Autocrossing

[VG30DETT]

I'm signed up to participate in a SCCA Solo II race on Dec. 13th. I was wondering if anyone has some tips, what they did to get ready, etc. Anyone ever try just doing some driving in deserted parking lots?

This is my first time entering a Solo II, and since my car was modified when I bought it, it tosses me into the DSP class, which I now feel (thanks Bankheist for instilling doubt! ) is waaay out classed for me (not that I ever thought I would do good in it). I'm a little nervous, but I really want to do this and have fun. Any tips would help. Thanks!

 

[Simon Tibbett]

So how was it? Lol, plan on doing it again? I race a Civic in EP Solo2, and sometimes an Accord in HS.

 

[Goomba]

I'm VG30DETT, changed my name for a few reasons.

And I thought no one cared!

Hell yes, I'm doing it again, and again, and over, and over. There is a autocross coming up this Sunday, assuming it won't be cancelled by weather, again . You've seen the car (Impreza), and read the plans.

How have your autocross plans gone?

 

[Simon Tibbett]

Hey,

Sounds good! I plan on racing my Civic, (EP) but it is a road race car so most of my time will be spent there. I want to do a Pro Solo coming up but I dont think I will be able to. Keep in touch let me know how the race goes!
GOOD LUCK!

Simon

 

[///M-Spec]

Originally posted by VG30DETT
I'm signed up to participate in a SCCA Solo II race on Dec. 13th. I was wondering if anyone has some tips, what they did to get ready, etc. Anyone ever try just doing some driving in deserted parking lots?

This is my first time entering a Solo II, and since my car was modified when I bought it, it tosses me into the DSP class, which I now feel (thanks Bankheist for instilling doubt! ) is waaay out classed for me (not that I ever thought I would do good in it). I'm a little nervous, but I really want to do this and have fun. Any tips would help. Thanks!

I didn't notice this till just now, otherwise I would have offered some tips.

The most important thing to do in a Solo II is to walk the course first thing in the morning and learn it before you even start the car. You've probably seen the real good guys walk it three, even four times. That's the key.

When you walk the course, you'll want to visualize everything you want the car to be doing when you're actually running. Plan your braking and entry points, and try to figure out where you can pickup some time and where you shouldn't try too hard. At each turn, think to yourself "okay.. what will my car want to do here?" This way, you will be mentally prepared for everything that happens --because as you already know, it happens very fast at an autocross.

Think of walking the course as a dress rehersal. It's like learning your lines (literally and figuatively) and when its showtime and green flag drops, you're just doing what you learned at rehersal.

Say to yourself over and over again "slow in, fast out". Don't over-drive the car.. it will just push and you'll go off line and scrub off speed.

When driving, try very hard to use smooth, deliberate inputs. Don't throw the car around, but don't pussyfoot it either. Remember, you should be at full throttle or full braking or full turning at all times, or some combination of the preceeding.

I suggest you hook up with a veteran driver in a same or similar type of car: he/she can give you some specfic tips for the particular course --listen to the old timers. Don't press them too much, though, because they'll be trying to learn the course at the same time as you.

Other than that, get a good night's sleep the night before, stay hydrated in the summertime and pump up the tire pressure on your street tires a bit --if that's what you're running.

Good luck and have fun.


///M-Spec

 

[Goomba]

Awsome Simon. How long have you been doing it? A Pro-Solo is where two cars are racing, side-by-side, is this correct?

M-Spec, incase you didn't read my above post, I'm VG30DETT. My dad and I both competed (my dad was running a Mazda Miata 1.8l, and I was in a Subaru Impreza 2.5RS) and we both walked the course about three times, and then again for during the novice walk. Tried to do visualize what needed to go where, as the Master of Novices went over again.

I really couldn't gather anything from my first time out. We were able to run four laps, and as expected I gained a little bit more composure after each run. Around my fourth I was starting to race a little smater, as opposed to my first, when I was just lucky to get through the course without getting lost. I've been reading up on how to race, and I think it'll point me in the right direction. But I know I'll have to learn 99% of it on the course.

What about you M-Spec? Crazy BMW-autocrosser? How long have you been doing it?



*** General Updates in the Autocross ***

It turns out that I'm stupid, and suck at measuring. My wheels are not aftermarket, simply powdercoated. So I am still in G-Stock. Not DSP as I had once thought.

