Like many of us, the first vehicle I proudly owned was my bicycle. Sometime around my 13th birthday, I had finally saved up the money to buy a real BMX bike.
One of our local shops had a pretty sweet deal. For about $300 they’d build up a pro-quality frame with decent components–not quite top-shelf parts, but they sent you …
The "I need to do x/y/z to my car first" was always the hurdle I found most difficult to get people who want to participate (or at least say they want to participate) over.
No, you don't need that fancy clutch/brake/suspension/exhaust to go autocrossing. You could show up in a Camry with a blown suspension and it'll still be a faster car than a brand new driver.
If I had a dime for every time I heard that about they needed to do stuff to their car before hand.
In reply to dxman92 :
Yup. Just go out and do it.
David S. Wallens said:In reply to dxman92 :
Yup. Just go out and do it.
DO IT!!!!!!!
Do it. But bring money, because racing will burn through that stuff like fall leaves in a bonfire.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
Off subject but, do you think your friend super Dave could possibly help me get a Sparky's Distro shirt? That's my nickname, and I would gladly buy one, but their site is wholesalers only. :( I'm a long time BMX'er, SCCA flagger, sometimes autocrosser, and I even used to work in the cycling industry for DeFeet.
Fun fact, I had more fun autocrossing my floppy daily BMW than my dedicated Miata track car.
So, not only do you not necessarily need mods to show up, mods may make it less fun once you get to a certain point. You can work so hard to go fast that it kills the joy.
Step 5b:
Have a job with normal hours/day(s) off, i.e. 7am-3pm and sat/sun off or something like that.
After almost a decade of autocrossing and track driving, the best advice I can give is to not spend a dime on parts until you have spent at least as much on coaching and good safety gear as a set of tires and coilovers will cost. A comfortable SNELL 2020 helmet is a minimum and, if on a track, a HANS.
DaleCarter said:After almost a decade of autocrossing and track driving, the best advice I can give is to not spend a dime on parts until you have spent at least as much on coaching and good safety gear as a set of tires and coilovers will cost. A comfortable SNELL 2020 helmet is a minimum and, if on a track, a HANS.
Do not spend money on go-fast parts. *DO* spend money on stuff that makes the car reliable. Going home early on a tow truck sucks.
At the drag strip this past weekend the event was Import Face Off. There was some fast cars there, but one of the biggest smiles I saw all day was a kid in his Honda Element running 19s WITH a Thule clam shell roof box.
It was a riot, but damn that guy was happy.
In reply to Sparkie :
Shoot, just saw your post. Dave does international sales, I believe, but I'd say contact them. They're all about selling merch.
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