New to autocross....some questions

Hello

I'm new here and to autocross. I have a 92 Volvo 240 wagon. Probably not the most common chose but I already own it and cant afford another car to do it with. My questions is what all do I need to do to it? Im putting new breaks and shocks/struts. Also is there anywhere in north georgia that you can practice? Can you get cones and practice somewhere on your own. Any info would be great!

Mike

Why did your post not automatically do the word wrap? Anyway, the best part about autocross is that there are at least 23 classes to encourage anyone to come out and race. You don't have to have a perfect car and it's really fun, so enjoy yourself. Most other forms of motorsports that can duplicate or expand the experience will cost more money. Replace your BRAKES and keep your car maintained so you don't BREAK anything at the events. When you get to the events, talk to the event workers and the veterans so you can have more fun by getting some direction instead of wondering what the hell to do. DON'T do any performance modifications until you have completed 8 competitions or you understand what is slowing you down. I believe heavily that you need to improve your driving before you do anything to the car except maintenance. Did I also mention to have fun? Motorsports was created to have fun, so enjoy yourself, and make some new friends.

The rules are very specific, before you consider any mods look at the rules. One small change can bump you up a class. Often driving technique tire pressure and wheel alignment will provide more improvement than some chrome geegaw.

Thanks for the info guys. Im not sure on the word wrap thing Its doing in now though.

I think the word wrap has been caused by the fact that you indented or hit the tab button before writing your first sentence.
Hit edit and try removing that indent or the spaces before your words.

Welcome Mike, and your silver brick

The best autocross advice I have ever read, anywhere, was on this board. I would give the proper credit if I could. It went something like this: "Find an event, go, find the person there with the biggest hat, tell him you're new and ask for help."

Less than a week later, at our first event of the year, one of the fastest and most helpful guys in our club showed up with one of these on:

It took me a minute to quit laughing so I could explain to him what was so funny.

If you don't already own one, buy a helmet. Make sure it's 'SA' rated. I perfer open faced ones for better range of vision. A good dial type tire pressure gauge and some chalk for marking your tires is also a few bucks well spent.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

Thanks that was it

As someone mentioned, get familiar with the rules but do not get obsessed with them yet. First, just get out and run what you have, in whatever class it falls into. Go to measure yourself and your car's ability as a benchmark. From there you can improve and track the improvements to both driver and car.

SCCA's official name for autox is Solo and here are its rules:
http://www.scca.com/solo/content.cfm?cid=44517

Here is a SCCA Solo 2 Novice Handbook
You may find some of the contributors to this old but still relevant guide are contributors to this GRM board as well.

If you would like some graduate level instruction, here is an 11 part autox instruction video series.
Though dated, they are only about as old as your car and still very relevant.

JohnRW1621 wrote: As someone mentioned, get familiar with the rules but do not get obsessed with them yet. First, just get out and run what you have, in whatever class it falls into. Go to measure yourself and your car's ability as a benchmark. From there you can improve and track the improvements to both driver and car. SCCA's official name for autox is Solo and here are its rules: http://www.scca.com/solo/content.cfm?cid=44517 Here is a SCCA Solo 2 Novice Handbook You may find some of the contributors to this old but still relevant guide are contributors to this GRM board as well. If you would like some graduate level instruction, here is an 11 part autox instruction video series. Though dated, they are only about as old as your car and still very relevant.

Thanks man that helps alot

Clean out the inside of the car of ALL loose articles.

Make sure your battery is secure.

Pump up your tire pressures a bit.

Go have fun.

I agree with the "biggest hat rule". Also, its a good idea to bring a big hat and sunscreen too. You can get roasted alive doing safety on some courses, standing in the sun like that all day (voice of experience here).

Also, you don't have to be competitive. I showed up in my DD Miata, bone stock, and ran it like that just for fun. I'd knocked 6 seconds off my time by the end of the day, and it was great fun.

If you are starting out, you need to tune the nut behind the wheel.

Don't waste time or $$$ on the car until you are running consistent laps all day. Seriously, you can be the slowest guy on the course, but if you can get the times to be consistent, you have a foundation to build upon.

When you start out, cone blindness is going to be the big issue. In the ideal world, you need to be two gates ahead for best results. Cone-blind means that you are always searching for the next gate when you exit a corner. Some of us never get over this!

It has been said a million times: Walk the course. But my advice is "Walk the course ALONE!!!!! And stop often to look back and find lines: what you are looking for is the straightest line between gates.

