Things to rectify in ur car b4 autocross

[B8 Turbo]

AutoX

Sorry if I annoy anyone,

I've never tried the autoX in Malaysia scene and never seen the autoX challenge Live. Would love to see it.

10yrs ago, I was crazy about autoX when I was a student in US. I did 1 yr of autoX in US w/ my 90 Integra GS 4dr sedan.

Based on my experience then, suspension setup is still important but driving skill of weight distribution w/ braking and cornering is more critical to shave off those seconds. The other key factor is the slick tires. Slicks can shave 3-5 secs off normal street tires and based on my experience as well. The other thing I learnt since that time was heal and toe of blipping the throttle for down shifting; a very essential basic skill to learn for autoX. I did attend a basic course of autoXing during that particular 1yr of my autoX experience. Also trained on zig zag cone attack, braking attack (saw the Jap VCD HotVersion or Options-can't remember), and hairpin cornering strategy. After these training, I upgraded my entire suspension w/ engine strut brace (Trust), antiroll bars (Suspension Techniques), absorbers (Tokiko Illumina 5-way soft/hard), H&R lowering springs. After that, as I autoX more and more, my time was improved. I guess mainly with gained experience, skills, car setup, and car feel familiarization.

Please don't flame me but I see the above discussion on suspension bushing. Once again, I've not done autoX for 10yrs now so I better let the Khong brothers give their comments or any others more experienced in this sport. I'm rusty.

From experience and playing GT2 on PS1 also, "tires are what wins a race". Famous quote from the movie Days of Thunder.

 

[whatdamn]

b8_turbo,
what you say holds true. from my first autox (kks round 3) i noticed that the guys who ran semi slicks or at least sticky stuff like neovas were getting not only better lines but better times as well. ofcourse there is no replacement for the amount of seat time the others have had there which would have been a contributing factor to their fast paced lapping. not only are braking techniques crucial but the type of brake pads used are too! i would say for starters you should:

1. strip out the interior of the car
2. get a full bucket seat
3. put fender bars
4. get a good set of tyres (bfgoodrich gforce sport to start off)
5. get plenty of seat time (ie. drive, practice)
6. move on to upgrading ur suspensions once you know and understand WHY ur current shocks are failing you
7. get a smaller diameter steering wheel which will require less degrees of turn to achieve more turning radius. (arm/elbow to steering wheel should be about 45 degrees)
8. get even more seat time
9. get a cage once you feel that higher spring rates are required
10. get more seat time!

practice makes you better...you'll notice that as you go thru the runs for autox. just pay attention while you drive :)

 

[gavan]

yes it is, give you that umph or the feeling that i wanna do that, i wanna be faster than anyone else in that track, all those stuff you know... :D ekkekeke :D

hmm, yeah, i would strongly agree on a full bucket seat for autocross or even SSO or any racing event for that matter. i was using stock seats when i entered the last SSO and i was having a lil trouble trying to keep myself inplace when doing u-turns and also trying to control the pedal when taking those corners, most often i would over power out during turns and that cost alot of time as the wheel spins :( what to do, first time enter SSO event, but it was a real experiance for me, cant wait to do some upgrades for my car to enter the next event if $$ permits me to do so. im a student so its kinda hard for me to actually really spend alot of money on the car itself as now i also need to get some things done up like my allignment(hit a hole today, think i screwed it up) and also my shocks :(

 

[KillerB]

Guys,

I heard that there will be another autox event coming up organised by Ian Khong. Heard also that it will be cheaper.

b8 turbo,
still crazy about autox now? feel free to join. Looks like you've got lotsa seat time in that 1 year.

the best thing about autox is you can drive what u bring, or come with a prep'ed car. The learning curve is better if you wanna improve your driving skills and know your car's handling better, as compared to track days, or the ever popular drags. You start to learn that minor adjustments to either your car or your driving do make a big difference in your timing. And you begin to understand why f1 is such a big thing, and why one thousandth of a second counts.

 

[whatdamn]

killerB,
yup, i don't think drag races help you become a better driver cause the skills are basically popping the clutch at the right rpms and that can be determined by dyno-ing to see the peak power generated areas i believe. track days, well you don't feel the pressure to get the fastest lap times or the tracks to crowded unless ofcourse ur a veteran tracky then you're supposed to clock a faster lap time than you did.

there will be 2 autox next month, KKS round 4(finals) and GRA round 1 (by ian khong) umm, might only be joining in the KKS one cause even though ian's one is cheap, i still lack the cash to survive the month due to unexpected damages to my drivetrain last night. sigh.

 

[B8 Turbo]

I come take look first

Whatdamn & KillerB,

Whatdamn, I've done all you've mentioned on the points except seat time, strip interior (my daily car cannot mah), roll cage, and slicks. Serious, I've done all there is to be done on my suspension exept one little thing : undercarriage 4 point bar like what the Imprezzas have. I know Taiwan Summit brand makes it for BG.

