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 What is Autocross/AutoX/Solo2? Autocross is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition and active participation. An autocross is a timed competition where drivers navigate one at a time through a temporary course marked by traffic cones, rather than racing on a track with multiple other cars, as in road racing or oval racing. Autocross tends to place more emphasis on car handling and driver skill than on sheer horsepower, and events typically have many classes which allow almost any vehicle, from economy sedans to purpose-built vehicles, to compete. Speeds are slower in absolute terms when compared to other forms of motorsports, usually not exceeding highway speeds, but the activity level (measured in discrete turns per minute) can be higher than even Formula One due to the large number of elements packed into each course. Autocross courses are typically 40 to 70 seconds in length, with speeds limited to 70mph for insurance purposes. In addition to being a national-level motorsport in its own right, autocrossing is a good way to learn skills that transfer to road racing, as drivers learn vehicle control and club ethics. Autocross events are usually held in large paved areas like parking lots or airfields. Typically, new courses are created for each event so drivers must learn a new course each time they compete. Prior to driving, a competitor will walk the course, taking mental notes, and developing a strategy to be refined upon subsequent runs. National organizations such as the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and National Auto Sport Association (NASA) sponsor autocross events throughout the United States, and many areas have independent autocross clubs. Automobile manufacturers and their associated clubs (e.g. the BMW Car Club of America) sometimes hold marque autocross events. Thanks Wikipedia! TL/DR version: http://vimeo.com/12067348 Do I want to do it? Hell yea you do! It’s cheap, fun, approachable, and for all cars. (that won’t roll over when doing emergency maneuvers) Is it dangerous? A bit. Though as long as you keep a level head the danger level should be low. Always listen to the radios and organizers. How do I find them? That is sometimes the hard part. If you’re lucky, there’s a governing body for your region. You can usually find out about the regional series or club events this way. Google is your friend. What should I bring? Must:
Encouraged:
Wait, what? Why am I covering/removing my plates? Photographers! Autocross usually brings out some interesting machines and the events overall are pretty photographer friendly. So you end up with awesome poo poo like this:     Do I need to prepare my car? If you’re a novice running in a stock (or even modified class) class there typically isn’t much to do before an event. However, there are a number of things you can do once you arrive that can improve your performance. -Air up your tires. For lowend or all season street tires you can raise their PSI to 37-40PSI in order to stiffen the sidewall of the tire. Finding the right pressures usually takes a few runs to figure out. High performance summer rubber is usually around 35-38PSI due to their already stiff sidewalls. -Take as much out of your car as you can. This usually incudes jack, spare, trunk carpets, interior mats, and misc everyday stuff. Don’t do what this guy did and go for a fun run (end of day timer-less run) with beer in the trunk…  What should I focus on when I get there? Learning the course. Walk it at least 2-3 times. When you’re finished walking it you should be able to close your eyes and draw the course in the air with your finger. If you are unsure at all, go for ride alongs if you can. Learning the course early is crucial if you want to be able to focus on improving your time since you typically don’t get a large amount of timed runs This looks intimidating! It isn’t actually. Passenger rides are frequent and encouraged. You can ride with others, and others can ride with you. The potential for learning is huge. Go as fast or as slow as you are comfortable with. Follow the rules and you will have a great time. Surely there is a catch… Although it’s cheap, you don’t get that much seat time. HPDE (High Performance Drivers Education) days or track days will usually give you the best $/minute racing ratio. Still, the amount of fun you have spending time with fellow car enthusiasts and racing makes the price of entry worth it. Why did you make a thread for this? Well, lots of people in AI autocross. It would be nice to have a big thread where we can post our setups, tips, tricks, photos and videos. Plus the summer season will start in a little over a month. Ziploc fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Mar 13, 2011 |
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Mar 13, 2011 05:28
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Don't tape your plates. It makes you look like the biggest tool ever. First event of the season is next Sunday. My tires are unmounted, my head is at the machinist and my block is sitting on an engine stand. Also car isn't registered anymore and I don't have a trailer for it yet. Here is me and my Miata going around some cones poorly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grAmurxE-4Q&fmt=22 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0FGWdfzJyY&fmt=22 FatCow fucked around with this message at 05:50 on Mar 13, 2011 |
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Mar 13, 2011 05:47
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I miss autocrossing, but the Houston SCCA is full of some colossal douches, and they drastically increased their prices why still only giving 4 runs. Have any TX goons been to TAMSCC's events or whatever autox event that runs in San Antonio? I've heard that a guy flipped a car at a TAM autox, and people always claim that they run dangerous events. But, they can never give much in the way of details other than this one isolated story. Someone start up an Austin autox. MetaJew fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Mar 13, 2011 |
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Mar 13, 2011 05:52
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I've only done it a handful of times, but it is a ton of fun. I'm hoping to finally get over being intimidated about wrecking my car. Some of the rules to get pushed into SM are a little stupid; camber plates are apparently allowed in STX but an anti-lift kit/control arm relocation kit will get you in SM. I've got a pair of bolts that slot into factory holes on the car as well that also shove me into SM. If I were more into competition than just getting more seat time, I'd probably have to remove these. It's also pretty neat to get home, wait a few days and then find out what goofy face you were making while racing. I found out that I get my pinky out when taking a particularly aggressive corner. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Mar 13, 2011 |
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Mar 13, 2011 06:03
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This thread made me look into near-by events. Any goons going to this: http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/frmEventDetail.Show?psevent_id=12063 ?
