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Our club just makes the exit straightish or low speed and trusts that people who "race" their cars will be responsible. Don't think we've ever had an issue other than the occasional punting of the laser reflector. If the paddock/grid is near the exit then there will usually be a double row of cones offset to make a very sharp turn forcing people to slow down. Stop boxes boggle my mind.
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Jun 5, 2012 00:04
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I don't like it when stop boxes are after a fast section. Yesterday it was after a quick slalom and a lot of people came dangerously close to destroying the timing equipment. One mustang with undersized tires spun out on the last set of cones and came backwards into the box. Amazingly he didn't hit a single cone. See this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YtTCz7QE1M Also, these showed up today:  Can't wait to try them out in 2 weeks.
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Jun 5, 2012 00:45
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Crustashio posted:2) It is possible for someone to enter the stop box completely backwards, not destroy the timing equipment or hit any cones inside the box. A friend of mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3J6d24tXMs "I'm not in reverse!" (Yea, the course is super short, it was a Forza event and we were hooning rides for the public.)
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Jun 5, 2012 01:56
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We (Saskatoon) always have a stop box, and that's a FULL STOP box - a rolling stop is a DNF, which catches lots of people from other clubs when we host our annual event. I always tell first-timers to just stand on the brake pedal inside the box, and don't go again until your suspension completely unloads. Hitting one of the stop box cones is also a DNF, on-course cones are usually 2 seconds penalty each. The timing light boxes are notorious for causing damage to cars that hit them, not for getting damaged. One says "I love RX-7" on it because a couple of years ago an RX-7 cracked the radiator missing the stop box and dumped all of its coolant. The timing light was fine. Different clubs do the little details differently. It's great fun to go visit other places and throw a car around a different course, but don't assume the little stuff will be at all the same - I found this out at the end of December when I visited Calgary (thanks again, Seat Safety Switch!), we normally run events that last about 3-4 hours, but that event was all day long and I'd already made other plans for the afternoon. And people give me poo poo whenever I ask for clarification about how many seconds knocking a cone is worth - it's *not* 2 seconds everywhere, everytime! I don't know if we disallow reverse gear, I can't think of a case where it's come up.
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Jun 5, 2012 02:23
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We don't have stop boxes, but any cone after the final gate (the double cones where the timing lights are set up) through the rest of the finish chute (usually 200' of straight line) is considered an "Extreme DNF". Two extreme DNF's sends you back to your parking spot for the day, but doesn't get you out of your work assignment. Stop boxes are typically used at venues that don't have the space for a straight non-stop finish.
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Jun 5, 2012 03:56
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ExecuDork posted:The timing light boxes are notorious for causing damage to cars that hit them, not for getting damaged. One says "I love RX-7" on it because a couple of years ago an RX-7 cracked the radiator missing the stop box and dumped all of its coolant. The timing light was fine. We not only disallow reverse gear but we also get upset if any part of your car breaks the invisible line between cones forming the box (as guys have tried 300-point turns to get out after ending copiously backwards in the box). Usually we also have an unsuspecting volunteer manning the "exit" cone, who removes it once they're convinced you've stopped and tells you your time. The explanation is that autocross is about precision driving, and it doesn't matter how fast you are if you can't keep the car under control. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Jun 5, 2012 |
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Jun 5, 2012 07:16
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That sounds fantastic, making autocross even more pedantic.
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Jun 5, 2012 16:09
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I thought Autocross was about driving your car around a bunch of traffic cones in a parking lot and looking down on other people because your car is more expensive/modified/faster/lighter/older/newer.
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Jun 5, 2012 17:31
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Jesus. What kind of timing lights are you using? I think we had one set take a bumper-punt once and it broke the reflector box after road-rashing the sender. The current set has had a variety of airborne escapades thanks to certain individuals who shall remain nameless. They have welded (3/8" thick?) aluminium boxes... Like the milk-crates that ASA uses... Just, um... solid. I was in grid at SSIS/Nationals when that RX-7 understeered into the timing light & ripped off the botton endtank of their rad. It was um... "rad".
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Jun 5, 2012 17:40
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Rabble posted:I thought Autocross was about driving your car around a bunch of traffic cones in a parking lot and looking down on other people because your car is more expensive/modified/faster/lighter/older/newer. It's also about having more sections of the rulebook memorized.
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Jun 5, 2012 17:42
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Our regional rallycross uses a hydraulic tube that you lay over the finish, like the ones the DOT uses to measure traffic. Much less finicky than lights when you're slinging rocks and dirt up. Aren't more autox orgs using this as well?
