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I totally forgot about the kid who tried to jinx me by yelling, "Spin out!" as I launched.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnf2yATLkp4
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May 24, 2011 01:04
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He just wanted to see a wicked burnout, man.
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May 24, 2011 02:13
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So I just found out there's a bunch of autocross events by my house. I've got a 3rd gen WRX that looks completely stock, but has bilsteins/springs, an ALK, swaybars, about a dozen other suspension bushings upgraded, and about 300 whp. Can I land in D Stock or will they shove me into some ridiculous class? I'm in no way a competitive driver, so I'd rather sneak into the slowest class possible.
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May 24, 2011 16:25
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Don't worry about your PAX, just get out there. You'll probably wind up in STX. Stock classes are limited to a front sway bar, shocks/struts, and r-comps.
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May 24, 2011 16:41
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FWIW you'll probably get romped in stock class as well.  That being said...don't lie. That's a great way to get off on the wrong foot with some people you might actually want to spend some time with. Besides that, it's just kinda lovely. Everyone sucks at first so don't let your ego get too bruised over nothing. No one will care, and at least a few of them will be more than willing to help...unless your introduction to them includes a clear willingness to lie and cheat just so you don't look bad at an event where most people go just for fun. You will probably be in Street Touring if not Street Mod due to your power mods and springs. Bushings I don't think anyone cares about.
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May 24, 2011 16:41
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And fun times at the Marana track! Apparently the longest and fastest one we've had out there all year. I am superstar of Yaris racing!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1sujc5-E60
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May 25, 2011 01:45
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Podothehobbit posted:And fun times at the Marana track! Apparently the longest and fastest one we've had out there all year. You need to lighten up and try to have some fun when you are out there. 
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May 25, 2011 02:28
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Neat. Seems like the Yaris maintains the fine Toyota tradition of being surprisingly tail happy. Also 4:3 video has gotten to the point where it looks weird to me now
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May 25, 2011 02:33
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blargle posted:So I just found out there's a bunch of autocross events by my house. I've got a 3rd gen WRX that looks completely stock, but has bilsteins/springs, an ALK, swaybars, about a dozen other suspension bushings upgraded, and about 300 whp. Can I land in D Stock or will they shove me into some ridiculous class? I'm in no way a competitive driver, so I'd rather sneak into the slowest class possible. Almost nobody cares, and the people who do care respected that I read the rulebook. You are in SM because of the ALK; otherwise you would probably be in one of the SP groups because of changing your boost levels.
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May 25, 2011 02:35
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TDI for its first track day at High Plains Raceway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKEEvvJq6TQ This was bone stock everything. Have now upgraded a lot of parts since then...
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May 25, 2011 02:43
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Very first autocross ever for me last Sunday. In the rain. Lots of fun, but I need to learn to not be so timid with her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ys0gF_gcM
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May 25, 2011 03:25
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CommieGIR posted:TDI for its first track day at High Plains Raceway Reminds me of this commercial.  I do dislike your hand placement for most of the run, though. Which group were you with that allowed a handheld camera in the car?
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May 25, 2011 03:31
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DogDodger posted:Reminds me of this commercial. Was just dry lapping. The hand placement was because the body roll was freaking me out. I haven't raced since I was 17 and even then that was on dirt tracks...not tarmac so this is really new. The TDI needs suspension stiffening and work big time too, so it was rolling hard on corners. Still, like I said that was bone stock, I was burning through the brakes in 5 lap increments. Also, for 90 HP is was pretty good on the straight aways. Now its been modded with new injectors and is showing 140 HP and 255 Ft. Lbs torque, but acceleration is still weak because of the tiny turbocharger. Also, I need new brake pads, rotors, struts, and tires... Any suggestions on my hand placement? CommieGIR fucked around with this message at 03:48 on May 25, 2011 |
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May 25, 2011 03:34
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Honestly I'd just work on getting the feel of driving the car hard on tarmac. I know the temptation to mess with the car is a strong one but if you keep changing the behavior of the car that's going to make it harder to learn the feeling of driving it hard. You'll wind making yourself slower in the long run if you try to make the car compensate for your inexperience. Not flaming, it's the case for me and everyone else too. If the shocks are really old you might replace them but that's about it. A softer suspension is generally a lot more forgiving at the limit as well. Also if you keep two hands on the wheel you'll be able to feel the front tires a lot better and be more able to make precise movements. You also want a more or less upright seating position where your whole back is in contact with the seat and your arms and legs can comfortably use their whole range of motion for the controls without getting too close to overextending. You should be able to turn the wheel 180° with both of your hands remaining at 10 and 2 or 3 and 9.