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Mar 13, 2011 06:24
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Some of the rules to get pushed into SM are a little stupid; camber plates are apparently allowed in STX but an anti-lift kit/control arm relocation kit will get you in SM. I've got a pair of bolts that slot into factory holes on the car as well that also shove me into SM. If I were more into competition than just getting more seat time, I'd probably have to remove these. Two bolts? Where do these go?
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Mar 13, 2011 06:29
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I'm on my 4th autocross season in the DMVR/IA SCCA regions. We have some a pretty awesome group. Staging  Sideways MGBGT  Lotus Elan  My E30  My other E30 running 20psi  Subaru XT, one of the only other cars in ST(my class)  These Camaros are loving terrifying.  330i ZHP, he's super quick.  RADL ASSEMBLE 
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Mar 13, 2011 06:44
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I did my first autocross event today with the BSCC (Bremerton Sports Car Club). It was a novice class for people with zero or little experience racing around a track. We did nine runs around the track, each time with an instructor coaching us and giving us pointers. Despite the rain and cold I had a lot of fun and will definitely do it again. Some things I learned: You will spend more time out of your car than in it. When your group isn't running, you'll be on the perimeter of the track putting back all the cones that got knocked over by the group that is running. Cones get knocked over a lot, especially on the slalom parts of the course. It took each group about two hours to get all their runs in. I probably only spent about 10 minutes on the track all day. However, those 10 minutes were some of the most fun I have ever had. If anything, it is fun just to see what cars everyone brought. One guy brought a De Tomaso Pantera. It was scary looking and quite fast. Another guy brought his 1st gen Subaru Outback. It was bone stock and he drove the poo poo out of it. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. Then there was a great mix of STIs, BMWs (a couple M3s and Z4s), Corvettes, Nissan 370s, 240SXs and Infinitis, a 3rd gen Camaro, and even a Lotus Exige (I think). That poor Lotus though. Two of his runs got interrupted because the Miata running before him spun out and couldn't recover in time. My runs weren't anything special, but it was a thrill seeing my times improve and I didn't wreck my car! Yay! All in all a great day, despite the miserable weather.  Oh, and Corvettes are awesome.
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Mar 13, 2011 06:47
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I've only seen one 'accident' at autocross, and it was due to someone understeering into a curb that was a good 20 feet past the 'edge' of the course. Just have to keep an eye out for stuff like that if you're in a sort of cramped parking lot. That's the only thing I can think of, besides like an SUV flipping over? Most of the time, it's probably more safe than driving in traffic...
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Mar 13, 2011 06:54
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Sockington posted:Two bolts? Where do these go? Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 07:32 on Mar 13, 2011 |
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Mar 13, 2011 07:29
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FatCow posted:Here is me and my Miata going around some cones poorly. Wow, your autox courses are a lot faster than the ones we have in cincy.
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Mar 13, 2011 07:35
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Piano posted:I've only seen one 'accident' at autocross, and it was due to someone understeering into a curb that was a good 20 feet past the 'edge' of the course. Just have to keep an eye out for stuff like that if you're in a sort of cramped parking lot. That's the only thing I can think of, besides like an SUV flipping over? Most of the time, it's probably more safe than driving in traffic... The one I'm referring to is a pair of brothers ( I believe) who raced a modified E36 3-series of some sort with massive slicks. I've never gotten a good run down of what happened, just that the course/venue is "unsafe" and that they flipped/rolled the car.
