TomWoodgeard

Hello; I am Autocrossing my 2000 Automatic coupe tomorrow, for the first time.
Should I turn the traction control off, or leave it on?

Thanks for any and all replies1

Tom Woodgeard - Sarasota, Florida

TUF-NUF

Unless you're accomplished at driving sideways, I'd leave it on... depends on your experience. For me it would be on, definately.

chaase

I would leave it fully on or in competition mode if available.

Grimlock

You guys are crazy. You want it all off on an autocross course. If there is one place to drive the car hard and with the nanny electronics off, it is an autocross course. I used to be a race instructor by the way. Worst case you spin the car out and hit a cone or two...who cares? That is part of the learning experience.

The autocross course is a place to learn about driving the car at/or past the limits. You can't do that if the electronics are intervening.

Get there early. Walk the coarse once or twice. Try to get a ride with someone who is a very good driver. Maybe get the same person to ride with you and give feedback (preferably an instructor). Start slow and work your speeds up. Try to figure out "the line" and which corners you need to take a bit slower in order to take the next corner faster, etc. You are going to be much faster if you are comfortable driving with your left foot braking and your right on the gas, but I wouldn't worry about that until you are comfortable.

speedmon

Autocross ..... thats like driving around in a parking lot right?
TC is really disruptive on short tracks...constrains power and does wierd things to the brakes.

I could always tell when I left mine on (by mistake)....just wouldn't feel right in the turns.

I don't know how many laps you get in the parking lot, but you could try some with and some without so you could feel the difference.

.....and watch the temp on that auto.....are you gonna drive with it locked in 1st gear? Thats what you should do to really feel the balance of your car in and out of the turns.

Have fun! and don't hit light poles.

agree with the above.....walking the course will really help.....and try to imagine the cars line through the turn as you are walking.

chaase

There are many crazy folks. The OP asked so he is probably no comfortable with the car yet. So, for the sake of getting used to things, keep them on and then get used to the car and then shut off TC (comp mode) and to them all off. In a parking lot he could hit a pole but most likely just spin out. On a road course, he could flip the car if things go bad.

People call me nuts because I drag race with all of the electronics off at the track. It is something I am used to doing and would autocross w/o them all on too.

Grimlock

But here is the point. The time to get comfortable with your car is the autocross course. Getting comfortable driving at the limit on the streets is dangerous. Driving or exceeding the limits limits of the car on an autocross coarse is 100% safe unless the coarse is VERY poorly designed and there are light poles around the coarse or something (evaluate this when walking the coarse). And you cannot actually learn to drive the car around corners fast with the electronics on. Power will be cut, etc.

I have never seen a car damaged at an autocross...I have seen things break, but it never caused a crash or anything. I've seen a tire blow out, engine blow, etc.

A common thing I would tell my students, "If you don't spin the car at least one this weekend, you aren't driving hard enough." There is nothing wrong with spinning your car. I still do it from time to time. It is a learning experience.

chaase

I saw a car hit a light pole at an auto cross. They are generally safer but **** can still happen.

I watched a car roll over at NJMP. Given it was in a piece of crap and not as low as a vette, but it can happen. Even in my crappy LeMons car, aka a 1992 Saturn SL2, I can pop 100+mph on the lightning course. When I took a Skip Barber 3-day, I saw a Formula Dodge take a lot of damage spinning off track at Laguna Seca. Three out of four corners were broken and the driver was pretty shaken up.

There is no reason to start off with everything off if the OP is not comfortable.

Grimlock

Laguna Seca and an autocross coarse are two VERY different things. I have seen some NASTY wrecks when at Laguna. I've seen people die at Sears Point (Infinion). My recommendation is to never take a car onto the track that you aren't ready to replace. But an autocross coarse is something else.