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May 25, 2011 03:47
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Detroit Q. Spider posted:Honestly I'd just work on getting the feel of driving the car hard on tarmac. I know the temptation to mess with the car is a strong one but if you keep changing the behavior of the car that's going to make it harder to learn the feeling of driving it hard. You'll wind making yourself slower in the long run if you try to make the car compensate for your inexperience. Not flaming, it's the case for me and everyone else too. Any input is appreciated! Thanks! But it does need brake upgrades and strut upgrades. The brakes faded quickly even with a good bleeding, I need some better pads and rotors that cool a little faster. As far as the struts, they need to be replaced desperately. At the same time, any suggestions on how to stiffen them? You have to remember too: Its a TDI, they accelerate a lot slower than most gas engines, so some improvements to acceleration are needed. Remember: This thing came stock with 90 HP.
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May 25, 2011 03:51
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CommieGIR posted:Any suggestions on my hand placement? There are different schools of thought regarding steering and hand placement. I'm far from an expert, but personally I'm not a fan of shuffling. I'm sure that proponents of either method, though, would say that putting your hand through the wheel (like when you were grabbing the top of the wheel with your palm facing you) is no good. Your arm has a very limited range of movement at that angle, and it something would happen with an airbag or causing the wheels to suddenly change direction you may be opening yourself up to injury. Like DQS said, sit close enough that you can comfortably keep your hands on the wheel, and keep both hands on the wheel. A handy reference for distance is if you stretch out your arm your wrist can sit on the top of the wheel.
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May 25, 2011 04:06
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Keep your hands at 9 and 3. Rest your thumbs on the spokes of your steering wheel and you will be able to feel what the front end is doing through your hands. If you need to move your hands, always keep one on the wheel. Try to always keep a thumb on a spoke (use lower spokes too). I wouldn't try shuffle steering without an instructor (I'm guessing the camera man is not an instructor). I don't like shuffle steering anyway so I'm not a good resource on that. Just make sure your hands are in a good position to maintain control of the wheel throughout the turn BEFORE turn in. Make sure your elbows do not touch during your turn. I've had teachers say "9-3, 10-2, put your hands where you feel comfortable." The teacher who showed us the thumb-on-spoke trick said "keep your hands where they are comfortable, but be comfortable at 9-3." Don't put your hand inside the wheel. Ugh that is bad. Just please don't do it. Are you afraid your shifter is going to fly away? Keep your hands on the wheel. Why do you hate your transmission so much? Stop beating it into submission. Shift with your fingers, it will keep you out of the $$money shift$$. Transmissions are expensive. DogDodger has a good start for seat distance. -Keep your seat close enough to press the clutch and brake to the floor without locking your knees -Keep your shoulder blades and lower back pressed squarely into your seat (like your thumbs on spokes, this will let you feel what the REAR of the car is doing) -Be able to dangle each hand over the wheel with the wrist resting at 12 o'clock (shoulders against your seatback) -Seatbelt pro tip: Start with your seat all the way back on the track. Get the belt on and as close to you as possible. Yank the belt so it locks. Slide our seat forward into position. The belt will be TIGHT and keep you locked in place.
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May 25, 2011 04:19
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Detroit Q. Spider posted:Honestly I'd just work on getting the feel of driving the car hard on tarmac. I know the temptation to mess with the car is a strong one but if you keep changing the behavior of the car that's going to make it harder to learn the feeling of driving it hard. You'll wind making yourself slower in the long run if you try to make the car compensate for your inexperience. Not flaming, it's the case for me and everyone else too. Agree completely. Shocks are a very good thing that will improve the cars behavior. They are maintenance items for a reason. They need to be looked after or your performance (and ride quality!) will suffer. Think about it like a scientific experiment. By removing variables (like the car constantly changing by you throwing upgrades at it) you are better able to gauge your progress as a driver. You are understeering less because YOU learned how to manage your corner entry, or your going faster because you figured out how to exit a corner with a different line that will minimize wheel spin. Sometimes the best tuning you can do is working on the nut behind the wheel.
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May 25, 2011 04:22
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Thanks for the input all!
