A friend of mine, who is just starting autocrossing and track schools asked me which educational driving/autocrossing videotapes or books were the best, and for the life of me I couldn't remember any titles off the top of my head. Anybody know of any instructional videos or sources for this stuff?

 

Going Faster by the Skip Barber Racing School. Textbook for Skip Barber Students, but Highly Recommended for any type of Driving. They also have a Video, but the book is more detailed and cheaper. You can get them from Skip Barber Racing School by calling or click on the link below. I think you can order them also through http://www.amazon.com.

Book: http://store.yahoo.com/sbi-2000/goinfasbook.html

Video: http://store.yahoo.com/sbi-2000/goinfasvid.html

 

I just started too, and after talking to some people and searching the local bookstore database I found:

Secrets of Solo Racing By: Henry A. Watts published by Loki and distributed by Motorbooks international
The ISBN number is: 0-9620573-1-2

It was $15. 00 at Borders and almost the only Exclusive Auto-X or Solo driving book I could find.

The author also suggests about 10 other books and videos in the back.

Good luck, Geez God I'm hooked...

A.

 

Hey Rob,

I know this is WAYYY OT on this post but, I just put 2+2 together and saw your Car PICS on the ITRCA site and matched them to it in the current issue of SCC!!!

Hey wow congrats man, I'd guess it's not the first Mag you've been in but, HEY Congratulations anyway Rob! Nice car and nice PICS.

How was it doing that test anyways? And why did it not do so well on the Skidpad?

Anyways, Good Luck with everything.

A.


[Modified by 1GreyTeg, 2:36 PM 11/1/2001]

 

Thank you for your kind words. The G-Games BFGoodrich Tire Test was a great experience and opportunity to hang out with some of the nicest people in the business in our favorite setting, the racetrack. The new KD tires were the best & stickiest street tires we have ever used.

Our only disappointment was not finishing better overall. The Skid Pad Test is what hurt us the most. All the cars where driven on the skid pad by the same test driver their magazines uses for such tests, so I thought he would be able to extract the most out of the car without a problem.

Each car was given 2 chances on the skid pad. In the first round, the test driver took our ITR around the circle for a few laps in each direction and pulled into the pits claiming it was understeering and needed to be adjusted. For the second round, we softened up the APEXi N1 Coilover Suspension in the front slightly. He took it around again for a few laps and when he came in, he said the front end was now too soft and that was it. We don’t get another chance.

The test driver’s complaints with our car were very similar to his comments about the Del Sol too which didn’t do so good either. As I watched him at the skid pad, I noticed that he wasn’t even hitting VTEC at all, so he was using a higher gear than he could have. No wonder it was understeering!!! Not being in the top of the powerband, the tail is quite hard to kick around and adjust with the throttle.

The best results can only be produced by going around the circle in a controlled slide on the verge of spinning. By not using the full horsepower and torque, he really didn’t get the most out of the car and tires. I think he really didn’t know or like FWD cars since he did spend a lot more time in the RX7 and Supra. He was having so much fun sliding those cars around; he just kept on going and going around the circle. No doubt those cars are fun in the skid pad, but I think our ITR could have done better than the results show. Next time, either my son or myself will drive it around the skid pad instead.

The Slalom Test was like the Skid Pad wherein their Test Driver, different from the skid pad test driver, drove all the cars. This time, this test driver liked our ITR a lot and spent a lot of time driving it back & forth until he felt he got the maximum out of the car. Our ITR finished a lot higher where it should be and just missed first place by a tiny margin.

In the Road Course Time Trial, my son drove the ITR. He was given only two 5 lap timed sessions with no practice at all. We have only been to the Streets of Willow Springs once before and we ran a different configuration then. This new layout they ran was a shorter and tighter course that was really new to us. My son’s times improved by a whole second on the 2nd session which was later in the day when it was hotter and all the other cars were actually slower than in the morning.

Given more laps, I am sure my son could have lowered his lap times even more, possibly beating Rhys Millen’s time in the Del Sol. Rhys Millen had an unfair advantage because he was constantly driving people around the road course. He must have done around 80 laps at least all day, not to mention that he claimed to know the track really well like the back of his hand.

Regardless of the results, it was a good experience and they plan to make this an Annual Event, so I am sure next year we will do much better and uphold the ITR’s honor. As it said in the SCC article, we really didn’t do too bad considering our car is basically a stock setup with full interior and a roll bar, I might add. Total weight is over 2600 lbs. The RX7, Cosworth Escort and the red tube frame Bug were all trailered to the track and were obviously not used on the streets at all, while Frank’s Del Sol was completely gutted and had practically an ITR engine, plus many suspension mods. Overall, it was still a fun day despite the 110-degree heat and being picked for SCC’s cover was a welcome bonus.

 

See the following SCCA site for a list of Book Reviews
http://www.neokla-scca.org/Tech/default.shtml

I recommend the book Winning Autocross Solo II Competition by Dick Turner. Dick Turner also has a video available if you can find it. I know our club library has a copy, so check with your local sports car club. The book is a little advanced for someone starting out, as it gets rather in-depth on the mental aspect of the game. A year of experience, though, and I'd give the book a couple of read throughs.

 

Thanks a lot guys!

 

Going Faster is a fantastic book. there are some autoX specific ones too, but GF should be required reading for anyone with a car, especially a fun car