Yesterday I participated in my first autocross event. It will surely not be my last, it was an absolute blast and I learned a lot too.

The race was held on an old airstrip at an army base. The weather was a mixed bag of sun and cloud and very windy. There were close to 60 cars running and the club was using a new timing system that seemed to work out well.

There was one other TSX there, a white one with some nice cosmetic mods. Euro-R grill, OEM body kit and white wheels. Here is a couple photos of our two cars together (click for larger version):


We got five runs through the course over the day. Since it was my first time out, I had a lot of learning to do and there was a lot to think about. It was hard to just relax and drive. My times got progressively better over the day as I got to know the course and the car better.

And here is a link to all of the photos I took, most while marshalling at one of the corners:

http://majormojo.com/autox/25-04-04/autox.html

Here is a video of my runs:

Video link (Quicktime movie)
There is a lot of wind noise in the second half of each run, so keep your speakers turned down or you'll get blasted...

Some comments on my runs:

- My main goal for the day was simply to have fun and not get lost on the course. Getting lost wasn't much of an issue, as the course was a basic out-and-back layout.

- For my first run, I forgot about turning of the VSA and ran with it on. I was distracted listening to the starter's instructions, lining up, etc. The last four runs I had it off. I can't say for sure if it was a big factor in the later runs being faster. Certainly the car felt a little "livlier", but I also began pushing harder as my confidence went up and I started to relax a bit. I was taking it so easy the first run, that I'm not even sure if the VSA kicked in very much.

- I missed a gate at the end of the first slalom on my first two runs. I wasn't penalized for it the second time. Not sure why. I'd guess about half or more of the drivers missed that gate on the first two runs; for the subsequent runs, a pointer cone was added that made it much more clear where you needed to go.

- I never really did get through the big hairpin turn as smoothly or as quickly as I would have liked, but the last run wasn't too bad. At least none of my attempts were as bad as this one.


- The last run wasn't timed or scored I don't think. I'm pretty certain I thumped the 3rd cone on the first slalom, but other than that, I think that was my fastest and smoothest run.

As far as the final results go, I came in 36th of 58 drivers overall and I tied for third in my class. Tied with the driver of the other TSX in fact. There were 8 cars total in the GS class. So I guess that's a decent result for a noob. Any result that doesn't have me lost on course or plowing into the grass is OK with me for my first time out.

Anyway, it was really a lot of fun and I'll be back for more. I'm taking a 1.5 day autocross school in a couple weeks. Even if you don't plan to race regularly, I recommend an autocross event as a great way to get to know your vehicle and how it handles. A lot of the manouveres and techniques you use on an autox course are good practice for emergency accident avoidance.

 

Neat!

Glad you had a good time.. cool pix..

 

Looks fun.. I wanna go autocross one day..

 

Major it sounds like you've experienced what autocross is all about. "Run what you've brung" racing has been around for years but the best thing about auto-x is that you can translate a lot of the skills learned on the track to being a safer driver on the road. Once you've done one event it gets in your blood. Soon enough visions of race-compound rubber starts dancing in your head and you'll start looking at cars saying "hey I could pick one of those up for track days". Fun stuff!

 

I missed my regions most recent AutoX because my car is in the shop

But be glad you didn't end up like this guy. I missed it, but my roommate said this SVT Cobra ended up way off course and damaged his car. I heard he was a newb and was frustrated that his mustang wasn't handling the slalom well so he mashed the gas and sent himself spinning off a turn.

 

I've driven a mustang a new one as a matter a fact. I think it was just a GT though. I can not express to you how HORRIBLE the handling is!!! It feels like an old lincoln town car, like a big boat just floating in water with a lot of power..... to go straight.

 

This Saleen Mustang did really well. Cornered flat, very fast. Plus it roared like thunder. Too cool.



This one is (I think) a stock GT. You could really see that it was rolling a lot more, esp in the slaloms.

 

xizor, are you autocrossing w/ your TSX? All your mods must bump you into a different class. What class do you run in?

 

I would imagine his mods have bumped him into Street Mod. I started AutoCrossing with my Camaro last year. It is a ton of fun. I'm tempted to try my TSX, since most of the courses are designed by people who won Mini's.