I finished 7th of 8th in the GS. I had a time to place me in 4th, but I missed a damn cone, resulting a DNF. I ranked 11th of 38 out of the novices that showed up, and 71st of 128 overall. Are these good for my first time? It's also hard to tell, a lot of the rear-wheel drive cars were having trouble. It was cold, and somewhat slippery at some places. Wasn't uncommon to see anything from the Z06s to Miata's spinning.

M-Spec, if you want to see the Subaru and my plans, here

 

[Simon Tibbett]

Hey,

Those results sound like very solid finishes. Be glad you are still in stock street prepared classes are pretty quick! I have been doing Solo 2 for a while I dont remember how long Anyway yes Pro Solo is where you pull up to the line and both go on the same style track but not the same one but yes you are going against each other. You also win money

Simon

 

[Goomba]

Thanks! Yeah, I would of felt a lot worse in the DSP catagory.

Oooh, it's a mirrored track, right? Oohohohooo Money.

 

[Simon Tibbett]

yep

 

[Goomba]

Autocross two, done with. Had a lot of fun, but somewhat disappointing. I'm going to blame some mistakes on the fact that I was tired, very tired. I only had four hours of sleep that night. I was very proud getting to bed early, but I woke up four hours after my head hit the pillow and couln't get back to sleep. I worked two graveyard shifts this week.... which is probably the the reason.

It was a much larger parking lot making it a much faster course. When we got there we had to change tire pressures and all of that fun stuff. The tank ran low and my dad went to go get some more. So that took some time. Then we helped make the grid. We were only left enough time to walk the course once!!!

My group was up, after the first two runs I knew where I was losing time, and how I could improve it. But (hopefully) the lack of sleep caused me to not be able to remember what I needed to do when, and what I thought about back at the grid. I couldn't look ahead... Gah! It was the most annoying thing.

The best part of the day was nailing this slalom. Many cars, including Subarus (with the exception of one WRX), couldn't quite get through it without letting off the throttle. I nailed it. Got through the slalom, slapping that rev limiter in 2nd (meaning I was going around 53mph at the end of that). That brought a smile to my face.

Did I mention I managed to get a ride in 2004 Subaru WRX STi? Fourteen pounds of boost, pushed through a six-speed, to all four wheels...... Thats fast. This is just reaffirming my previous statement, "I need an STi."

Even though I've done a lot of whining, I did to better than the previous autocross:

7th of 12 in my class.
11th of 50 in the novice classification.
64th of 139 overall.

 

[Simon Tibbett]

Sounds like fun!

I am now definatley doing the Pro Solo event Feb. 14-15. It is the first race in the series and should be very fun, there is a local middle school with a large parking lot, it is shaped as a road course, so we will be doing an hour long shakedown test to make sure my car wont break at the event. I also just picked up my contingency Honda stickers.... $150 a race for first place

 

[Simon Tibbett]

Pic of the EP/ITC car

 

[///M-Spec]

Originally posted by Goomba
What about you M-Spec? Crazy BMW-autocrosser? How long have you been doing it?

I've been autocrossing on and off for about 5 years, Groomba, with 3 full seasons on R-comps when I was serious about getting fast. I've been on a break for about year, since my wife and I had our first child (having a kid kills your free time and racing budget real quick)

I have some Solo II action shots of my M3s HERE, at the bottom of the page.

That's a real nice looking 'Prezza you got there. It love the look of the older RS 2.5... better looking than the bug-eyed cars of today. Good to see you've improved your standing compared to the other novices. Is there a street-tire sub-class in your region? You'll want to compare yourself to those drivers.



///M-Spec

 

[TS1AWD]

The first time I ever did an SCCA Autocross I placed 3rd in my class. Which was alot higher than I had ever expected. I drove a 91 Talon TSi FWD, which was inferior to the AWD's I was up against, but still managed to beat them. My advice is, no matter what you do, NEVER EVER EVER hit the orange cones. That is bad.

 

[Goomba]

///M-Spec: Awsome looking BMW. 👍 I love those cars, and I love them even more with better performance. Put a baby seat in back and bring the kid along for the autocross.

