Going to try Autox 10/17/10

I'm gonna take the '93 XR2 Capri and have some fun at the Southern West Virginia Region SCCA. This is my 1st AutoX. Just got the car aligned (was way out of specs) and got 4 new Ecsta AST's. Its my DD just thought I'd have some fun with it. Any pointers? I added a hardtop which stiffened it up A TON, looks like I'm running G Stock Are there any mods that are allowed (filter, exhaust) car is all stock currently.

Have fun. Dont hit cones. Walk the course more times than feels necessary. Find the oldest oddest shaped guy who drove a miata and follow him the first time he walks the course. He probably knows where hes going. Then walk the course again, and again, and again... Have someone ride along to give you pointers if you feel you need it. Most important HAVE FUN and let the addiction begin.

1. Don't worry about mods yet. Just get out there a drive. You may find once you get out that you ultimately want to run in a "non-stock" class anyways.
2. Have a plan. As stated above, walk the course. Figure out things like where you think you're going to have to brake, shift, etc. ahead of time, your brain usually cannot do that "on the fly".
3. While driving, look ahead to the "next" corner. When you first start out, there's a tendency to focus intensely on the corner you're navigating at that exact moment. You will not be able to keep up with the speed of the event doing that. (Unless you're wicked slow ) Your eyes, and your mind need to be on the "next" corner, planning how to attack it while your still navigating the current corner. Trust the plan you made. If you hit a cone, you hit a cone.
4. Focus on what you're learning, not your standings. Unless you are the next incarnation of the Stig, the "old hands" will kick your butt for a while. The good part is, as long as they are handily kicking your butt, they're usually willing to help you!
5. Don't forget its fun. Don't loose the fact that even if you finish dead last, you got to spend the day with a bunch of other people who enjoy their cars, driving like a bunch of hoons, and still have your driver's license (and probably a good sunburn) at the end of the day. Its a thing of beauty.

Stock class SCCA you are allowed a front sway bar, r-compound tires, and shocks. I am not sure about filter and exhaust mods, but don't worry about them they won't buy you the same kind of time as the above mentioned items.

All that being said the best mod you can do is upgrading the nut behind the wheel. At this point that involves getting as much seat time as you can. Have fun !

Good advice above, but I'll tell you what I think- your first ever autocross? Walk the course, don't worry about where to brake, or turn or anything else. Just worry about not getting lost. Try to find the few cones that you can focus on while you're driving that will get you from one feature to the next. Get your first run in, and when you're sure you didn't DNF, start thinking about what you could do to go faster.

Most important - have fun! It takes some practice to get good, so don't worry about your time or where you finish. Just have fun. When it's over ask yourself if this might be something you'd like to do more often. Then you can start to worry about class prep ("Stock", by the way, is just another level of prep. You have to do all the right set up to a Stock car just like any other car.)

My E Stock MR2 is my daily driver, so you can have a car that's competative, at least locally, that is still your everyday car.

Take care,

Ed

take your first run a little slower than you might think is necessary, just to make sure you get the course right. If you get the course wrong on your first run, it gets stuck in your head the rest of the day and is hard to correct.

The usual "walk the course, alot", "slow 1st time out", "have fun" driving stuff has been covered, so I'll mention the non-competition stuff.

• Wear sunscreen. Lots of it. Bring more with you to re-apply. Hats and sunglasses obviously go into this category as well.
• Bring something to drink. Preferably water, but I like a little warm thermos of coffee once it gets cold out. Not just a bottle either, more like a jug or a cooler.
• Snacks. You're out there for awhile. Being uncomfortably hungry on your runs is less fun. Paper towels and wet wipes can be convenient here, and for more than food should the need arise.
• Comfortable shoes. Those super-thin soled trackday specials may give you the best pedal feedback and placement, but I don't have much feeling left in my feet after standing around a parking lot in them for 2-4 hours.
• Tire pressure gauge and chalk are good to play around with, but I use them more as a learning tool right now than anything that will actually net you time. That said, they're not critical. A check-n-adjust of your tire pressures before the event is all that is really necessary.

Like others have said - welcome to the addiction.

If you get the course wrong on your first run, it gets stuck in your head the rest of the day and is hard to correct.

^ boy is that true. Ive dnf'd all but one run out of a whole day because i read the course wrong on the first run.

Of course there were other failures involved there such as me not being able to tell i dnf'd because of loudspeaker and scoreboard issues.. long story short it pissed me the hell off and ruined my whole day.

cxhb wrote: Have fun. Dont hit cones.

I'll counter that with- don't worry about the cones so much.

I see far too many drivers stop on course to avoid a cone.

They are ONLY 2 seconds per cone- not the 10 seconds it takes to stop, back up, turn, and go.

but have fun!

Ditto on walking the course 4, 6, 8 times if possible. Also, I have found that as you walk try to focus on looking ahead and knowing where you want to be looking at each point on the course. For example, entering a long sweeper, fix you eyes as far down the course as possible and remember that this is where you want ot be looking when you enter.

Ditto on finding a local hotshoe and "stalking" them or walking wih them as they walk the course.

Have fun!

sachilles wrote: take your first run a little slower than you might think is necessary, just to make sure you get the course right. If you get the course wrong on your first run, it gets stuck in your head the rest of the day and is hard to correct.

Best advice EVAH!

QUOTE:Have fun. Dont hit cones. Walk the course more times than feels necessary. Find the oldest oddest shaped guy who drove a miata and follow him the first time he walks the course. He probably knows where hes going.

You know, I resemble that remark.