Hello, I'm going to start autoxing soon and was looking for advice, what should I do to my car, what can I do to prepare, etc? I don't know when I'll do the first event, and have looked at all the begginner info on sfrscca's website, and was wondering if I could get any more advice more specific to the impreza. Mines older, a 99 OBS, so if anyone else races one in stock or nearly stock condition your input would be great, or any mods you've done to improve your car cuz im looking at upgrading it too. Thanx

 

Well I can't offer much advice because I have just started as well. But I figure my input as someone who just lost their autox virginity might help. The biggest thing for me was to stay calm. My times improved the more I let myself get comfortable. Also don't worry about your times on your first time out just have fun and learn. You might find that the less you worry about your time the better you'll be. The biggest help to me was finding an experienced person to give you advice. Most of the people at an autox will be plenty willing to walk you through the course and give you advice. Be friendly and listen to what they are saying.

The only mod I've done so far is buy a stock set of used wheels and put racing tires on them. I picked Kumho Victoracer V700's from recommendations of other racers and they seem to work well.

Goodluck its a blast...after your first event you'll be hooked...atleast I was.

 

So I've heard, I can't wait, although I'm a little nervous, Have to wait until I finish replacing the clutch though Thanx for the advice, was the course real confusing, with all those cones, or did you get the hang of it quick/ memorize it?

 

I walked the course twice with my roomate who has been autoxing for 3 years. So after that the course wasnt hard to figure out. It's intimidating at first because you look across this flat open area and see tons of cones but have no idea where to go but when you walk it, its not bad. I didnt have any problems forgetting where the course went. However, I wouldnt say that I memorized the course because I didnt do so well with taking the best line.

 

Very good, thnx! I wish I knew someon to talk to, I have a rard time talking to people I don't know, and never know what to ask Thank you gl w/ ur autoxing !! Hopefully I'll start soon !!!

 

When you say to drive smoothly, I know what you mean... I think, but don't really know how. My dad complains that I'm jerky, but I feel like I'm smooth, do you have any advice on a way to practice smooth driving/ see that I'm jerky, or any advice on smoothing it? Thanx

 

Go THAT way.... real fast.

When you see a cone... TURN!

Smooth driving would be like you're driving in the wet or snow. When you jerk the wheel, you'll keep going straight. When you easily turn the wheel, the car will settle and transfer into the trun. You don't want to jerk the wheel... you can turn it quickly... but you need to do it in a constant flow.

If you jerk the wheel, there's going to be less grip becuase you overcome its slip angle much quicker and don't allow enough time for the tire to start the grip from turn in, and letting the car settle. The outcome of jerkiness is running on the sidewalls of the tire.

Settling the car in the turn, quickly, takes quite a bit of time to do.

Walk the course... as many times as you can until your feet and/or legs feel like they're on fire. Then come in, get a bottle of water, and do it a couple more times.

Ask for an instructor for your 1st couple runs. They usually have them... and they're free.

--kC
2003 SCCA STX ProSolo & Solo-II Champion

 

If you have never put your car threw its paces the first time out you should take the time to see how your car reacts to your input and take it easy get a feel for the course and your car like stated before don’t worry about times you want to know your car before you drive it hard also if your car is older check your brake pads/brake fluid and tires as these parts will get abused the more you get comfortable you get with your car if there is another AWD guy/girl that has been doing autoX for some time ask them to ride with you and give your some pointers most autoXers are enthusiasts like your self and willing to help someone new to the sport out good luck I hope you have a good time

 

No offense.... I didn't understand what you just said.

Please, please, please try using punctuation and periods.

 

Are you planning to run in SFR region SCCA? If so there are a whole bunch of us locally that you can talk to. People at the autoxes are very helpful, particularly towards beginners, so don't be afraid to ask anyone about anything. If they can't help you themselves, they'll point you toward someone who can.

For your first outing I would recommend just bringing your car totally stock. Once you have done a few events you'll get an idea of what you might want to do with your car depending upon budget and time.

For your first outing in the SFR region you'll need to be an SCCA member. Make sure you turn up early so you don't have to rush around and can find where everything is in good time (registration, tech inspection etc). You'll probably want to run your tires a bit harder than normal as well (38-42 psi), so either visit a gas station first or bring (or borrow) a pump and pressure gauge.

As far as driving the car goes, you can ask an experienced driver to ride with you to give advice. This is helpful even for good drivers.

As far as stock handling goes, understeer is the worst enemy so watch your corner entry speeds. Getting the tail to come round with trail braking is fun and the car will go into a four wheel drift if all goes well.

Anyway, let us know when you are planning to turn out and we'll watch out for you.

 

thanx, very excellent

Unfortunately won't be able to go until may 29

I've been looking forward/talking about it for sooooo long. Hopefully thereafter I'll be able to go to most of them. Hopefully I'll see you there.

 

yea, i'm not expecting to win, after all i have a 99 station wagon, not that fast :banana: :banana:

Anyway, you said to put shoe polish on the sides of the tires to see if pressure is right. How does that tell you? Is it something like if the line disappears add pressure?

thats pretty crazy that u r the only 1 w/ a wrx in ur region

Thanx