$2014 Challenge Autocross

So I wanted to pose an autocross question to the $2014 Challenge faithful. Which would you rather do, the autocross in the parking lot with the cones or on the small road course on property at Auto Plus Raceway?

In reply to Rick Goolsby:

The road course looks like a lot of fun.

Road course is more fun and faaaast but the parking lot is better for me because my top speed is slooow :( .

a road course even would be awesome but a parking lot autocross is a hell of a lot more GRM's style lol

Road course would be cool.

Road course! (Coming from someone wanting to get back into the Challenge)

For those that haven't run it before, the Gainesville Road Course is not terribly fast. It's 2nd and 3rd gear for most cars. It does provide for a different, more "road coursey" feel than a traditional autocross, though.

auto-x morning, roadcourse in afternoon

JG Pasterjak wrote: For those that haven't run it before, the Gainesville Road Course is not terribly fast. It's 2nd and 3rd gear for most cars. It does provide for a different, more "road coursey" feel than a traditional autocross, though.

uh.. 2nd and 3rd, yea- but that's still pretty fast for an autocross. I know in 2004 when it was last held there, I calculated about 60ish on that back corner, as it entered the the other part of the course- I tried one run in 3rd, and one in 2nd- which didn't quite hit the 8000rpm cut out on our engine... But it was the our last run on the last day, so if it grenaded...

It's fun, I agree. But quite fast vs. a typical autocross.

The part that made me squirm a little (and my wife telling me to man up) was the lack of run off room. You are on the dirt pretty quickly.

I know even in the parking lot in $2012, guys were reaching WELL above "typical" autox speeds with that layout anyways, so...

I like roadcourse.

I would probably prefer the road course even though it would most likely be worse for my relative results (unless it rains again ). I just show up to have fun and it looks like more fun.

I hold the opinion that auto-x is so specialized that it is not the ultimate way to judge a car.

Road course!!

I think it depends on what you are trying to attract to generate editorial content (which IS the purpose of the $20XX Challenge).

The road course will attract fundamentally different cars. Bigger, more powerful, etc.

Might not affect it the first year, but definitely will the second.

I like the road course, but it doesn't really matter what I like, does it?

It would be helpful if we knew it soon- I will build my car differently.

Novice in a C6 ZO6 (lots of coasting into corners) in a typical course configuration. This setup utilizes the bus stop and has you almost doubling back on yourself at the end of the longest straight and the novice still tops out second. Our turbo miata with about 160-170hp and stale Hoosiers was faster than him at the end of the straight. (Different day, same layout) http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F3NPBQAHSxc

Edit: quick googling and some calcs puts both the novice and me at around 90 mph.

How is the road course for spectating? Half the fun is watching everyone else run.

Hrmm... i feel like the MX6 would hit triple digits there. Or at least, would be capable of doing it. I don't know about the driver, though.

Rick, would event insurance be the same for you guys to run on this course? How would you handle the "course working," and are you guys prepared for cars running 100mph or faster on the course as laid out in Joshua's video?

Are you sure that was 90? It sounded like he was in second gear the whole time, which would put the top speed at about 70, I think.

jstein77 wrote: Are you sure that was 90? It sounded like he was in second gear the whole time, which would put the top speed at about 70, I think.

He was leaving a LOT on the table there, don't even think he ever went full throttle and was braking/coasting way early. Based on time spent on the straights, i don't think your average turbo miata would have any problems getting at least to the top of 3rd gear.

Swank Force One wrote: Hrmm... i feel like the MX6 would hit triple digits there. Or at least, would be capable of doing it. I don't know about the driver, though. Rick, would event insurance be the same for you guys to run on this course? How would you handle the "course working," and are you guys prepared for cars running 100mph or faster on the course as laid out in Joshua's video?

We've run the mini- road course in the past, and no one was close to triple digits--- maybe 60 or 70mph tops. As has been said, it's a small course with speeds only marginally higher than a typical autocross. We can also control speeds if need be by modifying the course, but in the version we used last at the Challenge, it worked well and was fun.

The runoff is limited.....and usually wet / swampy, so the potential damage to cars that go off would be increased---which is something to consider.

I drove my Ford Probe on the road course in 2004 and had a blast with it - finished in the top 1/3 in autocross even though the car was WAY down on power from what it should have been and couldn't run better than 17's in the drags. I'm not quite sure it favors power cars, although it could be the bar has been raised considerably for autocrossers now. I'd vote for the road course.

When was the last time you ran there, though? The cars have gotten WAY faster since 1999.

I was hitting 75-80mph on your autocross course in 2012 in the parking lot. I know i wasn't the fastest guy through that first section, either.

Don't get me wrong, i'm ALL for this. It benefits my car, which is an AWFUL autocross car. I'm just curious about the liability/cost aspect.

I'd love to see and participate in challenge cars on a road course. I like the idea. It merges more with my interest in modifying and using cars I modify on road courses. I'm not much on autox.

Didn't a certain Pennsylvanian hit triple digits in $2004 in a raggeddy beast affectionately known as "The Tetanus Express"

I'd rather drive a road course than an auto-x. But have a few more safety concerns if the speeds are significantly higher.

We ran the road course back in 2002- 2004 IIRC. There were a few wickedly fast cars at those events (Mongrel's Monster Miata comes to mind) Our current crop of Challenge cars shouldn't pose a problem.

With a bit of testing and course modifications we can easily control speeds. The question is which would you guys prefer---- a traditional autocross, or a mini- road course? Both are fun, just different strokes......