zulatr

Planning on trying my first autocross next weekend. I've had the car for four years, it's a slightly warmed over 03Z with Bilstien sport shocks and original (yikes!) GY supercars.

What should I start off in the first time out?

The event I'm going to is in Hartford CT put on by the local Porshe club. I'm friends with a member so they let the non-p car play, just not in the running for points or anything.

If anyone here is going, I'd like to join up with you for pointers.

Mike

C6400hp

For autocross, off is usually the best choice. That way you learn to drive it. Plus with AX there is usually nothing hard to hit if you lose it. For HPDE first timer I would stay with comp mode.

TedDBere

Just turn it off and be gentle with the throttle while you learn your way around.

And be sure to practice your "spin" sequence while the car isn't running. It goes something like this.

Stomp on the gas coming out of a turn.
Rear end starts coming around.
You think, "Oh sh*t".
You remember to push both the clutch and the brake in to stop the car.
Car comes to a stop.
Put car in first and continue on because you kept the engine running while you were spinning by pushing the clutch in.
Stop shaking back in grid.

Have fun.

froggy47

Since you are new & have old hard stock tires, I would take one or two runs in comp mode to get some heat in the tires & then turn all nannies off and learn how the car handles (be prepared to spin).



Let us know how it goes.

R Mackow

Just some thoughts on AXing:
1. Walk the course at least 4x. The try to "drive it" with your eyes closed.
2.Sit up a little closer to the wheel or bring it closer to you.
Tilt your seat back forward. tech your own car prior to the evnt and make sure there are no items that will take you out of the competition.
3. Wear thin soled shoes to get a feel for your pedals.
4. If it wet (i know it hasn't rained up there lately), take a small towel and dry the soles of you shoes.
5. At the start, use either drive competition mode or AH off. Get a brisk start - don't spin the wheels a lot.
6. Drive the first run with caution and do it right. Mistakes are imprinted in your head and can be repeated through all your runs if you are not aware of them.
7. Increase speed on subsequent runs. Don't make a "show" by screaching tires and spinning wheels...it makes you look fast but you go slower. just check your times. Faster is slower! Be smooth.
8. Don't expect miracles, but keep making progress by avoiding DNFs and trimming times.
9. Help out with setup and tear down. It will gain you a lot of respect even though you might be a stranger.
10. At Hershey a couple of weeks ago we got 6 runs. the last run let it all hang out...go for it! Test the car out. Rip and tear!
11. Have fun.

EvilBoffin

If you have a few spare minutes (hours), I suggest you gulp down & digest all of the helpful suggestions in the following sticky, found at the top of this forum :

NEW TO AUTO-X AND ROADRACING? look in here...

.

napacruzerc5

Comp mode, walk the course as many times possible, look ahead and don't be afraid to push it to learn your and your car's limits.

Mojave

I would turn everything off. Don't learn to drive with the computer hiding your mistakes. I think a new autocrosser is slowing his learning curve by having the computer bail him out. It's auto-x, spins are OK and then you find (and exceed) the limit of traction.

As said above, HPDE is a different story, where spins can mean serious consequences. But, a well setup auto-x should present no hazards to a spinning car (but once you start to spin, 2 feet in-clutch and brake).

longdaddy

if it's raining and you are feeling in way over your head, do first few runs in comp mode, otherwise, turn everything off for the reasons already described

Wah

Off.

Learn how to drive the car as is, without nannies.

Jason

And don't be discouraged when your times stink compared to much "slower" cars. Autocross is a skill that takes time to learn. But it's a skill you'll be glad you have down the road.

zulatr

Thanks for all the input.
I'm looking forward to busting my cherry.
Long range weather looks good, we'll see what happens.

mike

naschmitz

Under any conditions, turn all the traction controls and active handling OFF for autocross. Otherwise you won't learn the limits of the car. Even in the wet. Leave all those safeties on for street driving though.

Also, you will finish near the bottom -- the skills you need to learn to be competitive autocrossing are not intuitive so you will have to learn new reflexes.

