Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 13:56:48 -0500
From: "jamnvr6"
<< Hello all. Before I make a complete fool of myself in my first autox, I was
wondering if I could get a few questions answered first. >>
The only way I can think of to make a total fool of yourself is to nat ask
questions. You already took carew of that here, do it at the event also, most
competitors will help you out without hesitation.
<<First off, I do have a rather heavy car, at least compared to stock cars of
the same make. I have a '98 VW GTI VR6 with a rather large stereo. Yeah I
know what you're thinking..SLOW SLOW. I have yet to have the car weighed
because I can't find a shop that could do this. Is anyone here from the
Kansas City area that can reccomend a place? And a place to get a dyno?>>
Like the other responses said, don't worry about it. I have no idea how much
power i put to the ground in my custom turboed 83 Celica. It consumes fuel at
a rate for about 300 hp or so, but I can rarely use much of it on course.
Weight may come into play when you get very serious, but until you are able
to run 9/10s all the time, it won't be a big deal at all. When my race
prepped car was out for repairs, I ran my Talon AWD in our street tire class
with a large stereo system in it (probably 200 pounds, 3 amps, sub, etc.) and
ended up winning the 30 car field of steer tire cars. I was about 3 seconds
behind the GStock times where the car would have gone on race tires though,
it is all relative.
<<My second question is what sort of course should I expect? I have never
been to an autocross before so I have no idea what's involved. All I know is
that
I love driving my car, and to really drive it the way I'd like to, requires
a track. Otherwise the police will be pulling me over/ticketing me way too
often. >>
Every course is different. Local clubs run anything from 20 second loop to 80
second wild switchbacks and boxes. When you get to reg at the event, they
should have a course map of some sort, some smaller clubs don't always, but
then they have some form of guide to show you the course. You then get time
to walk through it to find where it goes. For alot of new people, getting
through clean can be the hardest part. 100 cones set up in a parking lot can
easilly look confusing. Coming into them at 50 mph makes it real tough
sometimes. Locally we usually get 6 runs unless the turn out is real big. If
you get that many, go ahead and take your first run slow to find where ou are
going. Tell the starter if you are doing this so they don't send a car too
close behind you. If you only get 3 runs, you don't wanna take it too easy,
but still not at the limit.
>From my experience autocrossing for 12 years, there will be many people there
willing to walk the course with you and give tips on how to take it. Many
will also watch your runs and give tips on what they saw. Don't be afraid to
ask, Here in Chicago, we even have people assigned to help out new drivers.
We point them out at the drivers meeting so the new people are encouraged to
seek them out.
<<The last question I had is what sort of class would I fall into? The
modifications to my car include an AMS Supercharger (Vortech), Schrick VGI
(manifold), and Quaife limited slip differential. I suspect my car would
dyno (w/ 17" wheels) around 285HP @ the wheels. Considering the extra weight
in my car (probably the same as 4 people in the car), would I still be
paired with cars with comparable mods and or HP? Would I get some sort of
handicap? How does it work?>>
Most clubs use the SCCA rules to set up there classes. Once you add a turbo
or blower to a car that did not have one, the national rules push you into a
Mod car class. Welcome to the club. I added a turbo to have fun, and it was
for a few years, but when a real EMod car comes and slams you by 5 seconds
(been there, had it done) it is not a real suprise. Having alot of power is
seriously fun, even if it is not much faster. I had my boost hose blow off
the intercooler and was only 8/10's slower even though I was down over 100
hp.
SCCA has listed rules for a couple new stret car based classes for regional
use. Not all areas have picked them up though. We are running them here in
Chicago. STU (Street Touring Unlimited) is one of them that is intended just
for cars like your (and mine) that are over prepared for most classes, but
still used as a daily street car. To be short with the rules, it has to be
emissions legal in the state it is registered, (I just ran my through the
IM-240 dyno test in race trim) be registerd for the street, and not be gutted
out. There are more limitations, but that is the main stuff. The way the
rules are written is a bit vague, but most areas seem to be interpreting them
the same. The ST, STR and STU all build on the basic set, limited to 3.1L or
smaller engines. 7 inch wide rims 225 tires, or smaller. open suspension as
long as it still has non metal bushings, things like that. The ST class
requires street tires, but the other two allow race compound DOT legal tires.
You don't need them, but you will probably want them if you get interested.
Once I tried race tires, I have not gone back.
Gary M.
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