Hey everyone,

I'm going to go autocrossing in 2 weeks and I was wondering if you guys had any advice for me:
1) What tire pressures should I set my stock 17" Perillis to?
2) Any advice on good launching for autocrossing? I've watched one autocross and I think there's a very short "get up to speed" distance before you run through the lasers and the clock starts. Don't spin the tires? Spin the tires? Launch how hard?
3) How should I handle turns? Heel-toe + rev match, but what else? All my friend's are FWD import racers so no help there.. what's the best way to tackle tight turns going 20-40mph? Is "drifting" involved? I apologize if that's a dumb question - this is my first time.
4) Anything I should do to protect my paint job from rocks that get kicked up? Or will that generally not be a problem since I'm the only car on the road?

Car stats: CAI+tune, 3.55 stock gears, manual tranny, stock 17" rims/tires. Will be in "STS" class.

Thanks!

 

Hello,

My experience autocrossing suggests the following:
1. 46 front, 42 rear.
2. Turn off traction control, no spin needed, just a decent launch, I bring the rpms up to 2k and slip the clutch. Also once in 2nd gear, leave it there as a general rule. Let the torque of the engine pull it out of the turn. Only around a pivot cone, do I downshift, and sometimes I still leave it in 2nd gear. So shifting is really not an issue.
3. I would not worry about rev matching. I would be more concerned about following a good line and not overdriving the car. Brake earlier and turn in sooner than you think you can. Look far ahead to the next cones, not the ones right in front of you. Drifting costs you time.
4. Your tires are not sticky enough to worry about kicking up rocks. Plus only Corvettes really worry about it. I would compete in F Stock, and ask them to allow for your CAI. That is what I am doing, and they dont mind. You should be in Novice, STX, or STU, not STS, your engine is too large.

Just have fun the first few times out. Good Luck and be safe.

 

Walk the course with an experienced autocrosser and if possible have him or her ride along on your first run to give you some pointers. Memorize the course and visualize yourself approachng every turn. Let everyone know its your first time and listen to the advice you get from the people that have fast clean runs. The best drivers have already run the couse in their mind before they ever get to the starting line.

Tire pressure is important. I ran 48 lbs when I had the stock 17s P-Zeros. Depends on the weight of the car and the driver. I would put some white chalk on your side walls for the first run so you can see how much roll over you get on the tires. You can adjust the tire pressure up or down for your second run.

Keep you eyes ahead of the car. As soon as you commit to a turn look at the line and start setting up for the next one. Don't worry about hitting the cones, if you set up well you won't be a cone crusher and you won't spin out. Don't get discouraged. Solo Racing is fun, but but don't expect to walk away winner the first time out. I envy you. I wish I could feel the way you are going to feel right after your first run.

 

Thanks for the advice,

Yeah, I have no intention of "winning" or even getting a decent time.. just want to have fun and start building good racing habits from the start.

Few more questions:
Since drifting = lose time, does that mean I should always try to travel slow enough that all tires are making perfect contact? As in, should I try to avoid ANY loss of traction/squealing tires? Or are there ever instances where this will help me?

White chalk on the tires: Can you elaborate what this does? Do I look at how much chalk has wiped off from rolling on the ground to figure how much of my sidewall touches the ground? What is acceptable and how should I fix it?

Thanks!

 

Go to school first, or risk wrecking your brand new 08.

http://www.bondurant.com/

 

I spent a great weekend at a Skip Barber School, and my bride and I autocrossed our Mustang. The Reverend nailed a lot of good details.

The one that makes the biggest difference for me is to make sure you are looking ahead. Your eyes have to go places before the car goes places. It really does make a difference in your times if you get your head to where you are going next. The car will follow. Minimum (if any) shifting. The stock brakes are not great for long distance road racing, but will usually handle some aggressive autocross use without complaint.

