Going to my first autocross event this weekend - any tips

[repenttokyo]

Anyone out there have any wisdom to share?

[Ross]

Cone chaser!
Give "Secrets of Solo racing" by Henry Watts a look.

[Tiger]

If in doubt, slow down. Don't be like that comedien who smashed that rare million dollar Ferrari.

[Jr ///M5]

Wear a helmet and a seatbelt, keep your arms and hands inside the car at all times.
Walk the track while leaning your head as if you're going into the turn, taking note of the track surface, the apex of a turn, imagine you're in slow motion to study turn ins, braking and WOT application.
Be smooth.
Remove anything in the trunk, including the spare to reduce weight, try to keep the fuel level at the most 3/8 full.
If you have a portable air compressor and a good dial tire gauge, bring it. Dialing in tire pressures is extremely important.
Remember simple physics, take advantage of weight transfer by braking and throttle application.
Bring a cooler with plenty of water and refreshments.
Arrive early and be ready for Tech inspection. You cannot have loose batteries, bad tires, leaking oil or the like.

Most of all, have fun. This is your first taste of the addicting drug to which there is no cure. You won't be able to wipe the smile off your face, while learning just what your car is capable of doing.

Good Luck, and be sure to post some pictures of your first autocross!

Have fun,
JR

[repenttokyo]

thanks for the advice guys :)

[sevenphotos]

Well, there's lots of advice I would give after your first event, but I've found it's not much help before a first event - there's so many things you'll be experiencing for the first time, you'll likely not remember a single bit of driving advice once you are zipping past the cones!

Just be careful and try not to over-drive yourself and the car. Make sure you have at least a half tank of gas, make sure tires have enough air in them, and try to have fun! Don't worry about being competitive and being slower than everybody else.

Cheers,

Paul

[Washburn]

Good advice.
I'll add if you're running on your stock tires, increase your pressures to around 45 or so.
Walk the course a lot. Memorize it.
Start out slow and work your way up....people who try to go too fast right on the first run usually have a harder time backing it down later.
Slow in = fast out. Too much entry speed into your corners usually end up costing way more time than if you simply slow down to begin with. Slow enough to set up your exits. More throttle on exits = better times even if you have to slow your entrances.
Talk to other fast guys...thye are usually willing to help noobs in the learning process. Have someone walk the course with you.
Don't get discouraged when you get beat up on by a fast guy in a rusty Civic! :)

Here's a link to a greta Novice Handbook:

http://www.tirerack.com/features/solo2/handbook.htm

Most of all have fun!!

[repenttokyo]

i've got a slight oil leak from the drain bolt - it's not excessive - i am hoping I won't fail tech.

[Ross]

Don't worry about that. If it isn't drip, drip, dripping in the tech garage you're okay.

[winfred]

around here tech is nothing more then looking for a battery hold down and a quick lap around the car they don't give a damn about a drip of oil, now if it leaves a puddle they usually bitch at me about my new bell DOT approved helmet as it doesn't have a snell rating, so i started leaving it at the communal crap pile during tech and when they ask about a helmet "i am borrowing one from a buddy" "ok" i am not big on using the loner lice buckets but they usually have a few loners to pass around. it's usually a blast and i haven't missed one in a while, ran one at the end of last month and another is coming up next saturday, a couple months ago we hosted the divisional event which was two days and that came at the perfect time to tweak the new suspension on the e30, ran it the first day and learned it understeered too much and tweaked in some front camber for the 2nd day and it was perfect
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/26/427251/new%20e30/cross%20numbers%202.JPG
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/26/427251/new%20e30/brakes.jpg
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/26/427251/new%20e30/sideshot.jpg
and one of da shark before i killed the massive body roll
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/26/427251/633csi/cross3.jpg

[Booster]

I concur with lets wait to advise until after your first outing.:p You'll be listening much better after an event gets under your belt.

But for when you DO get pumped up for more.....the best thing to make you consistant out of the gate and each time thereafter....is GOOD tires with track compounds on a extra set of light rims.Period.

Then you can add all the suspension upgrades in steps and really notice whats changing.

Just my experiance and viewpoint......I'm sure some might view things differently.
Cheers,Vinny

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

Autocross in UK is on grass. Assume your autocross is a non-reversing short sprint?

