Getting into AutoX

[rwh11385]

depending on your club you'd better make sure that battery is damn tight. They might not let you pass tech with anything less than a metal hold down. bungie chords are definitely not allowed. why not spend $5 on the proper battery hold down parts?

This was always the focus of Auto-X inspections with SCCA here as well as track tech inspections with BMWCCA.

Some of us don't have battery trays with intact threads in them :(

You can rig some system of tiedown with flat brackets and rods, and should figure something out. I might see if I have pics somewhere of mine. I'm sure Dave has pictures of his late night Walmart-rigged tiedown before the BMW track day we went to with me.

[Wh33lhop]

depending on your club you'd better make sure that battery is damn tight. They might not let you pass tech with anything less than a metal hold down. bungie chords are definitely not allowed. why not spend $5 on the proper battery hold down parts?

you only need to remove the driver's floor mat. some clubs will let you leave it in if it's clipped down.

Some of us don't have battery trays with intact threads in them :(

[nando]

depending on your club you'd better make sure that battery is damn tight. They might not let you pass tech with anything less than a metal hold down. bungie chords are definitely not allowed. why not spend $5 on the proper battery hold down parts?

you only need to remove the driver's floor mat. some clubs will let you leave it in if it's clipped down.

[Wschnitz]

I will probably use a seat belt or similar ratchet strap to tie down my front battery so it doesn't move around, and empty the junk in my trunk and pull out the floor mats. I just hope my Rearview Mirror doesn't leap for freedom.

[UNCL3AN1]

AutoX is for anyone wanting to learn car control. We don't stop learning.

Very well said. This is why I took my step-son autocrossing for his first time, and I'll take my step-daughter when she has been driving for a year, and finally my daughter. Because you never stop learning.

When I was doing it a lot, I thought i was getting good. Then the courses got changed up a ton, and I couldn't figure out my lines. Back down near the bottom of SM for me back then. I was going from around 5th to down around 12th or so. That was around 2002 when SM was just getting popular. Maybe I just dropped lower in ranks because there were more people showing up for that class. :p

[FLG]

What they said.....and just to add about removing loose parts and making sure your battery is secure. This was my fix, few bucks and works well... Much more secure than the stock hold down.



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[Nsquared97]

Since it's been brought up, codriving other people cars is a GREAT learning oppurtunity, and will help make you faster in general, even in your own car. Plus it's great fun beating the owner ;) Just don't expect to drive the car again lol.

[Wh33lhop]

National champ only get 1 run in your car?,truly good drivers don't need a heads up from the cars owner or a few trips around the block to get used to a car.I know guys that are fast but only in their own car,to me if you can't get up to speed quickly regardless of car than autox isn't the sport for you.

We each got 4 runs, but he is not used to driving piles of shit. So he wound up threshold braking poorly and having to start in second gear.

To be fair, besides the braking and shifting he wasn't half bad (it may have been 1 second difference ultimately). I am just very fast in my car and used to driving around all its quirks.

[Robert]

Well said Justin.

That being said, i need to take my new motor out to autocross to learn it's limits.

[R3Z3N]

... if you can't get up to speed quickly regardless of car than autox isn't the sport for you.

AutoX is for anyone wanting to learn car control. We don't stop learning.

[L8 apexr]

If your car is not competitive in its class, which it won't be, codriving with a friend is an awesome way to keep it fun. Instead of racing other incomparable cars you are racing your friend as a driver. I have codriven many friend's awesome (and a few shitty) cars and have had lots of fun each time.

However (especially if your car has lots of quirks that you have gotten used to) make sure you let your codriver drive it on the street first to get a feel for it. I've had a national champion hop into the e30, freak out when it pulled to the left under braking and couldn't get it into second gear so I wound up taking him by a good 2 seconds every time, just because he wasn't used to the car and I didn't think to brief him or let him drive it beforehand.

National champ only get 1 run in your car?,truly good drivers don't need a heads up from the cars owner or a few trips around the block to get used to a car.I know guys that are fast but only in their own car,to me if you can't get up to speed quickly regardless of car than autox isn't the sport for you.

[R3Z3N]

^^^That reminds me, if there are obstacles that you have the possibility to run into, bring it up with the club. I was instructing this weekend and an exit pointed to where parked cars were.....200ft away. My student didn't brake when I told him, AND hit the gas on accident. We ended 2ft from t-boning a stationary car 200ft away that was OFF the track surface. Braking began at 35mph.

Therefore, it is YOUR responsibility to think of what may happen and where, and it is safe to be paranoid.

At the tracks, I choose my battles wisely...where I can spin for ages and *should hit nothing.

[matthugie]

^ This post makes me more wary about letting people drive my car. I've always been fine letting people take lap or two, but that made me pucker a bit.

OP, just +1 to what everyone else said, and welcome to the addiction!

[rwh11385]

If your car is not competitive in its class, which it won't be, codriving with a friend is an awesome way to keep it fun. Instead of racing other incomparable cars you are racing your friend as a driver. I have codriven many friend's awesome (and a few shitty) cars and have had lots of fun each time.

However (especially if your car has lots of quirks that you have gotten used to) make sure you let your codriver drive it on the street first to get a feel for it. I've had a national champion hop into the e30, freak out when it pulled to the left under braking and couldn't get it into second gear so I wound up taking him by a good 2 seconds every time, just because he wasn't used to the car and I didn't think to brief him or let him drive it beforehand.

I almost mentioned... one of my friends wasn't used to RWD cars and it was rainy, and lifted abruptly, and almost put the E30 into a brick wall after taking out the timing lights at the finish.

This was the prior run in which he got a little swirly - but didn't fully lose it. I think I might have been in the passenger seat this time.



I was taking pictures while he lost it. My stomach dropped as I watched through the viewfinder.

[Wh33lhop]

What everyone else said. Remember sunscreen, hat, sunglasses maybe, comfortable shoes, proper clothing (jacket to keep warm if brisk), tire pressure gage, and helmet. The most important thing is to pass tech, which means make sure everything to tightened down and you keep up maintenance well.

Don't mod your car to start out in Auto-X, soft springs will communicate well and help you to learn how to control your car efficiently. All-season tires are fine - hell I even ran snow tires once because it was what I had available. No additional power is needed, nor making it lightweight.

Buying a helmet is a good investment, as is the cg-lock IMO: http://www.soloracer.com/cglock.html


Also, consider bringing a friend - you have someone to maybe cover your fee if you let him drive your car, have someone else in your class to compare with, and someone to work with.

If your car is not competitive in its class, which it won't be, codriving with a friend is an awesome way to keep it fun. Instead of racing other incomparable cars you are racing your friend as a driver. I have codriven many friend's awesome (and a few shitty) cars and have had lots of fun each time.

However (especially if your car has lots of quirks that you have gotten used to) make sure you let your codriver drive it on the street first to get a feel for it. I've had a national champion hop into the e30, freak out when it pulled to the left under braking and couldn't get it into second gear so I wound up taking him by a good 2 seconds every time, just because he wasn't used to the car and I didn't think to brief him or let him drive it beforehand.