Finally, when you walk the course, think about where you will need traction at a given point, front or rear. You'll be using the throttle and brake to give yourself "stickyness" at the front or rear of the car.

These Mustangs are a gas to autocross. You're going to have a lot of fun.

 

I haven't raceed the sn197 but did race my mach. The first couple of laps have an instructor in the car. Your not racing anyone so learn the limits of your car over time and adjust accordingly. Don't think about anything around the turns until you learn the track. Make sure that you brake early. Stay in second gear and try to use the modulation of the gas pedal to go around sweeping turns. Good luck and make sure you have the proper safety equipment.

Roger

 

Nice.. I'm interested in that course... but maybe later before I go road-racing. Right now I can't afford $1000+ (autox is $30) and I don't want to do any real racing until I'm a little more experienced.

In autocrossing, I hear you don't get to go past 60mph unless you have a really fast car.

But on that note.. is there any way to damage your car while autocrossing? What should I do to avoid it? Can our cars flip from aggressive turning at autocross speeds?

 

should he be on the gas and the brakes at the same time around some corners? When do you left off the brakes in a turn?

 

First off, you are going to be hooked, garanteed. I have done autocrossing for about 11 years now, all with Mustangs of varoius years and always in more or less stock trim. The 05+ is by far superior compared to previous years.

Believe it or not, I found near stock tire pressures worked best for me, 33 front, 31 rear. Any more and the car would start to slide too much. 1 or 2 PSI will make a noticable difference. The warmer the tire / track, the better the tires would stick. I have to say, I was impressed with the factory tires lasting me 3 autocross seasons and being a daily driver. They are truely shot now!!

As other said, no traction control, it will mess you up. I have Eibach springs and it helped for the 2nd and 3rd year of autocross, the 1st year, the car did lean quite a bit in the corners.

Don't even attempt to heel toe, I don't think it is possible with these cars that have TBW. I tried and gave up soon after. Maybe with your tune your throttle with respond quicker, but I know if I try to "burp" the throttle, the engine does not respond, not even a little. It is like I didn't touch the gas peddle. If I try to hold it down a little longer, and I mean just a little, the engine revs too high. I hate that part of this car.

As for speed in the corners, if your tires are not squeeling like mad, you are not going fast enough. Don't drift the car through the corner. You can hang the rear out a bit once you get back on the throttle, but keep in mind if you are getting on it that hard, don't back off, just keep on the gas and feather the rear back straight, don't start to fishtail, that can end up bad depending on what kind of obsticals there are around. These cars are very predictable when it comes to hanging the rear out a bit on the throttle, I love to do it and have become very good at it. It also makes for a good show for corner workers.

One very important peice of advice would have to be don't drive over your head. Go as fast as you are comfortable with and see if you can improve on your times just a little on every run for the day. Also, don't be afraid to abort a turn or gate if you are out of shape (control). Take the DNF and remember that part of the track for next time.

Have fun, I wish our season was not over (Winter in Canada, although just rain here).

 

I agree with Cop on my back....
It's easier to slow down then speed up meaning drive faster and harder than you think, if you miss a turn, slow down a little next time.....
In autocross, it's hard to damage your car....

 

True, tracks are designed to help keep drivers out of trouble, but they cannot design it safe for idiots or clowns. Many events take place it big parking lots where there is a lot of run off area. Ours are held on a race track with cement walls. We use some of the oval and some of the infield as well as the drag strip shut down area that ends in a hairpin. So, if we make a big mistake, we could hit a wall, something I nearly did last year after doing something stupid.

I was so rattled, shocked from the incident, I was close to puking for about 1 1/2 hours. I thought up to that point my car was so predictable, I knew exatcly how it would react and what it was capable of doing.

After that incident I learned to respect my car, something I did originally but forgot over time. By the way, the car stayed off the wall, but got to within about 10" of it at about 60 mph sideways. I scared the crap out of the spectators too!