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May 25, 2011 04:23
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I know you made a thread about wanting more power in your TDI via a supercharger, but if you're serious about gaining some speed, lay off the engine mods and make sure that your maintenance items are under control. If your suspension is feeling off, new shocks will definitely help. Koni Yellows are pretty much the drug of choice in terms of an upgrade. A bigger front sway bar will also help with the body roll, but keep in mind that if you go too big, it will literally act as a pivot point mid-turn (autox bullshit where pushing = faster). Hands: 9 and 3. My most recent ex-girlfriend couldn't fathom how I drove all of the time with my hands at 9 and 3; it feels comfortable for me, I know what the car is doing, and I can move the wheel a lot without moving my hands off of the wheel. When out at autocross and the track, you don't want to be moving your hands all over the place. Less and smooth inputs will gain you speed and confidence in your car. Brakes: upgrade that poo poo. Don't worry about rotors just yet and just buy a set of NAPA blanks. Get a good synthetic fluid, the cheap choice is ATE Superblue or their 200 fluid, it's better than DOT4 specs and manages to not boil over unless if you really are hauling the mail. For pads (track), get a good street pad that bites hard and can stand some heat. I've been using Hawk HP+ pads for years and will be using the HT-10s on the track in the future. The downside to the HP+ pads are that they are noisy and dust like a motherfucker, but the trade-off is that you get some decent braking power that's good for 800F. Just to mention it again since you seem dead set on power mods: don't worry about power just yet. The way that you get fast is by keeping momentum around the course, but the true way to be fast through braking.
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May 25, 2011 04:38
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I know you're convinced you need more power. But, before you do go find an instructor with a 1990-1993 spec Miata. After you pass a bunch of expensive poo poo in a car that has <100hp at the wheels you'll realize it's all in the driving. Before you spend any money on your brakes what pads were you using? A good quality track only pad is a night and day difference compared to a street or street/autocross pad. Cheap as poo poo rotors are usually what you want.
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May 25, 2011 04:40
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FatCow posted:I know you're convinced you need more power. But, before you do go find an instructor with a 1990-1993 spec Miata. After you pass a bunch of expensive poo poo in a car that has <100hp at the wheels you'll realize it's all in the driving. I drove around the track in a Mitsubishi Evo 9, I did much better in it, I could never get up speed in my car before having to break, losing valuable time on the straight aways. While I am aware that brakes and suspension is more important, the power mods are to satisfy my own little desires. I know I'll never even get to use most of the power on the track, but I want to do the power mods.
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May 25, 2011 04:47
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As others have said, leave the power alone. Right now the car can't compensate for your mistakes and that's a good thing. When you learn to use your momentum you'll be amazed at how much more speed you'll carry. Brakes are a must but you don't have to go crazy. Some good hi-temp synthetic (I used Wilwood 570) and some heavier duty pads (Hawk HP+ up front in my case, stock pads in the rear) will make a world of difference. Blank discs are absolutely fine and are dirt cheap. If your shocks are worn that will make the car very rolly and wobbly and not particularly confidence inspiring. Something like Bilstein HDs might be helpful since they'll put up with hard use a lot better. You might replace the bushings while you're at it if they're worn but that's pretty labor intensive. It shouldn't be too hard if you're replacing the shocks though.
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May 25, 2011 04:56
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Blast from the past. What happens when you put a 540+ HP C-Prepared car on a little tiny lot at NAU? Lots of noise and fun, not so great times though. This is what I autocrossed before the M3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dlt-A7y_Dc I occasionally miss the car, but not the cost of tires, fuel, and towing.
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May 25, 2011 06:35
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Podothehobbit posted:And fun times at the Marana track! Apparently the longest and fastest one we've had out there all year. I really really liked the space and layout of that course.
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May 25, 2011 16:29
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Went to my first ever Autocross today. Was pretty fun, and I enjoyed doing something different, but it cant really hold a candle to the thrill of offroad racing. It was held at a raceway, laps ran about 1:20 to 1:10, and we did 6 each. 63 drivers showed up, and there were some pretty cool cars. I dont have many pictures of them, because you cant take photo's while working the course, but this was my favorite. Guy absolutly flogged this Volvo. I took some video, enjoy looking at my steering wheel and tach. All my GoPro sticky mounts have been stuck to various helmets, so I just need to spring for a suction cup mount so I can get good car video. Out of 10 novices, I got 3rd. I was the only one who had never driven any sort of event before, so I am pretty happy with the results. I will put more air in the tires next time, get more sleep beforehand, and bring some sunscreen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJZ9cdtK-1I mutt2jeff fucked around with this message at 04:16 on May 30, 2011 |
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May 30, 2011 01:40
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mutt2jeff posted:but it cant really hold a candle to the thrill of offroad racing. Which kind?
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May 30, 2011 03:21
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Motorcycle.
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May 30, 2011 04:15
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After a hour and a half of helmet shopping I bought a HJC CL-16 in flat black. Feelin' pretty good about it.
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Jun 2, 2011 23:38
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destructo posted:After a hour and a half of helmet shopping I bought a HJC CL-16 in flat black. Feelin' pretty good about it. Great helmet. I have a white one. Keeps met slightly cooler in the summer.