If you haven't been to an AutoX, you can't throw a cat without hitting a Mini. Its a very popular car, as well as the Mazda Miata and Subaru Impreza WRX.

 

very big turn out, those are some nice pictures.

 

I don't know if you guys have the same classes North of the border, but I am in STS, Street Touring.

Most any boltons are allowed in STS, but its very competitive as integras, civics and non-turbo 240s end up in there too.

Its pretty hard to stay in the stock class. Can't change wheel size or tire size, no bars, and definately no engine mods.

 

I was surprised that there were no Minis at my event. Then again, they are quite rare here, I hardly ever see them on the street either. There were a few Miatas and at least 10 or 12 Subies. There was a husband/wife team taking turns in an STi. I think the Subaru folks have a local club too.

 

schweet!!!! nice bit of driving after you got more confident in the course/car.

 

It seems our classes are bit different. I thought they were derived from the SCCA classes, but perhaps not. There are stock classes A-G for various basic auto types. Then there are are SS (Super Stock) and SP (Street Prepared) and M (Modified) sub-classifications that permit various mods. I run in GS, but there is no GSS, if you exceed the permitted mod points (2), you move to another class like DSS which (like your STS class) has the Civics and 'Tegs, etc. However, the SS classes do allow more mod points, so there's more options.

From the looks of it, about the only mods I could do and still stay in GS are a rear anti-sway bar (1 pt) and larger wheels (1pt) or R-compound tires (1pt).

For now, I'm just going to keep things stock until I'm certain that the car is holding me back and not the other way around. Comptech rear bar sounds like a decent upgrade for me though.

 

I haven't gotten to race on my suspension mods yet, only one I had for my first 2 autoX were the CAI, which wasn't much use. But I have come to the point where my tires were keeping me back, I would definately suggest changing them for autoX.

Your system is a lot different than ours. SCCA has no point system, you are either in a class or not. So any mod takes you out of GS and into STS (or SM, or DSP which is like your DSS)

 

Very nice job. I also ran my first Autocross on the 25th. It's a ton of fun and my car handled quite well. I'm definetly getting some suspension mods. I'm thinking about the Koni shocks/struts and the Comptech springs. Also getting the rear sway bar, DC sports header and Carbon fiber hood. I may wait on the hood though. Headers and suspension first for the next Auto cross.

l8ers
Wess

I was put in a GS class as well. I was the only one running in my class lol.

 

majormojo is your car AT or MT? I just watched your vid and it didn't look like you shifted much at all either way. Look like a nice long course, very narrow though.

 

Looks like fun. But I don't know if I am ready to try that with my TSX.

 

No no no...in Stock classes, you're allowed to change shocks (not the springs), front swaybar only, aftermarket rims that are of the same diameter and width as the stock rims (offset can be +/- .25"), air filter element can be changed (SRI and CAI are not allowed), cat-back exhaust is allowed, aftermarket brake pads are allowed, R-compound tires are allowed, and a harness can be used. STS allows more mods, but you have to run street tires that have treadwear rating of 140 or above.

If you're new to auto-x, I would suggest NOT to put any mods into your car and just "mod" yourself...meaning working on your driving skills first. As you become faster and more consistant, then mod your car as you wish.

From watching that video, the course seems boring (well, at least to me) because it was just slaloms out, turn around, slaloms back, another turn around, then finish. A good course would consist of slaloms, chicanes, sweepers, some straights, and maybe a Chicago-box (lane change).

 

I could have been more specific and said "any enjoyable mod takes you out of GS and into STS"

You could make your car pretty formidible in GS, but the mod list is very vanilla and I don't think modding it would be very pleasing except for course racing.

But yeah, race on your stock car and get a feel for it. Its very satisfying to learn how the car understeers and then slap a rear sway on and see the difference.

 

Mine is an MT. I ran in second the whole time after starting. Really the only place that a downshift to first would have been beneficial might have been the hairpin. There were a couple drivers that did that, one of the ITR's and the S2000 I think. There was not much chance anyone would need to reach for third. I was expecting the course to have more slower, tighter sections. Of course, I have nothing to compare it to, so perhaps it was just this one layout that was that way.

 

Yep, that's pretty much the strategy I'm going to use. "Fix the driver, not the car". Once I get a real good feel for the car and the courses, I'll look at mods. I would like the car to have a little more (any) ability to oversteer though. I grew up driving RWD cars and steering the back of the car w/ the throttle feels more natural to me.

