Cone Dodging Part Two: Preparing Your Car

Just because you’re autocrossing in a parking lot doesn’t mean you can’t prepare your car to its fullest. Keep in mind, you’ll want to check with your club rules before taking anything out of the car. In nearly all cases, loose objects that are not bolted down are to be removed. This includes the floor mats, trunk mat, center caps or hubcaps, and the spare tire jack and tools. You can also normally remove the spare tire along with them.

If you are allowed, and it’s simple to do, remove the passenger seats from your car, including the rear. Every bit of weight helps.

If you’ve got cold-air induction on your Mustang, and there is plastic grille trim in front of it, you can remove it. While it won’t add much in terms of power, you might as well make full use of the CAI. This goes for the headlights if your filter is right there. If you are still using the OEM air intake box, don’t bother removing anything including the filter, as that won’t help.

If you’re worried about making contact with cones, you can use your painter’s tape to cover up typical spots where cones will contact. Most of the front bumper and just in front of the rear tires are typical spots for contact.

Start your tire pressure at factory settings or 32 psi cold. Checking the shoe polish of your marked tires will indicate whether you need to raise the pressure or lower it. The more polish removed from the sidewall, the more pressure you need. Apply dots about an inch apart all around the sidewalls of the tires.

For a Mustang, you’ll probably want the front to roll a bit more. Some people remove the sway bar to achieve that; however, that is a personal preference and won’t hurt to try it both ways. If your times improve with it off, leave it off. You’d only have to disconnect one side, so it’s easy to do fairly quickly.