The Autocross thread. Got questions? Get them answered here!

[cjd]

Originally Posted by sniffpetrol

Do you guys run your autox tires on the street? In the past I've had r-comps for my old Miata which I changed out just for autox, but with a tire like the RE71R I am wondering whether I should do the same thing or just run them in the summer on the street also. I'm mostly wondering because I go on the occasional road trip and it seems like a waste to be using sticky tires for so long on the highway. Thanks.

Too loud for me, even to/from events. Bridgestones die fast enough as it is, too. I have a set of PASS, which double as a "we're racing in a lake today" tire.

[Twinz]

I drove to Dixie and back from SW Florida on the RE71R's I used for competition. I just drove to Brooksville and back last weekend on the same tires.

In the street class, the lack of camber kills the edges of the tires so much faster than the middle that you can get away with some street miles. I don't DD mine though, so my heat-cycle count stays kind of low.

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by sniffpetrol

Do you guys run your autox tires on the street?

[LOLS2K]

@Stang70Fastback The color on the trailer adds such a nice touch

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by sniffpetrol

Do you guys run your autox tires on the street?
...
I'm mostly wondering because I go on the occasional road trip and it seems like a waste to be using sticky tires for so long on the highway. Thanks.

I think it comes down to your budget and how competitive you want to be. I'd say most people drive on theirs to the event, don't let the hyper competitive bubble warp that perception.

To me it comes down to how often you want to replace your tires, I can't drive on them every day because I think I have enough DD miles and roadtrips they would be dead before the season is over. Driving to the event and back I'd predict they would just make it a whole season (but we have a long season out here, Mar-Oct). Only using them at events I expect my RE71R's will be good for a season and a half or so.

So I sweat in the morning and evening of the event changing tires in order to stave off an impending tire bill. Besides, my fat ass needs the exercise and one of the reasons I bought this car is because it fits a set of tires in the back.

Keeping a second set of OE wheels is cheap to be able to stretch your tires a whole season and not be forced to road trip them, the only trick would be storage for some people.

[e1_griego]

I generally swap tires at home then drive to events, if the event is within 100-150 miles of home. Also depends on if I have a buddy going who will tote tires in his truck/trailer for me.

For the far away games (Crow's, lincoln) I throw tires in a trailer and swap once I get there.

And I swap back to proper street tires when I get home so I put as few street miles as possible on things.

[Locust]

Usually swap at home and drive to events. Sometimes I just leave them on for 2-3 weeks though. It's not going to hurt them unless you're being a doofus. For national events I put them in the back seats and change them on site. You can just barely fit all 4 in the back seats and still have your entire trunk for tools/supplies.

[sniffpetrol]

Thanks for all the replies!

Originally Posted by strat61caster

I can't drive on them every day because I think I have enough DD miles and roadtrips they would be dead before the season is over.

This is my main concern. It's not unusual for me to do a couple of thousand kms road trip each year, plus the usual DD stuff.

I think if I get autox tires I'll run them just for autox. Fortunately I live 5 min away from where we race so I can change my tires at home the night before.

[The_Understated]

Just looking for some driver mod advice from the experienced driver's here. I've run about 8ish events in the past few years, but I'm competing officially this year at my local club (season May-Oct). My focus is purely in getting better as a driver, learning the limits of the car, but I also want to try and win in the Novice CS class.

Everything is stock except for some Sumitomo HTR Z3 tires and hawk HP+ pads (may keep the stock pads on though, haven't decided if the daily squealing is worth it if I'm not hitting a proper track).

I know I need to work primarily on consistency and a smooth flow throughout the course before worrying about being faster. Anything else you guys would suggest I learn/focus on/pay attention to, to advance this year?

[FastWhite]

Tires, tires tires.
Bridgestone RE71, Rival S 1.5, Hankook V4,
Cheapest tires that at least get you in the ballpark are some Federal RR's. I had some 255/40-17 delivered to my door for $490. Not your size, so for you they would be cheaper.


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[bslate3]

Tires, autocross school, seat time then repeat.

If you're not hitting cones or spinning out you're not trying hard enough. Lol

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by The_Understated

Anything else you guys would suggest I learn/focus on/pay attention to, to advance this year?

Make friends. Ride along with other people and have known fast drivers that you're comfortable with drive your car with you sitting shotgun. It's one thing to talk to people and go 'oh you're flat out through there? I can't do that' then it is to sit shotgun and watch and FEEL it happen, especially in your own car.

If all you do is go out and turn your own laps and go home you won't know what it is you're missing, flat out through there, you're actually short-shifting there, find the driving line that sets you up for the next corner, deeper on the brakes there, etc. Maybe someone in CS or DS posts their runs on youtube, that's a good way to see if you can't do it first hand, how long they're in the throttle, where they turn, etc.

This can be super hard if the group is more competitive oriented, but it can be a breeze to hop in cars at a casual club event. After improving the driver the next thing is tires, without the right tires you'll never break through and find that last ~1s or more.

Basic data collection and video can reveal things you think you're doing right but you're actually not. I just found out I short shifted through the first section of last weekends event, I left a lot on the table by not holding it up to 7k+ rpm. But that's likely too much to keep track of for the first serious year, just focus on seat time and finding role models to see if you're doing things the right way.

[sniffpetrol]

Originally Posted by The_Understated

Anything else you guys would suggest I learn/focus on/pay attention to, to advance this year?

Look ahead! Further ahead than you think. It'll give you more time to prepare for what's coming up, it'll help you choose a better line and it'll make cones feel like they come up more slowly vs looking at the next cone and everything feeling like it's a surprise and all happening very quickly.

Other than that I echo the comment of having faster drivers drive your car and also ride along with you. In general I try and ride with as many people as I can to help me learn and also get more time on course before my runs.

[Biggins]

For more advanced autocross purposes, what are the performance differences between stock shocks, an off-the-shelf single adjustable (Konis), high quality singles (MCS, custom Konis,etc.), and high quality double adjustable (MCS, JRZ, Ohlins, etc)?

I think I'm ready to move to MCS, but I'm worried about having too much adjustability and spending a full season dialing them in... would the MCS singles be much of a step up from the OTS Konis that I currently have on my CS TRD FR-S? It's a lot of coin for what I would expect a good increase in performance.