my first autocross
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: 20916, CA
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my first autocross
after many months of me saying to my friend "so when are we gonna go autocross?" we finally got ourselves to the local scca event.
got there and there was someone else signing up at the same time, so i said i'm new and that i was wondering how it worked, and everyone helped me out. i signed up my work group with him and got my temporary numbers. didn't really get to walk the whole course because they called the n00bies in for a 'first timers meeting.' showed us basics and sent us on our way
luckily it wasn't too hot in the morning (9AM) and there was a steady breeze out. so i go to check in and grab a remote and go to my station. they were doing checks on the radios and silly me forgot to turn mine on out of the excitement i was experiencing. station 8 had to yell at me to turn it on...haha
. the guy that was there was really cool.
after that, we lined up for our runs and got tech'ed. i think i was the slowest there, but it was all for fun. all my runs were clean, no cones owned yet. we did four runs and here's mine: (time's aren't posted online yet, and the slips are at home)
1. 44.xxx
2. 40.xxx
3. 41.xxx
4. 38.xxx
my friend with his evo always missed the slaloms so he got 4 DNFs. he was too busy not thinking or something.
we did fun runs after we were all done and i rode with him twice and damn that car picks up....he then offered me to drive his car....OMG that car was pure sex to drive. 24lbs of boost hits you hard. the afternoon groups were showing up with the spec miata's and m3s and s2ks. we didn't stick around for them though. next time.
sorry for the long read, it was just really fun.
cliffs: first autocross. slow but fun. drove my friends evo.
got there and there was someone else signing up at the same time, so i said i'm new and that i was wondering how it worked, and everyone helped me out. i signed up my work group with him and got my temporary numbers. didn't really get to walk the whole course because they called the n00bies in for a 'first timers meeting.' showed us basics and sent us on our way
luckily it wasn't too hot in the morning (9AM) and there was a steady breeze out. so i go to check in and grab a remote and go to my station. they were doing checks on the radios and silly me forgot to turn mine on out of the excitement i was experiencing. station 8 had to yell at me to turn it on...haha
. the guy that was there was really cool.after that, we lined up for our runs and got tech'ed. i think i was the slowest there, but it was all for fun. all my runs were clean, no cones owned yet. we did four runs and here's mine: (time's aren't posted online yet, and the slips are at home)
1. 44.xxx
2. 40.xxx
3. 41.xxx
4. 38.xxx
my friend with his evo always missed the slaloms so he got 4 DNFs. he was too busy not thinking or something.
we did fun runs after we were all done and i rode with him twice and damn that car picks up....he then offered me to drive his car....OMG that car was pure sex to drive. 24lbs of boost hits you hard. the afternoon groups were showing up with the spec miata's and m3s and s2ks. we didn't stick around for them though. next time.
sorry for the long read, it was just really fun.
cliffs: first autocross. slow but fun. drove my friends evo.
Originally Posted by gh0st
didn't really get to walk the whole course because they called the n00bies in for a 'first timers meeting.' showed us basics and sent us on our way
Joined: Jul 2002
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If you din't get to walk the course, you got there too late. Depends on the region, but 2-3 hours ahead of time is a good rule of thumb. In indiana, we started about 1130, I was there by 830. Lots of time to walk the course, screw off, tech the car, etc....
Welcome to the dark side.
PS... drive the civic... its easier to learn on a slow car.
Welcome to the dark side.
PS... drive the civic... its easier to learn on a slow car.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,617
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From: 20916, CA
Rep Power: 304 unfortuneately i scrapped most stock items...mostly suspension...so i don't think i'll touch anything until i figure out what i can do with my current set-up.
yeah i did get there a tad bit late. first car out in the morning is at 9 and i got there at about a quarter after 8. (30 minutes drive
) but i learned my lesson.
thanks for the pointers,
i'm taking notes. 
to the fun.
yeah i did get there a tad bit late. first car out in the morning is at 9 and i got there at about a quarter after 8. (30 minutes drive
) but i learned my lesson.thanks for the pointers,
i'm taking notes. to the fun. 
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I think stock or modded is ok, depending on what you're starting with. My HX was a dog to drive and wouldn't have been fun or competitive to learn with. It's still dog slow and uncompetitive with the front runners in STS but it corners pretty dang well now and it's a worthy learning tool.
I agree with Boiler re slow cars being good to learn with, no room for sloppiness, and all about keeping the pedal down as long as you can.
I agree with Boiler re slow cars being good to learn with, no room for sloppiness, and all about keeping the pedal down as long as you can.
Originally Posted by truehonda
Dont start with a moded car like I did back in the day. Take a full stock car and have some fun and see the limitations of what OEM is and then upgrade.
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Originally Posted by bgoetz
I would almost agree with that except I would say that if anyone was going to race any stock class they should take full advantage of getting racing tires.