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Jun 3, 2011 17:45
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Ziploc posted:Great helmet. I have a white one. Keeps met slightly cooler in the summer. I was going to get a white one so I could use it as a Stig costume for Halloween, but lo and behold, no white smalls 
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Jun 4, 2011 02:47
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Last Sunday was the first "superslalom" (i.e. autocross) event for the Saskatoon Sports Car Club. I placed second-last, but I was the noisiest car that day - my Prelude is still wearing her winter shoes, so I think I melted a little bit of rubber all over the track. Three of my four runs are in this video, with the before-and-after bits it's close to 10 minutes long. Also, I get a bit sweary at about 0:45 because all cones look the same. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8VG4ObRYM4 We had pretty good turnout, 22 drivers in 18 cars. FTD went to the Porsche 911 Carrera driven by a man wearing a Nurburgring jacket, closely tailed by the Shelby Cobra. I was more than 10 seconds behind the leaders; I'm blaming my own severe lack of skill for 8 of those 10 seconds, with my tires taking the blame for the remainder.  Superslalom 110529 (32 of 36) by Execudork, on Flickr This awkard-looking Forester beat me by more than 8 seconds.  But I had way too much fun.
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Jun 5, 2011 04:29
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3rd event. I can definitely notice getting better at handling the car's momentum. I was actually able to get the rear end out with a bit of effort every once in a while. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4-an2i_W0A
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Jun 5, 2011 23:51
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That looks like a very confusing course...
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Jun 6, 2011 04:12
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ExecuDork posted:Last Sunday was the first "superslalom" (i.e. autocross) event for the Saskatoon Sports Car Club. I placed second-last, but I was the noisiest car that day - my Prelude is still wearing her winter shoes, so I think I melted a little bit of rubber all over the track. Don't worry, I hope to make it out sometime, once I get my brakes done. I'll be a newbie and probably slowest. Did you get a membership with SSCC?
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Jun 6, 2011 04:30
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Detroit Q. Spider posted:That looks like a very confusing course... Yea, there were a lot of DNFs and missed gates in the morning. I was really hungover and my first two runs were DNFs. The part where the course overlaps coming up from the bottom area was a bit confusing because the two other gates make a square and I was going through them going both ways. But, everyone got 10 runs and by the afternoon almost everyone had it down.
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Jun 6, 2011 05:31
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Timmy Cruise posted:Don't worry, I hope to make it out sometime, once I get my brakes done. I'll be a newbie and probably slowest. I got a membership with SSCC at the January meeting, and they promptly elected me to Director-at-Large before they knew my name: "Hey, new guy! Wanna be on the executive?" You can buy a membership ($60 for the year, I think) at an event, or at one of the monthly meetings - first Wednesday of each month, though I've missed the last few (oops).
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Jun 6, 2011 05:52
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FatCow posted:I know you're convinced you need more power. But, before you do go find an instructor with a 1990-1993 spec Miata. After you pass a bunch of expensive poo poo in a car that has <100hp at the wheels you'll realize it's all in the driving. A TDI is a commuter car with fuel economy in mind. A stock Miata is worlds away from his TDI stock for stock. At least the Miata's B6 doesn't cringe in fear every time you approach redline. I could see why he would want some more top end if he's doing track days.
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Jun 6, 2011 19:12
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 First autocross, was 2nd/50 @ 0.1 sec behind FTD which was set with a 2011 Boxter. Then an instructor took my car and rolled a time 2 seconds under that, so I think I'll be doing more events  IT WAS A NOVICE EVENT and I expect fully to be on the bottom of whatever I get classed into whenever they kick me out of novice
destructo fucked around with this message at 02:53 on Jun 7, 2011 |
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Jun 7, 2011 02:37
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| # ? Jun 1, 2024 15:21 |
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CommieGIR posted:Was just dry lapping. I have a TDI and I've autocrossed it more than a dozen times. It's not terrible stock, sure it's 0-60 time isn't as good as most gas cars but there are ranges in there where it excels (20-50mph comes to mind which happens a lot at autox). Mine has an upsolute chip and larger injectors which is a decent upgrade, very reasonably priced and not a sacrifice in reliability or gas mileage (except for your clutch you may kill that quickly). Rocketchip is the current go to upgrade for TDI's. Bilstein shocks (don't even bother with the HD or sport, the regular bilsteins are a great upgrade and cheap) and a rear sway bar (cheap because it's just a piece that fits into the twist beam) are good upgrades. Obviously the BEST upgrade is tires (don't go wide, go sticky). Don't spend too much money on upgrading your car for the track, it's not a good track car. Just have fun with it and work on your skills, upgrades could quickly add up to a dedicated track car ($2k miata? $2k integra? etc). Little power upgrades will serve you on the street too though so they are probably worth it. Edit: Just wanted to say I like double spacing stuff.
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