Thursday, we had in class lessons, then Friday, we went to the track and learned one section of the course at a time.
then at the end, we got to put it all together.

There were about 50 cars, ranging from a 2003 Civic Sir, 2002 Mini, Mustangs, S2000, and Mazda 323's.

I was pleased with how my Teg handled, but now I really want springs and shocks an an antiroll bar.

On Saturday, people got to just practice from 9am to 3pm. The instructors would accompany you and give tips. Different courses were set up to develope different skills.

My poor tires tho. They were screaming in pain. 44psi all around and still sidewall roll.

Although not the fastest way around a corner, we were allowed to drift, and I found my Integra was very balanced (front and rear) through high speed navigation. Quickly releasing the gas in a turn would cause the rear to get loose, which was fun.


Pics:
Track:


Cars on Friday:


403honda.com member's GSR:


403honda.com member's Civic:


403honda.com member's Prelude


Drift Sequence:






Awsome WRX:



[Modified by Ekliptix, 1:53 AM 4/21/2002]

 

Is that a shot of your engine bay? It seems like the radiator overflow container is about to burst. How much fluid do you have in there?

 

Very nice . So how did you do? I hope to do some autox by the end of the year. I have a bit of maintenance to do before I think about running that hard. Glad to see another G2 being used how they were intended to be used.

 

It's not mine. The owner mentioned that he went overboard on the fluid tho.
Did you see the super charger? huh? huh?


how did I do? Actually it was a training day, so there was no competition.

The most humbling lesson I learned there was that power accounts for 10% of how fast you get around the course. first is driver skill, then tires/suspension.


[Modified by Ekliptix, 3:43 AM 4/21/2002]

 

That looks like a seriously fun course. Lots of places to get in trouble with speed tho.

I learned some lessons too my first time auto-x'ing...like trying to be on the gas too much gets you into a lot of trouble, and the key to fast times is balance and predictability. My suspension is all corner-weighted funky so it always put too much stress on the front tires when going into the turns.

 

You post here too? Do you have any idea if they hold courses like the one you attended here in BC? I can't think of a place that has a track like the one one went to, so I'm not sure

But definitely sounds like fun

 

I was just so happy with how fun it was, I posted on most of the car forums I know.

In BC, just find out where there is a sports car club around, and ask them where you can learn to do Solo2 or Autocross.

Good luck. You'll never feel the same about driving your car after.

 

Hey Startroops, I'm not sure if you meant specifically like that one on a oval track or just autoX in general. If you're just looking to get into some SoloII you can drop me an email and I can put you in touch with some of the local clubs. I think there are 3 clubs that operate in the Vancouver area.

-Chris

anaconda_22@hotmail.com

 

Well... since my car sucks right now, so I didn't attend any VCMC stuff, but can they do SOLO2?? What's the diff between that and just plain autox?? Please enlighten me

I heard someone saying getting a SOLO license or some sort at SIR?

 

Solo II and autoX are the same thing. You don't need any liscense (well I guess you need a regular driver's liscence, or anything. All you need is a car.

Check out http://www.vcmc.ca and http://www.ubcscc.com

There are event schedules there and they both have forums if you want to ask some questions or anything.

Most important thing is not to be too intimidated. Everyone there is really cool and are happy to help you out. And as long as your first event isn't one of the CACC regional events you will not be the slowest guy there. My first event I beat a couple ITRs and a WRX in my stock 90 LS. There's a huge range of cars and driver skill and you'll have no trouble fitting in.

-Chris

 

Sounds cool, but my car is in the shop right now

Maybe I should go out there sometimes. Do you race often? I watched Marc autox once and it was FUN!!

 

Well, I'm just a novice but I'm hoping to get out at least 15 times this summer. I'll be living in Kelowna for the summer though so I'll only be doing 1 or 2 events a month in vancouver. There's actually an event going today but I have to study for a final on tuesday or I'd be there. When you get your car back, assuming your brakes and other important items are working well, check the event schedule on one of those websites and head out there.

It's probably better if you don't know too many people because then your forced to talk to other people and they can be really helpful. Maybe ask to work the course first, that way you can see other people run and see what the course is like (after you walk it of course) and you usually work in groups of 3 or 4 so you get to meet some people that way.

-Chris

 

where can i learn to basics of auto-xing?? do i just go to the track??

 

There's tons of literature out there about autox-ing, but I personally prefer driving to reading. Just go out there, be social, talk to people, and drive. You WILL learn from your mistakes. If you do want to do some reading try
http://www.soloracer.com/autoxguide.html http://www.tulsavetteset.com/autocross/autoxtips.htm http://www.tirerack.com/features/solo2/handbook.htm

I don't really remember what any of these say, so I accept no responsibility for what results from you reading them. That's said, there's probably something worthwhile in these pages. Don't take it too seriously though, just go out and have fun.

-Chris