Note to newbie autocrossers

[cindy]

I notice everywhere I go that people that want to start autocrossing think they have to go out and modify their car before they start. Word of advice: DON'T DO IT.

Just go, put extra air in your tires and try it out first. Often times, modifications put you into more competitive classes than you may want to be in. Work on your driving first and then modify if you want to change. Then, the best thing is to modify one thing at a time, so you can see what difference it makes. If you want to spend money, spend it on seat time and autocross driving schools.

I autocross a MSP, and this car is great right out of the box. I added some race tires, but I found out that these are hiding some of my bad driving habits. For the last few years I've driven all kinds of good and bad stock cars. I feel that driving undertalented cars makes better drivers.

As for my PERSONAL opinion, I think this car is the most competitive in D Stock. DSP seems to see it fair rather well if you want a little play.

Just some thoughts I decided to pass on here since I hear "I need to fix my car first," all the time around my region.

 

[DistantTea]

Is this Cindy D from KY?

If so me and my wife were the orange MSP with black wheels at Evo school a couple weeks ago.

Our car has had one modification done at a time, with at least a week or two in between installations... that week is FILLED with testing in our little test lot until we can be happy with the results. And I still make mistakes. Real testing is done every Sunday at events.

We spent 5 months (10 events) with the car totally stock last year and I'd say a good 70% of our learn'n was done that way. My favorite courses were the worst courses with the least grip. Then when we finally did go to R compounds we just started winning defacto.

We went to STX because regionally the stock MSP was doing quite well against the modded STX subbies. The first mod was to sell off all our heavy OEM wheels, our OEM street tires and our Ecsta V700s... I agree that R compounds hide deficiencies in driving. Being in STX I feel I'm forced to pay critical attention to my race line and corner exits.. something I didn't do with R compounds since blind faith just dragged the car around hoping the grip held out.

But rest assured this car is quite competitive in STX, DS and nearly DSP... yeah its not a class leader. But thats why you gotta drive it right. Its good stuff and is absolutely amazing in STX trim. We'll see how my project cheap @ss mazdaspeed does in June when it goes up against the big names of STX in toledo... Todd Meade, Courtney Cormier, Jeff Brown...

I'm going to get murdered all in the name of science. But considering how very little I've spent on this thing... its quite impressive if I must say so.

 

[AutoBox]

i totally agree......i lan to compete in ds fr the est of this season and move up to stx next year......i dnt have muchmoney now and enjoy he fact im rnnin with car shrouded in r rubberand im stll completely stock....the first even i attened opened my eyes like the first day i drove it.....i luv this car(butthump)

 

[cindy]

Is this Cindy D from KY?


.

Yep. I was doing timing for your class. I was not really paying much attention to the drivers that day because I was busy with some other things and sitting in that car all day was killing my back. Sunday I made the instructors let me set up in the trailer so I could stretch.

I took Phase II on Saturday to get to know the car. I used what was left of the stock tires. I wanted the street tires to see what I might be doing wrong, and I was WAY overdriving. Hopefully I'll be smoother now. I'm going to give a jab at the National Tour in Peru July 4th weekend. I think the two that duked it out for the DSL national title last year are registered.

 

[kcbhiw]

Vote's to make this a sticky anyone? Excellent post. I'm not sure how many time's I've replied pretty much the same thing in many posts. Modifications tend to be used as a crutch for the newbie....I know it was for me. I jumped right in to auto-X using nothing more than R-compounds. I really wish I had started with street tires. The DRIVER is the most important mod anyone can do. <Roughly> 75% of being able to go fast has to do with the driver...the loose nut behind the wheel. Modifications to the car will give you a tenth of a second here, and a tenth there, but knowing how to drive can yeild many SECONDS.

 

[Vanimaniac]

I finally convinced my wife this past winter to start autocrossing her P5 in HStock Ladies and she went out and got 1st in her first event. Car still had temp plates on it! I'm far from being an expert driver but I also won 1st with her car that day in HS. Mazda does really give you "straight out of the box" performance. I plan on letting her keep autocrossing "bone stock" cause apparantly she can hang (she beat most of the guys in HS last month). Hopefully the all seasons will allow her to realize where she is going too fast. I'm gonna finish off this season in my Audi in STX then I think I'll codrive the P5 next season.

Van

 

[Leigh]

Good to see this said, gets frustrating sometimes to have a novice in the car and all they want to talk about is everything you've done to your car or what they should do to theirs to be competetive. I had one guy ride along and he seemed so disappointed that I hadn't really done anything to the MSP. I could hear him thinking "my car is so much better - I'm going to beat this girl by at least 10 seconds". I think he was about 6-8 seconds behind me that day. I haven't seen him since - maybe he's decided to go drag racing instead?