[Jon K]

on grass?

like, a lawn? or like weed? lawl. either way thats messed up!

[Ross]

Here it is a course delineated by cones, usually in a large "car park". Timed individual event with penalties for tipping the cones.

[winfred]

that would be closer to a rallycross by our definitions id guess, there was talk of starting up a rallycross around here but i am not ****ing up my car in a field. the evo center autocross i usually attend is pretty much run in 2nd gear all of the way around with no need to reverse unless you **** up :D with a single lap of the coarse and times are in the 40-50 second range
heres part of a run in da shark
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/26/427251/633csi/jan%20cross%20video_Part1.AVI
and the rest of the run, of coarse the only run he gets on film is the only run i have spun on (ever) and for extra fun me and the m3 short shifter get in a battle with the 18 year old tranny as to where 1st was
http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/11/26/427251/633csi/jan%20cross%20video_Part2.AVI
so i look like a ass



Autocross in UK is on grass. Assume your autocross is a non-reversing short sprint?

[Craig Wright]

autocross is an ADDICTING DRUG!!!

I started out with an '82 626 coupe. (Yeah, I've been doing this for many years)
Then on to an '82 Fiat 2000.

I needed more speed!! SCCA Formula Ford for three seasons.

Now after quitting cold turkey, local club events satisfy the need for speed.

Also in addition to what other have said, bring a comfortable chair and umbrella in case of bright sun and heat!

Talk to the others at the event. I'm sure that most will be willing to offer advice and assistance. Some will show up with their cars on trailers! Some will show up with a set of tires. Don't be intimited. Start slow, listen and learn.

Don't say we didn't warn you.

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

Much as I love E34`s, I would have thought a 40-50 second burst of welly would not really suit the car. Arriving at the first corner with hot rear and cold front tyres and cold brakes is a recipe for fun. Any performance increases will be negated for the first 30+ seconds by this,so getting it ALL warm at the start would pay off later, unless you overdo it and overheat the lot. Hard pads etc will /may not work for most of the lap,in that time standard stuff will work fine. most improvement should surely be gained by artificially heating the tyres evenly.

[repenttokyo]

wow - the event was a lot of fun. since it was a test and tune, I managed to spend 4 hours in the car either running the track, or running the exercises that they had sett up. There were 10 instructors there to ride along with you or drive your car. I managed to lower my time by 9 seconds by the end of the day, and beat the instructor's time in my car by 4 seconds - there is something to be said for familiarity.

What held me back the most were my all-season tires - definitely a lack of grip. There were some very fast cars there, and some very slow fast cars, if you know what I mean. I think I might be well on my way to addiction now. I didn't take many photos because I was busy driving, but when I get them developed, I will post them up (digicam is broken).

By the way, I had one of the instructors talk to me about the e34 and say that it is a great car to drive at autocross, one that he enjoyed. I was the only e34, or 5 series period, at the event. Strangely, no e30's either, out of 60 cars

[Tiger]

Glad you leaned about the tire... All season tires does suck! Big time... even on normal road, you can tell.

If you have 16" wheels, go for the General Exclaim UHP, it is cheap, super quiet and tons of grip.

[repenttokyo]

still on stock 15's - which means I guess I need to pickup some lightweight 17's with decent tires for the next event.

[Washburn]

The hot tire right now in SCCA Street Tire classes (STS, STU) is the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec. I run these on our nationally competitive STU classed Evo 9. The good part is they are pretty cheap when compared to the other top flight tires in the class (Yokahama Advan AD07 and Bridgestone RE01) Not sure of they offer good BMW sizes though. If you go to 17's, the popular 245-40-17 are out of stock until Spring! :(

Glad you had fun and took advantage of the instructors. Note: Instructors typically do not good 100 percent in students cars. Now get some tires and enjoy the addiction!

[repenttokyo]

The hot tire right now in SCCA Street Tire classes (STS, STU) is the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec. I run these on our nationally competitive STU classed Evo 9. The good part is they are pretty cheap when compared to the other top flight tires in the class (Yokahama Advan AD07 and Bridgestone RE01) Not sure of they offer good BMW sizes though. If you go to 17's, the popular 245-40-17 are out of stock until Spring! :(

Glad you had fun and took advantage of the instructors. Note: Instructors typically do not good 100 percent in students cars. Now get some tires and enjoy the addiction!


yes - i am certain he was slowing down in certain parts in order to show me where i should brake to set up for the next course section.

thank-you for the tire tips, I appreciate it!

