bigman

I'll start this off. I haven't been to a SCCA event yet, but I believe that an event was held recently in the parking lot of the Valley Forge convention center here in SE PA. Otherwise, I have no idea what they were doing with all those cones. Anyway, I've had my '91 RS for a couple of months now, and I'm starting to notice some of it's limitations as well as learning to drive it better. I can feel the looseness in the rear under hard corner entry, but with the weight shift on exit it feels better. I'm still trying to duplicate a corner I ran near the house the other day, the braking felt like in football when the receiver catches the ball on his toes right next to the sideline, then in the next step his feet are down and he's running hard for the endzone. I just can't explain it better, it was the most perfect 90 degree turn I've made. It felt like the braking was lightening the whole car, then when I got off the brakes, the weight came back to help in the traction around the turn. Another thing I've noticed is that I can go a whole lot faster the smoother I drive. I used to be caught unaware and have to make a large steering correction quickly, and that made for some scary moments. Now, I'm ready sooner, and I can start my steering input at the proper time and maintain more speed through the turn. Lastly, I don't know if this is the right feel, but when going through turns, it seems right if it almost feels like the sidewalls and the suspension has taken up the slack, the sidewalls are flexed sideways, I don't know almost like the yacht racers leaning waaay out over the edge of the boat only attached my the line. It feels like the car is leaning only attached by the tires and suspension. I'm running 235-55R16 goodyear gt2s that came with the car, 155K miles and everything stock. So, give it up, what are some other observations and techniques? I don't know better language to explain, just thought I'd share.

Dan

mcconahay37

iTrader: (3)

I have been to about 6 autocrosses but I definitely need a lot more practice. Haven't been able to do it since my engine died in October. Here's what I will add:

Make sure you have the right air pressure in your tires. When I race, with my I usually start with 45 psi and then adjust up or down based on wear the shoe polsih marks are wearing on my tires aftera run.

Look ahead. Always set yourself up for the next turn. I usually look about 2 turns ahead of me while paying attetntion to where I am currently. Can't rally explain it better than that.

Slalom: I suck at it and need more practice. I tend to either go really slow through it or eat cones. Any pointers?

Being smooth is the key: The smoother you are, the faster you'll be. It will seem like you're going slower though. Kind of like beign in the zone in other sports. You're going faster but everythign slows downa nd becomes easier for you.

Either be on the brakes or on the gas. If you're coasting you are wasting time and going slow. Not sure how to work around this on long sweepers. I get to my limits of traction real fast and then just kind of slid/coast through the turn. I tend to lose time on them also. Pointers?

Brake BEFORE your turn. This helps weight transfer to the front of the car. Makes it easier to turn. You don't want to be braking during the turn since that tends to put you into a spin.

When you start to lose control, steer INTO the slide. Otherwise you'll feel like you're on a merry-go-round.

Walk the course before runnign it, preferably with a veteran that can give you pointers on the best way to take a turn.

That's all I can think of right now.

KeithO

Pretty much what he said.

To add a few things. I think that the air pressure sounds high. I have run about 30 events in my 3rd gen and have settled on front:36, rear:34. I still think that this is a little high. Our class (FS) champion for the last 4 years runs front:28 rear:24 in a 4th gen. I think that you risk peeling the tire from the bead with these pressures.

As go through my runs at almost every autocross, I find that I end up moving my braking point earlier to minimize the about of braking I am doing while turning. This invariably improves my time since I am reducing the amount of understeering at the entrace of the turn.

mcconahay37

iTrader: (3)

It might be the fact that I have stupid 215/65/15 tires that I have to run about 45 psi. I do know that when I ran about 35 psi, I managed to feather the edges of my tires,a nd I couldn't get any grip either. Upping the pressure helped a ton. No adverse effects on my tires, and traction improved greatly.

KeithO

Yeah, good point. The appropriate tire pressure is influenced by both the size of the tire and the sidewall construction. I have found that the Pep Boy Ultra Z's that I run like low-to-mid 30's. When I first started autocorssing, I was way up in the 40's and got no tire roll over at all. Now I get wear right about where I should...

85transamtpi

I've never autocrossed in any of my fbodies...yet. I guess the braking system was so bad in my '85 that it stopped me from getting into this.

However I did do this in my old '83 RX-7...Great car for autocross

The feeling you were talking about is what you want to experience on every turn. You want to push the car to 99% of its cornering ability. I used to say that if you have never spun out or taken out cones in these events, you simply arent driving hard enough. Smooth is the key. Knowing exactly how your car will react to every situation is VERY important. Experiment with tire pressures. My RX-7 had p185/70/13's and that was plenty of tire for the car. Its more a matter of the tire compound. Autocross tires will help you TONS!

Above all, HAVE FUN

-Doug

mcconahay37

iTrader: (3)

Yes they will. I seriously need to get a spare set of rims. My club has a deal with TWS where we get their used r-compound tires for free. Usually they've been used for one weekend for a driving school or event. Pretty much any size you want is available. You can scrounge throught the huge stacks of them until you find a set in the size you want. Most of them will last for 1-4 autocrosses depending on how used they were. The onyl cost involved is the $40 for mounting and the disposeal fee. Not a bad deal.

NJ SPEEDER

things to know about autocross drivng going in:
1. have fun that is why you are doing this, yeah you will learn better car control and stuff, but the fun factor is teh only real reson to do anything liek this.
2. try to brake in a straight line. if you can have the car pointed straight when you jump on the binders then both front tires will be using their entire contact patch to slow the car, this means you can brake later and for a shorter distance and still get turned in clean.
3. LOOK AHEAD!!!! learnign to keep your eyes as many cones ahead of the car as possible is a huge factor in how well you will drive. thing get in front of you vary fast in those tight confines, if your eyes are ahead of your movements your mind will eb as well, taht will automatically make your movements smoother and faster.
4. tighter is faster. no matter how much extra speed you think you can carry by swinging a little wide to set up for a turn, you will always get beat by the little neon that pulls the short way around super tight line. the distances are not great enough for a difference of 1 or 2 mph to make up for the extra distance you will drive.

try to have an instructor or more exerienced driver ride with you and let you knwo how you are doing. don't worry about your first 2 dozen times to events either, no matter how well you thinkk you can drive going in, you are gonna feel clueless coming out. i drove my car for 4 years before i went to my first autocross, i thought there was no way anyone was gonna show me the fast way around in my car. well, i was wrong, an instructor who had never driven an f-body climbed behind the wheels and went wwaaayyyy faster than i did. it is all about timing adn hand eye coordination. it is a fine line between fast adn spin sometimes, butit is a fun lien to be on

later
tim

bigman

Thanks for the info, I noticed another course being setup at the Valley Forge convention center. I can't run this weekend, because I need to replace the brake lines(braking is like trying to ride a snake). However, it makes it nice to know there are a number of events close by.

Dan