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Tracking / Autocross / HPDE / Drifting What these cars were built for!


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Old 05-05-2020, 09:23 PM   #1
Bowtie2bimmer
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Questions about First Autocross & School

I got my car in March and looking to do my first ever Autox event on the 17th. There is also a school the day before called Speedtrain. From what I have been told its like the EVO 1 school, just done locally.

I signed up for C Street as I have the TRD springs and sways. I have no experience. I was told the school should be good for a beginner. What should I expect out of a school like that?

What about for my first event? What vehicle prep should I do before I leave (other than general checking the car over, fluids, etc)? Anything I should bring with me besides water and suncreen? Is there any prep I should do at the track?

Trac/VSC on/Off/ Pedal dance?

Any advice for this newbie would be greatly appreciated!

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Old 05-05-2020, 09:55 PM   #2
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Hopefully you get a bunch of seat time with an instructor doing some basic drills finding the limit of grip for your car. Usually a circle/oval/figure 8 skidpad exercise and a slalom and a basic but challenging autocross course. Maybe more of some basics like threshold braking, maybe straight into the full course, can vary wildly depending on the school. Some schools do some classroom learning some don't. If it's like EVO then it's straight into an autocross course. That's not a bad thing, just don't be worried if you feel overwhelmed, this stuff isn't easy, the focus should be learning and having fun.

Be clear if lunch is provided, many sites don't have nearby food. A big floppy sun hat will help keep you cool, dress in layers, you know Colorado better than I do but I suspect the day will start out frigid, warm up, then get frigid again, you'll be out in the elements with your only protection being what you brought with you. You can also bring a chair but I usually just sit in my car, but the chair allows you to be more social and sit with others.

Don't be afraid to let the instructors drive your car, I learned more sitting in the right seat of my own car observing than I ever did with someone shouting at me whilst I was driving.

Keep it simple, traction control off by pressing the button on the left and holding it for 5 seconds, two yellow lights on the dash. Set tire pressures before you go, make sure they're balanced and when setting them make sure one or two tires aren't dramatically hotter than the others (i.e. sitting with one side of the car in the sun). Check the wheel torques and fluids beforehand, you don't want to be scrambling the day of but if you run through a basic checklist a few days before your car shouldn't fall apart by the time you arrive. Other than that I think you've got the basics.

Of the few google returned I liked this one;
http://autox4u.com/file/check.htm
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Old 05-06-2020, 12:43 PM   #3
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I think @strat61caster covered most of everything.

Bring some basic tools (your spare tire tool kit should probably cover it). Bring whatever else you feel you might realistically need. No need to overpack for your first time. If you need anything special or specific in a pinch just ask around. People will be happy to help.

Finally, when you are actually doing the driving, relax and practice looking further ahead at the track. AutoX can be pretty disorienting the first time since it's just a field of cones. However, they are laid out in a specific way. You can read ahead of time about the basics. They might also teach you in your class how to understand and navigate them.

My first time out, probably the only thing I did "wrong" was set my tire pressure too low. I had some economy/commuter tires, and the aggressive cornering combined with soft sidewalls caused wear on the sidewalls themselves (not good!). Luckily, the tires were already on their last legs.
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Old 05-06-2020, 01:14 PM   #4
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Good advice from strat61caster!
I won't be able to instruct this year but I have more times than I can count :-)
Please feel free to post questions to the Rocky Mountain Solo facebook page or on rmsolo.org forums, they'll be plenty of people that will be glad to help. Also, a few days before the school, you should get an email from the lead instructor with plenty of information and advice.

Typically we have three exercises in the morning, A "Triangle", a figure 8, and a slalom heavy mini course. At lunch time, the instructors will tie the exercises together, plus a bit more, and make a course to drive all afternoon. You'll get lots of seat time, make sure you have plenty of gas in the car :-)
In the past, we've always had instructors ride with our students. This year, with the dang Covid-19, riding will only happen if both instructor and student are willing. Regardless, they'll be plenty of opportunity to learn. Generally, we'll leave the driving to the students unless something just isn't clicking or the student asks an instructor to drive, so feel free to ask if you'd like. Also, because of Covid-19, lunch at the school won't be provided this year. It will be best if you bring your lunch and plenty to drink throughout the day.

This page has some good information:
https://www.rmsolo.org/getting-started/

I'll miss the school and the next day's event but feel free to look me up at other events, '13 FR-S, white with blue stripes, 196 STX, I'll probably be running "X" class locally.

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Old 05-06-2020, 03:47 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bowtie2bimmer View Post
I got my car in March and looking to do my first ever Autox event on the 17th. There is also a school the day before called Speedtrain. From what I have been told its like the EVO 1 school, just done locally.

I signed up for C Street as I have the TRD springs and sways. I have no experience. I was told the school should be good for a beginner. What should I expect out of a school like that?

What about for my first event? What vehicle prep should I do before I leave (other than general checking the car over, fluids, etc)? Anything I should bring with me besides water and suncreen? Is there any prep I should do at the track?

