Milwaukee Region SCCA: 4/18 drivers school

[KZL_99ES]

http://www.scca-milwaukee.org/Solo/2009/09school.htm

so i ordered my helmet and registered a couple of days ago, anyone else going to this event?

i need to go and get my learn on! Shazam!(yippy)


anyone that has gone before have any advice or insight on how these are setup or run?

 

[thezfunk]

The first time out autocrossing I learned why they require helmets. After recovering from a fishtail through one corner, the car snapped back into place and I whacked my head into the pillar. Didn't really bother me because of the helmet!

 

[KZL_99ES]

well i guess i'm glad that i'm getting helmet then!

bump!

 

[lowr3y]

drive the s*** outta ur ES, it shall surprise you. good luck, and be safe! Your gonna get hooked.
The course is never the same in the Milwaukee chapter, every time i have gone the events have been the rear parking lots at Miller stadium. Drivers intro to the course (Walk around the course and get to know it) is first. Cone duty is usually on a rotating schedule, meaning when ur not racing u might be rotated out on the track to watch for missed turns or knocked down cones. If you are having trouble making a clean lap usually they have someone who can ride along with you to help you out.
BRING WATER!!! LOTS OF IT! the huge blacktop parking lots hold lots of heat, and when ur driving ur ass off you get thirsty. Keep yourself hydrated, it has been proven that reaction time, and overall brain function is slower when not properly hydrated. Take out your subs, they could become a weapon of mass destruction if you for some reason crash.
This is probly the most important part of my whole little rant... TAKE PICS! TAKE PICS! TAKE PICS!!!!!!!!!!! you sharing pics with us will influence others to join up.
Before every event i used to swap my brake pads out for my extra set of "EBC green stuff" pads and drive down there...
I used to run an 05' chevy cavalier with a full suspension, bbk with rear disk conversion, cai, and a cat-back. I had BFG G-force tires on some 16x7.5 rims. I didnt do to bad, i was in the top 8 usually, not the greatest car, but pretty good for a daily driver...

Ask other drivers for tips, people are always friendly and willing to give advice, and maybe they seen a little trick to the course that maybe u just overlooked. They can also be a great resource for parts, and getting into the racing world. Lots of shop owners race, so be friendly and it might just get u somewhere

Sorry i like to rant when i get the chance, hope i helped a little, my fingers are sore and i am DONE

 

[thezfunk]

That brings back memories. Another one about the first time I went out.... I decided to take an instructor along on one of my runs to get some professional input. At the time I had my 1991 Escort GT. Great car for autocross. The instructor said I did everything very well but out of corners he kept yelling at me to go, go, go! I was like chill out man! This is an Escort! This is as fast as she goes! He was used to driving his Porche. I have to say though, one of the guys I knew had a stock Escort LX and would consistently turn in the fastest overall laps. He was just an amazing driver. That's the cool thing about autocross. It really shows driver skill more than anything else.

 

[KZL_99ES]

drive the s*** outta ur ES, it shall surprise you. good luck, and be safe! Your gonna get hooked.
The course is never the same in the Milwaukee chapter, every time i have gone the events have been the rear parking lots at Miller stadium. Drivers intro to the course (Walk around the course and get to know it) is first. Cone duty is usually on a rotating schedule, meaning when ur not racing u might be rotated out on the track to watch for missed turns or knocked down cones. If you are having trouble making a clean lap usually they have someone who can ride along with you to help you out.
BRING WATER!!! LOTS OF IT! the huge blacktop parking lots hold lots of heat, and when ur driving ur ass off you get thirsty. Keep yourself hydrated, it has been proven that reaction time, and overall brain function is slower when not properly hydrated. Take out your subs, they could become a weapon of mass destruction if you for some reason crash.
This is probly the most important part of my whole little rant... TAKE PICS! TAKE PICS! TAKE PICS!!!!!!!!!!! you sharing pics with us will influence others to join up.
Before every event i used to swap my brake pads out for my extra set of "EBC green stuff" pads and drive down there...
I used to run an 05' chevy cavalier with a full suspension, bbk with rear disk conversion, cai, and a cat-back. I had BFG G-force tires on some 16x7.5 rims. I didnt do to bad, i was in the top 8 usually, not the greatest car, but pretty good for a daily driver...

Ask other drivers for tips, people are always friendly and willing to give advice, and maybe they seen a little trick to the course that maybe u just overlooked. They can also be a great resource for parts, and getting into the racing world. Lots of shop owners race, so be friendly and it might just get u somewhere

Sorry i like to rant when i get the chance, hope i helped a little, my fingers are sore and i am DONE

well awesome! thanks for the advice! i'll have to make sure to stock up on water bottles/gaterade and batteries for my camera! I just got a helmet today too!(cabpatch) ...i just have stock brakes/pads thoough...and our cars came with rear drums, FAIL, but everything is only about a year old so still good stoppin' power! I don't have anyone that i know going with me or going at all, so i'll definitely be friendly and nice! lol
when i'm done, i'll have to post up some pics on sunday too!!!

