Doc

Well, Lil Blue SC invited me out to autocross this weekend. Four of us went, a WRX, a S2000 and Lil Blue SC. We had a blast. I ended up getting third overall for the novice class. I got 22nd overall with the adjusted time. My car is totally stock, the only thing I did was make the air pressure 45psi in the front and 38 in the rear. Lil Blue SC had his sidewall roll over and I had a chance to increase the air pressure in mine.

These cars exceeded our expectations...If you get the chance, take it to the track...we beat some great cars, we got beat by some awesome cars...the CADILLAC CTS-V was a 6 speed with the vette engine....that thing was nice..

Autocross results

Tofu

Awesome! I've really been interested in getting involved in auto-cross or other open road events.

Doc

It was a blast. I can't wait to go out again. I really can't wait until the go to a road course at a real track.

alleycat58

Congrats! I've actually had better luck with higher pressures in the back, but it all depends on how you like your car to handle. Play around with it for a while. When I ran my SS/SC last time I ran 40 in the front, 42 in the back and it handled like it was on rails, but then that's just my personal preference.

Good luck on the road course, it should be blast. Find one that has instructional track days, it's great to have an experienced driver as an instructor the first few times to show you braking points and suggested lines. Usually they have pretty badass cars and they're more than willing to take you out in their car to show you how they take the course. It's awesome, but I HIGHLY suggest investing in some harnesses if you are planning on making it a hobby, not just road racing but also autocross.

I see the 'Balt was running in D stock. I heard we're getting bumped to G stock. Shame really, the SS was incredibly competitive in D. Now we have to contend with Mini Coopers (demons on the a-x course).

Doc

I'll try that...definately.... we were classed D stock this time, who knows about next time. There was actually a question about which class we were in when we registered. Its not a big deal, I am having fun.
There are plenty of experienced drivers, one actually noticed the rolling of the sidewalls and mentioned it, so I got to increase the pressure.
I planned on getting my own helmet, hadn't thought about a harness. What would you suggest..??
And what about tires..I hear Falken Atienza's were good..? (I'd get new wheels too)

alleycat58

40/42 worked like a dream for me. Another guy made the suggestion, he ran P Zeros on his car before. You can also mark the sidewalls with white shoe polish to see exactly how the tires are rolling over too. You can usually see on the sides but the white on black makes it that much easier.

Helmet definitely, for a road course it's more stringent than autocross so bite the bullet and buy the Auto rated SNELL helmet, they're much more expensive but you can use them for both auto-x and on the track. As far as harnesses go, Schroth is the way to go. There are a lot of different kinds out there too so look around and see what suits you best.

For tires, Azenis are good for auto-x, I don't know about on the track. I think I'm going to try some KDWs perhaps. For wheels, go down to 17s. 18" wheels do not handle well at all. They're sufficient but I think we'd see a big improvement with 17s. Go lightweight all the way too, the lightest wheels you can find. The less unsprung weight the better.

Doc

thanks..

DJNateGnau

I'm thinking about getting into Auto-X myself, once i get a FU***ng car. Do you have to join SCCA though?

Doc

CG-Lock Occupant Stability Equipment
what do you think about those..?? I have heard good things about these types of products.

alleycat58

NOpe, you can run SCCA without being a member or lots of local car clubs do it too.

alleycat58

Personally I didn't like it at all. I ran a guy's S-10 with one and it was HORRIBLE. It held the lap belt part in place, but the top part didn't always lock (one time it did, the rest of the time it didn't). IMO it's not worth the money, you'd be better off saving for a real harness, you'll notica a BIG difference between the two. Keep an eye out, sometimes Schroth runs a clearance on colors they're discontinuing, you can occasionally pick up a good deal on them.

conemark

Glad to hear that you took the plunge and gave autocrossing a try. If you ever find yourself up in the NYC area, the New York Region SCCA is planning an 8 event series for 2006.

Even though the Cobalt got pushed into GS against the Mini's, I think a well driven and prepared to the limitations of Stock Cobalt SS/SC can be a competitive car.

An interesting note is that autocrossers tend to be bored on road race circuits. They say that turns don't come up fast enough for them.

DJNateGnau

K thanks for the info, Alleycat!

conemark

I've been using the CG-Lock for about 2 years now. While it certainly doesn't snug you down like a full harness, the lap belt certainly gets you in there nice and tight.

An interesting part of this is that some autocrossers prefer to have their upper bodies "loose." I think it may be car dependent, as greater leverage and strength to turn the car can yield greater control and lower times. For the times that I've driven cars with full harnesses, I found a little bit of adjustment time was necessary for me to drive the car to a decent time.

I suppose the best thing is to try someone else's car with a full harness first before making the plunge.

NGalaxyTimmyo

iTrader: (1)

Some great stuff here so far. I really want to try autocross come sping again. What would you guys recommend getting as well. As far as to get or not get lowering springs and sway bars and the like.

