well the other day i ran my first autox and i did shitty given the only suspension mods i have are sportline springs but no excuses the best time laid down on the track was a 47 second run by a miata and well my best time was a minute flat but i am not used to turning my car hopefully i will get more confidence and improve...

 

Why do you say you suck? There are a lot of factors to involve besides just the car. What modifications, experience, tires, suspension, etc. It's your first time out so don't sweat it.

 

Don't feel bad. Everyone sucks the first time they auto-x, The key is that you recognize that auto-x is all about driver skill not about car prep. Invest your time and energy on improving your driving not on improving your car. I know this is hard because its a lot easier to blame the car than the driver.

Autocrossing is all about learning. I learn something everytime I go to an event and i have been doing it for 6 years. I still think i suck and I just got back from Nationals where I won a trophy, I've won plenty of local events but I still have a lot to learn.

Welcome to club "I Suck" :-) Just make sure you have fun.

Regards,
Alan

 

Yep, practice and more events will help. Did you ride with or have any of the more experienced guys ride with you or walk the course with you to help you out? That definitely helped me greatly and it just took more time to learn my car's limits. And I'm still learning a lot and still getting my *** handed to me. Now I have to re-learn my car with new suspension- but hey I love it, its challenging.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Don't feel bad. Everyone sucks the first time they auto-x, The key is that you recognize that auto-x is all about driver skill not about car prep. Invest your time and energy on improving your driving not on improving your car. I know this is hard because its a lot easier to blame the car than the driver.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree... and anyone who sais they didn't suck the 1st time, they are not telling the trueth

 

Yeah, don't sweat it, you should pick it up quickly. This was my first season and just like everyone else when they started doing it, I suck.

I am 5 races into the season, and the guys that were beating me by 10-12 seconds are now narrowed down to 2 or so. At the last event I was working with a particularly good instructor who drives a Civic and was I doing really well. He took a turn in my car and beat my time by 4 seconds with a screwup at the end that might have cost him a second.

Don't concentrate on time, just worry about control. The runs that felt solid where I was ssmooth are much more satisfying than a 1 second faster time that was sloppy as hell.

Cheers,
Roy

 

everyone sucks their first year. if you keep working at your driving (not the car) you will get better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">everyone sucks their first year. if you keep working at your driving (not the car) you will get better.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yep, still on my first year for sure

 

Its alright mang, everyone sucks for the first century.

 

miatas oWN.

no worries, my first track event i was so slow out of the corners i got passed on the straight by a 140hp miata when i was in my 222hp 300ZX

 

Well, I'll say the truth. I didn't really suck my first time out some 4 years ago. Was 6th or 7th out of 20+ cars in DSP and I was on street tires on my TypeSH at the time. Was about 5 sec off the FTD on a 60 sec course...But the school on the previous day helped a lot, as did some previous open track lapping experience.

But yesterday, I co-drove Carl's (bbqman on here, 8th in Topeka) ITR and I really sucked. First time driving an ITR (any ITR), pouring rain, temp in the 40s. Ended up a good 3.2 sec off bbqman's pace... on a 55 sec course. Still had a blast though. Ah well... I'm not at a point yet where I can hop into any car and be immediately fast, especially in the rain. I felt just as overwhelmed with the ITR yesterday as I did the first time I drove the prepped CRX. The two cars are soooo waaaay different and fun.

Anyway (fkncivic), just keep getting some seat time, ask questions, attend schools and you'll do alright. And maybe get hooked on the autox crack pipe like many of us here...

 

thanks alot guys i am definately building suspension a little more and workin on my driving skill but thanx for the support

 

Here's a nice beginner's guide. It sure helped me on my second auto-X.

http://www.autosportsnorthwest.org/handbook.html

 

I sucked my autoX also. In fact I sucked so bad in autoX I used to blame the car all the time.
I heard this before

"If autoX was easy, it would call it road racing."

 

If you think you sucked why should I argue?

I have seen some people come out to an event for their first time and do pretty well in their class...but you cant judge somebody by their first autox. Sometimes it just works out for beginners.

Now on the flip side of the coin people with some experience (like myself) maybe a year or two into autox even have good and bad days...its just that the bad days come up less and less as you learn more. Some of these people you may go against are 15 plus year veterans of the sport.

Today is a perfect example. Last autox of the year in our region and I think my worst place finish this year was forth...mostly a bunch of seconds all year. Anyways, today I sucked. Sixth place. I think I saw a bag lady with a grocery cart get me by a couple tenths lol.

...So...you dont actually suck you just need some more seat time, which actually isn't just about cruisin the course its also about learning what corrections to make in your set up even if its just messing with tire pressures.

If it was easy we would just call it drag racing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ITACivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"If autoX was easy, it would call it road racing."</TD></TR></TABLE>

Having done both, I can vouch for the accuracy of this statement!

K