So I went to an event here in Birmingham, Alabama this past sunday. And now I really want to do this.... It looks like fun! I really dont know anything about this so Im going to check this part of the forum to learn, but any tip would be appreciated.... What I drive is a 92 civic vx hatch, with Omni power Coilovers, function 7 gen 1 lower control arms, and benen tie bar. wheels are axis Old school with 25 offset. I want to do a swap either a b16 or a d15b. Im not into drag or street racing anymore, so im not looking for some crazy motor setup, just something nice to drive. Thanks

 

the best thing you could do is to read old threads everything you want to know have been asked tens of times , but ill get you started

it seems you got a half decent supention set up already so i would focus on brakes and tyres

good pads (not full racing pads as they need heat to bite , no good for auto crossing ) good rotors , i would also recomend droping your brake fluide and replacing with top end stuff

as far as tyres go it doesent have to be a R compound even a good quality street tyre will do you the world of good

this set up will last you a long time until you get your driving experiance up

regards - jack





Modified by jack-gtir at 1:04 AM 7/12/2008

 

don't try to go fast on your first runs just take it easy and learn the course.

 

Oh thanks guys, there's still good people in honda tech that answer noobies threads! hahaha. Ill post up when I do it for the first time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Fuuma0083 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">don't try to go fast on your first runs just take it easy and learn the course.</TD></TR></TABLE>


x2 and just go as is. learn to drive your car first then start to think of other stuff to do to it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Fuuma0083 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">don't try to go fast on your first runs just take it easy and learn the course.</TD></TR></TABLE>

x3, to go fast you have to slow down.

 

so i guess Ill be fine to go for the first time with my d15 non vtec motor right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pancake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so i guess Ill be fine to go for the first time with my d15 non vtec motor right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes and keep it that way for as long as u can hold out. build ur driving ability then build ur car.

 

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

yes and keep it that way for as long as u can hold out. build ur driving ability then build ur car. </TD></TR></TABLE>

oh ok, I just hate it cuz this car sucks for daily driving here! TO many hills!!!!

So thats why I was leaning to do a jdm d15b to have somewhat power in the interstate

 

If I had a choice I would give every novice that ever started autocrossing (including me) a 1993 Honda Civic CX, turn the AC on, put some crap all season tires on it and learn from there

 

I just autocrossed for my first time a couple weeks ago. So from one noob to another this is what I learned from my first experiance. Before I proceed though I gotta let ya know my first experiance was in a much different environment then yours will be.

At the recent gt live event here in utah at miller motorsports park cobb tuning and the utah region scca brought together a free autocross event for anyone who was interested to try out the sport. This was not a points event and was intentionlly set up to attract new people to the sport. So other then a few local regulars the majority of the people racing was there first time.

My first advice is what many people have already told you. Take it easy and learn to drive the car before adding more power. In our drivers meeting the utscca guy said to only push the car to about 70% of its potential on your first few passes. I ignored that advice. I figured I knew my car very well from canyon runs and such but I was very wrong. I tried pushing the car as hard as I could and I payed for it. I not only did this on my first run but also my 2nd. Some of the course workers said I scared them with how bad I was understeering in the corners and sliding everywhere. After that I finally backed off and consentrated on the track and find what the car liked and didn't like.

Which brings me to my next point. Learn the track. At most scca events you'll have an oppertunity to walk the course. Do it untill you get it down. Just remember its going to look much different when your flying thru the cones at full speed. I didn't get to walk the course. They just took us on a parade lap thru it. I was happy to see they chalked some lines on the ground outlining the course. This helped tons in the begining. However by the end of the day I wasn't looking at the lines on the ground anymore but actually watching the cones two turns ahead of me.

After I learned these two things my times were dropping around a 1/2 seconds a run. As I got more comfortable with the course my driving got better and I learned the limits of the car. I got 12 passes in that day and dropped my times from a 42.7 to a 38.1. I plan on attending many more autocross events now and I don't even care to drag race ever again. One pass on the autocross course was 100 times funner then any drag race I've ever done. The only thing I plan on adding to my car is new tires cause I feel that's the only thing holding me back. It was so much fun seeing the look on a bunch of the sti and evo guys faces when they saw my nearly stock n/a type r running almost 2 seconds faster then them. So as you can see power isn't everything. Learn your driving and the car and then expand from there. A friend of mine had his non vtec civic coupe there and he was running in the mid 39 second range when he was done. So that's proff that your car will be fine.

Just take it easy your first time. Don't go out trying to win your class cause as a beginner it probably won't happen your first time out. And most importantly have fun.

 

here is something that was made up a long time ago.