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Jun 6, 2012 04:35
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Rabble posted:I thought Autocross was about driving your car around a bunch of traffic cones in a parking lot and looking down on other people because your car is more expensive/modified/faster/lighter/older/newer. No, no, it is about driving a 20 year-old miata and looking down on owners of expensive cars made in the last decade.
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Jun 6, 2012 05:05
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kimbo305 posted:Our regional rallycross uses a hydraulic tube that you lay over the finish, like the ones the DOT uses to measure traffic. Much less finicky than lights when you're slinging rocks and dirt up. Aren't more autox orgs using this as well? Our rally cross uses a stopwatch 
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Jun 6, 2012 14:55
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What racing is about can be broken down into a traction circle. North is winning by pure skill, south is losing by pure, uh, lack of skill. West is cheating(good car can be lumped in in that) and east is luck. As long as an interaction stays in that circle it is racing. Examples: 1) miata beats miata, losing driver quotes some regs disqualifying one car. Racing? Yes. Driver 2 is clearly in circle under coditions 'I lost because he's a loving cheater.' 2) miata beats Ferrari at autox. Racing? Yes. Miata driver car is clearly better suited or driver is better. Ferrari driver will most likely blame car in some way. Both are in circle. 3) Car enters stop box backwards. No reversing is allowed. Racing? No. This is inside the circle. We can see in some forms of driving, such as drift, backing it in can require considerable skill and sometimes may be the fastest/best way to win.
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Jun 6, 2012 15:45
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Sorry, I'm in the Green run group so I only have the traction plus. I'm upgrading to the traction diamond next week.
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Jun 6, 2012 16:21
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kimbo305 posted:Our regional rallycross uses a hydraulic tube that you lay over the finish, like the ones the DOT uses to measure traffic. Much less finicky than lights when you're slinging rocks and dirt up. Aren't more autox orgs using this as well? good lights are not bad, and don't get hosed up when a car goes through the finish sideways
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Jun 6, 2012 17:08
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Phone posted:Sorry, I'm in the Green run group so I only have the traction plus. I'm upgrading to the traction diamond next week. In blue group they start talking about the traction hypercube.
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Jun 6, 2012 19:46
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Crustashio posted:Our rally cross uses a stopwatch But, I had an email earlier this week from a QCMA member (who helped make my previous car, a 1988 Prelude, 1/1000th French with a replacement alternator bolt from a Peugot) asking about our timing system, they are thinking of upgrading and having two clubs not too far away with similar systems has some benefits (spare parts, expertise, backup).
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Jun 7, 2012 01:55
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Went to an autocross at the Michelin proving grounds, known as black lake. First time on RS3, I love them. Though they dont launch as well as I expected. I really need to get used to having grip. Also a BRZ was there, auto unfortunately but he already had 235 wide starspecs on it. It was fast and flat looking. I think he was in the top 3 of novice with a 35 person field in novice iirc. We had good turn out, about 210 drivers. Here's the only video worth watching from it. My slowest time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcjmGvSWeVc
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Jun 17, 2012 02:17
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Sadi posted:First time on RS3, I love them. RS-3s own. Drove today in the wife's GTI, because my WRX is waiting on suspension bits and has a nasty boost leak to fix. No fantastic times today, but I was the fastest VW, so I'll take what I can get. I ran the first 2 runs of 4 with the ESP on by accident  Turns out turning that off means you instantly get way faster.
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Jun 17, 2012 23:15
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Same applies to the AC. 
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Jun 18, 2012 01:38
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Is there a set of brakepads that will work for autoX/light track days but still be not-terrible on the street? The pads on my ZHP are gone so I'm thinking of replacing all 4 corners with something a little better than OEM. I see that Hawk HPS and EBC yellowstuff are both decently priced. I've heard great things about Hawk HP Plus, but they're over 130 USD just for the fronts.
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Jun 18, 2012 03:29
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I used HP+ for my front pads and they worked fine. A little noisy but that's to be expected. They even bit fine in sub-freezing temperatures. Just be sure to bed them in properly.
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Jun 18, 2012 03:44
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I ran HP+s in from and HPSs on a track day and daily drive them. Squeaky but no other complaints, no felt fade at CMP but I'm not that fast yet. I think I was only entering the fastest breaking zone at 92 or so. I don't really know that I felt much difference for autocross.