Anything is possible, and you should use common sense. But really an autocross should be VERY safe to test the limits of your car. Much safer than the streets. So it is probably the best place to learn the limits.

toddk

I agree with Grimlock on the safe course design. My first auto-x last year was in a 1/10 mile long parking lot with 3 slaloms and many sharp turns. The best drivers' runs were about 50 seconds. No obstacles besides cones, and the cone ******** were way back so no concerns for anyone's "life and limb". Max speed was maybe 35, never got out of 2nd gear. I did competition mode all 6 runs (hold the TCS button 5 seconds while you're stopped). It felt "safe" and "fun", which was the whole point!

Now if it were an airport auto-x course with speeds > 60, I would leave it on until I were more confident. Have a blast!

Todd

ALLEGRO

Let me summarize:

If you are not comfortable with your car, at peace with sliding both the front and the rear, not able to maintain "neutral balance" then I would suggest leaving it all ON. Your times will be better that chasing both ends constantly.

NOW, with all that said, if you have a level of comfort and won't freak out when the front washes or the rear suddenly steps out, then go with COMPEITION MODE or off competely. Your butt and your right foot are your biggest allys in SCCA II.

Its a lot of fun, but ALWAYS remember, your insurance will NOT cover any damage to your ride while on the course. Be careful.

speedmon

I hope he takes a video so we can see.

Gee...I wish I lived in Palo Alto....within what like 90 minutes of Laguna and Infineon (scariest in the morning when its cold)


......Thunderhill is cool too.....a bit further though...but a great Z06 track!

TomWoodgeard

OK..... Went to an autocross at an airport in Florida. It was a .9 mile course with speeds reaching 85.
The Vette WAS faster with the Traction Control OFF. An instructor also drove the car and spun it out.
His comments.....1. I need the transmission line pressure to be raised, as the 1 - 2 shift was too slow.
2. I need a performance alignment (that's also street friendly).
3. Do not leave it in drive or 3rd. The kickdown would try to break the rear end loose. So I used 2nd.
My questions.... Does anybody have a set of performance alignment specs for my 2000 Coupe with stock sized tires?
Also, Is there anybody with a tuner in the Sarasota/Bradenton Florida that could raise the line pressure on my trans?
B.T.W. I did manage to lower my times from 59 seconds to 50, which I think wasn't bad for the first time.
Thanks for any and all replies....Tom Woodgeard - Sarasota, Florida

AU N EGL

Off

chaase

You have to watch using 2nd. If you start off in 2nd gear, the car will stay in second the whole time until you shift to a higher gear.

TomWoodgeard

I understand that. No problem if I need to upshift. I wonder.....putting it in 2nd, does it start out in 2nd or starts out in first,then upshifts to 2nd and downshifts to 1st if I floor it?
Sorry for the stupid questions, but I am just learning the competitive side to this car.

chaase

It starts in second. It is a second gear start to reduce wheel slip when driven in slippery conditions. It will not downshift as far as I know.

Grimlock

I haven't owned a Corvette with an A4, but I used to own a automatic Dodge SRT8. With that, the Predator tuner *REALLY* helped the transmission. It got rid of torque management (reducing torque when shifting to make things feel smoother), and raised line pressure. The transmission performed much better with the Predator (not to mention you gain some HP too). I assume this would work on a Corvette nearly as well, but definitely confirm it before spending the money. It is a shame that the C5 A4 doesn't come with something like the Dodge Autostick (actually a Mercedes shifter/tranny), where you could shift the car by tapping the shifter left and right....it worked well when autocrossing.

Anyway, it sounds like you did the right things at the autocross. And it is good that you experience a spin in the car even if you weren't driving. It isn't the end of the world, is it?

As for an autocross alignment, I would ask around in the regional section for an alignment shop in your area that does race cars. Go see them and let them do the alignment and they should be able to set the specs to fit your driving. Don't go too wild on the alignment though, or your tires will wear out much faster on the street. I took my car to Roger Kraus Racing (Castro Valley, CA) and had them lower the car on the stock bolts (mild lowering), corner balance the car, and align it.

SaberD

you won't learn anything with AH and TC on. turn them both off for autox.

TomWoodgeard

Thanks for the Predator idea. I'm not sure that a novice can set the settings correctly, but I'll definitely check in to it.

Also....What is the "regional section"?