hey guys, its going to be my first time autoxing this sunday, any tips? kind of nervous. what should i bring, should i lower tire pressure or anything?

 

great page with great tips here: http://home.dejazzd.com/mlouie/autocross.html

to answer your specific questions.

don't be nervous, tell the people in the registration desk it's your first time and they usually find someone to help you.

bring some water for yourself and food.
bring an air tank if you have one.

do not lower the tires pressure, autox is not like drag racing.
in fact you want to do the opposite. If you don't have an air pump then fill you tires up before you get to the autox.

I see that you have a 330ci. I would fill it to 40psi front and 38 psi rear. Also do a run or two with DSC on. then turn off DSC, you'll see that DSC was helping you a lot in some areas, but also hurting you in others.

Lastly use the old timers seatbelt trick

put your seat back about 6inches or so then tighten up your selt belt. next grab the seat belt by the upper mount and lock it in place. then move your seat forward again until you are locked in place. you'll most likely have to experiment a few times to get it right.

good luck and have fun

 

Hey thanks for the props Definitely listen to what we all say. Your first year out will be just a learning experience. Try to get as much seat time as you can before modifying your car. A seasoned autocrosser in any car will always beat a novice in the most decked out car.

 

First thing you do is go to registration. Tell them you're a novice, like DakarM said. If they don't have an obvious TECH sign or place, ask them where tech is (that's where they check to make sure your battery's tied down, your throttle return works, and you remembered to tighten your wheel lugs). If you haven't already, take all loose items out, including floor mats. Once the car is tech'ed, the next thing you'll have to do is walk the course. Just wait for the heat that's running to finish. There might be a novice walk through, so you might wanna ask at registration.
For complete details, see CivicSiRacer's help page.

 

one of my friends is an instructor for nasa so hes the one whos pushing me to do this, im just afraid of sliding out and knocking over all the cones, i guess its nothing but a dent in my ego but i dont know, im going in with the mentality that i suck and just want to learn, thanks for the tips guys, ive taken some turns with dsc on and it just cuts off my power and liek forces me to go straight or something, the feeling really isnt pleasant but ill take your advice and leave it on for my first runs, thanks again guys

 

btw is anyone else going to giants stadium this sunday?

 

If DSC is doing that, most likely you were heading in the wrong direction. I find that DSC is right in most regular street driving situations. DSCs goal is safety first

As for knocking down cones see CivicSiRacers sig:
8. If you hit a cone don't let it throw your concentration, remember, you ran it's punk ass over.



btw one of the best autoxer in my local region regularly plows down cones

He took 3rd in BS last year at the nationals on a borrow car

 

Yeah, don't worry about cones. If you hit a few, you're just giving corner workers something to do. Don't even worry about a dent in your ego. After your first run you'll realize there's no way anyone can be good at it from the first. After all, if I handed you a boomerang, you wouldn't expect to drop a kangaroo from 700 yards out on the first throw.

 

I did my first AutoX 2 weeks ago. All the advice here is excellent, I also suggest bringing sunscreen since you'll be outside all day, and possibly a lawn chair for watching others.

As for driving, I don't know how your traction control works, but you'll definately do better without it. And when driving, don't hold back, make sure you're pushing your tires to the limit. If they aren't screeching, go faster. My first couple of runs I was driving like I would in a neighborhood, after I got out of that mindset my times were much better.

 

Actually when you hear the tires screeching you've already pushed past the limits of your tires. Most novice drivers usually drive 12/10ths instead 9/10ths or 10/10ths.

My recommendation for novices is to turn on your A/C cause it will limit your car to 9/10ths, and the most you can drive your car is 9/10ths.