You'll NEVER learn how to drive if you just keep throwing money at the problem. Race on street tires for at least 2 years. You're not going to win anyways. So why not learn the right way to drive. If you add all that grip, yeah, the car has a higher limit... but your limit probably gets lower as you let the car bail you out.
Originally Posted by Boilermaker1
No they shouldn't
You'll NEVER learn how to drive if you just keep throwing money at the problem. Race on street tires for at least 2 years. You're not going to win anyways. So why not learn the right way to drive. If you add all that grip, yeah, the car has a higher limit... but your limit probably gets lower as you let the car bail you out.
You'll NEVER learn how to drive if you just keep throwing money at the problem. Race on street tires for at least 2 years. You're not going to win anyways. So why not learn the right way to drive. If you add all that grip, yeah, the car has a higher limit... but your limit probably gets lower as you let the car bail you out.
Joined: Jul 2002
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From: Washington DC
Rep Power: 424 The right way to drive is pretty open ended. That depends some on the nut at the wheel, and the nuts crazy enough to ride shotgun while said first nut drives. A lot of how you learn to drive reflects on who teaches you. Thats why its best to learn from people with similar cars as you, even let someone who is good drive your car to give you a bench mark to go for. But even then, everyone develops a style. Some like a very loose car, wide lines, and let the car hang out a little, others go for tight cars and lines dead on the markers.... either way may work, something in between may work, it also depends on the course. Certain courses and tracks will work better for certain cars and setups.... point and shoot does not favor Hondas, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Gradual curves separated by short straights do .
The car being sent up one way or another isn't so important as the technique you need to know before you can push the car hard. If you know how to drive, the car matters less. If you have a high limit and the car has a low limit for the edge, then you can push it to the edge and go a lot faster because you'll know where the edge is and be able to hold it there. If your limit is low and the car limit is high, then you'll drive like a whacko and hope the car can bail you out. Consequently you won't ever find the limit and probably won't improve either. If you're limit is low and the car's is too, you're less likely to get into A LOT of trouble, because the car will give out too. The goal is to get yourself to be able to handle the car in the worst possible condition, this is usually stock, or the point it is at when you decide to start racing (Never undo something you've already done unless its minor and to put yourself in a specific class, example:your only mod is an intake, so you pull it to run stock). Once you can get to the point where you can push no harder with the car in its current state (usually you confer with someone who knows their stuff to conclude that it is infact the car holding you back), then you can start playing. But honestly, race rubber is like a power play. Its like night and day over a regular tire and I'd stay away from them until you're really confident that its the last little thing you need. If you're running stock, really all you can do is Konis and new brake pads. Anything else really knocks you into STS where street tires are all you can run anyways. The other key is to know what you're changing and the effect it will have. People who race their car with some sense of seriousness undoubtebly will have a better built car than someone who builds a street bucket. Its the quality over quantity arguement... you need less, but you need it to be top notch stuff because you actually stand the chance of breaking it.
The car being sent up one way or another isn't so important as the technique you need to know before you can push the car hard. If you know how to drive, the car matters less. If you have a high limit and the car has a low limit for the edge, then you can push it to the edge and go a lot faster because you'll know where the edge is and be able to hold it there. If your limit is low and the car limit is high, then you'll drive like a whacko and hope the car can bail you out. Consequently you won't ever find the limit and probably won't improve either. If you're limit is low and the car's is too, you're less likely to get into A LOT of trouble, because the car will give out too. The goal is to get yourself to be able to handle the car in the worst possible condition, this is usually stock, or the point it is at when you decide to start racing (Never undo something you've already done unless its minor and to put yourself in a specific class, example:your only mod is an intake, so you pull it to run stock). Once you can get to the point where you can push no harder with the car in its current state (usually you confer with someone who knows their stuff to conclude that it is infact the car holding you back), then you can start playing. But honestly, race rubber is like a power play. Its like night and day over a regular tire and I'd stay away from them until you're really confident that its the last little thing you need. If you're running stock, really all you can do is Konis and new brake pads. Anything else really knocks you into STS where street tires are all you can run anyways. The other key is to know what you're changing and the effect it will have. People who race their car with some sense of seriousness undoubtebly will have a better built car than someone who builds a street bucket. Its the quality over quantity arguement... you need less, but you need it to be top notch stuff because you actually stand the chance of breaking it.
Last edited by Boilermaker1; Aug 23, 2005 at 09:15 PM.
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Rep Power: 0 glad you had fun i had my first autox event in the rain so i know where ur coming from ...but first learn where ur car limits are at on street tires...then get r-compounds (race tires) at that point youll be pushing your car to that same limit but faster/cleaner/whatever else...so first learn how your car handles then get r-compounds
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 13,151
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From: Washington DC
Rep Power: 424 If your mod list in your profile is up to date, you should run STS. The only thing that will put you in STX is big brake kits or rear disc conversions. Beyond that, you'd be in something like street mod.
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