Hey guys,
Finally decided I was going to give autocross a shot. Heading to Verona sunday morning. Wondering if you guys had any advice for me?

Ideal tire pressure for temps in the 60-70s?

 

Don't worry too much about tire pressures at your first event. Set it anywhere from 34-36 and just leave it.

Look FAR ahead, the farther ahead you look, the smoother and faster you will be.

Slow in, fast out. You dont want to go into a corner with too much speed and have to scrub it off mid corner, Going in slower will let you build up speed throughout the corner.

The throttle is very analog, it has more positions than all the way down, and all the way up.

Have fun, but be careful because autocross is very addicting!

 

I'm the novice coordinator with the Blue Ridge Region. Be sure to do the novice course walk with me after the Driver's Meeting and we'll take it from there.

Don't be intimidated by the sea of cones, and just remember to have fun out there.

Talk to you Sunday.

-Chike

 

thanks for the tips. I'm well aware of the addiction that I'm throwing myself into. I haven't even had my first day out, and I'm allready building up a list of parts I want to order. Last summer it was my bike, this summer the car needs some attention.

 

awesome. good to know that theres another rx8 thatll be out there
see you sunday

 

Try and have as many different instructors as possible throughout your first couple events. They'll all have something specific they notice about your driving that they'll hammer you on until you start to understand. It will just end up as you being a better driver.

Also, be humble, remember you dont know sh*t ( despite what you may think ). Just listen to your instruction and assume they are 100% correct. My first autocross was a novice training day followed by an SCCA event the next day. I was completely blown away by the caliper of cars that were there and how serious people were about it even though they were novices who had zero experience. These "novices" trailered cars in or swapped on r-comps, changed brake pads and were constantly fooling with tire pressures all day. I rolled up on street tires in a lightly modified RX8, put on a helmet and took first place of 45 novices.

Just go out there and have fun. Dont worry, none of the adjustments you could make to your car at this point matter one bit.

Have FUN!!

 

/thread

 

All great advice.

The only thing I'd add is get painter's tape and tape up the front corners of your bumper and your rocker panels. You don't want to have to worry about cone hits in the beginning and the tape will make it easier since you won't have to worry about them leaving marks.

 

Getting Started at a Solo event

So, you've just been invited to autocross with some friends of yours,
or you're just planning to go to get some all important "get to know you time" in your car.
Do you know what to do when you get there - or how should you act?

Here are some quick tips.

* Find out where the event is being held
o Then make sure to get there early.
* Get to registration
o Try to know what class your car will compete in before you get there
* Go to Tech Inspection
o Get all junk out of your car before you go to tech inspection.
* Walk the track at least once time.
o Walk it by yourself before the Rookie walk through
o Also attend the Rookie Walkthrough with an instructor.
* GO TO THE DRIVER'S MEETING!
o They will introduce event officials, cover required tasks, upcoming events, safety items,
what not to do, the number of runs, and drivers entry log.
* Run in your heat.
o This is obvious, so I'll leave it at that.
* Work when you have been assigned!
o This must be said as long as there are folks out there who race and then leave without working.
o You are putting others in danger when you skip out on your work assignment.
o Your depature can impact our ability to even run the event.
o You also run the risk of not being able to run in the following events.
* Bring food and water to the event and find some time to eat and drink!
o Wear appropriate clothing. Check the weather forecast. Sunscreen.
o It does you no good if you're out there hallucinating because your body has used up all it's glucose.
* Clean up after yourself!
o Bring in your own trash bags or use the provided trash cans. We have no cleanup crew out there, we're all adults and we can clean up after ourselves. Not cleaning up could eventually get us kicked off the site. If you don't want to clean up too much, then don't make any mess.

 

Jeeze, reading this I cant wait to get into Auto-x...

 

Check your ego at the door.. uh, gate... uh, entrance.

Ask a lot of questions, and have fun.

 

"Slow is Fast" - turn your wheel in a smooth motion, apply your gas/brake in a smooth motion

Brake Early - you can always brake later on later runs

Hearing your tire skid is BAD (you are going in too hot)

Brake Early

Brake Early



when you are going into a turn, have your eyes already set on the EXIT cone, do this when you are doing the walk through, at the entry cone, look at the exit cones.



Keep granny (DSC) on for 1st 2 runs.


IN slalom, constant gas application, smooth left and right input.




Hit late apex, our car can brake harder than it can accelerate.

 

Ha! ditto this. Don't get sucked into thinking you need to do this or that to your car to fix some problem (real or imagined). There is ten times more improvement available in your driving than in in car mods when you start out.

Watch the really fast guys (or ask for a ride - most are happy to help). Many regions have a "pro" class where top drivers will run against each other on index. These guys generally set the fastest times of the day. Often the less experienced drivers will chalk up their performance to the prep level of these cars (which are generally near the limit for the class), but even the slower-classed Pro drivers will generally beat higher prep-level cars driven by less experienced drivers.

I think the hardest hump to get over in your autocross learning curve is accepting that you're getting beat by a faster driver, not a faster car.

 

I"ll also be going to my first autocross this upcoming weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, so thanks to all the guys who already posted tips. It's gonna be a blast.

 

WEAR SUNBLOCK!

Wish someone had given me that tip.... black asphalt PWNED my face