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Mar 13, 2011 07:39
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Piano posted:I've only seen one 'accident' at autocross, and it was due to someone understeering into a curb that was a good 20 feet past the 'edge' of the course. Just have to keep an eye out for stuff like that if you're in a sort of cramped parking lot. That's the only thing I can think of, besides like an SUV flipping over? Most of the time, it's probably more safe than driving in traffic... Same thing happened in my region, except it was a brick wall and way more than 20 feet. STi sideways out of a chicago box pushed it way past the point where he should have been 2 feet it and just understeered straight into a building. We lost the site, though that might just be because the parks department finally decided to do something with the abandoned baseball field this year.
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Mar 13, 2011 07:44
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Corvettes seems to always be the worst in my region. In January one of them emptied their entire coolant supply on the track twice thanks to lovely hose clamps, and in February a different one kept going at the finish too hot (was designed to be slow), and punted the timing equipment a good hundred feet on the third run.
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Mar 13, 2011 08:29
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I've been autocrossing since I was 17. I'm now 23. There is a lot of Good and a lot of Bad with them. Good:
Bad:
Here is an incar video of me autocrossing my lovely subaru: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrNgIzJPX-g While I have a lot of bad feelings about autocross, it's still great fun and I encourage everyone to get into it; just not take it too seriously. You'll learn a lot about car control and car setup. While autocross frustrates me beyond belief because of how douchy my local club is, I'll still probably hit a few events this season just because it is fun cheap seat time.
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Mar 13, 2011 09:07
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Slow is Fast posted:classing can be utterly loving retarded, as SSF has pointed out. I class my car in SM so the sperglords will gently caress off. Does your club actually referee for mods or lack thereof?. When I ran, I don't recall any serious oversight to the self-classing that happened, especially not if people weren't competitive. For anyone who hasn't done it and has wondered what it'd be like to drive your car quickly (fast control, not usually fast speeds), you should try it. It will show you things that you probably won't experience on the street. And it has a small amount of overlap to track driving, which is where you should go if you want to spend more money but get much more seat time. kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 09:40 on Mar 13, 2011 |
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Mar 13, 2011 09:38
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kimbo305 posted:track driving...spend more money but get much more seat time. I think this is my biggest hangup on autocross - sure you're only paying $15-20 but you get maybe 4-5 minutes of seat time max (assuming its a long course.) Then again, maybe I'm just spoiled by having a two mile long road course about an hour away that has several non-timed/non-competitive events a year for ~$100 for the day...
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Mar 13, 2011 09:49
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kimbo305 posted:Does your club actually referee for mods or lack thereof?. When I ran, I don't recall any serious oversight to the self-classing that happened, especially not if people weren't competitive. In the past people have protested for mods and classing at the drop of a hat. My first event on the final results timesheet online they wrote in the notes column "check for mods" and at the next event my car was looked over pretty good.
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Mar 13, 2011 15:26
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Our club is pretty lax about mods. As long as you aren't blatantly cheating people don't really care. There are some people that are serious about stock class but it's pretty easy to keep your car in stock if you want it to be in stock. Out of 6-7 CSP cars I think only one or two are actually CSP legal. Almost all the cars have depowered racks or airbags removed without swapping the whole dash, engine swap without the wiring harness swap, etc. Then again we're not a SCCA club which I think has a lot to do with it. (We use SCCA classing/most of their rules though) I don't think anyone's ever been protested since I've started doing it. The closest we've gone is letting novices know that their turbo'd cars don't qualify for H-stock anymore. If you're in autocross solely for the driving you'll get tired of it quickly due to the short seat time. It's also largely a social event, there is lots of time to hang around and talk to other car people about cars. We tend to have a lot of fast courses, the ones I linked weren't even our fastest of the season. There were a few 3rd gear in a CSP Miata courses (with r-comps which I didn't have last year). However, our sites are unused airports so you have to really *really* gently caress up to hit something hard. This year we only had one incident, a s2k broke a sway bar link in the middle of a slalom, or tore the mount off the control arm and went into some brush.
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Mar 13, 2011 16:01
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I'm thinking about running my totally stock IS300 this season but I'm not sure if tires effect classing. Seems to me they would be one of the biggest categories of modification, is that so?
