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Autocross: Because Life is more fun on three wheels......
"I know Solo only comes one minute at a time, but what an intense, non-stop, fast-forward car control exercise minute it is. Sure, the velocity is higher in road racing, but inside the car it is slow-motion in comparison. In Solo, the turns come like machine-gun rounds. "
Randy Pobst
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WOW, I'll have to check which they are, 711's or 712's. I dunno.
Dang, I didn't know it was THAT rough on tires. Maybe when I do some racing it would be a good idea to put the stock steelies back on? Like Zzyzx has, even though they roll HARD CORE, I'd rather mess up the stock crap tires, than the low pro tires. Just an idea, lemme know if it's good or bad.
Im not sure where i heard this, but i read somewhere that on stock tires and stock steelies if not properly prepped, or just running as it, the tire can sometimes hop off the rim... basically leaving the rim scratched to hell along with some other problems...
Is this true, and a fairly common event? Anyways to fix that while keeping stock rims and tires, i.e. pressure, ride height, strut bars...
I really wanted to start Autocrossin and i would like to find out as much as possible before i go out and try.
This is why you put more pressure in the tires....to keep them from rolling over. (35 to 40 PSI)
Mark your tires with chalk and see how far they are rolling over after each run.
Low profile tires with more pressure than normal are more than likely not going to roll very bad.
Sure you will get some side wear, but I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Like the other guys said, work on preparing you (The Driver) and worry about all the other things later.
Don't get too worried about tire wear just yet, those falkens are after a year of autocross (22 events with approx 5-12 Runs each event) and they are a soft compound tire so they wear much quicker then a "True" Street tire any way. There are other issues regarding tire usefullness as a race tire (Heat cycling) but you need not worry about that just yet. I'd run your 16's you'll get much better performance out of those Vs the stock tires. and because they are True Street tires, and thus Have a Hard compound, you will probbably not notice much of a difference in tread wear or performance over the life of the tire. (Some one calculated that on average a Mile of autocross = 50 miles of Street use)
Just to show the difference in wear:
Falken Azenis tread wear = 200 and on the street should last around 10-15,000 miles (One of the guys I autocross with put 8,000 miles on his and they are bald). The Kumho MX is about the equivelent in performance as Azenis and it has a tread wear of 200 too. 711s have a tread wear of 320 and the Top end 712 has a tread wear of 280. So it could be assumed that if you have the 711s you probably will not see that much extra wear, the 712s mighe wear a bit quicker. BUT....... the MX and the Azenis will greatly out perform the 711 and 712 in dry traction, at the cost of longevity. (I droped about a second and a half when I switched from street tires to the Azenis).
Shambler, Ive never heard of nor seen a tire pop off a wheel when autocrossing.
RallyCross Yes, autocross no. Its possible if some one was running excessivly low pressures though.
There is all sorts of info on autocross on the web, and there are a handfull of us 7th geners that do it to, so just ask away.
Autocross: Because Life is more fun on three wheels......
"I know Solo only comes one minute at a time, but what an intense, non-stop, fast-forward car control exercise minute it is. Sure, the velocity is higher in road racing, but inside the car it is slow-motion in comparison. In Solo, the turns come like machine-gun rounds. "
Randy Pobst
You can practice by setting a few cone out in a parking lot and going around them at different speeds. This will show you the limits of you current setup. When you are at the event, talk to people before the race. Learn some pointers before you even start. And while the race is going on, watch how people are entering and exiting the turn. Watch their braking and accelerating points. You'll be surprised in what you can learn in one race. Thats what happened to me.
If you do real bad the first time, dont worry about it. You just have to ajust from straight to corners. Keep going, that is the only way you will get up to Zzyzx's or boiler's level of driving. So, just be yourself and go to have fun. You wont have fun by getting upset that you last place your first race. I was surprised when I finished that day. It was my first time racing and I placed 7th out of 50 or so novices in h stock.
Last edited by Green Civic; 12-04-2003 at 10:00 AM.
My first event....... Dead last in my class. (But I did beat a corvette that day, of course it was his first time too.)
Just keep going, there is no replacemt for seat time. This is one of the few automotive sports where throwing money at the car wont nessisarily make you faster.
Falken Azenis Sports, in 195/60R14. Its a good Streetable race tire. and I say streetable meaning that on the street they should last about 15,000 miles, but with autocross don't expect to get 10,000 out of them. For me, my 205/50-15's last about one season of usefullness due to heat cycling them to death.
They are cheep to, the 14s can be picked up for as little as $45 each.
280 treadwear on the 712? hmm, didnt know that, i have 25,000 miles on my set of 215/45-17s and have about 1 to 2/32 left before the wear bars, now, i dont autocross with them, but i dont granny drive either
__________________ "The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land" -- G.K. Chesterton
Contact me about parts for sale(fits coupes and sedans)
In my garage:
2005 Yellow Pearl Harley-Davidson XLH 883C Sportster Custom
2002 Mineral Grey Ford Mustang GT Coupe
Previously In Garage:
2003 VBP Honda Civic Si
2003 Suzuki SV1000S (Silver)
2001 EBP Honda Civic EX Coupe
1984 Honda Shadow VT700
Did you by some chance compete at the last Autocross in the Dallas area? I think I recall seeing your car there. Did you do well? Was that the last competition of the year?
Do you know where I can find out more about Autocrossing in the future?
Good luck!
Quote:
Originally posted by lberry This is why you put more pressure in the tires....to keep them from rolling over. (35 to 40 PSI)
Mark your tires with chalk and see how far they are rolling over after each run.
Low profile tires with more pressure than normal are more than likely not going to roll very bad.
Sure you will get some side wear, but I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Like the other guys said, work on preparing you (The Driver) and worry about all the other things later.
like whoa, i go away on vacation and all of a sudden everyone is interested in autocross! Being a noob at Autox too, i think the best money you can spend early on your car is a nice set of sticky tires. If ya can't afford small lightweight rims, then maybe just throw some stickies on your stock rims. The suspension stuff sure helps, but I think you get to be a better driver over time.
__________________ Life isnt a test drive, gotta live a little. (02fpcivic)
HA!!! So not ALL of my threads are useless!!! I've learned a LOT and I think others have learned a LOT as well. COOL INFO guys!!! Maybe our paths will cross during the summer at some meet sometime...who knows but for all, like me, that are noob's to Autoxing, GOOD LUCK!!! We're gonna need it! lol j/k
lberry 
