Hey guys, Just curious how i would go about competeing in Auto X? What would i need to do? and just out of curiosity, how much money do average autoXers make? Im a Newb, sorry.

 

It's as easy as showing up on time having your car inspected, and borrowing a helmet. Most groups have a novice course walk to show you where you need to be and when. and a manditory drivers/safety meeting prior to the first runs. The cost is generally about $25.

As to what most average auto-x'ers make. hahahahahaha!

We spend more on gas per lap than we make from auto crossing.

You will spend alot of money on your car, you might win a trophy or two if your fast (the trophy will be worth less than the entry fee gauranteed).

If your really fast and compete nationally you might be able to get parts at cost from a sponsor or maybe some free stuff too.

I doubt there are many people out there making a living from driving in auto-crosses, and surely not nearly as many as are working extra hours and jobs for money to go auto-crossing.

But....

If you do it, you will be hooked. It is more fun than you can imagine, and its legal and relatively safe.

 

yep. tons of fun, best advice is to show up and have fun. you won't make money, but you might win a tophy or something. entry fees range but i've found are around 20-30 bucks.

 

Also, check out http://www.scca.org to find out more information. They also have links that will show you the regions in your area. They usually have websites that list the event dates.

There's even a section on the SCCA page for those like yourself who are just getting started. That's where I began my journey into autocross.

 

> how i would go about competeing in Auto X?

Look at www.scca.org, find your region, go to their website. Ideally it will be that easy -- you may have to do a little more work if it isn't clear where yoru region is. You might then call the SCCA and ask for a local contact, or go to a nearby region and call or email someone listed there -- they should be able to get you what you need.

In simplest terms, show up to an event with your car. Barring nationals, this is amateur racing for fun -- most attendees are Car Guys/Gals and want to have a good safe time without spending a lot of money. For better results, read some of the starting stuff you can find on the web -- I think Tire Rack has a nice starting page, or do some web searches for autocross novice. Show up early. Walk the course! Find a friend or make one and get them to help you. Ideally, show up to a Test 'n Tune day and get someone good to ride in your car with you and perhaps drive your car around to show you what it is capable of. This may be dependent on where you are and what it's like -- the one in my nearby region is very relaxed and has some great people who are really willing to help.

If your car is stock (and I mean stock -- no tuning, no extra parts) then this pretty much limits the amount of money anyone in the class can spend. You can get a fairly nice suspension setup and nice tires. Or be like most and just race what you have. The more mods you do, the more you move up in classes so you're competing with people with more-or-less the same advantages. The problem with that is it can turn into an arms race -- some people take this pretty seriously and spend a fortune on stuff -- you either match them or you run at a disadvantage. However, one nice thing about autocrossing is that the driver skill is a huge portion -- I don't drag race but I don't think it is nearly as important there, where in autocross a good driver in a cheap old Miata can whip the pants off of an average driver in the same or even a much more expensive car. Oh, and a 125cc shifter kart costing under $10k will probably beat every car there.


> how much money do average autoXers make?

Are you asking how much we make in our regular jobs, or (like the other respondants assumed) how much winning makes us, like we were golfers or boxers or NASCAR drivers? The former, who knows -- I see a lot of engineers out there who make a fair amount, as well as people who probably make $20k a year. A suprising number of retired or semi-retired people who sometimes motor home to the events.

The latter, like was said, is basically nothing. If you win nationals, you might be about to get a part time job as an instructor at various classes. Good luck. In general you will spend $15-$30 for a day and get a T-shirt or a small trophy or a sticker to show for it. Cheap fun. However, your gas mileage will be astonishingly low if you're doing it right (think low single digits). Your tires will probably get a good 2000+ miles of wear out of them from the 5 miles you drive. In fact if you regularly autocross that will probably be your major expense -- a set of tires per year or two.


OK, this is much longer than it needs to be and I have a bad habit of digressing. But anyway, (1) bring what you have and drive safely and have fun, (2) you won't make any money autocrossing but you won't have to spend much either. Nothing like a real track event. One final note -- I am pretty new to autocrossing so everything you read above could be wrong. :-)