This is by no means the end of this conversation.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Autocross is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition and active participation. An autocross is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. Autocross differs from road racing and oval racing in that generally there is only one car on the track, racing against the clock rather than other cars. As an entry-level motorsport it provides a stepping stone for drivers looking to move into other more competitive and possibly expensive forms of racing (such as rallying and circuit racing).
Tactical Penguin wrote:
In reply to Keith Tanner:
Of course you can win! You just need to be moved to the fastest run group so you can run flatout!
but you'll get the same trophy as the slowest in the novice class 
ddavidv wrote:
Thread TL, DNR.
I can only say this; and I have autocrossed and mean no disrespect to the cone dodgers among us. When I did auto-x I called it racing. When I started road racing I laughed at myself for having called auto-x racing. Night and day difference between the two sports. Ultimately it's a pointless discussion much like "What is a sports car?". It probably has more to do with where you are on the pyramid than a book definition.
For those who never saw it The Pyramid of Speed.
I find it amusing that the pyramid doesn't go up as high as people who don't compete on predictable surfaces... 
Keith Tanner wrote:
Hmm, autoX for now but your flowchart says I should be doing wheel to wheel road racing.
This comes under the don't feed the trolls heading of internet pissing matches. I really don't give a flying small English moterbike engined front wheel drive car from the 50's about trolls opinions.
But:
mthomson22 wrote:
pshaw. It is real racing. And yes, unfortunately, people have died doing it
Got my attention. I'm aware of accidents, I'm aware of cars getting totalled, I'm aware of corner workers getting hit by cars etc etc. But I've never heard of a fatality in autocross. Is this really true?
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
This comes under the don't feed the trolls heading of internet pissing matches. I really don't give a flying small English moterbike engined front wheel drive car from the 50's about trolls opinions.
But:
mthomson22 wrote:
pshaw. It is real racing. And yes, unfortunately, people have died doing it
Got my attention. I'm aware of accidents, I'm aware of cars getting totalled, I'm aware of corner workers getting hit by cars etc etc. But I've never heard of a fatality in autocross. Is this really true?
Yeah it's rare but it does happen, I can think of a few. A year or two ago a girl in a kart got clotheslined by a chain in the parking lot and died, an odd accident, I wonder if anyone found out what caused it.
I remember hearing of an autocross accident in the 80s where a Europa slammed into a tree and both the driver and a passenger died, that must have been one helluva crash.
Why do people care? I mean really. If you are having fun that is all that matters. If it is so important to you if you that it actually be considered "actual racing" you are doing it wrong.
4 pages on this subject AGAIN. Come on people.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
I recall some freak thing with a 12yr old girl, a kart with a sticky throttle and some piano wire.
In reply to GameboyRMH:
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
That is so so tragic
dean1484 wrote:
Why do people care? I mean really. If you are having fun that is all that matters. If it is so important to you if you that it actually be considered "actual racing" you are doing it wrong.
4 pages on this subject AGAIN. Come on people.
because this is the internet and this is what we do
and it helps run up our post count
In reply to dean1484: We argue because
Keith, according to your chart, I should be motorcycle racing.
I should be rally racing. Scandinavia FTW!
so I should either be autocrossing, or w2w roadracing... either way a man in Reno has a bad day
Hey this says I should be racing motorcycles that can't be.............oh wait errrr I do recall entering an event last year and there is the one in October I am eyeballing.
Now as for what's racing or not, I do not think of autocross as racing yet I bought a car specifically for autocross and specifically choose a class capable,of FTD because I suddenly found I actually cared where I finished........maybe that Arai Freddie Spencer replica helmet I paid good money for didn't protect my head as well as it should of.
I view autocross kind of the way I view Trials riding, you not going 150 but don't for a moment think there isn't a large degree of skill involved.
Tom
These threads are like shooting fish in a barrel on this forum.
Almost as dependable as starting an oil debate on a BMW forum. :D
I care what my insurance company thinks it is, and they don't think it is racing, so I am with them.
PS: I have always loved that flowchart.
In reply to unevolved: What's the deal with the oil debate on a BMW forum?
People LOVE to have a really strong opinion about how M54s will ONLY run with ONE kind of oil, and ANYTHING else will destroy your motor, your car, and your family if given enough time. The best part is that ONE kind varies from "expert" to "expert."
If you really want to have some fun, post a thread asking about anti-seize on spark plugs.
In reply to unevolved:
I love when noobs in the paddock walk by and comment on me dumping the wrong thing into my engine. Like it never occurred to them that maybe I've done this before. Possibly for the last 15 years. I often use some 0-20 synthetic in the race car because it's like sewing machine oil ... no need to burden the spinny parts with extra viscosity and every little bit helps (or not, whatever).
I blow them up once every three years anyway, WTF point is there in fretting over preserving it?
INTERWEBZ EXPERT HEAD'S EXPLODE
