Thread: New to auto crossing, need a few tips!

Pick one of these.



If it's anything like my experience, both of those tires will probably overheat and chunk on the front. Get some real max performance summer tires made for the street tire classes. You'll go faster, and get more runs out of them. See my link above.



Short answer: It probably won't matter. "36 way adjustable" chinadampers usually only make some minor changes to high speed damping, which will make the car feel softer/stiffer over bumps. The low speed damping that would affect motion of the car through transitions and such usually doesn't see any adjustment.



You should take advantage of those and get a good alignment, settings to use are discussed elsewhere.



Stock fluid is fine, but it's a good idea to keep it fresh. Performance fluid is for higher speed trackdays.



Performance pads as an "upgrade" are within the last 1% to chase after you get the 90% in the driver's seat figured out. Autocross isn't very hard on the brakes like a trackday, so stock brakes should be fine.



For autocross you will normally use 2nd gear. Get the car off the line and up into second gear, and then focus on looking at the course.



Short answer: it is all set up at the event after registration is closed. You will have your heats to run / work assigned to you at the driver's meeting.

Hey guys, so I realized I have this helmet today, it is a skiing/snowboarding helmet. I actually did competition skiing for awhile and was really good, but it I kinda lost interest with the cold and my knees. The helmet was quite expensive, it looks good and fits my head well, but obviously doesn't have any of the DOT stuff on it.

So my question is, how anal are they about these helmets, does someone take it from you and look for some kind of number? I mean lets be honest, I'm auto-crossing here, not road racing. Unless a meteor falls on me I'm not worried.
Here is the actual helmet:
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What do you think?

Thanks for the link.

Now, I do have a spare set of B14 wheels already sitting around, with Kumho Ecsta AST tires on them, 205/50. Two look brand new, two have about 60 percent tread left (they came with my 200sx - obviously the girl who owned the car never rotated them) How do the AST's compare to the tire in your link, the Kumho XS? Any idea?

Edit: Looking on Discount Tire Direct, there is about a $36 difference per tire in the 205/50 size between the the two, the XS's being the more expensive than the AST. SO I guess I sort of got my answer already

Oh hell no! Yes, your helmet will be checked for compliance. SCCA Insurance requires that the helmets have a SNELL rating. Both Motorcycle "M" and Special Application "SA" ratings are approved for autocross. The SA helmet adds a fireproof lining for road racing use where "M" helmets are less expensive. I'm a little rusty on what "year" ratings they approve, generally it's the current and 2 previous. An approved helmet would have a sticker like the one below inside the lining.





Tirerack's testing suggests that they would be about 1-2 seconds slower on a 60 second course with an experienced driver.

Federal 595 RS-R are great tires too

I would just run what you have. Trust me, you're not even going to come close to being on the podium, if you've never done this before. Your car is probably going to be classed SM, which if memory serves me correctly, is a really competitive class in the Philly region.

Spring for new sticky tires if you have the extra cash, but don't expect them to make you a hero. Your goal should be just to get a clean run. You're going to be surprised at how lost you're going to get out on course.

The AST's might not be a bad choice if it's raining.

Ok cool. So get a *real* helmet and real sticky tires. And yes, I expect to get beat. I held my own on road courses but auto-x, sort of new to me. I like the appeal of it and so does my g/f because it's "safer" (at least in the aspect that, its just you driving fast around cones in a parking lot)

Yes, on the helmet. The crappy tires you have now will aid you in the understanding of car control. They're also going to lower the limits of the car, so it's going to be easier to dial it in. You won't have to push it as hard to see if it's tight, loose or neutral. They will make you slower, however. But for your first time out, I'd be more concerned about getting the feel for it and the car. Slower speeds and a little slideways action can teach a lot. It's also a hoot to drive a car with low limits (a page out of the FRS/BRZ playbook). You have my 2 cents, your call on the tires.

My guess is your B13 is going to understeer like a 73' Buick. Before you go to the event, do yourself a favor and disconnect one of the endlinks on the front sway bar. If the endlink is old and crusty, be careful not to twist it in half attempting to get it off. If you have an adjustable bar on the rear, set it to the stiffest setting. Depending on ambient temperature, run 4-6 psi less in the rear tires. My guess is that temps will be in the 40-50's. I'd start at 36F 30R and adjust from there, if needed.

I may join you for this event, depending on weather. Maybe we can convince @Kyle to join us with the teal monster. Although, I think he may work on Sundays. It would be cool to have a SR contingency there.

I do have an adjustable bar on the rear. The B13 seems to actually oversteer an awful lot, but then again, with those crappy tires, who knows. I'll def consider going with your 36/30 tire pressures, you are probably right about the temperatures, it will probably be like 50. Unless there's a cold snap.

Find a big flat parking lot somewhere and do a skid pad test in both directions. Make sure you choose a lot that allows you run off in case you loop it. It goes without saying that it would best not to do this when cops or other people are around.

During the test, get up enough speed so the car starts to loose grip. Do it in such a way so that you're as close to a constant speed, as you can be. In other words, you're trying to avoid changing the front to rear weight balance by manipulating acceleration or de-acceleration.

I'll be surprised if you do the above and you find the car oversteers. If it does, you may want to leave the front bar connected.