Doc

The jury is still out on that for me. I am going to try the increase in wheel pressure first. I'm going to get another set of wheels and tires also.
The group I ran with is so confused about which class my car goes in. I'm going to add performance parts so that will change the class (not stock anymore), it might be beneficial to change the springs too. I know the swaybar is like 5mm larger on both front and rear (eibach) so it'll definately add to the handling.
I downloaded the rules last night and I am SO confused. it says we are D stock...although it mentioned something about SSC. Who knows...I'll have the people I run with check it out more.
I'd love coil-overs...H&R has some in R&D....if history is any indicator, it'll be awhile before we see anything that intensive.

my .02 cents

mi6_

Intersting that you raised the pressure. Stock is about 30-32 Psi I would guess. Usually, lowering the pressure a bit creates a softer tire with more contact patch, but maybe in this case that is the best pressure to run with.

If GM ever builds my car, I'd kill to hit a road course or autocross course with it. It is a very capable car.

alleycat58

Actually I've never had that problem, then again the tracks I've run have been very demanding and very technical and were a lot more challenging than auto-x (as in f-up on the a-x course, spin and hit some cones, f-up on these courses and your car is on its roof facing the wrong direction watching other people go by). I could see where a more all-out build-for-speed course would be boring for an autocrosser though.

As far as the c-g lock that's why I drove the guy's truck. I've driven both ways harness or c-g and I hated the c-g lock. I'm waiting for a sale to put harnesses in the car. The only problem right now is road course regulations say both front restraints have to be the same for the safety of both the driver and instructor, so I'd have to buy two or buy none, so I"m going to wait until I can get a deal.

Doc

I'm waiting on a deal too. I have some $$ set aside, I'd rather spend it wisely and get more for my $$. Is there anything that needs to be done with our cars to use the harnesses..?? I remember in another car my friends and I built, we had the anchor for the harness somewhere around the lower back of the seat. It was attached to a roll bar too. I don't think the SS/SC needs that much to connect, I might be wrong though.

alleycat58

No it shouldn't take too much. Helmets are the same way, you absolutely can't skimp on those, I happen to have 2 though. I picked up a cheap one for autocross because the M helmets are lighter than the A helmets you need on a road course.

conemark

I'm not sure if your intent is to stay in the stock classes or not. If so, you'll want to find wheels that are very similar in specification to your stock wheels. You can get wheels with a slightly greater offset, which will give you the benefit of a slightly wider track. Tire pressures can be tricky. I tend to run high pressures in front compared to the rear in just about any car because of the natural understeer built into cars for consumer use.

From the looks of it, you ran with a local chapter of the Corvette club. Many of the "marque" clubs do follow the SCCA classings, but they will usually gear themselves more to their specific make or model. Ultimately, it is up to you, the competitor, to properly class your car. Also, what some clubs may consider "stock", others may not. Again, since many clubs follow the SCCA classing, you may want to build up your car to fall within those guidelines.

Knowing the rules is more than half the battle. Definitely read this:
http://scca.com/_filelibrary/File/2006_solo_rules.pdf

Now for the secret modification that will result in hugely improved times: Get as much seat time as you can before making any modifications to your car!

I have found that too many drivers will attend a handful of events and think that modifications will cure what they see as design or component shortcomings. Seat time as well as attending an Evolution Driving school can do wonders to get rid of many of these "faults".

Also, as part of knowing the rules, see how far you can take your car in terms of "stock". Just to give you a short list of what can be done in SCCA Solo2 Stock:
- any front sway bar
- any shock absorber (damper) that fits within the stock mounting locations
- any alignment settings as allowed by the factory shop manual, including crash bolts if specified.
- any ignition system and ignition wires
- any regularly available pump fuel (ahem, 100+ octane)
- the lightest wheels you can find that are the same diameter, width & offset* as stock.
- DOT R compound tires
- Any exhaust from the rearmost Catalytic Converter back.

I hope this gives you a good idea of what you can do. If you have any questions, feel free to PM or IM me.

Doc

thanks conemark, I may do that...
I got the tricks from the rules. They are intentionally vague I take it.

I saw roll over on our stock wheels and I'd rather use 17's with more rubber than risk chewing up the lip of my wheel.
I plan on adding performance mods to my car. I want to do autocross as a hobby. This was my first time at any autocross track in about 7 years. When I did it before, I raced my truck a couple times in Jacksonville, Fla and they had placards set up with the different classes. That and they knew the rules at tech, which helped me. Plus, a very good friend was a regular and very experienced driver.

I agree, seat time is the best investment.

alleycat58

There was enough roll over to worry about the wheels?!?!?!?! WOW. Mine was ideal, I had some roll over but no where near in danger of getting down to the lip of the wheel. It went right to the roll over mark on the side of the tire.

Doc

yea, one of the club presidents radio'd in and told the other guy in the SS/SC to increase the air pressure. He drives a crossfire and has had a lot of experience with low profile tires.
He said it was close although we didn't notice anything wrong with the wheel and he didn't have any chalk on there to verify how far it rolled over. I increased my pressure and when I ran it wasn't half as bad they said.
So, I'll buy a smaller wheel and not risk the lip.

alleycat58

Holy hell, yeah. More pressure is all you need though. I've never even come remotely close to my rim with mine, but I stick pretty close to 40/42 for the tire pressures. I still get roll over but it stays manageable.