All of you Novices did really well. Looks like quite a few "street weapons" you guys have. The black sentra with the apparently big turbo looked pretty fast, but autox is about more brakes and suspension than motor. Hope to see you guys out more often.

 

it was fun, of course. Not my first time out there. Power really isnt important in autoX

 

I really have to disagree about the brakes and suspension idea. If you can lock up you tires your brakes are good enough. And as far as suspension goes Ed Raymundo drives a stock 1.6 Miata R and puts almost everyone to shame. AutoX is a game of .10's of seconds. Its more about learning when to brake, turn and accelerate, as well as how much to brake, turn and accelerate with the car you have. Yes better tire will drop your times but its just a way to cover for the drivers miss inputs. Stay on shitty tires for a few events and then switch to a better street tire than after a year or two think about the next step. Just get out to as many events as you can and talk with the faster guys, ask questions about tire pressures, and setup. And spend time walking the course with those same faster guys if you can, or if the club has a Novice walk thru do it!!! It will help.

Oh yeah and have fun..

 

I found out the slower I took it, the faster my times. I was pushing it too hard at first, losing time understeering in corners, and not braking hard enough. Slower, does equal faster

 

Suspension and brakes are probably the most important things you can do to a car. Just because your locking up your brakes doesn't mean your braking system is good. You do not want to lock up the brakes because that could cause you to spin. You want to be able to brake late without locking up the brakes. There are also things like brake fade you have to consider.

As far as suspension you don't want to have a super soft setup because that will cause you to have a lot of excessive body roll which will make you spin and not be able to control your car as easy as if your car was stiff. When you have body roll all of the momentum will want to keep moving forward/to the outside when you are trying to turn. This also takes a lot of weight off your inside wheels which will make sticking to the ground a lot harder. A low tight suspension setup will help keep the body roll down or it will completely eliminate it. It will provide a low center of gravity and will keep the weight of the car from shifting around.

With all that said it definitely is very important to have good driving skills and I'm sure there are people out there who can take a completely stock car and do amazing but you can only push it so far in a stock car.

 

^^^^ Brake fade at an autoX!!!!! WTF... How do you do that? To have any fade you have to over heat you pads or fluid. The only way to generate heat it to be on the brakes alot!!! And not give then time to cool. OEM, NAPA, Autozone et all cheap pads and fluid will handle the temps generated at an autox. If they didn't then you would have fade during heavy interstate traffic... 65mph >>> 35mph over and over.

If you are spinning a FWD car you are too late and or too long on the brakes. If a FWD car starts to rotate (back end come around) you have to be off the brakes and on the gas hard!!! End of story. I've slid my CRX at most of the TSCC events this year and my Integra has been very sideways in T4 and T10 ate VIR and almost every turn at Summit Point last weekend. Loose is fast.

And if you guys want to get better at this game you need to run you car stock and learn what body roll is and how to use it. How crappy tire work and don't work and learn to use them. Its not cool it have a stock car but it will make you a much better driver.

 

How far is so far? I think most of the people who have posted in this thread have done less than 10 events in their life. It takes much more seat time to learn the limits of a stock car. I also don't get your idea of suspension and brake mods as being good ideas. Your limited by your tires much more so than you are your suspension and almost not at all by your brakes. Learning the limits of the car before changes are made will make the resulting advantage of that change Xtime greater. I see guys come out and get bitten by the autoX bug then go spend an S ton of money on tires, suspension, power mods and brakes to only pick up a second to second and a half. The bitch of it is that then their mods put them in a class where they should be 7 seconds faster and are still slow and alit lighter in the wallet.

But if you guys want waist your $ go right ahead

 

I would really like to try autocross out, i've always wanted to.

I'd probably make a fool out of myself the first round, but that's what it's all about haha.

 

i cant believe you stole my name for pungo

and if your going to use it, its actually
pungo international motor park speedway, or
P.I.M.P.S.

usdrift ftmfw

 

lmfao. i saw the OP and thought- SERIOUS?!? is it really called PIR now?!?!? bawahahhaha

PIMPS is hilarious. nice one.

I've autox'ed numerous times and have done multiple events around VIR also. i'll be the first to say i still suck.

After finally sitting with an instructor though at VIR, my karttrack times improved a good bit.

slow is fast ftmfw !