Mikeyprzy

i have a 1994 Corvette that I plan on autocrossing with. It has 69,000 miles on it and was jsut wondering if there is anything in particular that i should look at or tighten. Thanks!

shotchkiss

Look here http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...66&forum_id=23

John Pantera

Leave the car stock. Have plenty of air in tires (not less than 35#), keep windows closed, good shocks and springs. Keep in one gear (2nd usually) unless there is a long straight. Still, let it wind to the max. Shifting and braking cost you the most time. Find the line, stay smooth and practice, practice, practice.

johninar

FWIW, some facilities will require your windows to be down.

z28cp

I don't run with my windows up unless there is a downpour and/or BIG puddles. Why would you want to run with the windows up? At auto-x speeds, it sure ain't for aero reasons....

DaveZ
94 Coupe 6spd

corvted

AUTO_X_AL

I would make sure your brakes are in very good shape as well as the fluid. If you have replaced any wheel bearings I would double check that they were new departure units. Last year was my first year and we replaced the wheel bearings with federal mogul bearings and lost ABS and ruined the new bearings in less tha 15 runs. Hell if the ABS light wasnt on i probably would have run intil the dang tire flew off!!Just do a real good once or twice over on the car and go out and do what a vette was meant to do!

tigerdrvr

^Agree with all points.
I would also add to make sure to torque lug nuts every time before your first run, make sure that there's nothing loose in the cockpit (like a garage door opener...don't ask me how that came up), and then the normal checks of fluids. I don't know about the C4, but most all of us who autocross C5/Z06 add at least a half a quart of oil over the full mark.

Bill Dearborn

It applies to C4s as well. I would also recommend starting with a cold tire pressure of 33 front and 30 rear. To tune the car's handling adjust in one lb increments from those points. When the tires are warm and the pressure is up just keep track of the adjustments relative to the higher pressure of the warm tire. As for yourself don't wear shorts, open toed shoes, etc. Drink plenty of fluids and walk the course at least 3 times.

Bill

JCD

turns out you can boil the break fluid at an autocross.

walk the course as much as you can.

bring painters tape for numbers if you don't have anything else.

99% of autocrossers are nice, be nice in return (and don't talk trash until you're sure the guy isn't a national champion, "what's a raftracer anyway?")

have lots of fun.

lots of fun.

TedDBere

rhneff

Lots of things that would be good to check.

Brakes-make sure you have plenty of thickness left in the rotors and that the pads aren't worn. Bleed/flush with new brake fluid regardless, and preferrably with something better than stock (as someone already noted, you can boil brake fluid at an autox.

Suspension-check ball joints and wheel bearings for play, excess play there can indicate wear that can have catastrophic results. Check sway bar bushings and a-arm bushings, they get beaten on pretty hard when autocrossing and failed bushings will cause bad things to happen. And make sure the sway bar bolts are tight - I've seen mounts snapped because of lose bolts.

Fluids-best bet is to replace all the drivetrain fluids with new, preferrably synthetics. I personally favor Royal Purple but everyone has their own opinion on oil, except for the ZF tranny - get the Castrol TWS 10W60 for that and save your syncros (I'm assuming you have a 6-speed).

You'll have to pass tech so make sure the battery hold-down is tight and the battery can't be moved by hand, make sure the throttle return spring is good, remove all loose objects from the interior (including floor mats), pull off any center caps on your wheels that could come off on course. And as someone mentioned you'll need car numbers and class letters - painters masking tape is okay until you can get "real" numbers and won't damage the paint.

There's probably more but that's all I can think of at the moment. Except to have fun!

Mikeyprzy

I use AMS Oil Full for everything beacuse my dad sells it.

Thanks for all the tips guys, I will change my oil sometime this week and check all the fluids and such.

Also, what exactly do you mean by boil brake fluid...? I am confused by that.

Bill Dearborn

If the brake rotors/pads get too hot the heat can transfer through the caliper pistons and boil the brake fluid which creates bubbles in the fluid and you get a spongy pedal. In an autocross you would have to have pretty old fluid that has reached its lowest boiling point and then have a lot of heavy braking built into the course. In my area I have not run any courses that have required multiple stops from high speeds. Most autocrosses see peak speeds in the range of 60 to 70 mph and only last 40 to 140 seconds so it is hard to get the brakes hot enough to boil the fluid at those speeds in that amount of time.

Bill

sasnglass77

Tighten the nut behind the wheel...oh wait that's for me! All advice given here is great, follow it you should have a fun time. Your next post I would imagine is where do I get those "sticky tires"?

Heya Bill,
Do you still have events at Greene? That little go kart track? Met ya years ago and gave me some great advice.

Laurie