Say you want to try auto cross…

Any suggestions?  
 

I happened along the local SCCA autocross this weekend. It was super cool. Lots of Miata, Corvettes, and even some old muscle. Large group of Subarus and an old MGTD.

I've never done auto cross, I don't really have a car to use for auto cross. I mean technically the 911 could be used but I deathly afraid of missing a shift and over revving it and causing the engine to go boom!  But after watching, I'm interested in not only me trying it, but also my kid gets their license in December and I thought it would be good way to learn control. 

If I were to get a car are there other cheap options besides Miatas? I ask because there aren't any cheap Miatas near me, but there are lots of manual Civics for cheap around here. Do cars have to have to be registered? I don't really want/need another plated and insured car to deal with. 
 

There are 3 more events near me between now and November. I also found the local fast book group, and plan to ask there. 

Just take nearly any car and go. The porsche is probably safer on course then driving to the event. Get your kids nearly anything they're interested in and get them out there too.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/what-is-autocross-how-to-ge/261397/page1/

Edit, you might like this gem from the meme thread,

octavious said:

Do cars have to have to be registered? I don't really want/need another plated and insured car to deal with.

Depends on the organizers. The serious people trailer their dedicated, gutted autocross cars to events. Some are open wheel race cars.

As you've seen, anything from a new car to and MG TD is eligible. In general, you'll want a car with less weight to throw around.

How big is the course near you? The one near me is pretty small where I can barely get to 50mph and most cars just leave it in 2nd gear the whole way around. I think the 911 could work.

The biggest danger is a parking lot with many light poles.

Just take the 911. 

You're there to have fun. If you drive with even the slightest bit of mechanical symphony you'll be fine.

After that you can decide on an extra car.

Take the 911. You can autocross anything. Since you haven't done it before the only shifts will be first gear into second gear and leave it there for the course. You'll be busy learning the course layout and figuring out your braking and turning points. My only concern would be scuffing the front bumper if you really kill a cone.

Yup, just put it in second and steer. You can autocross almost anything. I've autocrossed in vehicles that have weighed between 1200 and 7700 lbs :)

Miatas are a popular choice not just because they're quick, but because they're excellent learning platforms. Almost textbook responses to throttle steering, weight transfer and the like. Civics will certainly do the job but you will likely have to drive around the nose-heavy FWD aspect, especially in stock form. If that's what you want the kids to learn, great. Ideally, they should be driving something similar to what they'll be driving on the road.

Yeah there isn't a lot of shifting in autocross and I've had at least an order of magnitude more mis-shifts at track days, the 911 will be fine, but an old Civic would be fine too and I don't remember ever being at an autocross that required the car to be street-registered, although many clubs require you to have a driver's license.

Yup, regarding shifting. Once it’s in second gear, treat it light an automatic. 

Manual Civic could be good to run, especially if that’s the kid’s daily. Allow them to learn car control in something familiar and comfortable.

And, no, the car doesn’t need to be plated. 

And some autocross driving tips.

TL;DR: Go, have fun, learn new things, meet people. 

Thanks guys. All the tech stuff I read says "no leaking fluids" so I don't think it will pass tech. It leaks oil onto the heat exchangers and then onto the ground. She's a 228k mile 911 well worn old girl, not a fancy one or garage princess. 

Cars he will have access to drive are a 06 Tundra and a 50 Willys CJ3A. Both are rear wheel drive. Tundra is long and slow. Willy's is short and slow. My wife's car is a 23 Integra but I doubt he gets the keys to that for a few more years. 
 

I did talk to the corner assignment guy to figure out what was going on. Apparently I ended up on the paddock side of things when I showed up. 
 

It is in a community college parking lot, with light poles. 
 

Are we talking a few drips overnight or is the car just hemorrhaging oil? 

octavious said:

All the tech stuff I read says "no leaking fluids" so I don't think it will pass tech. It leaks oil onto the heat exchangers and then onto the ground. She's a 228k mile 911 well worn old girl, not a fancy one or garage princess.

I autocrossed a TR6 for nearly 20 years.  You'll be fine.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Few drips overnight at most. 

JoeTR6 said:

octavious said:

All the tech stuff I read says "no leaking fluids" so I don't think it will pass tech. It leaks oil onto the heat exchangers and then onto the ground. She's a 228k mile 911 well worn old girl, not a fancy one or garage princess.

I autocrossed a TR6 for nearly 20 years.  You'll be fine.

