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I participated in my first autocross event yesterday! The event was held by the Porsche Club of America. We were split into two groups - Porsches and other cars - and each did eight runs over two sessions. I wasn't all that fast, but I did get faster every run; I started around 40 seconds and got down to about 37!!
Most cars there were Porsches; there were also quite a few BMWs. I was one of only three V8s (one of which was an LS1-swapped RX-7)... and the only Corvette!!
Looking forward to doing autocross way more often!!
Last edited by KingCorvette93; 03-25-2019 at 06:13 PM.
When I was young I used to autocross a Datsun 2000 roadster and later a Datsun 240Z. They were a hoot to drive on tight courses and I was usually very competitive against Triumphs, MGBs, and Fiats. Today, in comparison, Red handles like a school bus. Great for road courses, but clumsy and hugely overpowered for autocrossing.
When I was young I used to autocross a Datsun 2000 roadster and later a Datsun 240Z. They were a hoot to drive on tight courses and I was usually very competitive against Triumphs, MGBs, and Fiats. Today, in comparison, Red handles like a school bus. Great for road courses, but clumsy and hugely overpowered for autocrossing.
Just based on this one experience, I tend to agree with you! The Corvette is a bit much for such a close-quarters application... but it was still fun!!
I looked into doing this but wasn't excited about it taking up the whole day. The info I found online suggested that it went from about 8am - 5pm. Was that your experience? If so, does the day go by quickly?
Awesome man! Yeah auto X is a great way to learn vehicle dynamics, the lot we do it in is at a racetrack so massive lot with no poles or obstacles to hit. To the comments about the car not being nimble in the tight spots, I'd argue the brakes / power makes up for it. Turn traction control off and get that *** out in the hairpins and you'll be fine.
I looked into doing this but wasn't excited about it taking up the whole day. The info I found online suggested that it went from about 8am - 5pm. Was that your experience? If so, does the day go by quickly?
It was from 9-3:30! You didn't really need to show up until 10ish!
I thought the whole event was fun, even considering its length!
How did you compare to the rest of the field and Porsches
The fastest car - a 991 GT3 - ran 29ish. A boosted (single turbo) E30 325i with 375 rwhp ran 35ish. My fastest was 37.6.
I DNF three runs because I entered the slalom wrong (confused by cone setup at first); I completed the course just fine, but these time were not recorded.
Overall, I don't think I was all that fast because I am new to autocross, and I was being careful of all the curbs!
If you like, I can look at the time sheet in more detail!
Last edited by KingCorvette93; 03-25-2019 at 05:45 PM.
Congratulations, that is a lot of fun. I used to live in Tallahassee in the 80s and the Tallahassee Corvette Association used to do Auto Crosses on a regular basis. We would run at the old Doak Campbell Stadium parking lot, in my 1971 (see my avatar) I could reach 90MPH depending on how open the course was. We ran using SCCA rules, and invited all cars to participate, naturally when the small cars set up the course I rarely got out of 1st gear.
Drag Racing is for fast cars. Auto X is for fast drivers. "Smooth is Fast".
Agreed, track driving even more so. As a novice, you may anticipate the straights to be the most fun (I did). You quickly learn how wrong you are. Smooth IS fast, speed comes later.
I wholeheartedly endorse auto-x as a means to discover the capabilities of a platform before you go out and let loose on a racetrack.
03-24-2019, 07:13 PM
First AutoX!!
