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YOUR RESEARCH1st time autocross advice
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Check date of manufacture, as well
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The #1 goal on your first run of the day is to stay on the course.
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Looking to try autocross for the first time in April and was hoping for any hints or tips. I've only had my 2000 996 6sp cabriolet a short time and most of that has been in winter storage. Anything helps.
Get it to a shop that knows about track events and have it gone over. Fix anything that will be a safety issue and make sure you've got good tires. Then show up and enjoy.
Since it's your first, join your PCA's AX school rather than going to a full event. That will give you a chance to get some instruction both in how to drive it as well as how the events work.
Outside of taking it to someone...
1. As gnat said, make sure your tires are in good shape. Check the date of manufacture, as well. Even if you have plenty of tread depth, older tires can chunk on the outer edges pretty easily when they experience heat and cornering at an AX. I am not necessarily recommending that you replace them before the event, but if they are 5+ years old, they might not survive, regardless of tread depth. Be ready to replace.
2. Brakes and fluid. Make sure your front brakes have more pad material than backing plate. Rears have a little more leniency for AX, but you need at least as much as the backing plate to pass most PCA tech inspection. If you don't remember flushing your brake fluid and it has been a few years, you should probably do it. You are going to generate way more heat in an AX session than you car sees on the street. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, so it absorbs water over time, even in what should be a closed system.
3. Updated coolant cap. If the part number on your coolant cap is .00 or .01, replace it. It costs ~$30. The part has been updated several times since .01. Make sure the area around your coolant cap doesn't look at all crystallized.
4. Have an open mind and have fun.
1. Forget about car prep. If your car will pass state inspection, it's fine. Just make sure all your fluids are topped up, your lug bolts are tight, and you take all the loose stuff out of the floor and glovebox. Alignments, tire pressures, etc. etc. won't matter your first event. I wouldn't even bother removing your spare tire on your first event; the extra 15 lbs is meaningless for a novice. On a given day at an autocross you're going to get 5 minutes of track time, 1 minute at a time, spread out over the day. You won't heat your brakes enough for fade to be an issue, as you'll only use them a handful of times per run. If your tires have legal minimum tread, you're fine. As others have mentioned, less tire can actually be better; novices pushing too hard on brand new tires can rip chunks off of them.
2. Take it easy. You are going to be really slow no matter how hard you try
So you might as well not abuse the car. See above about chunking tires. My first autocross I drove WAY too hard. I beat the crap out of my tires, and I was still horribly slow. As I improved I realized slow and smooth is faster than aggressive. If your tires are screaming, you're doing it wrong.
3. Forget about shifting gears. Launch in 1st, shift to 2nd, and then leave it alone the rest of the run.
4. Befriend people who know what they're doing. Find experts to walk the course with in the morning. Ask about what lines they think are good. Ride along with people as much as you're allowed to. Don't hesitate to ask people for rides; most are happy to take a passenger. Take advantage!
5. HAVE FUN! Don't get frustrated if you're slow at first, or if you have trouble finding the course. You're going to improve REALLY fast as you get more runs under your belt and learn from experts.
I assume you will have an instructor in the car? Listen to his advice. Don't try to be the fastest guy out there your first event. If you are nailing cones right and left, you are going too fast for your skill level. You will be given LOTS of advice, but don't expect to absorb it all. Don't worry about that. It takes time. On of the hardest things at first is to look far enough ahead. Try not to focus on the cones right in front of you. Look ahead
at least
to the next turning point. Further as you gain experience. Most important... have FUN!
100% agree about the advice to ask for rides. Great way to get a feel for what's possible on the course.
Get there plenty early and don't hesitate to walk the course many, many, many times in the morning. Find the important cones that will serve as your landmarks for where you need to be headed. Nothing is more frustrating than driving a course and still trying to figure out what direction you need to be going instead of figuring out how you need to be driving each section.
Let the organizers know you're a novice and generally they will provide someone to ride with you to instruct. Can't overstate how helpful this kind of feedback is.
Most importantly don't get frustrated, relax and enjoy yourself!
The #1 goal on your first run of the day is to stay on the course. Once you have proved to yourself that you know where the course is, then worry about knocking off some time.
I second the comment made previously about shifting: Find a good, early point to shift from first to second, then leave it. Maybe one day you will find yourself on an autocross course that has a long enough stretch to hit third, but in my experience that is rare. I have often been on courses with tight enough turns that it is tempting to shift back down to first. Most of the time that is going to be counterproductive. Shift to second early, and focus your attention on steering, braking, and accelerating.
Aim for something cheap
Listen to Instructor (he is risking injury or worse to ride along with you, so pay attention)
Ignore Know-It-Alls
Don't think about cost of tires, clutch or brakes
Have fun; you'll get faster as you relax and learn
Relax... enjoy... and have fun!
My group of guys and girls are absolutely bat **** crazy... we joke with each other... pick apart our cars and generally pretend that we are back in high school.
But when we are on the starting line we are out to kill each other!
No holds barred... looking for blood... want to destroy our competitors!
And then we just start to BS with each other when we are done!
(This is not me... but a very good driver in our group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SGHsS10h3g