[bad_manners_god]

yes - i am certain he was slowing down in certain parts in order to show me where i should brake to set up for the next course section.

thank-you for the tire tips, I appreciate it!

Where did you go tracking? I'll defiently go next year when I grab my skyline gtr....since I don't have a E34 for awhile.

[repenttokyo]

Where did you go tracking? I'll defiently go next year when I grab my skyline gtr....since I don't have a E34 for awhile.

Devens, MA - I don;t live in Montreal anymore.

[bad_manners_god]

Devens, MA - I don;t live in Montreal anymore.

OH...when did you move? That sucks....how far is it from Montreal?

[repenttokyo]

OH...when did you move? That sucks....how far is it from Montreal?

i moved july 1, I live in boston now - It's about 5 hours from montreal. i joined the Boston chapter of the BMW CCA, they are really really active, and so far I am enjoying membership.

[bad_manners_god]

i moved july 1, I live in boston now - It's about 5 hours from montreal. i joined the Boston chapter of the BMW CCA, they are really really active, and so far I am enjoying membership.

Was it only BMW's at the track or any car?

5 hours doing the speed limit?

[repenttokyo]

Was it only BMW's at the track or any car?

5 hours doing the speed limit?

maybe you could do it in 4.5.


there were many cars there, evo's, nissan's, majority bmw but also a few miata's porsches, etc. The usual track suspects.

[bad_manners_god]

maybe you could do it in 4.5.


there were many cars there, evo's, nissan's, majority bmw but also a few miata's porsches, etc. The usual track suspects.

Just out of curiosity,...how many km's? That should give me a realistic time of how long it should take if I'm running late.

What was the fastest car there?

[repenttokyo]

Just out of curiosity,...how many km's? That should give me a realistic time of how long it should take if I'm running late.

What was the fastest car there?

it's around 500 km;s i think, maybe more.

event starts at 6:45 am tho.


fastest car there was probably the race prepped M Z4.

[bad_manners_god]

it's around 500 km;s i think, maybe more.

event starts at 6:45 am tho.


fastest car there was probably the race prepped M Z4.

I'd probably come the day before....radar and laser more effective when your not obviously being followed...

but 500km/160km= 3.1 hours....could be faster during bursts....

[repenttokyo]

I'd probably come the day before....radar and laser more effective when your not obviously being followed...

but 500km/160km= 3.1 hours....could be faster during bursts....

i don't know how much driving you have done in new hampshire / vermont, but the roads you are going onm your detectors won;t do any good - too many mountains. going faster than 80 is not advised, and that is pushing it.

anyways, should keep the thread on topic - autocross. i am sure there is autocross somewhere in the montreal area.

[bad_manners_god]

i don't know how much driving you have done in new hampshire / vermont, but the roads you are going onm your detectors won;t do any good - too many mountains. going faster than 80 is not advised, and that is pushing it.

anyways, should keep the thread on topic - autocross. i am sure there is autocross somewhere in the montreal area.

Probably....but the only track I can think of are St-Eustache Autodrome and it's not much of a course, they use it mostly for drifting.

[repenttokyo]

there are many track events at tremblant - even the boston chapter goes up there to run.

but autocross can be set up in any large paved area.

[repenttokyo]

http://daveandkate.net/BMWTNT_1.jpg

picture goodness of my car doing its autocross best.

[repenttokyo]

Found one more pic someone took over on e46fanatics:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/holson/BMWCCA%20Test%20and%20Tune%2008-09-08/IMG_0088.jpg

[Washburn]

I love my E34, but it's not the best weapon of choice in an AX. Here's what I play with:

[Washburn]

Here's a great shot just for fun....(No, it's not me)

[repenttokyo]

I love my E34, but it's not the best weapon of choice in an AX. Here's what I play with:

yeah, those weren't available in my country until this year.

[winfred]

dude did that with a e36 and kept it shiny side up at our autocross (of coarse i missed that one)


Here's a great shot just for fun....(No, it's not me)