1. As soon as you pass the start line, you are only losing time.
Minimize how much time you lose. It's not just going faster, it's
spending less time on the course.

2. The trick is to drive 10/10ths. A novice will drive 7/10ths and then
not realize that they went to 13/10ths. Learn the edge and drive it.
That may mean some cones get hit and you spin. It's what teaches you
where 10/10ths is.

3. There are fast parts and there are slow parts. Learn the difference.

4. Don't square off the corners and point and shoot drive. A lot of
corners are parts of smooth arcs you can make. It's faster to drive a
smooth arc than a short straight and two jerky turns.

5. Be aggressive in chicanes. Attack them, stay in front of the turns
and as straight as you can. Getting "behind" in a chicane is a bad
thing.

6. Doing this well means being smooth. Being smooth DOES NOT mean you
are slow. To drive the car smoothly may require controlled chaos in the
car. Fast hand and foot movements do not mean you are not smooth.

7. Know your line you intend on driving. Understand it. Look for it. If
you drive such that you are forcing yourself off that line, you made a
mistake and need to slow down. The line is everything, unless you are
wrong about where the line is...then you need to change your mind.

8. Look ahead to where you want to exit the turn. Adjust your speed into
the corner to make sure your car will be on the right spot when your
exit the corner.

9. It's better to corner under acceleration than braking. Brake earlier
and then get on the throttle as quick as you can.

10. The earlier throttle points will be faster. Give up the end of the
straight to make your corner exit faster. That speed coming out of the
corner will carry thru the whole straight following the corner.

11. Do not try to save runs. If you get screwed up, go off course or mow
down cones. This saves tires.

12. Understeer is often caused by going in to a corner too hot. To
reduce understeer, straighten out the steering and/or reduce throttle
input.

13. A lift or quick stab at the brakes can cause the front of the car to
weight and allow better turn in.

14. Alignments are important.

15. If you start going slower or are less succesful than you should be,
check the car. Sometimes things change and it's hard to notice.

16. Seat time is more important than any performance mod

17. Autocross deliberately. Try to drive deliberately. Not just
reacting...but control the steering and drive the line. Then do it
faster.

18. Don't worry about long lists of tips. Work on one or two things at
a time. Don't try to adjust everything, put in a new swaybar and struts,
try out Hoosiers, and decide to use left foot braking all in one
weekend. Make changes one at a time and see how they feel.

19. There are many ways to setup your car and your driving can
accomodate them. Spend more time on your driving than your car setup.
Human nature is that it's easier to point to your car, or the classing,
or maybe someone else is cheating, or they spent more. But the biggest
variable in autocrossing is still always the driver.

and here is another
For real beginners:

1. If the back end gets loose in a corner DO NOT LIFT.

2. "In a spin, two feet in."

3. Not all of us have a Z06, momentum is everything.

4. If the car is pushing, wind off lock until it hooks up again. Adding lock will only cook your tires.

5. "It's a corolla not a rally car, quit trying to drive it sideways!"

6. Utilizing your brakes to their fullest will save more time than your accelerator ever will.

7. When they say the slolem is optional it doesn't mean you can go around it.

8. If you hit a cone don't let it throw your concentration, remember, you ran it's punk a$$ over

9. Don't let your hands get crossed up during a run. Practice proper hand technique every day on the street.[/b]

 

Matt j, this is a great advice list!

I'm restoring a DA right now and for fun I'm putting a K20a3 in it. As soon as I can put it on the road again, I wanna do Time Attack with it. If I understood right, a basic set-up for circuit racing (Auto-X, Time Attack, etc.) should be:

- Some good Tires
- Good Brake
- Top End Brake Fluid
- Good condition car. (No leak, no loose in the suspension.)

I don't want to start with OEM Strut/Spring, the K20 will need Intake/header/exhaust to run.

Do you think I'll be too much to put Bolt-On on the K20 and some coilovers? Any advice regarding the use of those Mods? I'll have Camber Kits all around to keep a good alignement of the wheels.

Thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Silchuki14 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Matt j, this is a great advice list!

</TD></TR></TABLE>
I agree. I'm in my 4th season of autox and that was refreshing to read.

 

thanks guys i really appreciate that, i have been killing cones since 2002 and have picked up alot of things along the way

 

WOW really,. ive never had so many responds to a thread than this time! (well only the time I posted a pic of my gf with my car and got like 6 pages!) but other than that this one has actual valuable input! Thanks for the advice I cant wait for august 17th! Ill keep you guys posted, Im tucking right now, how much clearance should there be between the tire and fender?

