first autoX!!!!

[awsmp5]

what can i say damn that was AWESOME
i REALLY need to learn how to break and accel at the right times cuz i was squeelin my tires everywhere (no) o well it was HELLA fun what can i say i'm already addicted

i saw a tinted lowered(?) silver protege5 with a black stripe going across the back bumper on 95 as i was heading up to ripken stadium which is where it was held. i coulda sworn he was goin there too but to my dissapointment he/she wasn't there.

o well i saw a black protege sedan hittin 5 or so seconds faster than my fastest run. i don't have ANY suspension mods what should i do first? i came late so i didn't know what was going on and was put in sts instead of novice cuz i have header, short shifter, cat-back which are basically the only performance mods i have.

well i'll definately be going to the next one... even if i have to skip work (thumb)

 

[dolphin]

I know what you mean! I was bitten by that bug in 1970. If you do a search on my username and key word autocross you'll find lots of threads. Some of these are for specific things like tire pressures and others are more general. Here is what I did when I was getting my daughter started.

We walk the course and talk about where to be looking and where to position the car.

My advice, for what it's worth:
1. If you aren't working on the car, registering or otherwise occupied, go walk the course. She walked the course about 7 times that I know of and 5 of those were by herself and at least once to show other people the course.
2. Just drive the course! Concentrate on smoothly putting the car where you want it to be on the course.
3. Don't worry about how fast anyone else is just try to go a little faster everywhere on each run, just beat yourself every run.
4. Eventually, you'll come to a place that you can't go faster. Keep that part the same and keep going faster everywhere else.


I know that sounds simple, and it is, but it hard to execute. After you get to the point that you can get through the course smoothly and consistantly, then you can worry about the refinement. There are somethings that you can do in normal everday driving to try to develop good habits and improve your autocross driving.
1. Always pick your line through a turn and put the car on that line. Later, you can try to make sure you pick good lines.
2. Look waaaaay ahead. Look around the corner, look past the car in front of you and keep your eyes moving.
3. Try to make only one turn into the corner and one turn out.
4. Practice adjusting your line with the throttle.

But most of all enjoy yourself.

For what its worth.

 

[Protege2K]

What class do your race in Dolphin?

 

[Rogue]

i came late so i didn't know what was going on and was put in sts instead of novice cuz i have header, short shifter, cat-back which are basically the only performance mods i have.

I'm not sure why they put you in a class instead of running novice. Here in the Atlanta Region we let anyone run novice their first couple times, then ask them to class properly. I guess they do it differently there.

 

[dolphin]

We have a novice class here as well but they are all indexed using their car's PAX factor.
I have been running in our street tire class the lat few years. The tires must have a UTOQ treadwear rating of 140 or higher just like the street touring classes. The MX-6 and MP3 run in GS, the MSP is DS, nd the Miata is CS. In 2001, I ran an event with the MP3 in FSP using 15 in wheels and 225/50-15 'R' tires. That was fun.

The MP3 is pretty much my daughter's car and the MX-6 is preety much my son's. He has been running the MX-6 while I run the MSP. She only runs a couple of times a year now.

 

[aMaff]

We have a novice class here as well but they are all indexed using their car's PAX factor.

Ya, middle ga region does that down here. ATL, if I'm not mistaken, it's just like a Time Only class...

 

[dolphin]

Here are a couple of pctures. Enjoy.

 

[Katya4me]

what can i say damn that was AWESOME
i REALLY need to learn how to break and accel at the right times cuz i was squeelin my tires everywhere (no) o well it was HELLA fun what can i say i'm already addicted

i saw a tinted lowered(?) silver protege5 with a black stripe going across the back bumper on 95 as i was heading up to ripken stadium which is where it was held. i coulda sworn he was goin there too but to my dissapointment he/she wasn't there.

o well i saw a black protege sedan hittin 5 or so seconds faster than my fastest run. i don't have ANY suspension mods what should i do first? i came late so i didn't know what was going on and was put in sts instead of novice cuz i have header, short shifter, cat-back which are basically the only performance mods i have.

well i'll definately be going to the next one... even if i have to skip work (thumb)

Welcome and congrats on your first autox. Moxnix and I usually run w/ Philly at Ripken, but our Mazda club had their holiday party at the DC auto show yesterday.

Be sure to check out the autox events list on MEC. We're planning on making the next Philly Ripken autox. Hopefully we'll see you there

As to mods, if you lost your pre-cat when you installed your header, then you will have to move up to STX from STS, but I thought you should be able to run Novice if it is still your 1st or 2nd event ever. Get good tires like Azenis first before looking at modding your suspension. After that, consider springs and an AWR rear swaybar. I've gone thru a couple of setups myself and I like my GC's, but they are a bit niosy and stiff.

 

[dmitrik4]

glad you had fun!

the black sedan was me. my new setup w/ the 6.5" wheels out back is crazy loose; it took me 4 runs to start to get the hang of it. no more trail braking for me.

philly does have a novice class; next time, just ask to be classed there.

i saw your car when i was teching in some late arrivals (the miata and cougar parked next to you); your proper class is probably going to depend on what header you have, once you stop running novice.

the rest of the advice on here is good...the best thing to do is to "tighten the nut behind the steering wheel." i wouldn't get too worried about modding the car yet; you'll learn a lot faster if you have a stable platform on which to gauge your progress. the only thing i'd recommend is a set of autoX wheels/tires; you'll rip through your street tires in no time if you're autoXing regularly. pick up a used set of azenis and some cheap 15" wheels.

did you get any instructors to ride along with you? that is a great way to learn, and i highly recommend it. you're also always welcome to ride along with me, and most other people are pretty accomodating.

