tires meant that I had to slide through a lot of the turns and use the throttle to steer, and I'm sure that hurt my times quite a bit. But everybody said it looked impressive as hell!

Each time that I turned in over the six runs was better than the last, so I ain't complaining any. lol.

fcdrifter13

I do the same thing everytime. Walk sit down and study, get up walk, worry about slight issues or flaws in the pavement, tinker with car, walk, walk, talk ,while walking.

Then right before its my turn i put on a headset and just try not to think. Roll up to the line and just go, but I also hum for some reason, and I didnt know until my friend I took around the track told me I did.

I am totally stuck on gmykana(sp) now, its like drifting meets auto-x, and its just fun, eats tires but fun.

steve84GS TII

Awesome.....

Yea,thats me...put it off till later,wait,Ill do that next week,no time right now........
I still havent taken my car to an Auto-X meet.
I really need to,although Im positive Ill make an *** of myself and get a triple-life sentance for cone-murder!
Pushing a bone stock car to its limits can be more fun and less embarassing!

fcdrifter13

That is what I was mainly(and still am) worried about, making a complete fool of myself lol.

d0 Luck

steve's t2 FB's body work on his FB is too pretty to be thrown around the cones, lol

steve84GS TII

That was my original "excuse" ......but its got a fair bit of road chips in it now,although I have pilfered a few empty nail polish bottles from the woman in an attempt to stay on top of the touchup.
It would still be safer/better than going off course and into hay bales, on a high speed course like Infinion (Sears Point)

SilverArrow

Yes, very similar to my first run in the gsl-se with stock everything, the body roll was horrendous!!! Much better since then, new struts/bushings/tires. On a side note, you might think about getting a properly sized helmet for your son, there are many types available for karting and such, and a properly sized helmet is much better than an ill-fitting one. Be careful though...this competition is addicting.

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

Love the ear to ear grin on your sons face, he's a hoot. You should be very proud of your father skills involving him like that. That is a day he will remember forever.

justint5387

iTrader: (1)

Try removing the rear sway bar if you havent already...

Kentetsu

Yeah, it was a real pleasure being able to do that for him. I printed up a couple photos for him to take for show-and-tell at school, and right now all the kids wish they were him.

I wasn't too worried about the helmet (it was a loaner). The course was well laid out and safe, leaning toward technical driving skill rather than speed. I think there was only one section where I redlined in 2nd gear, and that was only for a moment.

Not much of a chance that you're going to damage your paintjob either. The worst that could happen is you bump a cone or two, and that is usually done with your tires unless you run right over one.

I watched a couple of wide bodied vettes run the course, and it was unbelievable that they could even do it on such a narrow course, but they really flew. Quite impressive. There were also some Subies there, but they looked very heavy and seemed to wallow quite a bit.

The guy that won my class was in a CRX of all things, but it was totally stripped and prepped. He claimed that he only had 91 hp, but that was a load of ****. It had such a big cam, that it wouldn't even idle. And when he hit the straights, it was like he was shot out of a cannon!

For anybody that's sitting on the fence, thinking "someday I'll do that", take my advice and DO IT NOW!!! Check out http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/frmMain.Show for races near you. I wish I could get those twenty years back, I could have been racing all that time. And as far as costs go, other than the entry fee you only spend what you want to (for car improvements). But I figure I was planning on upgrading all of this stuff anyway, and now that the wife has been to a race and seen my son's face, getting permission to spend money on my car will be all that easier now. Wooohooo!!!

Kentetsu

Ive seen this advice posted before, and I still don't agree with it. Especially in my particular case; I had no issues with oversteer at all. In fact, I'll be looking for even more roll stiffness on both front and rear. The car was very well balanced overall, but a reduction in roll would have really helped (not that it was all that bad to begin with).

mr_ouija

I so want to autox, with my GSL-SE over the FD. I was afraid I would be in a class I couldn't compete in, but after looking at the rulebook, it seems as though I would be in Street Prep. I need to get on the suspension part though, as my poor GSL-SE's suspension has seen much better days.

I'd want to get used to the Autocross before taking out the FD. Making a fool out of myself in the FB wouldn't be as bad as doing the same in the FD. Heh. I think I am going to go watch an event or two to see what it's like. It'd be only $14 to compete being active duty enlisted, woot!

Mazdax605

iTrader: (5)

Did they let you take your son in the car?If so I wonder if they would allow my 4 year old son in his car seat(with the proper helmet of course).I have done many auto-X events,but I never even thought of asking about taking my son.I would imagine he would love it,but I am not sure they would allow that where I go,but I guess I could ask.

Excellent pic of your son by the way,he looks like most people I know that do Auto-x for the first time,only he is now hooked at a much earlier age.

Chris

Slo Motorsports

I doubt that they would allow any "minor" in the car (at least at an SCCA sanctioned event). Think of the liability. SCCA let's junior racers compete using karts. You can't drive a car until you have a drivers license and a signed parental waiver.

Don't let that keep you away though, you'd be missing out on too much fun.

Rogue_Wulff

Various regions have different rules about the age limits. The local SCCA region has a 12YO rule. No one under 12 is permitted anywhere near the grid, staging and start, or the course itself. The exception is for junior karts. Anyone under 18 must have a parent/guardian sign a waiver before they can be in those same areas.
Auto-X is a mega blast, even though the speeds are generally much slower than you would see legally on the highway. I took my 14 year old son to one last year, and he had a blast.
Under most circumstances, the chance for paint/body damage is about the same as driving on a deserted road. The highest risk, is cones, and they just leave a small mark that often will buff right off. Secondary risk, is from an occasional bit of loose gravel.
Most Auto-X courses are laid out to prevent the competing cars from getting within 50 ft of any obstacle, particularly if they are SCCA sactioned events.

dantheman

iTrader: (4)

What a cute kid!!

With one on the way, I look forward to taking them out with me to the autocross.

Lt. Dan

I've already told the wife... When we have kids, they're getting a kart for autocrossing...

Dan

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

Your kids can ride as long as they fit the seat belt properly, pure safety.

Kenetsu, try disconnecting one end of your rear bar for one run, you'll know by the end of that run if you like it or not.

Kentetsu

Yeah, this event was put on by a small local group so the rules were a little bit more "relaxed" than you might find elsewhere.

Ausiesmg; maybe I'll give that a try before I claim that it won't work. I was having some issues with the inside rear wheel spinning in the turns, and it would probably help with that. I think I'd rather deal with that with either a stronger front swaybar, or a LSD rear end though. I'm thinking that the increase in body roll without the rear swaybar would cause more issues than it solved though. If I was having issues with oversteer, then that would be the first thing I would try though.

Thanks for the compliment on my son dantheman. I kind of like him too.

Rogue_Wulff

Yeah, I have issues with the inside tire loosing traction too. And, I have a much lower car, sitting on 205/50-15's. Body roll is much less of a factor. LSD is the only real cure for this condition.

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

Hell yeah, you need LSD, no question.

Kentetsu

I have a spare non-lsd rear end all cleaned up and sitting in my garage right now. Maybe I'll see if the scrapyard would take it in partial trade for an lsd version. I'll have to make a few calls tomorrow...