I am new to the autocross scene and my friend talked me into going this upcoming Sun.

I've already registered and looking forward to see what it’s all about...

Both of us never participated or even attended at this events...Is helmet a requirement???

Anything I should know before going there....??? Any help is appreciated.

 

I wanna go

 

Have fun!

 

Go out and have a good time.

Basically, autocross (a.k.a. autoX, solo II) is a "race" against
time. Cars are divided up into various divisions (e.g. I'm in
Class D, Street Prepared, or DSP).

You're going to learn how your car really handles, what it's
limits are versus what you're limits are. You're not going to
go fast (i.e. less than 50mph), but when you're going 25mph,
and have to do 120degree left turn, it feels fast. You're going
to encounter chicanes, slaloms, sharp turns, u-turns - esentially
you're going from point A to point B in the longest possible route.

Cars with good brakes, VERY sticky tires (e.g. Kuhmo Ecsta V700's),
and corner balanced suspension do very well. But remember, you're
competing against yourself, and the times per run are your gauge.
What's cool about this type of "racing" is that in my 13 year old
3rd gen Prelude Si's, I can beat (from a time perspective) 'vettes,
Porsches and other more powerful cars.

If you have a Snell approved helmet, take it. Wear either driving
shoes, or leather sneakers. A complete list of rules, the car
classifications can be found at:

http://www.scca.org/amateur/solo2/index.html

You can also get some information at http://www.autocross.com/

HTH!!!

 

WoW man, thanx for all that good info...

I am very excited to go there and for being the 1st time out there I am all about having fun and getting the feel of things if u know what i mean...

I am kinda nervous though... what r the gears often used there 2nd and 3rd???

Also, there will not b any walls where i can bang into if missing a turn or something right????


[Modified by HondaLude, 6:16 AM 9/5/2002]

 

prepare for the addiction....

 

thats what I hear

 

Have a good time. Also, be prepared to want to fix your car up to do
MORE auto-x. Since I started, I've invested in a set of Kumho ECSTA
V700's, ground control coil overs (400lb front/300lb rear), and EBC
reds for my front brake pads. All of this was added to the usual header,
intake, exhaust/cat. <sigh> But, gotta tell you, it's been a LOT of
fun!

As for gears you'll use, hard to say. Each month, the course changes.
One month you'll be able to hit 3rd, the next you may never get out
of second. This month, I ran a course where I was in first through the
first slalom, hit the rev limiter just at the end, bumped to second before
a 90 left into a chicane. There have been times where I'm outta first
very quickly, into second for a short period and mostly running in third.

To address hitting walls, I cannot say. It depends upon where your course
is set up. Ideally, the course should be in a HUGE (really HUGE) parking
lot. So, if you do spin out, you just spin out, wipe out some cones, get
back on the course and keep going. Oh, forgot last time about the cones.
There will be cones set up to direct you around the course. You'll have
to "read" them to navigate the course. Ask some one there to explain the
cone set up for gates, left/right turns, etc. AND, if you hit a cone, it
is a 2 second penalty. That is, let's say your run was 50s, but you hit
two cones. That's two cones at 2s each for 4s added to your 50s run.
Your official time would be 54s.

Don't worry about cones doing any damage - at most they put a mark on the
finish that is easily buffed out.

Have a good time!!