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Jun 18, 2012 03:54
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A lighter car might be OK with Yellowstuff or HP+ for light track duty. Even then, I'd strongly recommend proper brake ducts for track duty. I thought Yellowstuff was OK for the street, no real issues, and worked well enough for a track day. They would totally give up when smoking hot, but had linear feel from cold up until that point. I thought HP+ was terrible for the street and the track. The feel was completely unlinear and would bite more as they warmed up. I almost got into trouble trailbraking into corners, rotating the car more than I wanted. What I'd recommend is getting HPS or Yellowstuff for street/autoX and get something more aggressive for the track. EBC likes to make rotor friendly pads, and the Bluestuff is safe to use on the street and better suited for high temps than Yellowstuff. The Blue or HT-10 would be the net step up in the Hawk line for track days, and both are not very good on the street. Maybe good enough to get you to and from the track, but not much else. Yeah, buying more brakes sucks, but buying more brakes because you destroyed a set in a day sucks more. Try a set of HP+ or Yellowstuff now, then go with separate sets later when you get faster on the track.
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Jun 18, 2012 04:24
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I ride Hawk HP+ daily, but I am completely unperturbed by their squealing and the dust. They're great for AutoX, I just need to get more tire at this point.
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Jun 19, 2012 22:10
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I just ordered HPS for all 4 corners since it was all I could find online (in canada) on short notice. Big 2-day autoX event the july 1st weekend, and it will be the formal debut of my ZHP. Missed 3 events this year thanks to tires and a starter issue.
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Jun 19, 2012 22:31
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Beach Bum posted:I ride Hawk HP+ daily, but I am completely unperturbed by their squealing and the dust. They're great for AutoX, I just need to get more tire at this point. Do you drive them in freezing temperatures? I'm tempted to get a set for the miata, but I daily drive it all year round and would like to be able to brake in the winter.
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Jun 19, 2012 22:33
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I'm going to try to mount my iphone4 to my helmet for upcoming autoxs. I think the only real good way is a sidemount, I tried the camera on the mouth plate and with the narrow FOV and the exaggeration of movement the video is motion sickness inducing  TrueChaos posted:Do you drive them in freezing temperatures? I'm tempted to get a set for the miata, but I daily drive it all year round and would like to be able to brake in the winter. I've had HPS in the winter and they were fine, although you could feel them warm up and start getting grabbier. I can't imagine HP+ being much worse as they're a very similar compound.
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Jun 20, 2012 22:53
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TrueChaos posted:Do you drive them in freezing temperatures? I'm tempted to get a set for the miata, but I daily drive it all year round and would like to be able to brake in the winter. I live in North Florida so I can't say I've had much experience with these conditions Next time it gets that cold I'll try to trigger the ABS. The brakes on my E30 are more than enough to make up the difference, but I think Miata brakes are closer to the max.
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Jun 21, 2012 03:55
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Yeah the pads I have now are junk. They'll fade after 15-20 minutes of spirited driving, and it basically has to be wet out if I want to get the abs to engage with star specs. I could get it on all the time with the old all season tires but yeah... Either HP+ or HPS it is. If I have to get a set of pads for winter drivel be it.
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Jun 21, 2012 04:05
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Woo! Had a great day at the last event. A veteran came out of retirement to 'keep me honest.' You can hear him shout, "WHAT?!" after I responded to his fastest time by dropping one and a half seconds off mine on my last run. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq-hgJ35ipg Playlist with all other cars I recorded that day: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB744C233EAD2C5A5
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Jun 23, 2012 16:38
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Yeah I'm still trying to figure out how you did that. I'm car number 5 on the playlist... It was a delicious cone.
