I was going to attend my 1st autocross tomorrow (sunday) at six-flags in Maryland. I am going as an observer only. Anyway, my gf is concerned for my safety when I do eventually start autocrossing myself. I tried to assure her that it was going to be ok and safe since the top speed is around a controlled 60mph and the car isn't at those speeds for a prolonged period of time. My only exposure to auto-x-ing stories is from this forum and I haven't heard of any "tradgedies" or accidents. Anyway, I promised her to get an explanation as to why a helmet is necessary. Help me out fellas.

 

Depends on the autox course. You might smoke a light pole but highly unlikely cause the course would be designed so that this does not occur. Best way to convince her it's safe, take her with you.

 

I would but she lives in Toronto and I'm in VA.

 

What's smoking a light pole?

 

Running into a pole

 

Driving is dangerous. Whenever you are in a car, there is a potential danger.

I did read a story on this forum about someones buddy whos car flipped at an AutoX. It can do that, if there is some kind of edge that it gets stuck on. One of his injuries I remember was that the skin had been torn off his finger and you could see the bone.

So yes, it is dangerous. The risk however that you will be involved is small but it is there.

Driving on the street is also potentially dangerous. Every year 100 000 americans die in an automobile accident.

How about a hypothetical situation: You enter an intersection; the light is green. You're going to make a left turn, just sitting there. You have your hand dangling out the side because it is a nice day. Someone runs the light at 45 and doesn't see you. He hits your car in the side and shatters your elbow. Now you go through reconstructive surgery for months and can't work your job.

So if your gf lets you drive on the street, her not allowing you to drive at the AutoX (in a controlled environment) is just contradictory.

 

Don't worry. It's not that she WON'T let me. She's just concerned. I think an autocross, being a more controlled environment, is a less likely place for an accident to occur.

So cars flipping is possible, eh? I kinda told her that wid the kind of speeds, flipping over is almost impossible. -1 point for me.

 

Flipping the car IS possible and has happened before, but it is in no way COMMON. The chances of you wrecking on the street are 100x greater than at an autox. Reassure your girlfriend, promise her that you'll be safe, and go have fun!!

 

I don't smoke pole, it's just not my thing, but I do autocross, so here goes...

In the past 18-20 events that I attended this year, I have only witnessed two accidents. One involved a 3rd gear (in the R) set of off-set gates that put one car off the course, off the concrete, and sideways into a ditch. He scratched up his underbody and damaged a wheel, but considering he went down a ditch sideways, he was very lucky. The second involved an F-body vs. fence at the entrence of a fast sweeper (I happened to be riding shotgun for this one). Some unfortunate body and glass damage, but no people damage. The point of these stories is that **** happens, and it's not the kind of "he came out of nowhere" kind of **** you find on the streets where you had no way of avoiding what happened. In the car vs. fence incident, we started the slide nearly 100 yards from the fence, and finally locked it up with another 25 yards to spare. It's not like the course design was unsafe, and it's not like we didn't have the same or similar sweeper in the same spot with the same fence for the last two dozen events. **** just happens.

However, I still feel safer racing than I do in holiday traffic. I know the limits of my skills, and I make the decision to say behind them or push them too far. On the streets, you control less than half of what happens to you, and to be honest, that's where we should be using our helmets

Tell her you need to wear the helmet so that you get used to it before you start road racing. That should calm her down, heh.

 

Hehe, I'll second that. Problem is I would be tempted to drive around like I'm on a racetrack all the time...

 

just go have fun. Autox is fun and way safer than driving in the streets. Helmets should be worn in the streets.

 

I highly agree

 

Yea....its addicting.

 

I've also seen a Corvette veer off into people.... Well a vid anyway

 

Also those people had no reason to be there....that event was poorly run.

 

I need someone to help me out and point me to the right direction. My plans were (once I found the time)

1.) Go to a driving school. I want to learn more about driving than what's provided in the forums and the Gran Turismo manual. I want to learn how the car will react under certain conditions and learn how to control the beast we call, the Type R.

2.) After learning the basics, I to apply it to some relatively safe arena, such as autocrossing.

3.) Then I want the road-course.

Are there any requirements for me to autocross other than a helmet?
What are the requirements for the road course?


