Autocross Newb Questions

I'm signing up for my first autocross. It takes place on Thursday! Yes, I'm taking the Crown Vic. I'm just wondering if you guys have any good pointers for idiots like me. I'm not going for times, I'm just going to have a good time. Thanks!

Change the brake fluid and remember tire pressure, lots of it, is your friend.

In reply to jr02518:

The fluid was changed the month before I bought it. As for tire pressure, I think I'll stick with what the manufacturer recommends for now, just to get a baseline.

Bring sunscreen, a hat, and lots of water. Have fun!

You won't have a lot of time between runs to reflect. Once you're done your run, get out there and work the course. By the time you work the three or four stations, it will be time to run again.

Be nice to Brian.

We are all there to help you out. Ask for help/tips/pointers/whatever. We'll watch your runs and even ride with you.

DO NOT give up or quit or stop coming. You'll get the hang of it, and the courses, soon enough.

Don't worry much about tire pressures yet. If you want, bump the fronts up to 40, but seriously, don't worry about it.

We run until dusk. Usually four runs or more depending on numbers.

Bring some paper and a pen to take notes - it helps you remember the course, and you can use it to make pointers to yourself for your next run.

In reply to SkinnyG:

What exactly does working the course entail? I'm assuming it involves resetting cones and whatnot, but I'm curious as to what else there is to do.

Chasing cones. Just radio them in, and put them back. There is a driver's meeting at the start, where they go through all of this. Buddy up with someone so you can work the course with them - they will show you the ropes. Don't be afraid to say that you're new, and you've never done this before. We'll all take you under our wing.

If I can get there, I'm the devilishly handsome, suave, and debonair man with my two boys.

Do anything you can to help remember the course. Walk it as much as possible. Close your eyes and visualise it. Draw out on a note pad. Whatever it takes. Knowing where you need to go makes all the difference. I like working the course. You get to watch the cars run close up. It's pretty cool.

Watch this video series and you will know more than 50% of the people in attendance.

If they offer instructor ride alongside, take it.

Relax and have fun. Keep a normal grip on the wheel (no death grip). Walk the course and watch others drive before you do. Don't try to go fast on your first few runs. Focus on staying on course and being smooth. It takes time to develop a sense of how to fine tune the line and speed you're driving. I usually go through the entire course in my head (without looking at the course) thinking about how to fix the worst errors from my previous run, but don't try to fix everything all at once. Sometimes a course is very visual and you can follow it easily, and sometimes you just need to remember where to put the car (e.g., cresting a hill, too many cones). Look ahead as you're driving as much as you can, not directly in front of the car. If you mess up and miss a gate, get back on course if possible and finish the run. Use the rest of that run to learn, but be aware that another car is following you and people will be picking up the cones you murder.

Don't forget to have fun.

Thanks for the tips, guys! I just installed my used positive terminal insulator, so I'm passing tech for sure now!

Brian wrote: If they offer instructor ride alongside, take it.

This.

That's what I do at autocrosses, and my students invariably drop great buckets of time after the experience.

Don't get the "red mist". The spirit of competition is strong for some of us, and it causes us to drive hard in an attempt to win.

Put that aside. NOBODY wins their first autocross. My first one I finished DFL

Relax, be helpful, learn as much as you can.

Have fun, it's all for fun.

Look where you want to go! (Note that this means the space between the cones, not the cones, or poles, or workers, or the most attractive person there, etc) easy to say, hard to master.

Autox, like golf, is an individual sport, so early on focus on your good attitude. Have fun, and go out there and beat yourself.

My BIL says "what's the biggest room in the house? The room for improvement."

He's driving an automatic, and I'm curious too, as I've only autocrossed a manual.

What's the strategy for a no-paddles auto like this?

walk the course.

also, you should put it in 2 and leave it there. it'll shift 1-2 and stay there. my car with powerglide i leave it in 1 and run it up to 5500, but knowing vics and modern overdrive automatics you're going to need to be in 2, 1 is too steep.

i'm faster the less i use the throttle.

My suggestion is to help set up the course. That gives you extra walkthrough time, lets you make friends with the people who are involved in the event, and gives you a chance to sleep on the course layout. Wear work clothes that you don't mind getting cone gunk on, work gloves if you have them, and otherwise dress for corner work.

My normal advice for rookies is to find the guy with the biggest hat, tell him you've never autocrossed before, and then follow his advice.

Show up early, tell everybody you're new, and help set up and take down.

Don't obsess about tire pressures, but DO add 5-8 pounds to the front before the event. Seriously, you'll wish you had.

Take an instructor on your first run or 2. Job One for rookies is to stay on course. Slow times are better than no times.

Have fun!

+1 for the instructor run. It doesn't sound like you guys have lots of time for fun runs afterwards, but if you do, let others drive your car, with or without you. Watching more experienced drivers throw my car around the course was a big help, and gave me a target to meet seeing people consistently 3 seconds faster than me in my own car.

What do I know though, I've only been to 5 events so far. But every single time, I have the local hot shoe run the course in my car to see where I can do better. It may not be until after timed runs are over, but seeing different setups and transitions for me is a big help.

This page from the Cincinnati SCCA IMO is one of the better novice webpages I've seen. It's my old region where I started and it was very helpful.

Watch the video as well:

Cincinnati SCCA - Getting Started

Pros riding along and driving your car is incredibly helpful. I had the now famous Tom O'Gorman drive my Mazda3 at an event after I'd been doing it a couple events. It's very humbling having someone put SIX seconds on you in your own car. On his first try. Having never driven it before.

Make sure your battery is strapped down well. Only thing ive ever failed people while teching them, but thats why i kept ratchet straps to let them borrow so they could race

Everyone else said what's important, add some front air pressure, leave in 2nd, walk the course as much as you can, go slow at first the goal is to not get lost thats what gets frustrating and have a more experienced guy ride along if you can it helps a ton. And bring sunscreen, dont forget sunscreen

patgizz wrote: walk the course. also, you should put it in 2 and leave it there. it'll shift 1-2 and stay there. my car with powerglide i leave it in 1 and run it up to 5500, but knowing vics and modern overdrive automatics you're going to need to be in 2, 1 is too steep. i'm faster the less i use the throttle.

Unless they changed it a ford aod/aode will hold second and not downshift back into first like a gm trans. That was one of the bigger perks too ford automatics.

Bring lots of water. I forgot this rule at my first one and was not in a good mood by the end of the day.

Other than that just get out there and have a blast!

You may already have been to the Forum. Covers mainly the Thursday nights at the college in Kelowna, and the (better) venue at multiplex/arena in Vernon.

http://www.okanaganautocross.net/index.php