Autocrossers: Check in here!

[honda93]

Originally Posted by BigDog

Tony, sucks on the divorce thing. Some things in life are a little more important than racing. Really, it's true. Get your house in order, and come back kicking and screaming when the time is right.

I'm working on it. I plan on bouncing back quickly. (I hope).

Thanks though, Curt.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

[00R101]

Hey all. Looks like I am a G Stock driver this year. The Type R went to pay for the Boxster and the Boxster won't be ready to AX this year so I am giving the Civic Si a try in GS. Was hoping the Minis were going to DS :-(. My codriver and I have a goal for this year at National events - beat at least 1 Mini.

Anyone have any setup advice? I am going with Enkei RPF1s and Hoosier A6 245 / 225 staggered. Also can I use crash bolts for more cmaber in the front? How about rear camber? Any to be had? What about toe? Anyone running front toe out? How about rear?

Regards,
Alan

[honda93]

Originally Posted by 00R101

Hey all. Looks like I am a G Stock driver this year. The Type R went to pay for the Boxster and the Boxster won't be ready to AX this year so I am giving the Civic Si a try in GS. Was hoping the Minis were going to DS :-(. My codriver and I have a goal for this year at National events - beat at least 1 Mini.

Anyone have any setup advice? I am going with Enkei RPF1s and Hoosier A6 245 / 225 staggered. Also can I use crash bolts for more cmaber in the front? How about rear camber? Any to be had? What about toe? Anyone running front toe out? How about rear?

Regards,
Alan

That's a pretty lofty goal Alan! Just kidding. You and Jim should do much better than some other who have attempted GS in an Si.

I would advise against the staggered setup. You'll want to rotate those tires around event-to-event. Trust me.

Honda has camber bolts (only front, rear is non-adjustable), don't expect much gain, nor will you have the option of a few "varieties" of shank thicknesses like Toyota offers.

I run toe out front and rear. The car has a long enough wheelbase that it doesn't do anything stupid with -1/4" total in the rear... I would stay at -1/8" total up front so as not to increase scrub too much.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

[Highrev1]

Tony you be there the 22nd? I should be there in my S2k gettting that thing setup for A-Stock again.. See if I can do some damage in that this year..

[nycclaye]

Originally Posted by TeamBadger

Theyre not ideal for a competitive Street Tire class effort....

why not? heating problems? they're very sticky..

[honda93]

Originally Posted by nycclaye

why not? heating problems? they're very sticky..

Having good feel and response when being driven at 6/10 or 7/10 on the road is very different from what someone chasing that last thousandth of a second will experience on an autocross course when using the BFG's you spoke of, for example.

The state of Street Touring (admittedly, more so at the National level) is such that guys are having tires shaved down to 2/32 tread on tires like the Toyo R888 or the Dunlop Direzza or the Bridgestone RE-01R. There are tires that have an anverage of 9/32 or 10/32 from the factory!!!

These are tires that are only lasting as many events / runs as a Hoo$ier, which is to say, not very long... All for that thousandth... AND this was supposed to be a category of classes that enabled noobs like yourself to get into the sport w/o having to buy V710's and A6's OR having to remove popular mods just to fit in a class.

The whole Street Touring concept, like communism, looked great on paper, but as the years moved on, failed in its application. More and more people just exploited its original intent and the ST Category (STS, STX, and STU) is now not much different from Street Prepared in that the amount of money someone spends will dictate the success they experience at an event, especially the big ones.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are people who feel that R-Compound rubber shouldn't be allowed in Stock. That's a whole other story.

So yeah, it matters.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

Sorry for the divergence, but I don't think a lot of people here realize this and I wanted to clue people in to what SCCA members bitch about.

[honda93]

Originally Posted by Highrev1

Tony you be there the 22nd? I should be there in my S2k gettting that thing setup for A-Stock again.. See if I can do some damage in that this year..

If the weather is nice, I don't see why not. Would you need some assistance in getting some constructive feedback?

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

[Sirbelch]

Originally Posted by honda93

... amount of money someone spends will dictate the success they experience at an event, especially the big ones ...

That goes for any racing anywhere on the planet.

That's why I think "cost cutting rules" in racing is the biggest oxymoron.

Speed = money (unless you are on Toytota's F1 team )

[Highrev1]

Originally Posted by honda93

If the weather is nice, I don't see why not. Would you need some assistance in getting some constructive feedback?

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

Its a test and tune of course!!! I should have my homemade nascar style bar on there up front by then too so we can adjust that to different stiffnesses with the endlinks I won't have my R compunds by then though, just getting the third car is getting me in Hot water with the fiance

[honda93]

Originally Posted by Sirbelch

That goes for any racing anywhere on the planet.

That's why I think "cost cutting rules" in racing is the biggest oxymoron.

At the professional level, yes. But autocrossing? Especially in Stock or Street Touring? Sorry. I have a problem with that, even though I run in HS nationally and had the custom shocks built, yada yada yada.