That brings back memories. Another one about the first time I went out.... I decided to take an instructor along on one of my runs to get some professional input. At the time I had my 1991 Escort GT. Great car for autocross. The instructor said I did everything very well but out of corners he kept yelling at me to go, go, go! I was like chill out man! This is an Escort! This is as fast as she goes! He was used to driving his Porche. I have to say though, one of the guys I knew had a stock Escort LX and would consistently turn in the fastest overall laps. He was just an amazing driver. That's the cool thing about autocross. It really shows driver skill more than anything else.

lol, 91 escorts...good times, my parents used to have one, that was car that i learned on, it was stick (and i actually feel uncomfortable driving auto, lol). but i'll definitely have to remember to accelerate hard out of the apex of the corner! ...unfortunatly i have huge top end power (starting around 3.5k rpms)...and not too much lower end...so we'll see how it goes!
my car's only lowered with stock struts (fairly new) so it should be interesting, i do have 17x7's that are my new summer wheels... but...after i get my tax return and security depsit back (hopefully all of it (boom02)) i really want to get some coilovers! i know those will hugly help!(naughty)

 

[KZL_99ES]

well it turns out i sent in my registration on friday, and i don't think that it got to the guy soon enough since when i emailed him, he said that they are full, but some might drop out due to car failure... (i hope so...lol)

i know my car will not fail on me! protege's will live forever!!!

anyways, i hope the guy will let me know by friday afternoon so i can get a good nights sleep before the day since i have to get up at 4am and drive 3hrs to Milwaukee from La Crosse... we'll see...

 

[lowr3y]

cant wait to hear your reaction when u find that u are beating the STI's and EVO's... u have a huge advantage over them cause of that damn awd.
I have seen a stock drivetrain 91` civic si hatch with FULL suspension stomping the s*** outta corvettes.
Have u tried on your helmet while in the car yet? lots of people have difficulty sitting in the seat with a helmet on cause u hit the headliner with the top of it.
Another tip for you, take a tire pressure gauge and a 12v portable air compressor and play around with your tire pressures and see if it helps

 

[KZL_99ES]

plus my car also weighs like 2500 lbs, that helps too!

i tried my helmet on in the car and it does hit the headliner...i'm only 5'10", not a tall guy, but having the sunroof lowers it a bit, and i have a custom seat brackets for a racing seat that raises me up a bit too...
so if i didn't have a sunroof and had a stock seat, then i would be clear... but it's not too bad, once i'm strapped tight down (i can barely move at all) in i hope i won't hit too much!


on that note:

I hope that i can actually get to go to this thing and don't get bumped out of registration...

...i'll hopefully know by tonight...we'll see

 

[lowr3y]

good luck kevin

 

[ReadS13]

Hey lowr3y, were you ever on Fitfreak.net? I believe I talked to you about a year ago and you were going to run your girlfriends honda fit.

As for SCCA in Milwaukee, I hope they have less IL members come up for racing because lately it hasn't been worth it when it is getting so crowded. I know we have more runs then other areas in the midwest but now its becoming a problem in Milwaukee.

 

[KZL_99ES]

good luck kevin

Thanks again!

and i got the email saying that i got in!!!

As for SCCA in Milwaukee, I hope they have less IL members come up for racing because lately it hasn't been worth it when it is getting so crowded. I know we have more runs then other areas in the midwest but now its becoming a problem in Milwaukee.

well i'm sure that lots of the northern suburbs come up since that the SCCA in Milwaukee is the closest one...

 

[lowr3y]

Hey lowr3y, were you ever on Fitfreak.net? I believe I talked to you about a year ago and you were going to run your girlfriends honda fit.

Nope, not me sorry

 

[Wagonbacker9]

I definitely need to get involved in this.. lol

 

[KZL_99ES]

...crap, i still need to put up some pictures too...sorry for the wait, last two weeks of course work, so it's a bit hectic.

 

[KZL_99ES]

Pictures!!!

ok, so i'm finally going to post up some pics! here goes: (wrc)

my car!!!

all ready and checked out, go stickers!

represent!

this picture came out really really cool!

the west course

teehee... my car wishes she was as cool as those two...

mazdas!

too fast for my camera...lol

cool pic too

cockpit view

me!

very excited me!!! lol

waiting in line

it started to rain... not bad tho at all

that was my teacher and his car that his partner was driving...it was very very fast...

...and my co-pilot on the way home!

 

[lowr3y]

very nice! ur car looks good, and i REALLY like that 280Z... i want one sooo bad

how did it go for you? did u have fun?

 

[KZL_99ES]

well i had a ton of fun! everyone was really nice and wanted to talk about cars (go figure) which was awesome!

my first run i took it kinda slow to see what my car/I could do, then sped it up from there!

It was really scary when i let the instructor drive my car, he did a lot better than me, well like 2 seconds, but still better.

there was an east and west course so two groups could go at the same time, they're supposed to be 30 second courses, and my best time without hitting any cones was i think 31.2, so not too bad (the instructor added a little weight) that was one of my last runs on the west course.
we had about 8 runs on the east and maybe 10 or 12 on the west one, so there was lots of practice!

it was a really great time overall!

I think with some coilovers and a little sticker tires it would be even more fun!

even if i were to do any actual events, i'm not one who is all big into winning, i just love having fun and being around so many cars and car people!

 

[lowr3y]

(thumb) (usa)

 

[xsists]

I really wanted to do this but I was busy..