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Mar 13, 2011 16:29
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FatCow posted:Our club is pretty lax about mods. As long as you aren't blatantly cheating people don't really care. There are some people that are serious about stock class but it's pretty easy to keep your car in stock if you want it to be in stock. Out of 6-7 CSP cars I think only one or two are actually CSP legal. Almost all the cars have depowered racks or airbags removed without swapping the whole dash, engine swap without the wiring harness swap, etc. Then again we're not a SCCA club which I think has a lot to do with it. (We use SCCA classing/most of their rules though) I don't think anyone's ever been protested since I've started doing it. The closest we've gone is letting novices know that their turbo'd cars don't qualify for H-stock anymore. Same in Cleveland.. Everyone is pretty cool, even the guys that bring R-comps and race for serious. I agree the seat time is nothing compared to a track day.. but: -it's safe compared to a track, I like to use my turboed street car that I would never risk on a track (primarily because it's a convertible without a roll bar, but I really can't afford to roll it) -I can drag someone new out and they can race 1st event. Low pressure, low risk, it's a thrill. -Good practice for real racing. Our track car is just barely street legal, has no passenger seat, and currently we don't have a trailer for it yet so we're kinda boned if it blows up on the track. That investment plus the higher cost of track+fuel makes it a much higher commitment for all involved. Auto-x is just plain easier to deal with for most of the time.
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Mar 13, 2011 16:34
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tonedef131 posted:I'm thinking about running my totally stock IS300 this season but I'm not sure if tires effect classing. Seems to me they would be one of the biggest categories of modification, is that so? Tires will sometimes affect classing if you get a race compound tire. My local club gives you a 2% cut off your time if you have street tires but keeps you in the same class. Other local clubs in my area don't do poo poo and let street tires get raped my R-comps. I think SCCA now moves you a class if you use non-stock sized rims as well.
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Mar 13, 2011 16:35
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Ziploc posted:Tires will sometimes affect classing if you get a race compound tire. My local club gives you a 2% cut off your time if you have street tires but keeps you in the same class. Other local clubs in my area don't do poo poo and let street tires get raped my R-comps. I think SCCA now moves you a class if you use non-stock sized rims as well.
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Mar 13, 2011 16:51
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^^^ There are different classes that you can be eligible for. There's Stock Open classes where you can expect fairly stock cars, fairly fast drivers and R-Comps. Some clubs have a Tire class which you compete against other people with street tires and you use the PAX for your regularly classed car. Then there's stuff like ST, STX and now STR then the whole Modified classes. SCCA has a good break down as to what is and isn't legal for most classes.FatCow posted:This year we only had one incident, a s2k broke a sway bar link in the middle of a slalom, or tore the mount off the control arm and went into some brush. To add to this, the year before (2009?) the only other thing that really happened was that an M3 decided to jettison a rear control arm and the owner got some made tyte 20 degrees of camber. And the sister club in our state had a novice in a 2010 Sentra roll because the dude decided to be a hero and try to save it. Phone fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Mar 13, 2011 |
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Mar 13, 2011 16:57
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There's been a couple accidents around here, but not for a number of years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsX2LxrtZ0E Also someone doing a fun run in someone elses car at the end of the day locked the brakes up going through the finish and ran into the timing truck. That was 3 or 4 years ago, and safety stewardship has greatly improved since then.
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Mar 13, 2011 17:13
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Yikes, that tire wall is pretty cozy. Don't think I'd ever want to run there.
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Mar 13, 2011 17:25
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SNiPER_Magnum posted:Yikes, that tire wall is pretty cozy. Don't think I'd ever want to run there. It's a go kart track, and it's awesome that it's more of a real track than a regular autocross course, but it seems terribly unsafe.
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Mar 13, 2011 17:27
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The likelihood of that happening at a normal autocross event is pretty low since you're usually on flat open asphalt. Still, accident's happen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMEVj0MIh2E Stop making it sound like everyone crashes guys. 
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Mar 13, 2011 17:32
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All of these wreck videos seem to be from badly designed courses. You shouldn't be able to hit stuff at a properly designed autocross course. The Sentra that rolled locally had under-inflated tires. There was a good sized chunk of asphalt missing where his rim carved it out.
