Novice Guide to Autocross

[BobMaxed]

Ah spring 2016 is here and time to get ready for another season of Autocross. I last competed three summers ago in a 2002 mazda Miata (stock) with crappy all season tires. had a fun time and won a few trophies when no one else would show up in my class. I know that won't happen in HS. One thing that was missed in the excellent intro was that you'll have to apply numbers and class letters to your doors.
The days of using shoe polish on windows are long gone (for scca anyways). The easiest way is to bring along some masking tape. I've heard some debate in regards to running with a nearly empty fuel tank or maybe a full one if it helps balance. The only significant thing you can adjust is tire pressure. Most people add 5-15 lbs per tire. And most people can't tell if it makes a worthwhile difference, its just what everybody does. Any body here have any wisdom about a good autocross pressure for the stock Potenzas? It does take up a whole day, and you don't get a lot of seat time. But there's always interesting people to talk to. Interesting cars to look at and in general is great time for one and all.
I've only had my Fist a week now and the 1st event in Fort Wayne IN. is a month from now. I need to find an empty deserted parking lot somewhere and do a little more bonding with my car

 

[Phreak]

The stock tires are good for starting out with, they break away easily, but it suits the car

 

[BobMaxed]

Thanks Phreak

Ah just shows I am not a serious autocrosser. I agree with everything you said. From my observations only about 25% of the people doing autocross are serious. I've never noticed anybody with a spray bottle ( northern Indiana doesn't get that hot ?). When I have a car stiff enough I enter autocrosses. When my daily driver is too soft I pass.

"they are 140 tread wear, which is illegal in Autocross stock classes now. "

I've seen this issue argued on a few sites. And I have read the rule book. The way the rule book is worded it appears that it will only be enforced at National events. Also the 200 limit may not apply for OEM tires. Any way I can't justify buying a set of rims and tires only for autocross, and I'm keeping the Potenzas till they wear out. Hoping they last till next winter comes and I do get wheels and snow tires. (That I can justify LOL) In fact I want to do autocross to help wear them out. Hopefully the rubber hasn't hardened much, they are 2 1/2 years old. Not interested in doing a track event.

Thanks greatly for the quick reply

 

[Phreak]

My advice is only take it as seriously as you want, it is one of those things that is just fun to go out and do

 

[BobMaxed]

LOL Plus if somebody beats your time by too much, you can give them a friendly shot of water after they get out of the car to cool them off too, haha.


This is from the January 2016 version of the SCCA solo rule book. And as has been implied anybody serious enough to enter a national event will have already replaced the OE tires for something better.

C. Other
1. Any tire which is OE on a car eligible for Street Category may be used on that car in Regional Solo® events. OE tires must meet all requirements of Section 13.3 to be eligible for National Solo® events.

 

[commonplatypus]

Just did my first event yesterday. What a blast!

 

[KentRatke]

Going to throw out a super noob question. Here we go... Do I need to completely disable my traction control (hold the button for 10 seconds) in order to run an autocross course? I hear that the brakes on the Fiesta ST can fade extremely quickly due to the brake assisted torque vectoring, especially in a Autocross or track day scenario.

 

[BrazenSol]

Traction control

Going to throw out a super noob question. Here we go... Do I need to completely disable my traction control (hold the button for 10 seconds) in order to run an autocross course? I hear that the brakes on the Fiesta ST can fade extremely quickly due to the brake assisted torque vectoring, especially in a Autocross or track day scenario.

I'll run the first run in 'sport' just to get the feel for the course, but overall my fastest times have come with it completely off.

 

[KentRatke]

Thanks BrazenSol!

 

[M-Sport fan]

The stock tires are good for starting out with, they break away easily, but it suits the car. However they are 140 tread wear, which is illegal in Autocross stock classes now.

Most people that are serious about it run either the Direzza's or the RE-71R's. Tire pressure do make a huge difference btw.. dab a little shoe polish or chalk on your tires to track roll over. If it rolls over past the tread, add air... if it doesn't get to the edge of the tread, less pressure. When you hit that magic PSI, the car sticks like glue in corners. The right pressure can vary from tire to tire, but most people start 10psi up.

In the summer your tires can over heat, so having a sprayer with you can help keep that under control. You can also hit the intercooler on the front with it to cool it down between runs. I notice a huge power loss when my cooler gets heat soaked.

For fuel, I run half a tank... I have not found it makes much difference.

The usual stuff makes a difference; proper seating position and arm lengths, buckle up first and then slide forward a few notches to get yourself really strapped in, flip your headrest around so it doesn't hit your helmet (you can use the little key inside your fob to press the release button on the headrest btw), and most of all; look as far ahead as you can when you drive.

205/45-16s?? (for your RE-71Rs)

 

[commonplatypus]

Going to throw out a super noob question. Here we go... Do I need to completely disable my traction control (hold the button for 10 seconds) in order to run an autocross course? I hear that the brakes on the Fiesta ST can fade extremely quickly due to the brake assisted torque vectoring, especially in a Autocross or track day scenario.

You will not be able to fade the stock brakes at autocross. I did what I thought was brake fade in one event with a co driver on the stock fluid, but it turned out I just boiled the fluid a bit. This was evident by the air in the lines whe I finally bled them. This took 12 runs on a super hot day near 98F ambient while tuned. My codriver was driving extremely aggressively and using the brakes heavily. He's also better than I am. It took me 3 20 minutes sessions on the track to actually fade them and I'm still not convinced they're totally faded. We'll know when I pull them off to swap in the EBC Yellowstuff in another day or so, but I've done like 6 events now between two regional clubs and the stock pads are fine. They still feel like they have lots of life in them and plenty of bite on the street. The only reason I am swapping is to upgrade and prep for the next track day.

 

[pinchvalve]

I know it is legal to fit different tires, a CAT-back only, a FRONT sway bar, and an intake replacement filter and still be considered in the stock class in autoX...

Kyle

One note, HS allows modification of the front OR rear sway bar. So you can add a rear bar or upgrade/remove the front bar, but not both at the same time.