I have a 92 lt1 6 speed stock what can I do to be more competitive
i have to compete with grandsports with lt4 set up
this is first year of playing but want to do more someone out there is more experience running can u give me suggestion for next year
stock 1gs or mod 2g

thanks guys

 

1. Learn the car and how to set tire pressures.
2. Need to get a good set of tires that will grip rather than squeel.
3. See #1

It will take a season to become accustomed to your car and its characteristics.
Watch what the other C4's do and how they compensate.
Talk to the others and get feedback on your driving habits.
Take a school if there is one around you.
And don't just think its the car and start making changes expecting to go faster.

Smooth is fast is smooth.

 

Seat time will be by far the best way to go faster. Watch other drivers, walk the course, ask questions, get rides if allowed, and get seat time.

Adding mods too quickly may not always help with times. Once you learn how you car performs, then you can start making changes. Oh, get lots of seat time!

 

and might add- seat time

Walk the course at least twice, train yourself to look ahead and through the corners, remember slow in/fast out, smooth is fast, and the most important corner is the one which leads to the longest straight.

As far as the car- focus on having good tires which have good grip. You may not want to run DOT slicks yet, but get something like Kumho XS's. These will give you better warning when they are reaching the limit and gradually enter into their slip angle and gradually reach the traction limit whereas the DOT slicks are almost instant. Next, work on reading the tires which was mentioned by JRRifleCoach, you want the tire to roll over to the place where the sidewall and tread meet, usually marked by a triangle. Find someone to get you an aggressive street alignment. Make sure you have newer functioning shocks. You don't need the expensive race shocks yet just shocks in good condition. And there is lots more that you will encounter and learn. But I will leave you with one last word of advise- "Have Fun"

 

Driver mod is HUGE, Seat time. Make the car reliable if not so already, then, Tires & Alignment, finally some decent shocks.

What rule set are you running under SCCA or NCCC?

Even if your running in a "Stock" class. A LOT can be done to make C4's handle better. Alignment is huge!!!

Pull EVERY front shim out of the upper control arms, then set toe to zero.
Rear camber about -1 to -1.5 degrees with stock toe-in settings.

Koni's are good quality less expensive shocks.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Dunlap Dizzera ZII's the BFG Rivals are good too. Pick one of them, they are the best two "street" tires in auto-x right now. PERIOD. Biggest they go in 17" diameter for both is 255/40/17. This is ok, and fit fine on the 17X9.5's. The less width is MORE than made up for in compound. The Kumho XS is a good track day tire, not so much with auto-x, they don't heat up fast enough.

FYI, the ZII's 39psi cold front, 37 psi cold rear.

EVO Driver's school, heck, any kind of drivers school is worth the money. Did we mention seat time????

 

What these guys^ all said. The LT4 doesn't have much meaningful advantage on you; he has a slightly extended RPM range. How often are you looking for third gear? If never (likely) then the LT4 really doesn't have a meaningful advantage.

Alignment
Koni's
Tires
DRIVE the thing.

 

It's 70% driver so it's about seat time.

 

Like they said above; tires, tires, tires, alignment, and shocks...then attend every autocross event you can. It's all about the seat time, and finding good instructors at each event to help you learn.

 

I'd like to add another component;

*Keeping your eyes and mind OPEN -when you're getting this seat time.

For example; I can't tell you how many "veteran auto x'ers I see driving around on too low a gear. It's an easy mistake to make; the engine "sounds racy", the car FEELS fast and powerful in a lower gear...so it must be faster, but in many cases it is not, b/c you have too much tq to the rear wheels, both accelerating and decelerating, it makes the car loose, and it hampers your mid-turn speed.

Anyway, get seat time, but really scrutinize what is happening with your car as it transitions through different parts of the course and is dealing with different forces.

 

I alway walk the course until I can close my and remember every turn. Then I walk it again and think about where I will be shifting gears either up or down. And as everyone else said seat time and ride with other people so you can and see what there doing differently than you. And the most important thing is just have fun and get to know your fellow racers. I have made some great friends over the years.

 

Definitely agree here.

With a C4 especially, first I'd make sure the alignment is set correctly for autocross. IMO, these cars are a bear to drive if the alignment is off. You won't learn much fighting an ill behaved car.

Koni's second is a good choice. If you can't afford them, don't worry. Get the alignment then save for Koni's.

For tires, I ran all of '12 on 320tw Bridgestones and did reasonably well. As long as what is on the car now is serviceable, you should be good to go. Run what ya brung on tires so a "better" compound won't mask any mistakes. Don't get too hung up on pressures. A good starting point is the owner's manual. Sidewall construction isn't what it used to be - current tires esp. in vette sizes don't have the old floppy sidewalls. Up and down a few pounds front and rear should do ya - understeer less up front/more in back, over steer vice versa. You can chalk the side wall where the little arrows are. The chalk should wear off to about to the edge of the tread. Adjust accordingly. Learning to manage the car on your current tires will make you better on racier tires.

If the car won't turn, it's often because you're going in too fast. Tire can only do so much - turning and braking at the same time doesn't make it a happy camper.

Instructors, instructors, instructors. Take them with you, ride with others. Take the critique with an open mind - their goal is to help you.

Most important, HAVE FUN!

 

thanks folks all of your suggestion are good seat time is best I'm first year running having a bll just need to make the 116,000 mile car better already did the kumho xs tires very good grip do great on tight courses but way off on long faster ones need to learn how to brake better on the fast curves


SEAT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'm a first year autocrosser as well, same exact car as you with a little more miles. My times went from being 50 out of 55 cars to 13 out of 55 at my last event, and the only thing I changed was tires (Went from Sumitomo HTR III's to Nitto NT05's). My car is stock with headers.

It's ALL about seat time, as everyone has already told you. Keep driving it stock until your times are comparable with other cars in your class, then upgrade.

 

shocks, driving technique, tires

 

Well I'm afraid to say it's not the tires fault. The Summies are a horrible tire for autoxing. A tire I used before the stickies was the Kumho xs. It's a great autox tire and a good street tire unless it's wet or cold out.

 

You'd actually be surprised, the Sumis weren't that bad, as long as you spray them. The Nittos are a little better though not as much as I thought they would be. They are terrifying in the rain though!

 

Vin you did REAL good, right in your 1st year