Thanks. Yeah, I like them a lot. The newest generation doesn't look all that bad, but I would have to say the GC8s are definatly the best looking generation. There are some people that throw WRX engines into them, relatively easy. The biggest problem being the wiring, but since WRXs were available in Japan for a long while, the engines plop right in.

Unfortunatly, no street-tire class. No way to even tell who's using performance tires without checking with driver.

TS1AWD: Wow! Way to go. I actually didn't touch a cone my frist time, this second one was a different story. I touched the cones, in naughty places, hard. There was one where I almost missed a gate, and instead of taking a DNF, I decided to slow down, and nail the cone with the center of my car.

 

[TS1AWD]

I launched a cone about 20 feet up in the air, now that was cool

 

[Goomba]

Did it land in the same spot? My dad told me a couple times where a guy has flipped a cone up in the air, and landed in the box, so no points deducted. Also said that it was so cold out once, a car nailed a pylon, and it just shattered.

 

[jizzmirk]

Goomba/VG - to answer your initial question (as a Solo racer myself). My favorite tip for new people to SCCA and SoloII is to simply "have fun." If you're out there to have a good time and meet new people, you will come away with a much more rewarding experience.

Remember, make some new friends - you'll find most people out there to provide GREAT conversation and and valuable tips. IMHO, it all starts out with making friends there.

As for the cones, if even part of it remains in the box, then it's considered "untouched." Hehe, reminds me of the time I oversteered a turn on a windy/dusty day and bumped a cone with the back bumper. It only moved several feet, but my friends said it managed to scare the guy sitting on a chair monitoring decibel levels.

 

[Goomba]

Yeah. I've talked to a good half dozen people there and made some friends. It's the best enviroment to meet people I've ever been in. Where else could you get a ride in a STi?

 

[jizzmirk]

Then you're already in the spirit of SoloII. I rode with a guy in a prepped 240ZX - This guy drove like a bat outta hell and I felt like my head was going to snap out of it's socket (kind unfair that the driver had a 4-point and I was stuck with a standard seatbelt. But it was a blast.

 

[Joey D]

I did a road course and an autocross with the blazer...just going to say that was a bad idea. Did better then I thought though.

 

[Goomba]

Jizzmirk, I sort of felt the same way. What do you autocross?

Blazin', haha, more power to ya'. I'm sure people had to be like, "What in the hell....?". There was a Pontiac Vibe at this last Solo II. I got giddy when I saw it racing, then really bad when I saw one of the drivers bested me. *shakes head*

 

[Joey D]

Oh after the run I got a lot of guys coming up to me saying I had a lot of balls for doing it...and you better believe in the spring I will be doing it again.

 

[jizzmirk]

Originally posted by Goomba
Jizzmirk, I sort of felt the same way. What do you autocross?

I used to run my '93 Mustang Cobra out there. The car is in need of several minor repairs (typical of a 10 year old car), so I skipped out on the back half of last season. I got two of my good friends hooked on it and it looks like we'll have a Integra GSR and a AWD Eclipse to motor around in (and we'll just enter them in as dual driver slots).

 

[Goomba]

Originally posted by jizzmirk
I used to run my '93 Mustang Cobra out there. The car is in need of several minor repairs (typical of a 10 year old car), so I skipped out on the back half of last season. I got two of my good friends hooked on it and it looks like we'll have a Integra GSR and a AWD Eclipse to motor around in (and we'll just enter them in as dual driver slots).

That sounds like an awsome plan. My friend has a first generation, turbo AWD, DSM that I'm trying to convince to run.

For those who I usually don't see on the "Cars in General" forum, I've upgraded. The Impreza RS has been sold and I'm now driving a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX. Unfortunatly this whole deal went down two days before an autocross, and the WRX is still being broken in. Hopefully sometime in March.

However, unfortunate news. While I know I can afford this car, to keep a good deal of cash flow (and the fact I HATE my current job) coming through I'll probably be taking a job that doesn't give me weekends off. At most, one weekend a month. Oh well, I'm happy driving my WRX as is and getting the change to autocross once a month should be good. I'm also starting school soon, and that'll take up a good chunk of time. I'll probably go down and spectate as much as possible though, and get some practice in through GT4.

Anyone else care to share any recent autocrossing news? Hrm?