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Mar 13, 2011 17:38
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We actually had a bad one in AZ a few years back - for some reason they were letting people stand in front of a concrete light post support, and a car lost control and pinned someone against it. I can't remember if the person who got pinned either lost a leg or got killed or what. Bad course design indeed. Edit: It was the timing trailer, not concrete, and he did lose a leg. IOwnCalculus fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Mar 13, 2011 |
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Mar 13, 2011 17:52
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IOwnCalculus posted:We actually had a bad one in AZ a few years back - for some reason they were letting people stand in front of a concrete light post support, and a car lost control and pinned someone against it. I can't remember if the person who got pinned either lost a leg or got killed or what. Bad course design indeed. I doubt that had anything to do with the organizers. We frequently have stations at concrete light posts. And I always insist that people stand behind it. But there's always some idiot who thinks he can jump out in time and will stand in between the car and the post. Ziploc fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Mar 13, 2011 |
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Mar 13, 2011 18:41
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Accidents don't happen if the course is designed correctly. Worst thing I've seen was a formula vee hit a curb, but that's because they off-coursed a mile out. Safety chair should help design the course and walk it to look for potential hazards that people might understeer into or put in elements to burn off speed. Do things right and crashing is a non-issue.
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Mar 13, 2011 23:19
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Slow is Fast posted:You'll learn a lot about car control and car setup. While autocross frustrates me beyond belief because of how douchy my local club is, I'll still probably hit a few events this season just because it is fun cheap seat time. I assume you are talking about CMC? I went to one event last year, but I didn't run. I've been thinking about participating this year, but I dont really know how I feel about beating on my car/tires that much. What are the class limitations on aftermarket ECUs? My biggest concerns would be being bumped up into a class in which I wouldn't be competitive, and the miniscule amount of seat time you get. One of the biggest problems I have with this state is that there are no roadcourses, just oval tracks...
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Mar 14, 2011 00:27
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In Auuuuuustralia we call it Motokahana. Heres a video of mine from many moons ago; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYXWgveBq-E Will be happy to give it another shot when I finally get my track car done.
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Mar 14, 2011 00:35
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Alright so I really want to run my Mazda6 this year. It's bone stock except for maybe installing a thick RSB on this spring. If I put on that one simple modification, will I be removed from the stock class?
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Mar 14, 2011 00:47
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localized posted:I assume you are talking about CMC? I went to one event last year, but I didn't run. I've been thinking about participating this year, but I dont really know how I feel about beating on my car/tires that much. What are the class limitations on aftermarket ECUs? My biggest concerns would be being bumped up into a class in which I wouldn't be competitive, and the miniscule amount of seat time you get. One of the biggest problems I have with this state is that there are no roadcourses, just oval tracks... Yeah, CMC. The car wear and tear isn't that bad, just tires/brakes. I have no idea about ECU mods. I haven't read the classing rulebook in a long time. I wouldn't really worry about being competitive, PAX is dumb anyways. If you win your class all you get is some golf claps and a little square with "1st" on it. Whoopdy do. Plus to win your class for the year you have to attend a ton of events. Just go and have fun. If I'm at one you're more then welcome to hang out and ride along to get a feel for things before jumping right in.
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Mar 14, 2011 01:07
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Yeah. Stock classes allow a front sway bar. The rear automatically puts you into a ST or SP class.
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Mar 14, 2011 01:07
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angryhampster posted:Alright so I really want to run my Mazda6 this year. It's bone stock except for maybe installing a thick RSB on this spring. If I put on that one simple modification, will I be removed from the stock class? Check out the rulebook here. It looks like only front sway bar modifications are allowed for stock classes.
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Mar 14, 2011 01:13
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localized posted:I assume you are talking about CMC? I went to one event last year, but I didn't run. I've been thinking about participating this year, but I dont really know how I feel about beating on my car/tires that much. What are the class limitations on aftermarket ECUs? My biggest concerns would be being bumped up into a class in which I wouldn't be competitive, and the miniscule amount of seat time you get. One of the biggest problems I have with this state is that there are no roadcourses, just oval tracks... You're also welcome to ride alongs with me..as far as accidents a few years ago my friend was driving my former st crx with no front sway and full hard on a 22mm rear, it snapped over steered on him and hit a cone worker.
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Mar 14, 2011 01:23
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Slow is Fast posted:Accidents don't happen if the course is designed correctly. WRONG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4m41viy4I Edit: Accidents happen when you buy the wrong lugnuts. MetaJew fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Mar 14, 2011 |
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Mar 14, 2011 01:30
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