The Great Autocross Mega Thread! - Page 9

**Kracka** · 03-31-2009

Registration for MOWOG#1 at Valleyfair opens Thursday:
http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/...sevent_id=9735

Registration for MOWOG#2 at Valleyfair opens Friday:
http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/...sevent_id=9736

**cmspaz** · 03-31-2009

I'll be a waiting list guy for those. Can't afford registration right now.

john · 04-02-2009

I definitely have to try and get out this year. I am sure I will do horrible but it should be alot of fun.

Matt D. · 04-02-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by john

I definitely have to try and get out this year. I am sure I will do horrible but it should be alot of fun.

Doing it at all is more important than how well you do. You'll learn more about you as a driver and the limits of your car than you will at any other time. Hope to see you out there.

MustGoFaster · 04-02-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt D.

Doing it at all is more important than how well you do. You'll learn more about you as a driver and the limits of your car than you will at any other time. Hope to see you out there.

+10

I'm registered.

**Kracka** · 04-02-2009

I'm registered for MOWOG#1!

john · 04-03-2009

I just started reading a bit about the safety requirements and didn't find what I was looking for.

Will I need to get a hard top for my car or can I drive it as a convertible? The soft top obviously wouldn't offer any additional protection. The tech info I read didn't talk about it.

**Kracka** · 04-03-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by john

I just started reading a bit about the safety requirements and didn't find what I was looking for.

Will I need to get a hard top for my car or can I drive it as a convertible? The soft top obviously wouldn't offer any additional protection. The tech info I read didn't talk about it.

No hardtop or roll-bar needed for local auto-x.

john · 04-05-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kracka

No hardtop or roll-bar needed for local auto-x.

Good. Is there a map of what some of the courses have been in the past? Are there many/any straight aways in them or is it pretty much turn, turn, turn?

I know part of the trouble/fun about these is that you have to try and memorize the track before hand. Just want an idea what the courses are like.

**cmspaz** · 04-05-2009

Most of them are turn, turn, turn, but it depends on the location. For a Viper, I'd suggest the Valley Fair and Canterbury events, since the lots are larger and allow for higher speeds.

There's a guy there who used to drive a Viper, but now runs a Porsche Cayman. If you end up coming to an event, talk to him.

MustGoFaster · 04-05-2009

Here is the one course map I could find. Normaly maps are not provided, since you could study it a bit and gain an advantage.

http://home.comcast.net/~genericdad/...une_1_2007.bmp
It's for a Test and Tune event, normally the two courses would be linked and make one long one. The two places you see no blue line and a line of orange dots are slaloms. You have to weave in and out of the cones, alternating what side of the car they go down. Since they are optional slaloms there are no lines drawn, you can start on either side. As you can see there are a few small straights. But even though they are there, much of them can be spend setting up for, entering ans exit the turns. Your top speed will be ~60mph +/- depending or the course/car. Some of the bigger courses, 75mph isn't out of the question, smaller courses (Midway Stadium) 45mph tops.

john · 04-05-2009

ok, thanks. I am thinking it may be quite a battle with my tires and traction everytime I hit the gas coming out of a turn..... My tires are in good shape but they are not anywhere near racing tires. I have a feeling I would come out of the turns, hit the gas, and slide into a long row of cones.

I will head to an event to spectate first and see if I think it would be much fun.

In the meantime I am going to look into Brainerd as I should be able to carry some speed.

Matt D. · 04-07-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by john

ok, thanks. I am thinking it may be quite a battle with my tires and traction everytime I hit the gas coming out of a turn..... My tires are in good shape but they are not anywhere near racing tires. I have a feeling I would come out of the turns, hit the gas, and slide into a long row of cones.

I will head to an event to spectate first and see if I think it would be much fun.

Spectating autocross isn't that much fun. You don't really have any sense at all of what is going on in the car until you're actually in a car on the course.

Of course there's a point to where there's too much power for autocross, but that's where driver ability comes into play. Kevin Cyr drove his Viper in local autocrosses and did quite well locally before he got his Cayman. There are Corvettes out there as well on a regular basis, so your car isn't as much of a "non-autocross car" as you may think it is.

MustGoFaster · 04-07-2009

I know a car with that much power will be tricky, but it shouldn't be THAT bad. Use 2nd gear to eliminate a lot of the mechanical advantage. Most people stay well within the limits of their vehicle. But with a Viper, I'm sure it is easy to venture outside of the limits of the rear tires fairly easy.

slowbubblecar · 04-12-2009

This is John, James logged into my computer and I am having issues logging out.

I definitly think it is possible to do well, just know that I wont at all. I have talked to a few local viper owners about autocross and they pretty much change the topic to saying I should go to Brainerd with them in May.

I Maybe I should get the GSX going and get some practice in before trying to take out the viper.

But at the same time, I might aswell just practice in the viper so I can learn to handle the car better.....

Sure looks like a lot of fun.

MustGoFaster · 04-12-2009

I'd recommend autoXing first. Open tracks are fun, but I learned A LOT more about my car, and car control from AX than I did on open track days. Since the speeds are slower, the potential penalty for any given mistake is much smaller.

I have been to three or four times as many autocrosses as I have track days. The worst I've seen autocrossing is a Subaru going under/threw a fence, scratched paint, bruised ego. Worst I have seen at a track day is a wreaked car with the driver paying a visit to the hospital. I have also seen a few wreaked race cars without any driver injury, mostly due to one dangerous corner catching people pushing things that little be too much. (The Kink at Road America)

With any event (including driving to grandma's house) there is the potential for things to go seriously wrong. The above is just my personal experience, based on having done both types of events

Matt D. · 04-12-2009

Autocrossers make better road racers, not vice versa.

Of course Viper owners are going to talk down on autocross. Most if not all of them have probably never tried it, and they probably all have money to blow on track days and yet don't really learn anything about becoming a better driver. Our local club has instructors that will ride long with you for free, can't ask for anything more than that.

**Kracka** · 04-12-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt D.

Our local club has instructors that will ride long with you for free, can't ask for anything more than that.

How true this is! A few quick words of advice can really make a big difference.

Wasn't there a woman autocrossing a Viper at DCTC last summer?

Matt D. · 04-12-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kracka

Wasn't there a woman autocrossing a Viper at DCTC last summer?

Yeah, she was driving her boy toy's green Viper, and he was in his Ford GT. She whooped his ass.

Shotgun! · 04-15-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt D.

Yeah, she was driving her boy toy's green Viper, and he was in his Ford GT. She whooped his ass.

I remember both of those from one of the Amery airport events. Very hard to imagine those cars at DCTC.