Has anyone ever been in an auto cross event? I hear about them and read about them all the time and they sound so appealing. I want to enter one sometime, but I think I should just go to a few first to get the gist of it. Anyone have any experience?

 

im finally going to start going to some this summer. i have done some research on it, and most events are on sundays. i wanna go to 1 or 2 as well before i start.

thats about all i know for auto x. besides you will need a helmet

 

I've been autocrossing for almost 2 years; here's what I've learned:

1) it's a BLAST

2) NEVER judge a racer by the size of his engine. I've beat corvettes by 10 seconds, and I've also had my ass handed to me by 1st-gen HF CRX's. My car is a stock 91 CRX Si.

3) you won't learn anything by just watching, except maybe who is who, and what people will tell you about their experiences. The only way to get into it is to..well, get into it. Show up, pay for your runs, and get out there.

You'll really learn a lot abotu your car when you start autocrossing. I highly recommend driving with an instructor the first few track days. Don't let them drive, but have them ride with you and give pointers. It helps a lot. Don't get discouraged if you don't do well right away. It takes lots of practice and constant repetition. I'm still a terrible driver because I can't race consistently while I"m in college. Just get out there and enjoy it.

Oh, and you do not need yoru own helmet. The SCCA provides loaner helmets. You will not be allowed to race if your battery is not secured (sounds silly, but lots of people don't use tie-downs), or if you have loose stuff inside the car. The tech inspectors will walk you through all of that. Just show up ready to learn, and have fun with it.

 

That sounds awesome! What kind of suspension do you have on your rex?

 

autocrossing is so fun no matter what car you got. i went to my first one last fall and two-drivered my cousin's stock 90 dx civic. despite the crappy car with crappy tires it was still a blast and way easy to over drive the car. we got up to about 60 i think in the long straight too. what i did was just walk the coarse a few times to get an idea of it, but i just wasnt sure of it yet, so my first run i just cruised around slow so i knew how it drove and everything. (plus i had only driven the car for 5 minutes once before to get the hang of it) after that i just tried to blast through as fast as i could and improve on the things that were slowing me down. each run was faster than the last too. its really rewarding that way. i cant wait to be semi-competitive and be able to compare myself to other racers.

 

So you can just go to the tracks to practice? Where's the closest one to San Diego?

 

No u can't practice, or at least in places I know of. Auto-x is a track made up of cones so each event will have a different track. Here is what u need to do.

Saturday night: Clean ur car out of everything thats loose including your floormats. Also its good to get more air at this point. Hmm I use low profiles at 42/40 psi. Try putting in ~40psi or maybe a bit less. The reason is, when u turn really sharp u don't want to run along on the sidewall of the tire.

Sunday: Wake up early get breakfsat all that good stuff. U will need to sign up as soon as u arrive. The quicker the better. Then u go to get ur car teched. An official will inspect your car for any loose objects. That means inside, trunk, and under the hood. So no subwoofers LOL.
After tech u need to walk the course as many times as you can. Everyone will reccomend u to walk with a pro but I like to walk alone. Pros will tell u how to take corners and give u a LOT of info u will forget the instance u hit the gas. Just focus on remembering the course.
When ur time is up either go to your work assignmemnt or into ur car. Oh forgot to mention everyone has to work. Its cool if u get to work first since u can stay out on the course and watch the other cars go by, further memorizing the layout.
Not much to say about the actual racing part. Just don't hit any cones and make sure u know how to tackle the slaloms. Some are optional and others u have to take a certain way. Just have fun ur first couplke of times. After that u can start looking for tips on how to improve and all that good stuff.


Hope this helps

 

https://www.honda-acura.net/forums/f...aysprune=&f=43

^^we have a dedicated autox forum nowadays lots of good reading there

i personally have never been to an autox event, but i will sometime. i've been told that my current car kicks ass in the autox (93 nissan nx2000) even though it feels heavier/more boatish than my old 93 sentra se-r. once i get a new tranny, and get it broken in, i'm going to autox most definetly

 

Awww geez! Not the kicker! How am I supposed to bump the tunes? h: Do they have different classes of cars at the events?

 

yep, there are classes, so you should start off with suspension mods and no power mods, or else you'll find yourself trying to compete with twin turbo corvettes and the like