Those two Categories of classes are true to the old saying "run what you brung." To go any further in the preparation game (SP or SM, for example) usually means someone had the intent of building a car for there. But most people nowadays in our general area fall into Stock or Street Touring classes.

My issue is that we have a guy in the SCCA like Andy Hollis. Excellent autocrosser and damn nice guy, although I only met him formally once at a ProSolo last year... It was in GRM magazine where his 1992 Miata STS2 project is being featured in various installments. Part 1 featured the engine and drivetrain rebuild, all legal. BUT it was $5000 and it netted him maybe 10-12hp over stock baseline. In another installment, they featured the suspension setup. He has custom 28 Series Koni's on the car and he openly admitted they were about $900 per corner, that's $3600 just for shocks, not even springs, bars, etc! This is on a 1992 1.6L Miata that is run on street tires and needs to be street legal and registered! Yet we know this thing is such a trailer queen.

Now, contrast it with some local guy who puts a set of Pro-Kit springs on the new KYB AGX's he just put on the car along with some Falken Azenis tires on his shiny new wheels. He feels pretty good about things until he meets Mr. Holli$. Said person gets crushed by 5-6 seconds and is bewildered by the level of prep he now perceives is necessary in order to do well. He never shows up again... You know it happens.

Remember, racing is a study of ego's as much as it is anything else.

Admittedly, I have done the same to people though... And I'm not even talking about my Civic LX in HS, but other cars I've driven like the time I drove a Z06 in which I beat the owner by 10 seconds. Should I have done that? No. But I did and he never showed up again. Lesson learned.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

[Sirbelch]

5000 for 12 hp is what I would expect to see. Racing is racing. There is always someone out there that has/is willing to spend the money to win. I would think that anyone that likes racing enough to go try it would know that before they get to the track/course. The people that don't come back are just weak people. Me, I know i'm going to get my ass handed to me 10 times over. How do I know that? Because I'm poor (from a racing standpoint) and there is always going to be a better driver than me.

Its harder to quit and live with the shame than it is to get up and try it agian.

[Highrev1]

National competition will always be about wallets and weiners..If you want to compete locally and do well...No problem whatever you have use it...Nationally better be prepped to a National standard..

[Barry]

Going to be doing stock class in the civic this year. Raced a few times in the sti before but i am hoping to make most of the philly region races this year. Should be picking up some rpf-1's in stock size along with some azeni's. I don't know if i am gonna jump into the front bar or struts until i know i am going to be able to commit to the whole season.

[Gonzo]

I am going to two autocross schools this weekend for the D.C. SCCA Region.


w00t! There is gonna be one other 8thgen there the first day I think.

Wish me luck. I've got a lot to learn.

[Profoxcg]

good luck !

[07NHBSiCoupe]

Originally Posted by Barry

Going to be doing stock class in the civic this year. Raced a few times in the sti before but i am hoping to make most of the philly region races this year. Should be picking up some rpf-1's in stock size along with some azeni's. I don't know if i am gonna jump into the front bar or struts until i know i am going to be able to commit to the whole season.

ill be running STX on the 22nd in English town sould be fun

[nycclaye]

Anyone headed to Charleston, SC this saturday to Auto-X? I'm gonna try the Motegi's w/ BFG KDW2's saturday.

[Highrev1]

Originally Posted by 07NHBSiCoupe

ill be running STX on the 22nd in English town sould be fun

I will check over your car to make sure its STX legal

[budfrogs]

Originally Posted by honda93

Admittedly, I have done the same to people though... And I'm not even talking about my Civic LX in HS, but other cars I've driven like the time I drove a Z06 in which I beat the owner by 10 seconds. Should I have done that? No. But I did and he never showed up again. Lesson learned.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

I guess his point of view was wrong for not coming back. i would of been WOW I can get 10 more seconds out of this thing!!!!! Just shows that his attitude seemed to be more along the lines of I have a hot car I am automatically a good driver. Or maybe not just an opinion.

Originally Posted by Sirbelch

The people that don't come back are just weak people.
Its harder to quit and live with the shame than it is to get up and try it agian.

Agreed. I have been reading up on some of the posts about this type of event. Didn't even know it existed until recently. I love driving my car but want to be able to drive it more aggressively in a safe and friendly environment. I don't have any mods and am only looking at some minor suspension mods. Yet I am not sure of the rules for the stock class since I have not read that far.

Here is my question. What is the social environment of the event like? Do people cook out, sit and talk, make new friends and stuff?

I am trying to find something me and my wife can do also. She is very competitive at times and this would be our way to compete against each other. She has a Civic EX coupe 2007 and I have an SI.

Can we both run the same car during one event?

She had back surgery a two years ago and we had been road biking. She just reached 30 mile rides when she just couldn't do it anymore. She is some what depressed because that was something we could do together that we enjoyed and I want to spark her interests a bit somewhere else.

[07NHBSiCoupe]

Originally Posted by Highrev1

I will check over your car to make sure its STX legal

its actually my first time and i read the rules, im lowered, LSD 225-45-17 Falken Azenies 615-rt. LSD, amn sway bars that does put me in STX right? haha hope im right??