 

Read the rules on what classes are available to you. My first car, because of the mods, ended up being a very uncompetitive street mod car because I started modding it and then got into Auto-X. If you want to compete in a class, make sure you don't accidentally take the modifications too far.

Lots of good advice offered up in this thread. I guess I can add that you should try to get rides with people that are faster than you, or have them drive your car. You might find a dramatic difference between what they're doing and what you're doing.

 

here are some more tips for you

1] Position first, then speed. Positioning the car perfectly is more important than trying to attain the highest potential speed. For example, you will drop more time by correctly positioning the car nearer to slalom cones than you will by adding 1 or 2 MPH in speed. Same with sweepers (tight line). Same with 90-degree turns (use all of the track). Also, position is a prerequisite for speed. If you are not in the correct place, you will not be able go faster. Or at least not for very long!

2] Turn earlier...and less. To go faster, the arc you are running must be bigger. A bigger arc requires less steering. To make a bigger arc that is centered in the same place, the arc must start sooner (turn earlier).

3] Brake earlier...and less. Waiting until the last possible second approaching a turn and then dropping anchor at precisely the correct place so that the desired entry speed is reached exactly as you come to the turn-in point is quite difficult to execute consistently. Especially when you consider that you get no practice runs on the course, and the surface changes on every run, and you aren't likely to be in exactly the same position with the same approach speed on every run, etc. Better to start braking a little earlier to give some margin of error. And by braking less you can either add or subtract braking effort as you close in on the turn-in point. This will make you consistent and smooth.

4] Lift early instead of braking later. Continuing with the philosophy of #3, when you need to reduce speed only a moderate amount, try an early lift of the throttle instead of a later push of the brake. This is less upsetting to the car, is easier to do and thus more consistent, and allows for more precise placement entering the maneuver (remember #1 above).

5] Easier to add speed in a turn than to get rid of it. If you are under the limit, a slight push of the right foot will get you more speed with no additional side effects. On the other hand, if you are too fast and the tires have begun slipping, you can only reduce throttle and wait until the tires turn enough of that excess energy into smoke and heat. Don't use your tires as brakes!

6] Use your right foot to modulate car position in constant radius turns, not the steering wheel. In a steady state turn, once you have established the correct steering input to maintain that arc, lifting the throttle slightly will let the car tuck in closer to the inside cones. Conversely, slightly increasing the throttle will push the car out a bit farther to avoid inside cones. It is much easier to make small corrections in position with slight variations in the tires' slip angle (that's what you are doing with the throttle) than with the steering wheel.

7] Unwind the wheel, then add power. If the car is using all of the tire's tractive capacity to corner, there is none left for additional acceleration. At corner exit, as you unwind the wheel, you make some available. If you do not unwind the wheel, the tire will start to slide and the car will push out (see #6 above).

8] Attack the back. For slaloms (also applicable to most offsets), getting close to the cones is critical for quick times (see #1). To get close, we must move the car less, which means bigger arcs. Bigger arcs come from less steering and require earlier turning (see #2). Now for the fun part... When you go by a slalom cone and start turning the steering wheel back the other way, when does the car start to actually change direction? Answer: When the wheel crosses the center point (Not when you first start turning back!) How long does that take? If you are smooth, it takes .25 - .5 seconds. Now, how long is a typical person's reaction time? Answer: about .5 seconds. Finally, how long does it take to go between slalom cones? Answer: Typically on the order of 1 second. Given all of that, your brain must make the decision to begin turning the steering wheel back the other way just *before* you go by the previous cone!!

Since this is a mental issue, a good visualization technique to get used to this is to think about trying to run over the back side of each slalom cone with the inside rear tire of the car. To hit it with the rear tire (and not the front), the car must be arcing well before the cone and the arc must be shallow. Attack the back!

9] Hands follow the eyes, car follows the hands. 'Nuf said.

10] Scan ahead, don't stare. Keep the eyes moving. Looking ahead does not mean staring ahead. Your eyes must be constantly moving forward and back, and sometimes left and right. Glance forward, glance back. Your brain can only operate on the information you give it.

Bonus Tip: Don't forget the stuff in between the marked maneuvers! Too often we think of a course as series of discrete maneuvers. There is typically more to be gained or lost in the areas that are in between. Pay special attention to the places where there are no cones.

 

Well Matt how's it going. funny I found you on here

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by matt j &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">here are some more tips for you

...

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

Courtesy Andy Hollis

 

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

Courtesy Andy Hollis</TD></TR></TABLE>

correct

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jedb18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well Matt how's it going. funny I found you on here</TD></TR></TABLE>

im just everywhere lol