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romierome10-26-2010, 12:19 PMAs im getting all the kinks worked out of my car I was wondering who all on here auto x or dose track days. And if so what are ur set ups what class, o and pictures or videos would be cool to. powderballz10-26-2010, 09:45 PMI'll autoX mine every now and then, I run formula SAE so I'll usually drive that when I can and pass up the MR2. I was planning on running at Mid-Ohio last Summer, but a sloppy steering rack and blown struts kept me at home for the weekend.

First MR2 I had that I autoXed quite regularly was completely stock but I had r-comps, and the car was really loose. My new car I have had koni's all the way around and a stiffer front bar and I ran it once on street tires and it had a terrible push. Both cars were in E-stock when i ran them, now the new car has tein coilovers and I'm planning some go-fast mods for next summer. Heytheremr210-26-2010, 11:19 PMI want to get into auto-x but I need to install my fcd, mbc, boost gauge, fix my clutch pedal, and get new tires. I don't know where to to start but I'll figure that out. Skittles10-30-2010, 08:59 PMGetting into AutoX when 2011 comes around. :) 328FTW10-30-2010, 11:26 PMI was doing it all the time but lately I've been crewing for an A grade midget team but it was totalled last night in a bad accident :( so I might get back onto getting my car ready.

Setting up the car was easy, throw a swaybar in the back, stock springs and KYB front struts then have at it. I could of improved that greatly for tarmac but I was mostly into rally with occasional tarmac events. And I was in a 4cylinder class that allowed any modification except space framing so original suspension mounts must be maintained otherwise no real rules and I still did very well. ShackC11-25-2010, 01:35 AMI finally have mine on the road and will definitely be autoXing, ive done it in a few different cars, its a blast really makes a better driver. ShackC11-25-2010, 01:36 AMJust to ask it here do any of you fellow autoXers, like the prothane bushings? Bigbacon11-29-2010, 02:57 PMI finally got my MK1 out for a autoX event after spending the last 5 months getting it up to par as much as possible. I was pleasantly amazed at how well it went even though I was no where near being fast or on average even (could have been that I had a passenger) but I did improve with each run.

Car didn't give me any trouble and dished out what I gave it. Only once did it really want to kick out other wise I could get the car to the threshold and hold it there nicely. It was very easy to drive and to feel what it wanted to do and correct it.

Very different beast coming from an doing autoX in a AT Rx8 that is always firmly planted to the ground no matter what I do. mr2nv11-29-2010, 06:54 PMBeen autocrossing for about 10 years. Car started in CSP due to headers and other stuff. Now in SSM with BEAMS swap and soon to be 2GR. First video I still have Tein Flex and second video is KW V3's with custom rates. Third video is from the 2009 Canadian MR2 Experience trackday.

MSNE AutoX @ Meadowlands, NJ (http://flic.kr/p/7SYwUj)

NNJR SCCA @ Meadowlands, NJ (http://flic.kr/p/8XdZP9)

TezRtt2TyzA phillyzj12-02-2010, 07:39 PMwould tein super street coilovers put me in a different class than factory style struts/springs? mr2nv12-02-2010, 07:58 PMTo keep the car in stock class, you can only change struts and front swaybar. Once you go beyond that, it's straight to street prepared and beyond. MRH12-02-2010, 10:36 PMJust to ask it here do any of you fellow autoXers, like the prothane bushings?

I love them.

I currently have polly Motormounts and full suspension pushings.
TRD springs over OEM struts(previous owner, about to get Tien HA's)
3" HKS cat back single exuaust. Fidanza Flywheel, Spec Stage 2 clutch. TRD short shift kit. Brass shifter bushings, and that's about it right now, running CSP in local SCCA events.

-H phillyzj12-02-2010, 11:22 PMTo keep the car in stock class, you can only change struts and front swaybar. Once you go beyond that, it's straight to street prepared and beyond.

I'm looking at the SCCA rules: 13.5 SHOCK ABSORBERS

"3. Adjustable spring perches are allowed, but the spring loadbearing
surface must be in the same location relative to the shock mounting
points as on the standard part. Shims may be used to achieve
compliance."

that sounds like my coilovers to me :confused:

now it could be:

"4. The fully extended length must be within plus or minus one inch of
the dimension of the standard part."

I don't know the difference in lengths between the two so i can't really say.

They seem to meet the rest of the requirements defined in 13.5:confused:

Thanks for the help. i know i won't have a chance outside of stock if i try and race my NA:ugh: Levi_12-03-2010, 12:15 AMYou can't have coilovers in the stock class, only drop in shocks, must use factory springs for your year.

That being said, dont even care or worry about the classes, mod to your hearts desire and just get out there race and have fun.

