I know it's pretty much taboo to talk about practicing autocross outside of an event, but does anyone here practice at all?

The season here doesn't start until May, and then there are only a handful of events in the area.

I've been attending all of the local events for three years now and I still feel like I haven't had that much seat time. It would be so nice if I could go somewhere and practice over and over and really hone my skills. At events I only get 3-5 runs per day and because there's only one event a month or so, I feel like it's hard for me to make progress. I would love to be able to run a course 20 or 30 times instead of 3.

So, is there a way I can practice? Does anyone else here practice?

 

You can practice legally.... but only a few things:

I usually practice heal toe downshifting and heal toe to first (very rarely you have to do this but if I ever had to, I want to be able to do it fast)

I practice compressing my braking zones without locking up if I am on a street by myself or other safe situations.

Other than that, not much else would be wise on public roads.

And when I was autocrossing a lot, I always attended the beginning of the year practice sessions (test & tune) put on by a local autocross provider.

 

I once set up some cones in a huge parking lot for some company on the weekend (no cars around). 5 minutes into my skidpad session this rent a cop drove over.

His face was so red I thought he was having a stroke. He was so angry he could hardly speak.

I packed up and left.

Best to practice at the track/autocross course. Of course you can work on smooth braking, downshifting, accelerationg etc every day. It'll come in handy when the cones get fast and furious.

 

Practice is better when it's timed. Look for autocross schools.

 

you can find other private clubs in your area and do that...

 

u can practice looking ahead

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EJ1 wilcox &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
So, is there a way I can practice? Does anyone else here practice?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Congrats, you've discovered one of the main reasons that autocross sucks for learning. You only get 4 minutes of actual seat time, perhaps once or twice a month.

Basically the best bet to actually get some seat time is to try to find a test and tune or practice day / school in your region (perhaps Evolution driving school).

Doing a lapping day can also help, but is typically much higher speeds. You'll learn a lot though if you can get a good instructor.

Go karting may be another good option on improving autox skills.

 

look into hpde. you'll get way more seat time, can have an instructor with you in all your sessions helping you lap after lap, etc.

 

SCCA membership , you'll have all the information you need.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by [ivi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">]SCCA membership , you'll have all the information you need. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I have one but unfortunately there aren't many events in my area.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by suprmods &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">look into hpde. you'll get way more seat time, can have an instructor with you in all your sessions helping you lap after lap, etc.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what I think I'm going to do. There's one coming up here on the 14th of March that I think I'm going to attend.

 

FWIW, if competitively autoxing is your goal, I don't know that HPDEing will help you much. The driving styles are very different, and you might pick up some habits that will inhibit your autox driving.

&lt;--- After a few years of HPDE experience, REALLY suck at autoxing.

I'd suggest indoor karting first. The speed at which things happen and the layout of the course (meaning, short) will be more similar to autoxing.

On the other hand, if you're just trying to have fun HPDEs are the best bang for your buck.

 

how well do you visualize a course when walking and learning it?

take a stop watch to your next event. memorize the course and go off by yourself and walk a mini version with your eyes closed and time yourself.

you should be able to get within 3-5% of your actual best time before you even drive it. that is, if is a 50 second course, you should be walking/thinking it in about 48-52 seconds.

that way, you can pretty much get unlimited "runs" at an event.

 

there is no way in hell you can walk a 50 second course in 48-52 seconds. i doubt you could even sprint that fast.

 

I'd disagree that HPDEs hurt or aren't helpful. I do drag (the racing - not the outfits ), HPDE, TT, and AutoX every chance I get, and I learn a little from each. There are many differences, but in the end you are pushing your car hard through turns and threshold breaking. Many things like being smooth and looking ahead apply anytime you are behind the wheel. I'd recommend HPDE's to any AutoXer looking for more seat time.

Also there are some good tips for legal things you can do on the street here. Depending on where you live there may be parking lots of abandon buildings, roads laid out for future developer projects, etc. but you're taking a risk w/ your license there.

Check BMWCCA, PCA, vette clubs, etc in your area, many host regular AutoXs and you don't have to have the "brand" to run. I run w/ the local BMWCCA club all the time, because they do 6 runs and I have a membership from when I had a bimmer.

 

You're right that there are some principles that will pass over (smoothness and looking ahead), but... I know plenty of roadracers who've tried autoxing after years of track experience, all with poor results. Just sayin'. I know for sure steering and braking technique are very different between the two activities. Those same things learned in HPDEs can be learned in an Evolution school or whatever too.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stinkycheezmonky &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You're right that there are some principles that will pass over (smoothness and looking ahead), but... I know plenty of roadracers who've tried autoxing after years of track experience, all with poor results. Just sayin'. I know for sure steering and braking technique are very different between the two activities. Those same things learned in HPDEs can be learned in an Evolution school or whatever too.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats because they realized how much autocrossing sucks compared to DE

 

You'll notice I'm not an autoxer, despite all these statements

 

i have autocrossed a grand total of 2 times since my first HPDE

and the only reason i even did it was for car shakedown purposes lol

 

Dammit, I just realized you and RPM both have Homer avatars that are surprisingly similar.

 

nope, mine is more kickass.

 

Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I like the competition in ax that I cannot get in HPDE. Sure, you can time your laps and someone elses but you don't know they were trying 100% even if you were. Then there's the risk/reward equation in HPDE. I just don't feel like getting killed or having my car totalled. That doesn't happen at an AX but it does at HPDEs.

To say AX sucks because you don't like it is moronic.

 

To say people who don't like autox are moronic is idiotic.

Seriously, it's just an opinion. I think it sucks because I spend all day standing around for less than 3 minutes (or 6 minutes at a good event) of driving time. I understand skill is involved and blah blah blah but it just feels like a waste of MY time. Other people don't, and that's fine, good for you and them. As an activity to develop driving skills, I sure won't argue against it.

I used to consider the competition aspect as something unavailable in HPDE. With the way time trials are run and new organizations like RedLine now that same aspect is transferable to a track. And for the risk/reward, hell, that's part of why some of us do it in the first place! I LIKE scaring the **** out of myself.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stinkycheezmonky &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I LIKE scaring the **** out of myself.</TD></TR></TABLE>

you too

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EJ1 wilcox &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
That's what I think I'm going to do. There's one coming up here on the 14th of March that I think I'm going to attend. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll be at the CSCC HPDE at PIR on March 15th (lots of acronyms there). They do a school on the evening of March 14th in preparation of the 15th event.

http://www.cascadesportscarclu...=home

 

Things you can legally...

1. Look ahead, if you have a passenger have them pick something out for you way in the distance. See how quickly you can spot it.

2. Try to drive to a new place, go there a few times and see if you can plot it on paper and include all stop signs, lights, etc. Its a great way to memorize a route, something that is important at an autox.

3. Get used to driving with two hands, I've seen novice drivers driving with one hand because thats what they are used to.

4. I don't recommend heel-toe down shifts unless you CAN do it properly, great way to get into a wreck on public roads.

5. Indoor karting, or even outdoor karting. I drove a few hundred laps on a kart track last year.