8th Generation Honda Civic Forum banner

Autocrossers: Check in here!

352K views 5K replies 408 participants last post by  kevgraydog 
#1 · (Edited)
Frankly, I'm tired of seeing people consider traffic light antics, and other forms of street racing, "real racing". Technically, we autocrossers are careful not to consider our sport "racing" as we do not compete wheel-to-wheel, but the skills we learn in parking lots across the country make us better than 99.95% of the drivers on the road.

I started this thread to call all the autocrossers forward and let us know who you are, what model Civic (or any other car for that matter) you are competing with and which SCCA (or other club) class you plan on building the car for...

DRIVER:
Anthony "Mario" Crea... I am a 15 year autocross veteran with almost 250 autocrosses under my belt at all levels of competition (regional, divisional, and national).

CAR:
Soon to be a 2010 Mazda 3s (5 door)

CLUB/CLASS:
SCCA H-Stock (local and national level competition)

CURRENT MODS:


Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA
 
See less See more
#179 ·
BigDog said:
I started at 45f, 35r and I ended up at 41f, 32r. Are you still going to run the 16" wheels and tires?
Since I am not running in ANY SCCA events this year, yes, I will stay on the 16x6.5 for this season.... and then reevaluate my goals next season... this season is gonna be hectic just running the 6 S2K races (planning a wedding and buying a house), so I don't want to push for too much. I will be keeping my eye out for a set of 05-06 RSX-S wheels to use next season though... just in case ;)

And thanks for the help!
 
#180 ·
Highrev1 said:
Hi once again, :) I would say check out edgeracing they may have a set of wheels cheaper that will fit into the GS class. I know enkei RPF's used to work and they were cheap. But I think they are sold out. Sam Karp may have an extra set, But ask him. CHEERS GREG :)
Nope.

Looks like another year in GS for me. Cutting back drastically though. Maybe 12-15 events all year on R-comps and the rest on street tires in local classes. Ben is buying tires again (Hoosier's this year) and hopefully some off-the-shelf Koni's pop up mid-season.

I have decided that A.) I don't want to spend the savings account on custom shocks and still have the car be uncompetitive and be left with $3000 paper-weights because no one needs custom, stock-legal shocks. And....B.) I pay too darn much money for this car too have it sit idle at autocross events. And....C.) If I would switch to a Miata, it would be my 4th car in the last 4 seasons of autocross. At this time in the game, I think sticking to the same car year-to-year will improve my driving.

So it’s another year of trophy fodder in GS for me! I will likely make an appearance at either the MiDiv Divisionals or Alabama Tour (one, not both). I will also be at the Milwaukee Tour of course (guess I have too, I am chairman of it!).

As for the wheel discussion..... as Greg mentioned, edgeracing.com has a lot of deals. My Enkei RP02 deal last year must have been a mistake by them! 15.2lbs wheels for $99 each shipped! I attempted to go back to buy more after I got them (wanted to verify they were for real before buying more), but they already removed the deal. A few people got them though.

Edgeracing does have some deals on there now for some stock-legal Enkei A L Racing 387 wheels. They are 18.5lbs at $98/each. The Flik FTD's are lighter and the same price though (17.0lbs), just not the "main-stream" name.
 
#181 ·
reelbigfish241 said:
I have never autocrossed, but my cousin and I are hopefully going to Route 66 raceway here in Illlinois over the summer to take a few runs. Me in my Civic and him in his 07 WRX.

I'm pretty excited about it. and newby tips you veterans have? :wavey:
Stop by and say "Hello", I'm at all of Chicago Region SCCA events. I'll be driving my E36 M3 #471 BSP. I may drive my Si with other clubs but not SCCA. I can introduce to you a couple of other club regulars who drive '06 Si's, one in Street tire class and one in G-Stock. Depending on work assignments you can go on a ride-along. Which, I find to be one the most beneficial things for newer drivers.
 
#183 ·
OhMyRedSI said:
Well, I am set on wheels and tires now. I bought a set of Avon Tech RA's off of Tire Rack that were on clearance and picked up some 14lb forged wheels off of e-bay. Now I just need to learn how to drive on them....;) Can't wait for the season to start!:driving:
Just a few friendly reminders:

1. If you have less than 5 autocrosses under your belt, run at least 5 - 10 more on the street tires until your skill level increases somewhat. Reason being, a race tire will mask driving errors because their sheer grip will make you look more adept than you really are. So to maximize your performance on R-comps, learn more on shitty the street tires first.

2. Unless you paid for them to be heat cycled from the TireRack, don't forget to heat cycle the tires prior to your first event.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA
 
#184 ·
honda93 said:
Just a few friendly reminders:

1. If you have less than 5 autocrosses under your belt, run at least 5 - 10 more on the street tires until your skill level increases somewhat. Reason being, a race tire will mask driving errors because their sheer grip will make you look more adept than you really are. So to maximize your performance on R-comps, learn more on shitty the street tires first.

2. Unless you paid for them to be heat cycled from the TireRack, don't forget to heat cycle the tires prior to your first event.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA
OK. Thanks for the input. I was planning on running the first couple events on my street tires since it will still be cool around here in April anyhow. I just bought them now since they are on clearance and I have a somewhat limited budget. I should be running as a novice this year anyhow, so the street tires won't matter too much. I want to be competitive, but also realize that I have a lot to learn first. Either way, it's all fun!
 
#185 ·
honda93 said:
1. If you have less than 5 autocrosses under your belt, run at least 5 - 10 more on the street tires until your skill level increases somewhat. Reason being, a race tire will mask driving errors because their sheer grip will make you look more adept than you really are. So to maximize your performance on R-comps, learn more on shitty the street tires first.
Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA
THis is the reason why I only drive on race tires, No joke I suck.
 
#193 ·
Driver: Chris Holter "former autocross racer"

Car:1991 Honda Civic si

Class: CSP

Mods: brospeed header, Thermal Exhaust, B&M adjustable fuel, Nuespeed Springs, Yokohama autocross tires, Nuespeed Short Shifter. NGK plugs and wires...I think that was it.


3rd place overall in 1998,
2nd place in 1999,
2000 I went undefeated in 10 races,
2000 Overral Champion,
2000 Driver of the year.
Placed 33rd out of roughly 2000 at the Mazda Rev it up challenge.
Went on to race 125cc shifter karts, now the kart is for sale.

I was a part of the SCCA Land o' Lakes region. had a blast, wish I still had my "race car"

Current car: 2006 Civic si
 
#197 ·
OhMyRedSI said:
I got an open face helmet for that reason as well. I found the full face ones felt too confining. The open face ones are cooler in the summer as well. Make sure to get one with an SA rating sticker. I believe they are required, but I am not positive.
Yeah, I feel like I wouldn't be able to see as much of the road. Plus our A-pillars are massive and hard to see past already.
 
#198 ·
I had the problem with the A-pillar as well when I started then I had a experienced driver help me out. He said that if I was looking at a cone around the A-pillar then I wasn't look ahead far enough. And that did help me go a little faster. Then the a-pillar was no longer a problem. And I think the SCCA requires a SNELL 95 or newer rating.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top