napacruzerc5

I've always used competitive driving on autocrosses and now considering turning everything off. What can I expect? More oversteer? I have a '01 C5 M6 coupe, F45 suspension, lowered on stock bolts, C6
Z51 front sway bar, running Kumho MXs. Don't want to turn off the nanny on public roads but don't want to be completely surprised at the next autocross. Any feedback appreciated.

johninar

I started out with AH on, but after a year or so I turned everything off.
Being that AutoX is a relatively safe event, I'd leave everything off.
If AH is kicking in you are leaving time out there.

JMHO
I'm sure some of the "real" AutoXers will chime in.

Good luck!

John

thehammer69

If you have any decent driving skill, you will be faster driving Autocross with it turned OFF, even on street tires.

The few times I ran with it on, all it did was cause a horrible push. With it off, the chances of losing the back end can go up.

waktasz

Definitely all off...although if you have it on and aren't noticing it kick in...maybe it's better to leave it on. I had a student before that left everything on and I could feel it kicking in all over the place but they never noticed.

Wayne O

I'm not a big autocrosser but I run road courses a lot. Even with its reduced level of AH intervention I found with comp mode the system engages at virtually every corner and many curves. Coming out of a tight corner it just 'flattens' me out or bogs me down so to speak. I believe you'll run faster lap times/course times with all the nannies shut-off.

Greywolfe

Another vote for off. I only leave my on on the track if its raining.

AU N EGL

Off

VetteDrmr

Especially at an autox turn everything off. The speeds are slow enough that if you spin off course you just grind to a halt, and you'll learn a lot more about how your car truly reacts to various conditions.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

ssdeuce

I just got back from a track day at Putnam park. For the first time I had a set of what I consider R-comp tires Toyo R888 275/40/17 square setup. I was using competition mode and in Turn 8 at wide open throttle AH decided to kick off and I almost spun. I saw the message on the DIC that says service AH/ABS soon. Came in the next lap. Talked to a few of the guys in the pits (Bill and Sam) and they suggested I try with it off. I did and could not believe how much smoother my driving was. I have been fighting the car when the AH comes on and was immediately more comfortable in my driving.

Jason

You'll find the car much easier to rotate. With all the good and bad that brings with it.

SouthernSon

You'll save pads and rotors, too. Also, gain much more confidence.

yakisoba

I can tell you a couple things about comp mode:
1. You use more rear brakes in comp mode. The pads wear out almost as fast as the fronts if you're using it a lot.
2. It's MUCH harder to trail brake, which will slow your lap times down.

Ultimately, you'll reach a point where you want it off, but everyone finds that point at a different place.

Zenak

Auto Cross: All off. What the worse thing that happens? you killa few cones and lose a second + pride in the spin!

HPDE: First time on new track, first session Competitive mode. One you know the track well, you can turn it off. In the rain however, I will always run Comp Mode in HPDE simply because you tend in the rain to throttle oversteer the hell outa a Vette. And I like the added insurance. I know its slower, but wadding up your car at a track sucks.

Bill Dearborn

During an autocross it will usually do something to control understeer and oversteer so you will feel it dragging the car one way or the other. At one Go Kart track where we run I was running with it off and my son was running with comp mode on. He was a constant 1 second slower. I told him to turn it off the next time he ran and he was within a couple of hundredths of my time. However, it is a feature of the car and should be considered as a tool Vs a hinderance. There are certain courses where it can actually provide an advantage as it can apply just one brake which is something no driver can do. On one course I was running I found I could go full throttle coming out of a turn and AH would hammer the front brakes back and forth to keep the car straight. Without AH I couldn't come close to full throttle without losing the rear. People kept asking me how I was coming off the corner so fast. I ended up with FTD by over a second that day. To know how to use it as a tool you have to do some testing so you know how it will react and whether or not it will add or detract from running a certain course.

On road courses I find it is an excellent tool to teach myself and others what not to do. In most cases if it is activating the driver is doing something wrong. Repeatedly going around lap after lap complaining about how it interferes with your driving and never taking its criticism into account is a good way to be relegated to the slow driver ranks even if you switch it off. Most drivers will be faster if they leave it on and work to keep it from activating. Once they can do 5 or 6 laps with it on and never activating then they can switch it off and work to get even faster.

Fast is about being smooth and the smoother you are the less likely AH will interfere.

Once you get to be a good enough driver AH may tend to slow you on a road course. There are some on this forum that are that good but most are not. Last year I viewed a video made by somebody on the forum showing how much AH interfered with his driving by showing laps with and without AH turned on. The thing that amazed me was how poor his driving was and I came to the realization that AH will also slow down a poor driver because it finds so much wrong with their driving style.

Bill

longdaddy

I disagree with this approach. The car is not any more unbalanced in the rain. If you are not smooth with the throttle, the rain will just bring it to the surface and using AH to hide it is denying yourself an improvement opportunity that will ultimately make you faster, rain or dry

rustyguns

longdaddy

to answer original question regarding what to expect: you will be able to feel a lot more of a "traction feedback" from your tires instead of the car feeling numb when approaching the limit. you will also start encountering under AND over steer more often, and you will find you will actually need to react to it with your hands and feet (and sometimes eyes) in situations where you were able to just ride it out before.

Blue 92

Active handling off..

Greywolfe

Wow! Hope he was alright.

Jason.

sperkins

holy crap