Also, autox is almost all driver dependent, I'd say 85%, so modding your car really won't do as much as you think as opposed to working solely on improving your driving. I've seen a stock 370z run 2 seconds slower than this car on a 50 second course. This was taking their best times out of 4 runs that day
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3901613169_2dff658e94_z.jpg
The UMD FSAE Car, it won SCCA nats this year so it is a stupid fast autox vehicle. Bigbacon12-03-2010, 01:27 PMthe group I autoX with doesn't do the whole classes thing and it makes it a lot more enjoyable. they just use a weight system based on characteristics of the car and also have a small bore sub group for those tiny engine cars (like the mk1)

I had a great time with my MK1 on the two event i got to do this year. It was a very polished ride, it felt very good even compared to my rx8 which I normally used.

It was also a great learning experience cause I could finally get the car to some of its limits and get a feeling for what it would do under extremes. Fun to feel the car want to go all squirrly on you and then get it to right itself. phillyzj12-04-2010, 02:11 PMYou can't have coilovers in the stock class, only drop in shocks, must use factory springs for your year.

That being said, dont even care or worry about the classes, mod to your hearts desire and just get out there race and have fun.

Also, autox is almost all driver dependent, I'd say 85%, so modding your car really won't do as much as you think as opposed to working solely on improving your driving. I've seen a stock 370z run 2 seconds slower than this car on a 50 second course. This was taking their best times out of 4 runs that day
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3901613169_2dff658e94_z.jpg
The UMD FSAE Car, it won SCCA nats this year so it is a stupid fast autox vehicle.

Thanks, I hope to race either way, just curious where i'll fall.

were you on the UMD team? mr2tim12-05-2010, 08:02 PMI'm in agreement with Levi, how well you do for the 1st few years is the drivers ability to fully utilize his car's capabilities.

Some of you may just banzai and have fun but that's cool too.

Understanding track strategy, braking zones, the 3 aspects of a proper apexs, exiting for speed etc. may come later when you take your racing more seriously looking for more speed and quicker times.

For me, walking the track,(or course), and understanding where and what I will do BEFORE I turn the key is thee most important part of my whole weekend. Once your race strategy is set, concentrating on the dynamics of the car's control is much, much easier than trying to do it all at once.

For me AutoX strategy is the most technically challenging, these races usually present many more manuvers, some of the divisional courses are truly a work of art.

By the way, car dynamics at the high speed tracks have nearly nothing to do with your experience on the street, or autocross. Be sure you and your car are prepared or you may be risking your life. ShackC12-06-2010, 12:55 AMIts nice to be able to go to a track like thunder hill and have a real driver show you how its done. Advanced driving classes will get you all kinds of experince, a little pricey but well worth it, i took a few lessons at thunder hill raceway in california driving a stock 05 dodge neon. What a blast. Got that heap up to 107mph, then the stupid governor kicked in so i didn't try to go over 100 much for the rest of the day, but its so hard on a long ass straight away and thunderhill has quite a few big straights, even chicanes where you can still push hard.

Autoxing is way different than road racing except for proper cornering(road racing is just an autox course blown up to a much much larger scale thus much higher speeds, usually). Planning is the key for a good run. Like said, walking the track is a very big help. Even when a teacher has you walk in a single line the way the track should be taken. At the beginning of the season the group around here even makes a guide line for proper direction along with track setup and the nice lil walk. kbrew899112-09-2010, 12:09 PMif the car is street worthy just go out there and have fun - doesn't have to have any crazy mods or good tires for it to be fun either :) powderballz12-09-2010, 09:50 PMThe UMD FSAE Car, it won SCCA nats this year so it is a stupid fast autox vehicle.

That driver must be one of three things;
1. Very confident that the car will not catch fire.
2. Very stupid and think that the car will never catch fire.
3. Has a HUGE pair of balls and doesn't care if it catches fire.

I've jumped out of one of our cars three times because of smoke/fire, luckily nothing major. But I would not want to think about being in one that really went up. I understand it gets incredibly hot being crammed in the car and sitting there in the suit for a couple hours, but to me that does not even come close to justifying going racing in just a tee shirt. Maybe you guys have that much confidence in the car that nothing bad will happen....but come on. It's FSAE, we all know shit happens.

You may have seen this picture, but this is justification for me to NEVER get in a FSAE car without a suit.
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u79/powderballz/fsfire.jpg powderballz12-09-2010, 09:56 PMhttp://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3901613169_2dff658e94_z.jpg
The UMD FSAE Car, it won SCCA nats this year so it is a stupid fast autox vehicle.

