Autocross Videos - Tips and Discussion

[cmiovino]

Day 2 of our bigger local event. Right up there with my other highest finish this year. 3rd ever overall at this local SCCA region in a decade. STC/DST car is quick. Would be quicker with a header and tune eventually.

I upped tire pressures from 31F/29R to 36/34 (Bridgestone RE-71RS). I figured this was too high given the 4 degrees of camber, but whatever it did, the car was way more planted and predictable. If it gave up a hair of mechanical grip, so be it. The extra confidence allowed me to drive it faster, which is what matters.

[foshjowler]

Video from the Bristol Tour. Ended up first in DST and 26th overall, which is a little deceiving because the majority of the top in the PAX standings were morning heat drivers, and seemed the course slowed down as it got hotter. Think I counted 7 other afternoon runners in front of me, so not too upset with that result.


I always forget how bumpy the Bristol site is. The car seems to handle them alright, and doesn't get upset over them, but it's certainly hard to keep concentration and confidence when you're bouncing in the seat a lot. Felt like I left a good bit on the table because of that. If I frequented sites that bumpy I would probably put softer springs on and raise the ride height to keep it off the bump stops. Or put some 200 tw on the Cayman and run it in BS at that site.

[cmiovino]

Summer break has been in full swing, but our local non-SCCA group (now sponsored by Ghost Energy Drinks - literally) put on this non-competitive event in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. I was helping run the event and still had my all seasons on from driving down to Tail of the Dragon two weeks ago.

I forget what all seasons are like at the limit and actually never autocrossed on them in this car. I used to run all seasons all the time on my WRX back in the day for my first 2-3 years racing. They're... fun. The limit is lower and yes, there's some understeer, but there's an understeer limit with 200TW too, depending on how your car is setup. I had some fun slides too.

[DocWalt]

I need to do a catch can, I think. Otherwise the car is working really really well!

[cmiovino]

First day of a two day event we do locally. I've been focused staying on power more and WOT anywhere I can. Especially through slaloms and transitions I'd typically back out of. The car can do it.

In prior years I'd typically get 930-940 PAX scores (yours vs the top PAX of the day), but more recently I've been consistently getting near 960's, which I'd get in past years once in a blue moon. Staying on throttle more pays off - who knew, right?

[steverife]

Originally Posted by cmiovino

First day of a two day event we do locally. I've been focused staying on power more and WOT anywhere I can. Especially through slaloms and transitions I'd typically back out of. The car can do it.

In prior years I'd typically get 930-940 PAX scores (yours vs the top PAX of the day), but more recently I've been consistently getting near 960's, which I'd get in past years once in a blue moon. Staying on throttle more pays off - who knew, right?

I still think there is a lot more out there as far as being intentional with the brakes and the throttle and attacking the course, but that is definitely an improvement over some vids from a year ago.

[cmiovino]

Day 2's run. I actually hit a cone - which is rare for me.

[cmiovino]

Some not so great news out of the Steel Cities Region here. Our main site, Pitt Race, is abruptly closing up shop for good at the end of November. This was completely out of the blue. It's been sold to some "developers" who are turning it into either an AI data center or overpriced housing. We autocross on the "VDA" (vehicle dynamics area) there and it's also a full race track. This is really odd because they just finished building some new garages on the property that are huge. STC is currently looking for a new site, but we're very likely not going to find anything that comes close to the top notch facilities here. We hosted a 'match tour' back in 2018 and if it wasn't for the oddball frigid conditions in April that year, we'd likely still be hosting it.

This was our 2nd to last event. We have one more upcoming this week on Saturday. The vibe was very weird. On one hand you're out having fun racing and also dealing with the reality that this is it.