Went autocrossing, and man it was a blast. I got the chance to run 4 times, and I almost shaved 4 seconds off my time by my last run. I still did not do that great, considering my mods and the car, but I am going in the right direction.

I felt that I could do the entire run in 1st gear, when in second I would not even be in Vtec, so my power was not as great as it could be. I think a ATS FD would really help out in autocrossing. Can anyone share their before and after experiences?

I plan on going a few times a month now, so can any experienced racers give me some tips? I would like to shave a few more seconds off my time.

 

While I can't really make any driving suggestions (as I'm not that experienced myself), I know the ATS FD will bump you up at least one class (more than that I think, maybe to SM or something), if that matters to you at all. If you're just doing it for fun though, screw it, get the FD

 

I am going to be auto-xing mainy for fun, but down the road who knows. Also what psi should I be running my tires at? I was hovering around 31~psi or so.

 

You're going to want to come on over to the RR/Auto-x forum to learn some more about the sport. Do a search for autocrossing and tire pressures and you will learn alot about what different people with different setups like to run.

I myself, running on Azenis, like to run very high pressures. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 37f/42r, if not more in the rear. Alot of guys like to just trail brake all the way around the course and let the rear end swing back and forth. Something that you will have to get used to, but can be very fast if done right.

Glad you finally came out

Jon

 

Jon,

Thanks for the comments, I will start hanging out in the autoxing forum more often. I was really happy how my ITR handled, and felt. I think I will get the ATS next.

 

Just out of curiousity, what are the current mods on your car? It sounds very much...not stock.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WayneGro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I felt that I could do the entire run in 1st gear, when in second I would not even be in Vtec, so my power was not as great as it could be.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

What? I hope you were joking about the first gear thing. As far as tire pressure, you definately want to run more than 31psi. Running 42f and 40r seems to work pretty good for me on Azenis. It's not uncommon to not hit VTEC during and autocross, especially if it's a tight, technical course.

 

Actually, on my first time autoxing, I also ran the whole thing in 1st gear, and it felt about the same, that that's where the power was. Of course, my lap times went down by like 5 seconds easy after putting it in 2nd...

 

get the ATS for autox. It is a night and day difference... SERIOUSLY.

Shame on you for not getting out there sooner!

As for tire pressures with azenis, I've been using them for a while. They really don't break loose in the rear with high pressures, so I've started going with 36psi F, 26psi R. That's the only way I could get the rotation I wanted. You want to run the lowest pressure you can in the front without rolling over on the sidewall. You generally will need to run ~40psi F for street tires, but the azenis has a stiff sidewall - so much so that you can get away with running lower pressures. I've gone into the ~50psi range to get the rears to slide (so I could rotate the car better), but to no avail. I've found that 26psi or lower definitely rotates more for tight corners.

I have apexi N1 coilovers, with a low rear spring rate - so take my word on the low pressure in the rear for azenis. I also have the ats final drive - and let me tell you it's probably the best mod you can do to your car for autox. I'm in SM/ DM, btw...

 

The best tip I can give you (and the best tip I've been given) is: Look ahead. Way ahead. When you're starting out, just getting more experience is much more valuable than any car mod. And see if you can ride wtih experienced drivers & get them to ride with you. On the vast majority of courses I've run, I want to stay in first until I top it out, and then stay in 2nd for the rest of the course.

Oh, and depending on what class you're in, r-compound tires make a world of difference. But you're probably better off learning all you can on street tires first...

 

ATS FD

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RealTypeR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ATS FD </TD></TR></TABLE>

Will toss you directly into Street Mod, just FYI.

And if your local or regional clubs have well set up cars for that class with good drivers be ready to Not win till you are more experienced and a pretty good driver.

Street Mod can be extremely competitive and frustrating if you are neither a good driver or don't have your car set up well for the class.

But otherwise the 4.93 helps tremendously on the autocross course. Combine that with just good R comp's and the car can be a local winner with a good driver and pretty much stock otherwise.


Welcome to motorsports


When you get comfortable, get yourself to a track and enjoy even more.

 

The only problem with the ATS is it's so short. Ask Todd00 how problematic the stock gearing is on his ITR on a well prepped car. He's bumping the rev limiter at most events now. Adding an ATS while fun, will just increase shifting between 2-3 on a lot of National or Divisional style courses - not a good thing. While it's a tempting mod for the street, I probably wouldn't recommend it for autocrossing as the gearing is pretty much ideal stock. Just my $.02 (with three trophies from Topeka in an ITR)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by typer_801 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The only problem with the ATS is it's so short. Ask Todd00 how problematic the stock gearing is on his ITR on a well prepped car. He's bumping the rev limiter at most events now. Adding an ATS while fun, will just increase shifting between 2-3 on a lot of National or Divisional style courses - not a good thing. While it's a tempting mod for the street, I probably wouldn't recommend it for autocrossing as the gearing is pretty much ideal stock. Just my $.02 (with three trophies from Topeka in an ITR)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Very Good Point!

When you're in SM at the national level combatting modded and FI'd M3's and S4's and whatnot you're more than likely gonna be either into a aggessive NA setup with a raised stock limiter or some form of FI. It's a class that already isn't dominated by FF cars.

I totally understand where you're comin from. It's a decision you need to make on an application and personal level. It may not be for everyone but it sure as hell is fun and wakes the car up.