Trac/VSC on/Off/ Pedal dance?

Any advice for this newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Hey, B2B, look for me on the 17th. I'll be driving STX in a WRB BRZ.


This is my first year in this car and running with this club (started with the local BMWCCA chapter a couple years ago), so I can't add a lot on the "what to expect." I started with a similar school, and it was a great help. The first real run the cones were still coming at me a lot quicker than I could reliably process (took a DNF), but it got better quickly. Don't try to smash your first run, try to get quicker each one after that, and enjoy!
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Old 05-07-2020, 05:37 PM   #6
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Lucky Dawgs!
Still no public gatherings legal here.
We’re just hoping to get some lapping sessions someday soon. But not holding my breath.
Stay Safe!
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Old 05-08-2020, 03:30 PM   #7
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Any advice for this newbie would be greatly appreciated!
Look ahead.

Be smooth.

Slow down for the turns. Floor it when you can.
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Old 05-16-2020, 07:02 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bowtie2bimmer View Post
I got my car in March and looking to do my first ever Autox event on the 17th. There is also a school the day before called Speedtrain. From what I have been told its like the EVO 1 school, just done locally.

I signed up for C Street as I have the TRD springs and sways. I have no experience. I was told the school should be good for a beginner. What should I expect out of a school like that?

What about for my first event? What vehicle prep should I do before I leave (other than general checking the car over, fluids, etc)? Anything I should bring with me besides water and suncreen? Is there any prep I should do at the track?

Trac/VSC on/Off/ Pedal dance?

Any advice for this newbie would be greatly appreciated!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
What tires are you on?

Best thing you can do for a first autocross is drive 5mph slower than you think you need to through every element and make sure you find the course. Focus on looking for the course and envisioning a path through it. Just drive as smoothly as possible, brake early but not super hard.

The first thing most people do when they autocross is go into "connect the dots" mode as I like to call it. Have you ever done one of those connect the dots puzzles? That's how people tend to drive their first autocross and it makes them hit things, miss the course, or just choke off all of their speed. Don't connect the dots... swim through them.

If you're on stock tires you're not going to be able to go that fast anyways so better to just be slow and smooth. Also, don't mash the pedal, roll into throttle.
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Old 05-16-2020, 07:09 PM   #9
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The first thing most people do when they autocross is go into "connect the dots" mode as I like to call it. Have you ever done one of those connect the dots puzzles? That's how people tend to drive their first autocross
This. You cannot make a smooth arc without 3 points on paper. Focusing on on point to point will make you jagged and more panicked also
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Old 05-16-2020, 09:33 PM   #10
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So just did the school event today. Overall had fun, learned some stuff, and realized I stuck at a lot too lol.

One thing I noticed was understeer at turn in and snap oversteer when getting on the throttle. Obviously a large chunk is me but talking with one of the instructors (who ran one in nationals) , he says the factory tires are probably also to blame.

I pumped them all up 2psi over recommended. Maybe I should adjust this? Any tips to help set it up for tomorrow's event?

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Old 05-16-2020, 09:56 PM   #11
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Stock tire size should be fine at recommended pressures. A lot of the turn in understeer can be quelled with OEM crash bolts up front to get some more camber. The other half of the equation is probably that you’re going too hot into the corner, being new.

The stock tires are not good at putting power to the ground in corner exit, which is very pronounced at autocross. Be very gentle with the throttle until you’ve completed the corner, then get more aggressive from there.

I autocross on stock tires a lot and find it to be extremely good fun. I’d stick with them for a while, the stock tires are a very good car control teacher.
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Old 05-16-2020, 10:50 PM   #12
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+1 work on being smooth and not overdriving corner entry, you have to drive the car on its terms. It's annoying and hard but it's something worth learning. Michelin primacy whatever they are are not creating any balance problems, they're just low grip and at this point they're getting old. 37 psi is fine, I like ~32 hot but people will disagree. You can play with pressures but you'll be faster if you just focus on the course, more time to be found be driving well than a few pounds of pressure.
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Old 05-17-2020, 05:28 PM   #13
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So just did the school event today. Overall had fun, learned some stuff, and realized I stuck at a lot too lol.

One thing I noticed was understeer at turn in and snap oversteer when getting on the throttle. Obviously a large chunk is me but talking with one of the instructors (who ran one in nationals) , he says the factory tires are probably also to blame.

I pumped them all up 2psi over recommended. Maybe I should adjust this? Any tips to help set it up for tomorrow's event?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
You added air over factory settings to deal with grip problems?! You should be doing the opposite. Factory setting is less contact patch and more MPG. I ran the OEMs at 30 front / 28 rear for the one or two events I did on them.
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Old 05-18-2020, 09:10 AM   #14
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All the be smooth, brake earlier, brake less talk is spot on.

With that said, I think most people that I've worked with the last few years misinterpret that. They will maintain a relatively constant speed and barely use the brakes all course. As you get comfortable navigating the course and are looking to run better times, focus on being smooth, but also don't be afraid to use the brakes to position the car.
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