 

Just start off slow, but still drive the line, and as you go, start to speed up some more, and learn where you can push it, and where you cant. And walk the track before you race, and think about it, before you get in the car.

 

You're going to love it! I only got to take my s197 out once in Seattle, but it was a blast. I had driven a Fiero and a Toyota S-Runner before that, both fun too, just not as fun as the Mustang.

If the club hosting the event offers a class every take it. They might do so in the spring. The club I was in offered one every spring, it was a 2 day course that went over the basics very well, and there were enough people in the club that wanted to play that just about every other week there was a practice session available for club members.

Check into the tech requirements for the event too, you'll probably have to remove the floor mats, the spare tire, and anything loose in the car. Our club liked tire pressures above 40, but if you can get away with 33 and that works best, great. If you own a helmet, bring that, too, unless you want to fight over the available helmets (if they have any). Most likely they'll be following SCCA rules or similar, some clubs modify them a bit but use them as a baseline.

Over all, get it in second quickly, keep your eyes up and your hands from getting crossed up, and have fun!

 

Some good tips already, but I'll add based on my experience.

1) After a lot of experimenting all season, I've settled on cold pressures of 35 psi up front, 32 psi rear for autocrossing on the stock 235/55/17 Pirellis. I tried cold pressures as high as 45 psi and the car felt like it was on ice skates.

The caveat here is that the 35/32 is with -2.3 degrees of negative camber up front, springs, struts and swaybars. When I was at -1.25 (from the Eibachs--no swaybars), 37 psi worked best up front. If you are on stock springs and sways, then you may want to try a little higher.

Bring a container of white shoe polish w/ the built in applicator and lay a strip at the tread corner above each spoke (no need to go all the way around the tire...). This makes it *very* evident just how much tire roll you are getting.

2) TCS off, don't spin at launch. It won't help your times, and you will tick off the person behind you whose front end just got chipped due to rock spray. On that note, when gridding up, don't get too close behind the jacka$$ in front of you who may spray rocks.

3) Just get into 2nd gear as soon as you can and stay in it the entire course. For tight turns, go in slow. This is tough, as you want to fly into every turn, but...you've gotta go slow to go fast. (especially on stock tires)

4) Don't worry about it (see 2 above).


Also, bring a sun canopy, or at the very least, a folding chair. Have fun!

P.S. Don't try any open track events. You'll never do an autocross again.

 

Couple pics of me this year.

 

I'm new to autocrossing also. What is the reason for such high PSI on the tires? If running a high performance tire, is high pressure still necessary?

Where can I find autocross events in my area?

 

With the extreme cornering and general abuse of your car, the tires set at factory pressures can fold under the rim under these conditions. The higher pressures will make the tires a little harder and reduce this problem. This however causes another problem if the tires are too hard, they don't stick and you will feel like you are on marbles. You have to find a middle ground that works best. It really depends on the track surface condition and temperature and trial and error to find out what works best.

Good luck in finding a local organization to play with, you will love it.

 

This is a good overview of autocrossing.

 

I've autocrossed before, very sucessfully here on the island.

Here are some tips for you:

1. Chaulk your tires, 3 striped covering about 2" of the tread, and 1" of the sidewall. After you drive the course, you want to see about 1/2" of the chaulk rubbed off the sidewall. Too much rubbed off > increase pressure. To little rubbed off > drop pressure. Do this every time, as the pavement changes in grip, and temperature makes a difference as well.

2. Drive slow to go fast. If you're spinning your tires, or scrubbing them in a corner, you're loosing time.

3. Corners, slow in = fast out. You'll carry that speed to the next corner, saving you time.

4. Easy on the wheel. No harsh, or big changes. Smooth and steady wins the race.

5. Walk the course where you would be driving. Keep the picture in your mind.

6. Leave the ego at home (sounds like you already have this one under control). Listen, look and learn.

7. Have fun. It's what it's all about
And let us know how you make out!


Mike