Quote:

From watching that video, the course seems boring (well, at least to me) because it was just slaloms out, turn around, slaloms back, another turn around, then finish. A good course would consist of slaloms, chicanes, sweepers, some straights, and maybe a Chicago-box (lane change).

It was a lot less complex than I'd thought it might be. Certainly no worries about getting lost. There was a Chicago box right before the sweeper at the end. I had thought that most autox courses were a lot more twisty and winding than that one. Like I said, could just be that particular layout.

Regardless, it was a good intro to the sport for me and I'm looking forward to the school next week. It's a much smaller group so there should be plenty of wheel time. There's a classroom session midweek and a whole day driving with the instructors (national or regional champs I think) in the cars on the weekend.

 

The Saleen has the independent rear with limited slip (PosiTraction) I think. It's either that or the SVT. MUCH better handling car. The stock LX and GTs handle like trucks.

 

It's great to see new people enjoying autocrossing. It looked like you line through the hairpin was getting better and better as your runs progressed. It looked like you were getting a little "behind on the steering" in a few of the videos, but this is a common problem for beginners ( and experianced drivers too :raises hand I want to share one of my autox videos, its being hosted on a site that has lots of racing videos and the link is here:
Auto-X in Hawaii

The TSX is a pretty easy car to drive quickly, I think it needs stickier tires (all autox cars do) and a bit more roll stiffness. Lowering the CG would also help, but this shouldn't stop it from being a good stock car to race. I wonder how it would be to move the battery to the back....????

 

Definitely put better tires on the car, the stock ones will just howl at you with any load you put on them.

Cool, another TSX in autoX, glad I'm not the only one. Major, put some better tires on the car, and try playing around with pressures. I put P Zero Nero Summer tires on mine, and ran 39F/41R. This setting allows me to create some lift off oversteer, which helps in some situation.

And you guys have a nice piece of land there, should've setup a 60-80sec course, that'll be fun. One of the events here in TX this months ran a 1.2miles autox layout! That's like in the 90-120sec range!!!

Good luck, and have fun.

 

TSXautoXer, thanks for the tips. I ran with tire pressures of 40F/38R (stock tires). I'll give your recommendation a try next time. I'm definitely going to replace the tires, but I'll wait until the stockers are worn out first.

Yeah, a 90-120 sec course would be great. It's kind of depressing to think that I spent a whole day to get less than 5 min total track time! But it's fun and I enjoyed being around the cars and meeting other drivers. It's more than just the driving.

 

Hey Colin, cool vid.

I think the TSX can be competitive in the class, if one doesn't get too carried away with the mods. Too much modification will put in direct competition with cars it doesn't have a hope against. It is certainly a car that inspires and builds confidence and doesn't have any real bad handling traits or "gotchas" to watch out for.

What would be the advantage of moving the battery to the trunk? Just to even out the F/R weight balance? I'm pretty sure that will incur mod points under our classing system.

 

I autocrossed in the mid-60"s with Healey's and MGB's. It got me into SCCA eventaully. Being smooth is the key to good times; minimize the shifts and staighten out every turn as much as possible. On tight courses I used to beat Vette 427's with the MGB because I kept it smooth. Lowering the car with a pro-suspension kit works wonders (look up TireRack.com) and better tires and brake pads will also help you shave tenths of your times.

 

According to the 2003 rule book (I haven't received my 2004 rule book yet), it didn't say whether the relocation of the battery is allowed. In general, if the rules don't say you can, it's safe to assume you can't do that mod. Oh...BTW, this is SCCA's rules, so it might be different in Canada.

 

Major, where exactly did this take place?

How did that ITR do?

 

domn, the race took place on the airstrip at CFB Edmonton (Namao). You have to go through two military security checkpoints to get in. You also have to be registered (driver and auto VIN) ahead of time. I was told they run security checks on everyone the week before the event, but I don't know if that's true or not.

There were four ITR's at the race, I'm not sure which is in the pics (Two yellow, two white, both pairs identical twins). They finished 7,8,9, and 25 overall. The 7,8,9 times were right around 43 seconds. My best time was about 47 sec. I think they all had mods to some extent.