The difference between track racing and autoX is that track racing lets you use all the gears and achieve high speeds during a straight. For autoX, the speeds are very low i.e. 100km/h max for a few seconds only then have to downshift to enter a corner. Depending on the autoX track, the gear usage could be just around 1st & 2nd gear with occasional 3rd but only if you really run out of rpm in 2nd gear. Sometimes just using 2nd gear will suffice while the driver can concentrate on car position on the track for entrance into corner, braking, turning (steering handling important too), and other minor things. I've actually taped my autoX in US those days. It's in tape but I can't find a way to convert it to VCD. My tape is mouldy already so some people might not do it. Could anyone help? I'd love to see my autoX again and can see them American Mustangs tearing the track. Anyone can help would be appreciated.

About drag racing, it is more than popping the clutch. Actually if you think it is just that, you gotta reconsider. I've done a controlled circuit drag seated in those high propane dragsters with huge wing, big ass rear wheels, and tiny little front wheel; also in the States. It was in an amusement park where they have these dragsters. The dragsters are a small version of the real thing but the engine is VW with 300bhp. Pay USD13/3 runs. Damn fun! Actually drag racing is about your reaction to the X'mas tree. Those who have tenth second reaction time to the x'mas tree green light will win. I won't get into it as this is autoX discussion.

KillerB, are you a B8 turbo Mazda/Ford owner too? Thanks for extending the invitation to come to autoX. I'll most likely take a look first. We can meet up and intro between ourselves. Regarding my seat time, it was 10yrs ago. I'm rusty. You guys are more into it so I should learn from y'all sifus.

 

[B8 Turbo]

Rm25 to securing yourself into your standard car seat for autoX

hmm, yeah, i would strongly agree on a full bucket seat for autocross or even SSO or any racing event for that matter. i was using stock seats when i entered the last SSO and i was having a lil trouble trying to keep myself inplace when doing u-turns and also trying to control the pedal when taking those corners,

Gavan, no need semi-bucket or full bucket seats. When I was autoXing my Integra, it had normal seats but I have invented the cheapest way to plant yourself securely and snuggly into your standard seat when autoXing.

Hint : I didn't make it but it's a DIY item. I left this legacy idea with my US autoX mates. No need to spend hundreds or thousands on them so-called bucket seats. I'd share with you guys when I come to the next autoX event. This way can keep the interest HIGH! :D :cool: ;)

Remind me yah!:) I don't always check this forum.

 

[B8 Turbo]

AutoX car spec

Whatdamn,

The other thing I've witnessed about having quick lap time is not how powerful your car is. It's all about tires. In terms of comparing cars, SOHC cars have a slight advantage to DOHC in my opinion. SOHC will have earlier torque than DOHC of the same cc & class. So for powering out of a tight corner, SOHC car's low rpm will kick the car out faster than DOHC's cam timing. Of course I'm comparing stock vs stock. If the DOHC has high cam then that's another story all together. That's also if we put the same driver into a SOHC & DOHC car with all factors remain the same.

Then again, I'm talking base on theory. I've not actually seen the same driver getting into a SOHC & DOHC prepped car to do laps for time comparison.

BTW, what's the different class category you guys have in Malaysia? CSP, ASP, AS or something like that I can't remember. Novice have another class by itself but I can't remember the abbreviation but has "N" in it.

 

[whatdamn]

b8_turbo,
looking forward to seeing you at the next event :) ucan't miss me, to colourful liao the car :P umm, anyway, the drag thinggy is like what u said about reaction time...to popping the clutch hahah! true mer. also, the tyres play a huge roll, but autox is about budget so unless you've got cash to spare...have to stick with tyres below the rm200 range...and they have yet to produce semi slicks in that range i reckon :)

 

[whatdamn]

b8_turbo,
regarding the class thinggy, so far for the SSO, we've got 'hung', 'macho'...and stuff like that and for KKS, it's Class 1 (~660 cc), Class 2....and so on to represent the CC's. no novice class.

 

[gavan]

well, yeah, for SSO and KKS, the major differences are the technicallity of the course itself, for SSO, its more about timing and also the ability to take fast corners within limits(to me lar) and the KKS is all about the way you handle your car. as KKS autocross looks way much more technical compared to the SSO, but the timing seems to be faster than of the SSO, an average time in my class in the SSO (1.3L and below) is around 72 seconds around the track whereelse in the KKS autocross, altho its quite tricky, the timing could be as low as 1.06 seconds, so im not sure which track is longer and all, but the fun factor i could assure that both have the same amount of it :D

haihz, cant wait to get my new upgrades, then can join in the next event in october if cash permits too that is :D

 

[whatdamn]

gavan,
isn't the KKS in september?

actually when is it ar...sheesh.

 

[julianpang]

gavan,
isn't the KKS in september?

actually when is it ar...sheesh.

September 11

 

[whatdamn]

julian,
thanks for the date, how was SSO eh?

 

[gavan]

ahahaa, SSO is today mar rite?? ekekke :P in penang that is... :P

yeah, KKS somewher ein september, but in september i got another event also, going for a drag event :D