Bill Dearborn

If you leave it in normal mode the TC will hinder you coming out of corners or going over bumps. In comp mode the car will still slide around but active handling will try to correct the yaw rate especially when the car is understeering. It does this by applying the inside rear brake which tends to slow the car. Typically on a tight course you can run faster without it on. Just so you can experience it I would recommend making a couple of runs without it on and then trying one or two with it on.

Bill

steel_3d

There's some merit in saying you need to learn the car without the nannies.

Personally I think the first time out you'll have enough problems making sense of the sea of cones and just staying on track. You won't be able to run the course in your head the first time unless you're some kind of genius. I'd do the first few runs relatively slow and with traction control on. You'll feel it slowing you down, but you should concentrate on trying to memorize the course and being smooth on the throttle. Once you feel you know the course you can go to comp mode, and then completely off. Comp mode works surprisingly well in keeping you under control but not slowing you down, at least on my c6.

The reason I wouldn't go to all off right away is that you might end up looking foolish mowing down tons of cones and giving the track workers more work than they really want. It's bad etiquette. Throttle control is not the first essential skill of autocross that you need to master. If you start out with traction control off, you'll need to be extremely gentle to avoid spins, taking some of the fun out of the experience and making it more nerve racking than it needs to be. The tail will go right around with a careless stab of the throttle.

One of the hardest things for a newb from my experience is to stop trying to push too hard. In autox sometimes slow is fast. Overdriving corners is not the way to a fast time. But this is easier to preach than to actually do If you find yourself consistently understeering in a given turn, slow down more next time and you'll go faster. I've honestly had times where I deliberately tried to run a slow, smooth lap and ended up with my fastest time. Once you have the smooth line down, then you'll know where there's room to go faster.

Be prepared to run crappy times. Few people run blistering times at their first autocross, but practice makes perfect.

Have fun out there!

c4cruiser

For a first-timer, the car is not going to be the issue. You will be learning how to drive the course so start off slow on the first run. If the event provides a course map, grab a copy and walk the course a number of times while following the map.

Strike up a conversation with experienced drivers and tell them you are noobie (don't need to mention the car) and ask if you can walk with them. Any experienced driver should take the time to help guide you. Or at least walk with your buddy. This is a good read.

Also ask the event chair if you can take a rider with you or if you can ride along with another entrant. Some associations don't allow a competitor to ride in another car but novices might be able to ride along with a competitor. If you can ride along, ask your friend for a ride or see if you can find somebody else.

Your first run should be nothing more than to get through the cones without knocking any over or or not getting lost. Review the map while sitting in grid, then stash it when you come to the start line. Go slowly at first and don't overdrive the car or the course.

You should check the air pressure in the tires before leaving for the event and inflate them to the recommended pressure shown on the door sticker. Going a few pounds over in front may be a help, but don't worry about making changes here. You're after a successful clean run, not a 10th of a second.

Before you leave home, take everything out of the car that is loose: floor mats, cell phone, coffee cup, GPS, or anything that is not bolted down. Remove the center caps from the wheels.

Oh, and have fun . You can try to stop grinning after your runs, but it won't work.

Bill Dearborn

One thing to keep in mind is that active handling may not be ready to work when you line up at the start line. After each engine start active handling needs to calibrate itself so it knows when the steering is pointed straight ahead. This calibration or Warm Up takes driving in a straight line for a couple hundred feet at a speed above 6 mph. There may not be enough room at the autocross site to do the calibration. If it isn't calibrated active handling will turn on a Active Handling Warming Up message on the DIC and will ding to get your attention. After some driving around the course it may decide its calibrated and you will hear another ding and see a Warm Up Complete message. Between those two messages you do not have any active handling.

Once it is calibrated the best way to keep it that way is to leave the engine running. If it is a long time between runs you will not want to have the engine running.

Bill

Jason

I've spun to a stop and heard the "Active Handling Warm Up Complete" chime before.