FYI, my mods are as follows. I think it's a good budget (<$600 total) setup:

MSP springs
MSP struts
MSP rear swaybar
H&R camber bolts
205/50/15 Kumho MXs (very old, and very bald)
15x7 wheels (front)
15x6.5 MX-6 wheels (rear)
Hawk HPS pads f/r

no power mods at all. the MSP stuff is a good compromise if you have to drive your car every day.

see you in february!

ps. for you and katie or anyone else running w/ philly at ripken next month, ALL registration/tech is in the morning...reg/tech closes around 9am. we don't run the split-day format in the winter.

 

[awsmp5]

oh what the seriously you teched them? yeah they're my friends. me, the cougar and the civic across from me were all first timers

man i can't stop tellin my friends who didn't get to go about how much fun it was.
hm as for tires, i JUST got new tires no more than 3 months ago so i don't think i'll be upgrading tires yet they're kumho ecsta asx... all season i guess they're ok since i'm still getting into it? and i looked up the tires you guys mentioned and i see 3 kinds does it really matter?

i want to get another set of 16s or maybe even 15s but i don't have the money. should i worry about the weight of the wheels all that much?
haha sorry for so many questions, but lastly where did you get all that msp stuff did u get it used?

 

[dmitrik4]

it doens't really mater what you have on the car at this point; just so long as it stays constant and you're not adding or taking stuff off while you're getting your feet wet. it gets really hard to gauge progress i the car is always changing.

it's not necessary yet; i just recommended it as something to do if you were itching to spend money...tires easily make the biggest difference. and you don't need to buy new; lots of folks get rid of their autoX tires w/ plenty of tread on them b/c they start to lose their grip, even though they're still plenty sticky if you're not trying to win a national championship. but it's not a big deal. if you didn't do it this time, i'd recommend pumping up the pressure on your front tires to keep them from rolling over too much.

wheel weight makes a huge difference, so when you do go to buy some, get the lightest ones you can afford. i'd say to go w/ 15s b/c of the weight, cost, and gearing advantages...but it's up to you. again, not important yet.

the MSP stuff and 7" wheels i got off this board. the MX-6 wheels were eBay, and the brake pads from Tire Rack. I got the Kumhos from another Philly person, who i *believe* still has a used set of 15" Azenis for $100.
BTW, check out our discussion board at forum.phillyscca.com.

mike

 

[Vanimaniac]

I remember my beginning in autocross. I was just as excited as you awsmp5. Definitely just work on your driving. I bet you can drop way more time with just learning proper lines, braking, etc.

One free mod is taking out all the weight you are allowed to. As in removing the spare tire, jack, floor mats, etc.

My wife and I autocrossed her P5 while it still had the temp plates and we both got 1st in our respective classes HS and HSL! I haven't run it much since then though. Definitely a fun car to autocross though.

One thing I like to do is gauge how well I do versus someone who is consistently good and faster than me. Each event I see how much closer I can get my times to him/her.

Another thing is to not just throw on parts for the heck of it. You seem to be hooked on autocrossing now so do your research when modding. Know what each mod will do to your cars class. All the cars I autocross(ed) have parts that were bought with autocrossing in mind.

Right now my brother and I are setting up an '86 Corolla GT-S for STS or STX. Hoping to take it to nationals. All this because of that one day 3 years ago where I got talked into autocrossing instead of going snowboarding!

Good luck,
Van

BTW, dmitrik, when is your event where Eric is coming out to codrive?

 

[dmitrik4]

it was this past weekend, but eric had a family ting come up and couldn't make it. i told him he's got a standing co-drive any time he's back East.

i have to suck it up and get some decent tires.

i remember my first autoX...i overdrove EVERY corner, and was way un-smooth on my inputs. took me a few events to figure out i needed to go slower to go faster. that was a revelation.

 

[awsmp5]

yeah i hear that all the time, i guess i'll have to try it out.

and as for modding, untill now i just threw in parts that'd give me a lil more power... i mean its fun i guess but the headers throws me outa stock which sucks and turning is so much more fun than going straight i'll just save up and keep practicing on my set up right now

 

[aMaff]

yeah i hear that all the time, i guess i'll have to try it out.

and as for modding, untill now i just threw in parts that'd give me a lil more power... i mean its fun i guess but the headers throws me outa stock which sucks and turning is so much more fun than going straight i'll just save up and keep practicing on my set up right now

u could sell the header and put back on the stocker if u have it. If ur not competitive (which, unless ur just the bawm, it takes a while for u to get better...same goes for me lol), the shifter usually won't be that big of a deal. Cat back's legal in stock.
Also, read the last page of this thread(post 29, primarily) if ur interested in getting some good advise for developing a car and skills in HS. The discussion's mostly abt tires (I run in HS), but post 29 has a very good model to go by for a novice in stock.

Welcome to the addicting world of Autocross bro (drive)

 

[awsmp5]

thanks guys