[Modified by CPR, 3:10 AM 12/9/2001]

 

For autocross, you need a helmet, a seatbelt, close-toe'd shoes (in most places), and a car that will pass a tech inspection. If you have a roughly stock R, you WILL pass inspection. Just double check your battery tie-down, throttle return spring, lug nuts, brakes, and all fluids.

For driving schools, you usually need pants, sleeves, shoes, and everything else for autocross, plus a more in-depth tech. inspection. You don't have to have a harness or cage or anything for beginner road racing schools. One main difference is that most schools require a SA rated helmet, while most autocrosses don't (MA or SA is fine).

If you choose to compete on road courses, the requirements will depend on the venue in which you compete. I suggest that you decide just how you wish to compete first, and then pick up a rule book to prepare the car.

*EDIT* By the way, I like your approach! ie, learning to drive, then learning to race, then everything else. Too many people start at the end (building up the car) and work their way backward toward skill.


[Modified by ITR#231, 12:34 AM 12/9/2001]

 

It's not NEAR as dangerous as street racing, drag racing, or roadcourse.

For one, you probably won't even see 3rd gear on most AutoX courses. Believe me, you'll be perfectly fine. Hell, they MAKE you wear a helmet.

 

Actually, I'm doing both at the same time. I have an Icebox already and I am going to get a Spoon header soon. The mods are more for daily driving though as it takes effort keeping up with traffic when keeping the rpms below 4K. But as far as mods go, I think that's all the go-fast parts I'm going to get for the time being. Like you said, I'm about learning how to drive first. Thanks for the info.

I told my girl that drag racing is more dangerous than autocross and it doesn't require a helmet if you run above a 14sec 1320. It didn't convince her.


[Modified by CPR, 3:18 AM 12/9/2001]

 

we had a guy in a 300zx turbo hit a guardrail head-on at about 35 mph, deploying his airbag and givng the car a new front end...he was fine but for a brused bone in his forearm, the car apparently was fixable. It was a fluke chain of events, but when you're racing, things can happen, and that was (hopefully) the one really bad accident i'll ever see at an autocross. But i feel much safer driving having autocrossed than i did before...and autocross before track time, another good plan. work your way up, and make sure your brain is ready for anything you do, stupid risks are called that because they're stupid

 

Me with my friend started autocrossing this year. I did 15-20 events, he did 3.
Bad things:
He has damaged his suspension by hitting a curb ~$2000
I have my wheel broken and my warranty void because somebody saw me running and told the dealership about it.
I saw 5-6 other accidents this year (including car failures).

As for injuries... I saw in a video a Corvette hit marchal very badly. Other than that it is hard to imagine any other danger.

The point is: Things can happen, but it is good to be prepared to deal with them and have fun.

 

Well, my plans of watching from the sidelines at my first autocross didn't go according to plan. I was "coerced" to try it out and I gave in. It was nerve racking up to the point where I was at the starting line. Then I told myself to just drive the damn car with spirit and with caution, and the car will take care of me and my mistakes. It was definitely a learning experience. I found out how secure and under control the Type R really is. I was never truly out of control and I have a feeling it's not because of my skill, but it's because of the balance of the car. They had a couple of the new E46 M3s and they were getting times of 69 seconds. As for me, my best run was 65.xx seconds. It felt good to "beat" the M3s times but I know with equal drivers, I wouldn't even come close to those BMW beasts. The track was really long according to a seasoned autocross veteran that I got to know while waiting for my heat. Overall I had a positive experience and I would definitely do it again. I just need dedicated autocrossing tires so I don't have to beat up so much on my street tires.

CPR is finally free from the shackles of daily-driving!!! I'm sure if my car could talk, it would thank me for today.


[Modified by CPR, 5:14 PM 12/9/2001]

 

Nice to hear you enjoyed your first AutoX. Just wait until you get on a roadcourse though...

 

Is it just me or does autocross make your back and *** cheeks hurt? I think I was clenching my *** everytime I came up to a hairpin turn.

 

The biggest potential danger from Auto-x has to be wanting to road race...than wanting a track car...then a trailer.....tow vehicle..etc..then it spirals all out of control and you spend lots of money buy have LOTS of fun. LOL, now get out there and try some road racing, then your in for some great fun