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Jun 23, 2012 19:59
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I just finished a weekend of autocross school, taking the "Intro" and "Comp" classes offered by SoloPro, organized by my local club (the SSCC). I learned a huge amount, I feel like I might actually know what I'm doing (and what I'm doing wrong) on a course now, and it was lots of fun. The instructors recommended we write down the important points, and refer to them later to help remember. Here's what I wrote down, last night and tonight, while these lessons are still fresh in my mind. Obviously, just reading some key points isn't going to make anybody a better driver, it was the seat time and one-on-one instruction that made the classes so valuable, but perhaps there's something in there that will help somebody. Or I can refer back to this post the next time I have a bad day on a course. Coursewalk in my head Memorize the course on the coursewalk. Break it into segments and elements, and be able to visualize each part in turn. Be able to drive the entire course in my own mind. Look up, look ahead Pay attention to the next element, or the next two elements. What is past is past. What is present is past. Slow is fast Slow in, fast out. Take the corners at the right speed, and accelerate out. First cone foremost Find the first cone in an element. Get as close to it as possible, and the rest of the element will follow easily. Some elements, such as gates made of many cones, will have foremost cones that are not positioned "first". Find the foremost cone, and steer for it. The backside of the cone. The backside of a cone is the side (or corner of the base) that is furthest from you as you approach it. Getting close to the backside, and having the car oriented in the correct direction, is the key to hitting the apex of that corner. It is almost always the place to be for cones in a slalom. Patience! Some elements, e.g. Slaloms, Circles, Constant-Radius Sweeps, are done at a steady speed. Find that speed, and carry it through the entire element. Some elements, such as very tight single-cone turns, require painfully slow speeds to execute correctly. Slow down to speed up. Weight transfer is the key to steering. Acceleration moves weight to the back, off of the steering wheels. Deceleration, or even gliding, moves weight forward, giving more grip to the steering tires. Brake or turn. Choose one. Find straight parts on the course suitable for either hard acceleration or hard braking. Or both (in sequence). Brake early, accelerate early, turn early. Smooth. Not slow, smooth. Steering, braking, throttle. Squeeze the throttle, don't jump on it. Three S Stick – Drive harder. Slither – Just right. Slide – Too fast. I can't wait to see how I do Tuesday evening at the next regular event.
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Jun 25, 2012 04:02
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Trip report, I brought an '08 Corvette Z06 to an autox. This is what driving one is like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAOoFSRiqNE This is what riding in one is like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAOAI4pkXog Then two more random onboards of trying different driving styles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDaeym8V2nw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy_c4vVd7rM It really easy to drive the entire course in 1st even with TC and active handling completely off, and it was very fast on the stock Goodyear Eagle EMTs. The car builds momentum obscenely fast which is a double edged sword; I was able to hit 60mph before the third cone even launching the car by rolling out from 1000rpm but it was faster to brake prior to the third cone, carrying too much speed in there made for a bad start. My main complaints about a Z06 for autox were the slower steering rack(made this course rather hard), the car being really wide, the ABS going nuts if the brakes were applied for trail braking or pretty much anywhere, and the stock seats although it did drat well.
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Jun 25, 2012 05:07
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Muffinpox posted:This is what riding in one is like: I was told this car was not a chick magnet <  >
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Jun 26, 2012 04:02
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You were told wrong - she's not wearing a seatbelt yet she's firmly planted in that seat. Chick magnets - how do they work?
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Jun 26, 2012 04:36
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Muffinpox posted:Trip report, I brought an '08 Corvette Z06 to an autox. My experience with a Z06 in autocross, is that even if the course is technical enough that you don't run out of 1st gear, 2nd gear is almost always faster on the clock, due to how touchy that generation of Z06 throttle is. The car owner (who is very fast, whether in one of his various Corvettes, or his GT3) says that he almost always is faster just using 2nd gear as well. The car just has so much torque that it can accelerate in 2nd just fine. Also, your passenger needs a helmet that fits, and a shoulder belt. 
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Jun 26, 2012 07:30
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The Locator posted:My experience with a Z06 in autocross, is that even if the course is technical enough that you don't run out of 1st gear, 2nd gear is almost always faster on the clock, due to how touchy that generation of Z06 throttle is. The car owner (who is very fast, whether in one of his various Corvettes, or his GT3) says that he almost always is faster just using 2nd gear as well. The car just has so much torque that it can accelerate in 2nd just fine. Yea, the 2nd gear runs were generally as fast or faster than 1st gear; 1st isn't hard to control but 2nd isn't much slower and you can get into throttle way earlier. I think I actually had a higher peak speed using 2nd in one section. But, in 2nd you need to use the brakes a lot more rather than relying on engine braking and every time I would try to stop ABS felt like it would trigger early and reduce braking force severely. This resulted in me carrying too much speed and under steering into a cone. It's also possible I'm just a terrible driver (I am) but I didn't have the same problem when using the brakes with the car in first. Also she had the shoulder sash behind her back as for the entire day I had a $100 on the dash for passengers to try and grab when we launched in first heh fave hunnert Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 14:58 on Jun 26, 2012 |
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Jun 26, 2012 14:56
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We all know that a 3 point harness works best when the shoulder belt is omitted entirely. Who the gently caress let her on course like that?
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Jun 26, 2012 16:29
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