PS. That's not the car that won in 2010, unless they registered it wrong because according to the results the 2010 car won and that is a picture of the 2009 car.;) 328FTW12-09-2010, 10:14 PMOh yeah, carry an extinguisher. Saved my ass more than once, I remember one meet where every lap the officials kept leaning down to look under my car which was pouring smoke, knew it might be fire but I wanted to make the flag drop till they started waving black flags all over at me. I drove into the infield and parked next to the fire truck and bailed and so did my passenger.


My uni had a gay FSAE team, they didn't do things right at all and were disorganised. I signed up but lost interest when I saw the retard level. I said I would design the chassis if they let me work late nights on my own to build and they said the others had to be there so it was a lost cause. powderballz12-09-2010, 10:17 PMSAE teams that don't work late nights are known as BAJA teams. 328FTW12-09-2010, 11:16 PMI always work at night, it quiet and no one asks dumbass questions or makes stupid suggestions. powderballz12-10-2010, 08:49 AMI always work at night, it quiet and no one asks dumbass questions or makes stupid suggestions.

There's a certain limit to working at night though. Until about 1am or so it's pretty good for the reasons that you stated, but getting closer to 2am and after your welds start to turn into globs is mucus stuck to tubes, you lose the ability to completely think anything through, concentration goes away. But yes, typically working late is much better because it is way easier to get stuff done. 328FTW12-10-2010, 08:54 AMI've done whole cars at 4am then been at the track all day about 3 hours later:lol:

Plus I don't feel like explaining suspension angles 324 times an hour to noobs, it gets real old. Then suddenly they get on a brainwave and want backwards castor or something. It's the reason I stick to messing round with my own chassis, only thing I don't have is access to awesome sauce light alloy composites and other cool stuff that they can source. mr2tim12-13-2010, 10:11 AMMy 1st water pump blew 4 hrs north of my home, in the middle of Florida, on my 1st day of vacation at 5pm. Luckily, I limped it to a Service Plaza. My wife brought a water pump and I learned overnight how to do a water pump replacement by flashlight.

I finished just as dawn was breaking in the Everglades, piled into the car for 12 hours of driving.

Great sense of accomplishment. romierome12-13-2010, 09:38 PMSee I would be the noob asking the questions. I think my first go fast mod is going to be polly bushings. Next questions is what am I going to do about tires for rally cross?

And water pumps are the bain of my life. 328FTW12-13-2010, 10:58 PMGet some old tyres that maybe have camber wear or something for cheap. Buy a tyre groover and learn to cut your own sypes (I think that is the right word?) and junk. I was running all sorts of tyres and in the end settled for regrooved road tyres cause they seemed to work best for a mixture of surfaces, full on rally tyres would walk all over the place on the harder surfaces cause of the tall blocky tread. A cheap tyre groover will do it, I went to a national event and a top team was using the same $29 tyre groover I have :lol: ShackC12-14-2010, 03:07 AMovernight wrencher as well, ive been at it for almost 24 hours at times (like when i finally completed the rebuild of my 5s, it had to go in for sure that same day) but im kinda uhhhhh duhhhh hmmmmm, by then, all screwed up in the head. 85silverna08-30-2011, 09:25 PMovernighter here lol... job isn't done till its DONE. The ONLY excuse for a break is to run inside for another beer. dragraceman2108-30-2011, 11:51 PMSorry I dont like parking lots, but I do understand the atraction, you can auto-x with alot less of a car, so it opens that kind of racing up and I also think its great place to to "cut your teeth" for the first time on a "track". Personally Ill stick with the road courses, what can I say im just a speed freak. 328FTW08-31-2011, 04:59 AMRoad courses scare the shit out of me, mostly because a couple years back I set the 3rd fastest time of the day on a VERY scary piece of road on standard road 195/60/14s on my first run in a 1600 4age, no gze. The car was just leaping off the ground and bottoming out everywhere. I slowed down after that, the prelude does it even faster and tops out at about 150mph or so in one bit and there is barely enough road width to do that. toyotaspeed9008-31-2011, 01:22 PMSorry I dont like parking lots, but I do understand the atraction, you can auto-x with alot less of a car, so it opens that kind of racing up and I also think its great place to to "cut your teeth" for the first time on a "track". Personally Ill stick with the road courses, what can I say im just a speed freak.

that might depend on the auto-x course location....

couple years back we had an old airfield for our auto-x course..... and I remember that I was hitting 80mph on a stock 4age... I'm sure the gze and the sti's out there were somewhere in the 100+ mph range.....

now that we have a crazy bumpy/tight lot.... 60mph is probably the max for the fast cars. kbrew899108-31-2011, 04:14 PMI use autocross to stay sharp between track events. For $30 and half a day or so it's alot easier to fit into a busy schedule than towing 5hrs to a track, staying there all weekend, etc. Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2026 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.