First time autocross preparations?

[Michael_vroomvroom]

I see many posts about track day preparations, but little about autocross. I've only seen autocross on videos so far, but these look pretty brutal, at least at the "pro" level, especially on the steering/suspension/wheel hubs I imagine.

For trackdays I change my brake pads to racing pads, but I'm guessing this would not be needed for autocross, at least not with the 6 piston Brembos and the stock, but excellent, DS2500 pads?

I've never tried autocross before as I've never been able to find it here in Spain, but now I for the first time see there are some autocross events coming up. Unfortunately they all seem to be competitive events, so I'm sure I'll make a total ass out of myself if that is my first try at autocross, if I'm even allowed to join. I'm figuring the guys competing have to have some place they practice however, so want to find out.

Would like to know how Mustang drivers who participate prepare though, and if any special precautions should be done to limit the risk of vehicle damage. Any tips?

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[kz]

Not sure if autocross in Spain is same thing as in US, but you don't really have to do anything special. If you're on stock tires, you may want to add some pressure to reduce sidewall flex but it's not like they're that high, other than that remove all the loose stuff from it (obvious) and have fun. No reason to overthink it.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Stock brembo pads are fine. Bring your own helmet and stuff to be outside all day.

bring comfortable walking shoes, you’ll want to show up early enough to walk the course 3 or so times. Don’t show up right at the cuttoff. Every autox course is different so walking the course is a big part of running well.

don’t bring your ego, having track experience will help but autox brings some unique challenges (like reading a sea of cones). Nobody is ever any good at their first event. Give it 4 ot 5 events before you start worrying about who you’re beating and who you aren’t beating.

bring helmet, food, water for you. One tank of gas should be fine, painters tape in a contrasting color if you don’t have magnetic numbers, and air compressor and gauge are generally all the special equipment you’ll need to start out.

later on for hot days and dedicated autox tires, you’ll want a water sprayer to cool the overly hot tires between runs, but its less of a problem for street tires.

don’t be shy. Introduce yourself to people, ask for ride alongs as often as you can and don’t be put off if they say no sometimes. If they have any novice instruction, take advantage of it.

have fun. I love the sport.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

All sounds great then. Thanks for the tips. :-)

 

[Norm Peterson]

Don't let the relatively slow speeds at autocross fool you . . . it's a far more 'frantic' activity (particularly through any slalom maneuvers that may be set up). Compared to HPDE you'll be pretty darn busy for 45 seconds or so.

If course maps are not provided, it may be well worth your time to try to draw your own on one of your later course walks. Places you have trouble drawing just might be the same places you're going to have more difficulty driving. Briefly reviewing your map before each run will at least help keep you on course.


Norm

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

Don't let the relatively slow speeds at autocross fool you . . . it's a far more 'frantic' activity (particularly through any slalom maneuvers that may be set up). Compared to HPDE you'll be pretty darn busy for 45 seconds or so.

If course maps are not provided, it may be well worth your time to try to draw your own on one of your later course walks. Places you have trouble drawing just might be the same places you're going to have more difficulty driving. Briefly reviewing your map before each run will at least help keep you on course.


Norm

Thank you, that's a great idea I think.

 

[Grintch]

Put gas in the car, check your oil level, and set your tire pressures. Refresh yourself on the procedure for turning off traction/stability control. Bam you are now ready. Until you get serious and have that second set of wheels & tires, camber plates, etc.

All the track perpetrations are almost about the brakes, and prolonged high speed, high RPM operation. None of which are needed for autocross.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

Put gas in the car, check your oil level, and set your tire pressures. Refresh yourself on the procedure for turning off traction/stability control.

What settings do people recommend for tire pressure and traction/stability control for autorcross?

 

[Schnupper]

-Make sure to walk the course a few times.
-Have someone ride with you for your first few runs.
-Safety check the car as stated numerous times on this thread.
-I would get some chalk and mark the sidewalls to check for roll over. I run 34 hot in front, 31 hot in rear. (depends on your tires but might give you a good ballpark number)
-A friendly tip about disabling the nannies... Make sure to have the car running for at least a minute, than disable them, than wait another minute before your run. This will stop the car from randomly throwing a code in the middle of your runs.
-Don't be afraid of being slow your first few runs, its better to be slow and follow the course correctly.
-Always be looking AHEAD
-I recommend getting a gopro or some camera so you can review your runs
-Also be prepared to be addicted

 

[Grintch]

What settings do people recommend for tire pressure and traction/stability control for autorcross?

It varies by tire, but 35 psi hot is a good target.

