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TRACK: troubles at autocross

3K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  WD40 
#1 ·
!!

well my mods are mac intake, borla catback, slotted rotors with green stuff pads, squeek really bad, and and underdrive pulley... which put me into the next class of FSP. well whatever about that, it rained all that morning so we ran on a wet course and for this being my first time i think i did alright, well i had three runs in that heat and never spun out.

well in the afternoon i got one run in the dry pavement and increased my time be around 3 seconds. then it rained again and it was even wetter than when we started so i spun out this time and at the finish i was slidding and went on the wrong side of the laser so i got a redo. I was upset how crappy that last run was the next one i ran really ba also slidding and braking late... the works.

Well there were 2 other foci in this event and when i saw them turning into corners it looked like a 4ooolbs car with weak springs, one of the rear wheels was close to being off the ground on every turn. they were a 05 zx3 and a <05 saden. overall i had a blast but now i am debating on a different car, i was looking at a 90 240sx i know i know say what you want but come on these are exspensive to mod. i have lost faith.... i hope this sunday it will be resored!

this was at the monroe commuity college
 
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#2 ·
It's not an issue with the car, you just need more experience. The Focus is an excellent autocrosser, which even in stock tune should be enough to lay down some very impressive times. Also, the mods you have aren't very applicable for AutoX either. Get some very good tires (Azenis) and some experience. You'll be shocked at just how fast you can be.

One of my first times out I was destroyed by a guy in a basically stock '70-something diesel Rabbit. With a massive 78BHP (new) and race tires, he was putting Mustang GTs and many other "faster" cars down for the count.

Driver = 80%
Car = 20%

You really wouldn't be much faster in a 240SX either until you get some training.
None of this is in any way a knock on you man, but I have to say that I wasn't stoked on the Focus for a while either. But I stuck with it, got some training (lots of events and an Evolution Autocross School), and now with my daily-driver street tires I am usually near the top of the pack in raw times.
 
#3 ·
i agree with carrera on that one. i live on curvey roads, so luckly i grew up and kinda formed a natural ability to autocross.

the FIRST time i ever ran in autocross was at jetfest, i did a 63 second run as my best and that was with the 2 second addon for hitting a cone in the slolom (sp?) it was my 4th run and the only time i hit a cone. if i didn't hit the cone i would have had a 61 second run.

that was all in a stock zx3 with fuzion Zri tires. not bad when you think abotu the more professional autox drivers in thier prepaired cars were coming in at around 56 seconds!

not to mention i never missed a gate, all the prepaired guys were missing them left and right..

now for me it's just a matter of me having the time to attend a race :|
 
#5 ·
Be patient, and practice , practice and more practice, the focus is quite a good autocrosser.
this is NOT an easy sport , the challange is what keeps things interesting. just keep going and remember to HAVE FUN![:D] the rest will come with time. [thumb]
 
#6 ·
yeah about the heading i hit tab to go to the next line and put '!' but i didn't see it so i just clicked where i wanted to go, only realizing it after i submitted it.

i am looking forward to sunday it is the biggest track for the region this year. the other reason i want to get a different car is because i leaks oil inbetween the head and the valve cover. i changed the gasket made sure they were tight and even made the surface smooth but it does not stop. so i figure a different car will fix the problem, plus i really want rear wheel drive.


what can you all do to stay in the sts class?
 
#8 · (Edited)
Re: !!

justin025 said:
Well there were 2 other foci in this event and when i saw them turning into corners it looked like a 4ooolbs car with weak springs, one of the rear wheels was close to being off the ground on every turn.
On a front wheel drive car, if you're not raising the inside rear wheel in a turn you are not pushing hard enough.

overall i had a blast but now i am debating on a different car, i was looking at a 90 240sx
The 240SX is not competitive in any class in autocross. Work on your driving skills in the Focus as others have suggested.
 
#10 ·
justin025 said:
haha what about a 87 porsche 944s
Learn to drive what you've got first. In autocross it's 10% car and 90% driver.

A guy here in my region came out a couple of times with his Miata and thought he was going to clean up. After all, he had been reading the Miata Forum, installed all the "best" stuff: adjustable coilover shocks, hollow swaybars, "racing" brake pads w/slotted and drilled rotors, the lightest wheels available w/the grippiest tires and a cold air intake.

So, what happend? He got his ass handed to him (and badly) by an old fart (60) and his daughter (18) driving their beat up 92 Miata with Ebay coilovers and used Koni shocks, used 15" wheels and second hand Falken Azenis tires.

He hasn't been back.
 
#11 ·
Re: !!

justin025 said:
these are exspensive to mod.
You think a Focus is bad? Try playing around with that Porsche. Same with maintenance & parts for it. And if you wanna get away from oil leaks, i wouldn't recommend buying a car a dozen years older. [thumb]
 
#13 ·
Just keep running the events, you get much better as you learn to drive better. I started last october, on the same coarse a month ago, my time was 4 seconds better.
Btw, I was in the red sedan, its an 05, the grey ZX3 was a 06, I don't know what his mods where, but I know the wheels and suspension were stock at least. Thats a pretty bad experience for a first autocross, wet all day and one good run. Good luck at the airport.
 
#14 ·
sweet nice to know someone from the forum was there! are you going to the one in lima ohio is is sopposed to be HUGE!#$@% yeah i was the green one that was hitting all the cones. now i realize that i need to drive slow to drive fast. i would really like to meet ya if you come to the lima one. its the only green hatch in the world!!!! well close
 
#17 ·
^^^Seems to me like that should be the other way around. Lower PSIs in the wet and higher PSIs in the dry.
 
#18 ·
^^^Nope...
An underinflated tire will be much more likely to hydroplane and is extremely dangerous.
When you hit standing water in an underinflated tire, the center of the tire will deflect and become concave "cupping",
and will end up floating on top of the water=hydroplaning.

By increasing the psi in the tire, you will negate the "cupping" effect.
1) It will have a narrower and shorter contact patch.
^^^Results in greater psi between the tire and the road.
2) The profile will be more round, and will not be able to deflect as much.
^^^Read, resitance to cupping.
3) It helps keep the grooves in the tread open so they can channel water out from under the tire.
^^^Again, a underinflated tire will deflect, and many times close off the grooves that channel water.

OK...just to verify...the experts say the same thing: [;)]
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=3
 
#19 ·
Hmmmm, It always felt the other way around for me when I have been out in the rain, but I guess I was imagining things...
 
#21 ·
WD40 said:
^^^Nope...
An underinflated tire will be much more likely to hydroplane and is extremely dangerous.
When you hit standing water in an underinflated tire, the center of the tire will deflect and become concave "cupping",
and will end up floating on top of the water=hydroplaning.

By increasing the psi in the tire, you will negate the "cupping" effect.
1) It will have a narrower and shorter contact patch.
^^^Results in greater psi between the tire and the road.
2) The profile will be more round, and will not be able to deflect as much.
^^^Read, resitance to cupping.
3) It helps keep the grooves in the tread open so they can channel water out from under the tire.
^^^Again, a underinflated tire will deflect, and many times close off the grooves that channel water.

OK...just to verify...the experts say the same thing: [;)]
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=3
yeah, you are correct I know from experience on a trip to/from San. An....it rained HARD. I was in my Probe, I floated from the far left lane to the grass on the right shoulder.....all because my psi was low in my two fronts.....[paranoid] I was so messed up and shaking I had to sit in a parking lot for an hr to convince myself it was safe to drive.....
 
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