Autocross Action Pics

Yonco · 08-17-2007, 09:04 PM

Well, i took my mustang autocrossing for the first time, and i have to say, im hooked! It totally ripped me away from drag racing and now i want to do mroe handling also. AutoX takes more skill,( imo) it lasts longer, its more ocmpetitive( driving skill) and such. I was looking for doing some mods to help autoX and im already in the SM class( high modd class) due to my shaker ram air hood is fiberglas and thats " weight reduction" so im put into a higher class. so im not worried about adding parts. My future list is something like: Intake/Tune/UDP/ suspension package( with springs/struts/swaybars)/ and some trailing arms.

On the trailing arms, do they need to be adjustable? after you lower your car, do they need to be adjusted for the correct pinion angle, or is it not enough to effect it? Also my car now has a catback exhaust( SLP) hurst short throw shifter/shaker ram air setup.

All in all, for my frist time, i ddont do to bad. I overdrove the car, went into the corners to fast, and it didnt turn, and slid straight, and then floored it out of them drifting( which was very fun) and thats what i was there for. so mabey after some supension work, and after i put on my 275's my times will go down. Thanks for reading, and any tips on autoX mods, gimme a chime -Jon

Jerseyautoparts · 08-17-2007, 09:09 PM

nice i was going to go to one in nj but it got canceled since it rained..

PROMETHEUS PRIME · 08-17-2007, 09:10 PM

Looks like a good time.

orange S197GT · 08-17-2007, 09:18 PM

Honestly? The first and best mod you can do for autocrossing is to get a set of tires. Kumho V710 and Hoosier A6 are the popular tires in my region. Your car can be competitive as it is right now with tires. You would be surprised how different the car will act with them. One of the fastest guys in my region ran a Cobra with stock suspension...but he had tires.

With more events (seat time) you'll learn how to really drive the car. After you have several events (maybe a complete season) under your belt then do some suspension mods. Trust me the tires will get you quicker times over suspension mods and street tires.

guydon · 08-17-2007, 09:32 PM

Are those cones supposed to be knocked over like that?

Great pics!

RodeoFlyer · 08-17-2007, 09:34 PM

Just leave the car alone and learn. No sense in learning on a $1300 set of tires IMO.

If anything for now just free up the front end one of these ways

1. V6 front sway bar
2. bigger rear bar
3. adjustables favoring stiffer in the rear

do that and get some Hawk HP+ pads for TRACK USE ONLY. they are okay to drive on the street but squeak like a schoolbus until they get to operating temp - which you likely wont see on the street. add good fluid and braided lines.

other than those things leave the car alone - and turn the traction control off. if you leave it on it kills your rear brakes.

s2k · 08-17-2007, 09:46 PM

Your stang looks sweet taking cornors spoiler deleted.

FyouGitive · 08-17-2007, 10:23 PM

Go ahead, Yonco, tell them: the lying-down cones are directional indicators ...

Your counselor Rodeo Flyer has a good grip on where to go and how. Technique and car control can be learned in any vehicle, it just becomes easier with the appropriate mods. If your local magazine store has Grassroots Motorsports look for an issue with a blue Subaricer on the cover. They give the car a 10-points improvement course for handling, and show which of the usual mods has most effect on autocross lap times.

There are equipment and technique methods for getting the front end to answer your instructions and not push away from the apex of turns. More roll-stiffness in the opposite end of the car (c.f. Rodeo Flyer) and pitch-and-catch both work, but the former is quicker and less, uh, exciting.

For anyone in Southern California who is interested in a bit of practice time, SCNAX is offering three days (3 days!) of practice in the San Diego Stadium (Qualcomm) parking lot, 1, 2 and 3 September:
http://www.sdr-scca.com/solo2/schedu...nax-090107.pdf
Groups are about half full as of yesterday. Courses on this big lot are usually 60-80 second laps, top speeds in the 70s, my experience. Last practice I ran, I did 12 runs in an hour and a half. Learned something about brake fade, I did. You can get the SDR card and car number on the morning of the event, if you register by mail beforehand, or a "day pass" for $10 if the $30 SCCA "membership" isn't appealing to you. Enter "TBD" in the Card No. space.

My own setup is very nice, yields a predictable, controllable turning experience, potentially very fast in the right hands:
GT front bar, H&R 26mm rear, BMR strut brace, Tokico D-spec struts/shocks, Steeda Sport springs, GT 17x8 Bullitts with original tall-tread Pirelli PZero Neros. On these tires you can go skating around pretty good, feeling the dynamics in kind of slow motion. Someone has suggested the Bridgestone racy (R001?) tires as a pretty good performer and relatively inexpensive next step.

Any road, it is a real treat to do autocross, and a giant pleasure and an excellent accomplishment to do it right and do it well. Can take some time and effort, though.

Welcome to the twisty side.

TPony · 08-17-2007, 10:42 PM

Looks like lots of fun there...

Yonco · 08-18-2007, 12:03 AM

I have the grassrrots mag where they did the autocrossing 06 GT, and thats where i got my info. Im going to stick with some of the mods they did and some that i feel arnt fully nessicery( or some i cant.dont wanna do now light clutch/flywheel) And yes, the cones on their sides are pointer cones, they show which way the course is to be driven. When you first walk the track it is not easy to see, so you use the pointer cones to help you figure out the course. As nmore groups run, there is rubber layed down on the track and you can figure out the path( or memorize it). Out of the 6 runs, i ended up wiping 2 cones on a slolom. It was optional, i could go left or right, and i was coming out of a corner sideways and couldnt pick which was i wanted to go so ended up slapping them with the rear of the car trying to correct my overdriving. I will put together a vid and put it on photobucket of my runs, i have 5 mins of vid of my running there. -Jon