AutoX Video - Looking for tips?

[Chris_5.0]

Hey guys,

Here's a video from my first run at AutoX late this Spring. I'll be going again in a few weeks and would love to hear some input from you guys. Please let me know what you think, good or bad! Any tips are welcome!

[video=youtube;yYPVCYpu_wU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYPVCYpu_wU[/video]

 

[BLKFOX]

Looking good man! The only advice I have is to remember, smooth is fast! Keep it up .

 

[MFE]

You seem to be doing a good job of looking well ahead of the car, but you're overdriving it. My best driving coach once told me "sometimes you have to slow down to go faster". He was dead right.

1) Keep your right hand off the shifter. You can't do fine adjustments of the steering with your left hand at the top of the wheel and your right hand on the shifter where it's not needed for anything but the first 60 feet of the course.
2) Modulate the brake and the throttle. They're not all-or-nothing on/off switches. Treat them like dimmer switches.
3) Pick a throttle setting and stick with it through slaloms and slalom-like sections. Every time you mash the gas and lift off the gas, you're shifting load and traction from back to front to back to front to back to front...the car doesn't like it and will slow you down. Be smooth.

As RideTechJosh said, smooth is fast. The very fastest guys may not look smooth, but they've gotten to a point of being able to quickly enter their inputs for what amounts to a smooth output at the tires, and that's what matters. But it takes a lot of experience to get there, and the best way to do it is to start by smoothing out your inputs until you learn the feel of dancing the car on the edge. Then you learn to do what you need to do to keep the dance going. And part of that starts with looking even further ahead of the car than you probably already are. Like I said, you seem to be doing a decent job of this...but even further.


.

 

[Five.Oh]

Not bad, keep it up.

Keeping the car balanced is a delicate art. You will get there, Like all of us the most important thing you can do for yourself to improve is get all the seat time in that you can. Compete in every event you can.

Keep at it

 

[BK_Panther]

I agree with MFE. I autocrossed by Grand Marquis for over 4 years and never came in last. Quite a few times I beat cars that should be way faster. The more you look ahead and know what's coming, the more you can prepare for it. Sometimes it's good practice in between runs to go through the course in your head. If you remember where you could have scrubbed off speed, you can correct it.

This a very old video but this is me against my friend in his Mini Cooper. His Mini is super charged too. Although it may not have hit boost much on such a tight course.

http://youtu.be/LOQNtWR390k?list=UU9tOTPygaYhQha0s6Kldk8A

 

[Chris_5.0]

Took another stab at Autocross today in Hershey, PA. Think I did a LOT better than I did my first time this Spring, especially with the addition of the Pirelli PZeros and Hankooks out back. Can't wait to get back into it more next Spring

This was my 2nd best and final run of the day. Needless Ito say, I pushed her pretty hard. Track was at Hershey Park in PA.

(Don't worry, I still love drag racing)

Video -
[video=youtube;YxIGBh8Dg3g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxIGBh8Dg3g[/video]

 

[MFE]

You left probably 2 seconds on the table between :49 and :59 because you turned what could have been a long, fast part-throttle sweeper into a 3-point turn. Look further ahead. Be smooth.

 

[Chris_5.0]

You left probably 2 seconds on the table between :49 and :59 because you turned what could have been a long, fast part-throttle sweeper into a 3-point turn. Look further ahead. Be smooth.

Yeah, I know. I've been really trying to look further ahead. It really helps watching the video afterwards to watch and see what you did wrong. I'm pleased with the run for the most part. But I know there are definitely improvements to be made. Next spring! As for winter? It's mod season.

 

[AlleyCat]

Awesome. I'm wanting to run my 01 cobra vert in auto cross coming up in November. What class are you in ? I have a fairly stock car with a few bolt ons and suspension mods.

 

[Chris_5.0]

Awesome. I'm wanting to run my 01 cobra vert in auto cross coming up in November. What class are you in ? I have a fairly stock car with a few bolt ons and suspension mods.

I ran in STU class. I have basic bolt-ons. JLT Intake, Tune, and AB's. As I'm sure you know, figuring out what class you're in is pretty complex. Depending on what suspension mods you have, you're probably in ST class. Have you done it before?

 

[KILRSVT]

Wow those courses are wide open compared to the ones out here keep it up bro ... What club do you run with ?

 

[Chris_5.0]

SCCA Susquehanna Region around Harrisburg, PA. This particular location was at Hershey Park, PA. And yeah, definitely was getting up there towards the end.

Watching the video again, I really need to work on my lines and looking further ahead....