Full off is potentially fastest, but I often use AdvanceTrack (?) mode for the first run or two while learning the track.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

It varies by tire, but 35 psi hot is a good target.

Full off is potentially fastest, but I often use AdvanceTrack (?) mode for the first run or two while learning the track.

Thank you.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

-Make sure to walk the course a few times.
-Have someone ride with you for your first few runs.
-Safety check the car as stated numerous times on this thread.
-I would get some chalk and mark the sidewalls to check for roll over. I run 34 hot in front, 31 hot in rear. (depends on your tires but might give you a good ballpark number)
-A friendly tip about disabling the nannies... Make sure to have the car running for at least a minute, than disable them, than wait another minute before your run. This will stop the car from randomly throwing a code in the middle of your runs.
-Don't be afraid of being slow your first few runs, its better to be slow and follow the course correctly.
-Always be looking AHEAD
-I recommend getting a gopro or some camera so you can review your runs
-Also be prepared to be addicted

Good tips. I'm used to being the slowest on track already, so no worries about that particular point. ;-)

Originally I only planned to do autocross stuff when I got my Mustang, since it seems that's much more applicable to what I want (learn to drive better), but so far it's only been trackdays.

 

[Michael_vroomvroom]

Well, I didn't go to what could have been my first opportunity last sunday. Attended a track day the day before, and going to this too would entail a 3-4 hour drive each way the next day, but mainly I was concerned about damage to my car based on a poster I saw for the event. Due to covid-19 restrictions, just travelling to look is quite problematic at the moment also, though otherwise I might have done that.

I've now seen some videos from the event however, and to my never-attended-before eyes, I'm pretty sure I made the right choice to not register for attending. If anyone is interested, two videos from the event:





I would prefer a football field or two of space on the outside of each marker, but this looks not so suitable for me. I think that unless I drove veeery, veeery, slowly through that whole thing, there's a pretty good chance I'd crash my beauty into a tree, wall, or as you seem to like to do in the USA, a crowd outside the coffee shop.

It looks like there will be more events coming up now, as it appears to be a competition taking place throughout Spain, but if it's similar to this, I think it's too far out of my league for a first experience. I don't think I'd have much fun snailing through that slalom in my beautiful looking car with a lot of spectators wondering if I'm having some kind of engine trouble or not, and I'm sure my Mustang would be even more than normally embarrassed with its driver.

Unfortunately I've also been unable to find any other autocross-like events so far.

 

[bnightstar]

It looks like there will be more events coming up now, as it appears to be a competition taking place throughout Spain, but if it's similar to this, I think it's too far out of my league for a first experience. I don't think I'd have much fun snailing through that slalom in my beautiful looking car with a lot of spectators wondering if I'm having some kind of engine trouble or not, and I'm sure my Mustang would be even more than normally embarrassed with its driver.

Unfortunately I've also been unable to find any other autocross-like events so far.

Autocross is not very popular in Europe that's for sure. My local car club will try to organise an event next week or so and I want to try it out as it sound fun. However I prefer track days. And since you are in Spain plenty of amazing tracks to chose from Catalunya for example. Or you can do Portimao in Portugal as well. Lot's of events on both. And both in the F1 calendar this season.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Well, I didn't go to what could have been my first opportunity last sunday. Attended a track day the day before, and going to this too would entail a 3-4 hour drive each way the next day, but mainly I was concerned about damage to my car based on a poster I saw for the event. Due to covid-19 restrictions, just travelling to look is quite problematic at the moment also, though otherwise I might have done that.

I've now seen some videos from the event however, and to my never-attended-before eyes, I'm pretty sure I made the right choice to not register for attending. If anyone is interested, two videos from the event:





I would prefer a football field or two of space on the outside of each marker, but this looks not so suitable for me. I think that unless I drove veeery, veeery, slowly through that whole thing, there's a pretty good chance I'd crash my beauty into a tree, wall, or as you seem to like to do in the USA, a crowd outside the coffee shop.

It looks like there will be more events coming up now, as it appears to be a competition taking place throughout Spain, but if it's similar to this, I think it's too far out of my league for a first experience. I don't think I'd have much fun snailing through that slalom in my beautiful looking car with a lot of spectators wondering if I'm having some kind of engine trouble or not, and I'm sure my Mustang would be even more than normally embarrassed with its driver.

Unfortunately I've also been unable to find any other autocross-like events so far.

Yeah that’s not a safe course. No way you can make any mistake without hitting something.

I wouldn’t run a daily driver at events like that either.

Even in America is very hard to find open lots big enough with no or few enough barriers. I would guess its 8x harder in Europe.

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