Advice for first auto cross?

[tocheck]

Hi all,
As the title says, going to try auto cross next weekend. Any advice for a first timer?

[vatdevil]

Keep it simple and have fun. Its really helpful to have an experienced driver ride along with you.

[olddog]

Forget being competitive in the beginning. Concentrate on running the best lines into and out of the corners. Roll onto the throttle smoothly.

I tend to want to cut to the inside of a corner about midway through and that is not always the best track. Sometime staying to the outside is faster. But talk to experts. I am not.

[Tommy]

I searched the forum for "autocross" and my name and found more than 20 different threads. I'm too lazy to repeat past advice. The answer to your question is there if you search for it.

[Stearman]

Where is the event? Seeing your profile as being in Indiana, I'd like to see the auto cross event.

[68 Fastback]

Check your tire pressure, Walk the course and make notes. I still go on the wrong side sometimes. I think I should get extra credit for going the long way around . Dont compare your self to others. Its all about making a clean run. Make it a little better each time. #1 is to have fun.

[Dimis]

Originally Posted by vatdevil

Keep it simple and have fun. Its really helpful to have an experienced driver ride along with you.

Best advice right there...
Just enjoy.

[HealeyRick]

Just learning the course can be daunting for some of the more complex ones. Study a diagram if they have one. When you walk the course, visualize how it would appear from behind the wheel. Focus on what sides of the cones to pass on and how to enter the gates. At least on your first run, concentrate on finishing the course without errors instead of your speed. You can build up speed later when you get familiar with the course.

Don't expect to be competitive the first few times out. You're going to hit cones, miss gates and probably learn how to spin your car out, too, but that's part of the learning process.

Although I've autocrossed my bugeye Sprite a lot over the years, I took my V8 Healey out for the first time last month and after increasing my speeds over the runs I got on it a bit early coming out of the last turn onto the straight and promptly did a 360 to the delight of the crowd. Always something new to learn.

[tocheck]

The event is at Tire Rack in South bend with the Mustang Club. Weather isn't looking great right now. I will not be going if the course is wet.

[1985 CCX]

I agree, forget the win....
You will pull in with a bad Cobra and will be shamed by $3500 Miata MKI.
If you have power steering you will do better, manual steering is not the best in that forum.

Have fun
Ride along with faster guys
Have fun.....

[RET_COP]

As a Novice autocrosser until I placed 1st two weeks ago in the class, and now have to contend in XP, learning the layout was my biggest challenge. Once I got use to seeing cones at speed and the meaning of the positions and placements, I then could relax and just concentrate on running the course. I did a lot of reading, asked a lot of questions, worked on my car setup. Seat time is what i'm working on now and forever lol. I rode with John Santos from NH on an autocross course at Thompson speedway. He showed me what a Cobra can do in the right hands. It just blew me away (neck snapping experience). Driving a car at it's limits is one of the best parts of autocrossing. I was hooked. The competitors are some of the best to get to know also. Good Luck. Don't worry about going slow at first and missing gates, I did and people came to my aide. Great bunch of folks

[tocheck]

Thanks for the advice everyone. The weather wasn't very good but I decided to trailer the car to the event and see what happened. It rained all night and threatened rain all morning but thankfully we only got a light mist a few times. Because of the weather only a few cars showed up. I was able to make as many runs as I wanted, having to wait in line no more the a minute or two. There was a SCCA guy there to help people that wanted it. He walked the track with us and then took me in his car around the course a few times. Starting out the track was very wet and I spun out the second time around. As the morning went on the course started to dry out and I started running a little faster each lap. I had no idea how well these cars corner! I know it could have gone quite a bit faster but felt I was at the edge of my ability at this point. Needless to say, I am hooked now too. After working with the coach from SCCA I am going to go to one of their events. If it is as fun as what we did Saturday, I am joining up.

Thanks again, the advise was very helpful.