I noticed that from the outside if someone asks what is the most competitive car in autocross, people invariably will say its the driver that matters, not the car.

But if you read all the posts here and on other boards, you'll see alot of discussions about cars that are competitive vs. cars that arent remotely competitive.

So, you could say that 90 percent of autocross is the driver, and the last, critical 10% is the car???

Im trying to figure out my own conclusions, but I'd like to hear what everyone here thinks.

(PS)
Feel free to discuss this, or just lock the post if it offends everyone.

 

Because 10% is ALOT in racing..........

 

hehe, I always thought it was 90% car, 9% driver, 1% car.

 

I was talking with GH Sharp and Rob Falkner (SP?) at an evo school once about the car thing, and they generally say that what happens a lot of the times is that when new cars come up differnt people buy them, but when one of them hits on the right setup quicker than the rest it is like a cascade effect and everyone either buys one or starts co-driving what becomes the car to have. Miata;s were not the car to have for a while in autocrossing till someone hit apon the right setup. I believe Jason Siani had a VR6 corrado that he tried lots of differnt stuff for at least a year or more before hitting apon a setup that made him comopetive in that car.
Mark Sipe did the same thing with the Z3 Coupe and finally one a tour event it one.

Some cars just never get development that others do even though the may look great on paper.

 

Good stuff, Soloracer.

My local STS hero drives an almost-stock GSR... just a Sway bar and some 15x7's with Azenis... he owns us all... he KNOWS his car....that's another thing.

 

This is what I've always seen it as.

Another thing is, most fast drivers like to be in fast cars. A fast driver plus a car that is set up and fast in the class makes the car look a lot like an overdog when it might not actually be one.

 

It depends on where you are.
Locally that 10% usually doesn't mean all that much. A great driver can win in an uncompetitive, poorly developed car. If you're a good driver, only want to run locally, and can win there without sinking much into the car... Fine, have fun!!!

But nationally... Ain't gonna happen. You need driver and car.

So, when you're first starting out you're always told to leave the car alone and work on yourself. This is because the driver typically has a long way to go before the car matters.
When you get to the point where you're good and all of the other drivers are good, yeah, the car matters a helluva lot.

 

My experience has been:

Events where everyone is a good driver = 90% car, 10% driver
Events where nobody is a good driver = 90% driver, 10 % car

...and anything in between.

This fits in with Catch 22's statement about local races (unless you happen to have nothing but national level drivers in highly prepared cars in your local region). The better the drivers, the more closely matched they are and they all begin to rely on a finely tuned car that can make the difference. However, in a group of poor drivers, it doesn't make any difference what they're driving...they'll all be slow and the driver who can pull it together in any 'ole car will win.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hatch2k &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Good stuff, Soloracer.

My local STS hero drives an almost-stock GSR... just a Sway bar and some 15x7's with Azenis... he owns us all... he KNOWS his car....that's another thing.</TD></TR></TABLE>

ooh ooh I know who you're talking about! He schooled a lot of people at some of our TAMSCC events

 

Yep, it's Martin, in his green GSR... I rode with him once, he can double-clutch and downshift so smoothly you wont notice till he upshifts.

I'll be seein YOU this Sunday!

 

yes. look out for the silver '02 Accord Sedan in H-Stock

 

Ill be there too. Gonna be fun

 

yes, I believe I will ride along with you once so you can demonstrate what this left foot braking is all about?

 

Sure thing....

 

At a competetive level:

1) Crappy driver + good car = suckage
2) Good driver + crappy car = suckage
3) Good driver + good car =

Currently I am a crappy driver with a crappy car, but I am aspiring to become choice 1