Stop worrying about car -> worry about yourself. There is no way you are at the limits of your vehicle when you first get out there. Plus it makes it harder to gauge your own progress when you're working on adding things to the car every week - how do you know if those 2 seconds were due to the suspension mods or your driving? You may actually do things that make the car perform worse and not realize it...

 

[Matthew]

i want to start autocrossing sometime soon after i finish some suspension work that is already in the makes. what class would i fall under?

 

[Subghetto]

i want to start autocrossing sometime soon after i finish some suspension work that is already in the makes. what class would i fall under?

lol let's just say a hard class if anything considering you have a turbo they would probably run you against faster cars ex: corvettes, porches, etc.... The more modifications you have the more difficult the classes tend to be. Also I'm not sure but some modifications are illegal as well.

 

[Matthew]

the illegal mods is kind of what i was wondering about. is there like a FFA class or something lol? like my upgraded engine mounts i heard were illegal..im not trying to thread jack, but i figured if this was going to be stickied im sure a lot of people with mods like myself would wonder, because i know i didnt originally intend to AutoX, but after watching some videos, it sure seems like fun.

plus my friend got some free tickets or some s*** to race in OKC when he bought his Evo. anyways, just curious as to what i would do...probably end up watching

 

[kcbhiw]

the illegal mods is kind of what i was wondering about. is there like a FFA class or something lol? like my upgraded engine mounts i heard were illegal..im not trying to thread jack, but i figured if this was going to be stickied im sure a lot of people with mods like myself would wonder, because i know i didnt originally intend to AutoX, but after watching some videos, it sure seems like fun.

plus my friend got some free tickets or some s*** to race in OKC when he bought his Evo. anyways, just curious as to what i would do...probably end up watching

Perhaps SM or SM2? I'd have to look up the rules, but I know there aren't too many restrictions in either of those classes.

 

[DistantTea]

Everybody needs a rulebook.

 

[Vanimaniac]

i want to start autocrossing sometime soon after i finish some suspension work that is already in the makes. what class would i fall under?

Your turbo will put you into a SM class. SM2 is for two seaters which the P5 is not. So you'll be going against some very fast cars. I entered SM last month and got beat by a turbo'd civic and also turbo'd neon. But also beat a modified Rousch Mustang, modified M3, etc. It's not just about the car. Driver has a lot to do with how well you place. Heck my wife beat the Mustang in her stock P5 by almost 5 seconds!

 

[mazdaowner123]

Courtney Cormier

lol, I go up against him every sunday. He autocrosses with my region. The mini he drives is absolutely incredible. It's Richard West's car (another national titler in our region, used to drive an STS 2.5rs that's for sale now; my friend might buy it hehe). Courtney is amazingly fast, it's awesome to see him drive. Luckily, they put the pro people in a "pro" class, which is done by pax (much like novice.) I always like to compare my times to him though. You should come down here sometime and autox with us . If you gimme a few bucks I could smash a couple kneecaps for you....

~brian

 

[dmitrik4]

matthew,

don't worry about being in a tough class. yes, a competitive SM car will run mucho $$$, but in all honesty, being new is all about learning, not winning.

i'm of the opinion that modded cars aren't bad per se, but "changing" cars are. the important thing is to have a constant, stable platform on which to gauge your mistakes and improvement.

so do your mods (stay on street tires- even if they're Azenis- everyone above is absolutely correct), and then stop. then learn to drive the car you have. once you are driving well consistently event after event with it, THEN start tinkering with things.

edit: i wish philly region had had a "novice" class when i started. that would've been cool!

 

[kcbhiw]

Matthew, I suggest you go out and compete, I guarantee you'll get hooked . Give it your best, everyone is a noob at first, but when you're laying the smack down to the other folks in the future, the accomplishment, alone, will be rewarding.

 

[Matthew]

im pretty excited to try it. ive got a sponsorship lined up right now though that i want to see through before i go.

 

[kcbhiw]

im pretty excited to try it. ive got a sponsorship lined up right now though that i want to see through before i go.

Don't forget, too, that if you can provide results for two events, the Mazdaspeed Motorsports contingency sponsorship is available to you.

 

[Matthew]

well their site is nice i heard, but i try not to pay for parts anymore. ive spent so much money my bank called to ask if my debit card was stolen.

 

[dmitrik4]

Don't forget, too, that if you can provide results for two events, the Mazdaspeed Motorsports contingency sponsorship is available to you.

you can join MM when you submit results, but in order to win anything (and it's not much $$), you have to be among the best drivers at national-level events. so it's not really a "sponsorship."