[BTR-75]

Did Autocross for the 1st time yesterday at a Dixie region SCCA event in Cecil, Georgia at the South Georgia Motor Park.

Dixie Region Autocross, January 15, 2012 in Cecil Georgia at the South Georgia Motor Park - YouTube

Run times were as follows:
1 - 84.596
2 - 77.369
3 - 75.673
4 - 70.213
5 - 68.043

I picked up over 16.5 seconds from my 1st to my last run and hit no cones for point deductions all day. No suspension mods, unless you count the strut tower brace, and stock 19" tires.

I had a ton of fun.

[94racing]

Looks like fun. Sounded amazing. I eidh i could see the last run. You look pretty decent for a newb at it. Just rememdber the lower the gear the better unless you can only floor it or not

[BTR-75]

I wish I could have seen the last run too, the guy taping wanted to do some ride-alongs thoigh so two is all I got. Based on my times I'd really liked to have seen run 1 vs 5.

[Whiskey11]

Originally Posted by BTR-75 Did Autocross for the 1st time yesterday at a Dixie region SCCA event in Cecil, Georgia at the South Georgia Motor Park. Dixie Region Autocross, January 15, 2012 in Cecil Georgia at the South Georgia Motor Park - YouTube Run times were as follows: 1 - 84.596 2 - 77.369 3 - 75.673 4 - 70.213 5 - 68.043 I picked up over 16.5 seconds from my 1st to my last run and hit no cones for point deductions all day. No suspension mods, unless you count the strut tower brace, and stock 19" tires. I had a ton of fun.

OooO!!! Welcome to the cone dodging club! Looks like it was a fun course to drive on and I am VERY jealous that you are autocrossing in January (my season doesn't start again until April ). Fair warning, this gets SUPER addictive! Next thing you know you will be constantly thinking about it and all the fun things you can do to your car to make it go faster!

Before jumping into the "go faster" parts, run this entire season with the car as is. I know that is super difficult to do but you will thank me later for it. Get very comfortable with the car and driving it FAST and to the limit. These cars are very capable cars on a track and require very little work to be capable in autocross. The biggest frustration for ME was learning slow in fast out which is probably the most critical aspect of driving fast.

I hope that by the end of the day you got the pleasure (if you can call it that!) of feeling what understeer is. Did you ever experience a moment when you turned the steering wheel and the car just kept on rolling to the outside of the turn? You will get that a lot with any factory car. Thankfully, the slow in fast out does a good job of minimizing that.

The two biggest things are did you have fun? That is the most important one. Without having any fun this is all pretty pointless The second biggest thing is, did you have fun? Seriously!

I remember my first event and how difficult it was to compile all of the things you are told with learning the track. One of the most difficult things to comprehend is the following phrase:

"All of the fast people hit cones"

There is a good bit of truth to that statement. One of the biggest places to drop your time is in transitions. Specifically in the slaloms. The best technique is to obviously get as close to that cone as possible, but to do so requires you to turn BEFORE you get to the cone. It takes a while for the car to change directions right? So don't wait to turn when you reach the cone! If you run over the cone with your back inside tire that is GOOD (well minus hitting the cone ) as it means you are turning at the right point and just need to come off the cone ever slightly.

If you want more interesting reading on that subject of how far off you can be in time by being a foot off, here is a link:
CVD 5 – Transitions J-Rho's '67 Camaro Z28 STX build

Anyway, remember, the most important thing is to always have fun! Without that, this all means nothing more than pissing money away!

[BTR-75]

Originally Posted by Whiskey11 OooO!!! Welcome to the cone dodging club! Looks like it was a fun course to drive on and I am VERY jealous that you are autocrossing in January (my season doesn't start again until April ). Fair warning, this gets SUPER addictive! Next thing you know you will be constantly thinking about it and all the fun things you can do to your car to make it go faster! Before jumping into the "go faster" parts, run this entire season with the car as is. I know that is super difficult to do but you will thank me later for it. Get very comfortable with the car and driving it FAST and to the limit. These cars are very capable cars on a track and require very little work to be capable in autocross. The biggest frustration for ME was learning slow in fast out which is probably the most critical aspect of driving fast. I hope that by the end of the day you got the pleasure (if you can call it that!) of feeling what understeer is. Did you ever experience a moment when you turned the steering wheel and the car just kept on rolling to the outside of the turn? You will get that a lot with any factory car. Thankfully, the slow in fast out does a good job of minimizing that. The two biggest things are did you have fun? That is the most important one. Without having any fun this is all pretty pointless The second biggest thing is, did you have fun? Seriously! I remember my first event and how difficult it was to compile all of the things you are told with learning the track. One of the most difficult things to comprehend is the following phrase: "All of the fast people hit cones" There is a good bit of truth to that statement. One of the biggest places to drop your time is in transitions. Specifically in the slaloms. The best technique is to obviously get as close to that cone as possible, but to do so requires you to turn BEFORE you get to the cone. It takes a while for the car to change directions right? So don't wait to turn when you reach the cone! If you run over the cone with your back inside tire that is GOOD (well minus hitting the cone ) as it means you are turning at the right point and just need to come off the cone ever slightly. If you want more interesting reading on that subject of how far off you can be in time by being a foot off, here is a link: CVD 5 – Transitions J-Rho's '67 Camaro Z28 STX build Anyway, remember, the most important thing is to always have fun! Without that, this all means nothing more than pissing money away!

Reps, thanks for the good advice there. I did have a very good time and while I may not be doing it every month I do plan on doing it several times a year. Understeer and I are familiar, and I was told at the track some of the same things you've written. Mainly run the car until I out-talant it, then start in with mods. Overall I had a great time, everyone at the event was very supportive of one another and it made being a complete noob alot easier.