In a slalom, your gates are defined by cones. What is not so clear is the apex; the point where you need to culminate the turn. It is somewhere between the exit of one gate and the entrance to the next, but up to you to define its position and somehow mark it in the middle of the action.

So, forget about the car, work on the driver for a season or two.

1. Don't worry about being competitive. Both you and your car are light years away from being ready.

2. Go in with the attitude that you don't know anything,

3. Make sure your brakes are in good working order.

4. Have fun

The best car to autocross is the one you have. Regardless of what it is, you will have more fun than you ever thought possible. If you're a relatively normal human, the rush of doing it will be pretty large when you get started. This ain't no video game. At the beginning your challenge is not the others cars in your class - it's you against you. Get smoother and faster with every run. Even bone stock on sucky tires you can still get smoother and your times will get better.

Best advice is to go in with an open mind and a big smile. Find the big hat, or go to registration, or just wander and find a cool car. Announce yourself as a new guy and a sponge. Be quiet, be polite, don't brag on your skills, be willing to learn and accept advice and you will find yourself with a line of people willing to help you, ride along and have you ride with them. When riding as a passenger, don't just be a passenger and watch out the windshield. Turn your body a bit and watch the driver - his hands, feet, eyes.

Hands follow eyes, car follows hands. Look where you want to go and that's where you'll go.

Have fun!

Also, nobody else mentioned that for the most part, you won't be able to set up cones anywhere and practice a slalom you set up. At race speeds, it's reckless driving, even in an empty parking lot and a grumpy person or some buzzkill will call the cops on you or the cops will just happen to drive by and give you a ticket. The best way to get more practice, I do it too, is to go to autocross events that are in the second closest region to you, unless you live in the west and it's hundreds of miles away. So if you go to all of your regions events, and 2 in the next one, it will help speed up your learning and give you more fun at the same time. I also found that playing Gran Turismo 5 helped me quite a lot since you really have to race the correct lines to drive fast. It isn't called the driving simulator for nothing. Some pros also use racing simulators to keep their skills sharp while keeping racing expenses down.

Yeah, another thing lots of noobies miss is looking ahead. You really want to be watching the corners AHEAD of the one you are actually driving through. In autocross, its very easy to focus on the immediate corners, and they all come so fast that if you arent looking ahead, you will not be prepared for the next corner.

Its a learned skill, but a very important one. Learn to read the cones in your peripheral vision as you watch ahead farther down the course. Start good habits now, while its easy.

Ask questions, most people are always willing to help you out. Other than that, have fun.

Thanks guys for all the info. Can i use the same car for both rallycross and autocross?

silverbrick27 wrote: Thanks guys for all the info. Can i use the same car for both rallycross and autocross?

That's a whole other question and is usually a profound maybe. Most any car that can be used for rally-x can be used for auto-x, but you may not want to. With your mostly-stock 240... I'd say two sets of wheels/tires and have fun.

I'm not sure exactly how far north you are, but if you end up coming down to run with the Atlanta SCCA they have a fantastic novice program that makes navigating your first few events much easier. Not only do they inform about logistics like tech inspection and when to put your car on grid, but you essentially get driver training thrown in for free (plus an extra run).

In response to NOHOME's suggestion to walk the course alone - I sort of agree, but only after you know what you're doing. If you're not familiar with all the cone configurations that are used in an autocross it is incredibly helpful to have an instructor/fellow-autocrosser to explain the course to you and point out the lines, strategies, and potential pitfalls (the Atlanta region does this with their novice program). That said, once you can read the course then it's often advantageous to walk it by yourself or at least with someone who is actually focused on the course-walk and not socializing.

silverbrick27 wrote: Thanks guys for all the info. Can i use the same car for both rallycross and autocross?

Can? Yes. Should? Bigger question. Depending on the region, the rallycross sites might be rougher on your car than some other regions. You could always show up, scope out the set-up, and if it looks too rough for your car, see if someone would let you co-drive theirs. Best to try to set up a co-drive ahead of time actually, if you don't personally know the people there. (Getting ahead of myself.)

I know people that do both with their cars, just changing wheels, but they tend to be on the more "rustic" side of shiny-ness and don't care if it loses side molding or fog lights in a rut.

Jerry wrote: I know people that do both with their cars, just changing wheels, but they tend to be on the more "rustic" side of shiny-ness and don't care if it loses side molding or fog lights in a rut.

If you're going to run her ragged expect results.

Thanks guys ill stuck with autocross then later try rally. Matt b im in cherokee county so i should be able to do that

Cool - the Atlanta crew is a good group to run with. Feel free to shoot me a PM when you plan to attend because I'll likely be there anyway in our integra.