When me and my buddies were dipping our toes into autocross at Fentress Field in our youth, nary a one of us had a car that didn't leak oil. Not egregiously, but if anyone had given a glance to the well lubricated undercarriages, they'd have seen the evidence of our sins. 

It was also where we first learned that my big-boned 6'3" buddy didn't fit in much of anything we collectively owned, once he put a helmet on. 

Years (and dollars) later, we put our first race seat in a car and deleted the sunroof, and he cleared by miles. Declared he'd have never sold his old Integra had his younger self realized he was a seat and a sunroof delete away from motor sport bliss.

Long way of saying, flog the 911!

octavious said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Few drips overnight at most. 

What drips? :) 

octavious said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Few drips overnight at most. 

You should be fine. If you're not leaving a puddle in grid it likely will pass.

If you don't want a street legal car, is cheap and a riot- Look up f500/f600 cars. I see them for $5-6k frequently. Or a legends car. I don't know how those are classed, but would probably be a hoot to autocross. Those can be had under $10k easy. Or course if you think you might want to do track days there are other considerations....

Also take the 911 first before going and buying a car. Make sure you like it. Heck if you even show up and ask around I'm sure you can get some rides.

David S. Wallens said:

octavious said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Few drips overnight at most. 

What drips? :) 

Hell yeah, run it! You'll have so much fun in your old car you will wish you had started years ago. Make one shift, do your best to stay on course and once you have that down add speed. 

Make sure to jump in the right seat with others as well, especially early in the day on their initial runs when they aren't as competitive to see what they're doing. 

I recently did my first autocross in a crappy old Subaru with 230k miles. Like all old Subarus, it keeps the exhaust lubed to prevent rust. It was a non-issue for tech. More importantly, the car was not at all competitive and I still had all the fun. The guys in the bone stock 2000s Camry and the 90s Volvo wagon did too. If you don't take the Porsche, take your daily or any available car. A "good" car is not a requirement to have a great time. 

David S. Wallens said:

octavious said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Few drips overnight at most. 

What drips? :) 

I will echo what David said; my Mustang does the same as does my Datsun and it's never been a problem

As other said, just take the 911.

My mustangs steering rack had a small leak for about a decades worth of autocrossing it. I left a few drips in my grid spot and never got hastled for it. 

If you are nervous about the light poles, just remind yourself you are there for fun and learning the first year or two. If it feels sketchy, back off and drive within your abilities. I've seen elements that I took at less than 10/10ths due to sketch. 

See what you want for an affordable car if you want to go dedicated. There are options from mild to wild. When the time comes ask yourself how fast do you want to go, how competitive, and how many people do you want to run directly against at a given event? 

I've autocrossed 20 years. Started with my 97 Mustang, then had an STS 95 Miata, then briefly back to the mustang. Then the last 5 years I went FMod for absurdly fast fun. It all depends on your comfort and what you want out of it.

If you want to run your 911 beside its other brothere, the local PCA seems to have some stuff going on https://smtpca.org/

+however many for take your 911.  It's what it's for.  There are so few cool European cars that autocross, more are always welcome.  And I autocrossed as part of the Alfa club.  

If you miss a shift, it will be into 4th instead of 2nd, and that's not likely.  And it's not leaking fluid enough to be a problem- which is why it's on the tech list.

And don't at all worry about making changes to the car, like tires.  Just go with what you have, pump the tires up some, and have fun.   Slow = fast, BTW.  

If you are worried seriously about light poles, you need to find a better parking lot.  That's not to dismiss your concern- that's to find the right lot do to it the first time.

I have thought about trying it for years too, my dad used to do it with a Cortina GT and a 914 back when they were relatively new cars.  The main reasons I don't are I never really have had a car that works quite well enough, and I have gone to watch a few and seen two accidents (car vs person and car vs cement wall), and with that way the organizers panic and yell at everyone to never speak of it again and delete any photos (which is understandable for insurance reasons I guess) it's hard to know how safe it actually really is.  

In reply to Tk8398 :

It can be very safe. If there are cars hitting concrete walls, that's a course design failure. If there are cars hitting people, that's both course design and perimeter control. Go find a different group, that one has some fundamental problems. They know it, too, if they're trying to hide the evidence. Also, remember that you're in control. If there's a sketchy area of the course, pedal a little softer through there.

I've operated autocrosses for a few seasons and participated in my first one over 30 years ago. Most of the autocrosses I've run had a very large percentage of novices. The only car damage I've ever seen was on a too-small lot when a car hopped a curb. I think it still drove home. Never seen a person get hit.