Where Do YOu Practice Your AutoX Stuff?

[TomoHawk]

You need to practice to get good. Practice makes perfect, etc. So where do you go to practice your autocross "technique?" What do you do when you practice?

thx

[Bambikiller240]

My local County Fair property has a nice large paved parking lot. I can usually get a 1/2 hour of practice in before someone hears the tires squealing and comes to see what is going on. Then there are the times I go out in the country in early mornings and exercise the car and myself (at less than 10/10ths of course).

[TomoHawk]

What do you do to practice? Set up cones?

[dogma420]

AutoX is about practice isn't it? Just go and do it...practice as you're doing it.

[jmortensen]

Practice every time you get in the car. Apex corners on the way to the grocery store. Heel and toe every downshift. Put a piece of tape at 12 o' clock on the steering wheel, and try to drive so that the tape moves as little as possible. The less input you have on the steering wheel the faster you'll go. Start consciously trying to get around turns while only moving the steering wheel once. If you turn in, then have to turn more in the middle of the turn, then your first movement on the steering wheel was probably too early or not sharp enough--or its a decreasing radius turn. Start double apexing multiple turns. If there are two left hand turns in front of you see if you can turn the wheel once and get all the way around both turns in the road. You don't have to break any laws to practice autox.

When you go to the autox find the fastest driver in the fastest car you can and see if you can walk the course with him. Ask him to explain the line to you. Some places will let you ride along. See if he'll ride with you and point out your mistakes. Ask to ride with him for one run. Attend an autox school. My old club used to have 2 per year. Read books about driving (I liked "Driving Faster") or buy some autox videos. Watch road racing or better yet rally racing on TV and analyze the line the guys are driving.

[Bambikiller240]

Great pointers from jmortenson.

No, I don't set out cones.

I don't prefess to be a "real" autoX'er anymore (haven't competed in years), but it is all about car control and a good part of that is being completely familiar with how your car responds to the driver inputs.

[240ZX]

My local County Fair property has a nice large paved parking lot. I can usually get a 1/2 hour of practice in before someone hears the tires squealing and comes to see what is going on. Then there are the times I go out in the country in early mornings and exercise the car and myself (at less than 10/10ths of course).

Carl, I'm still looking for THAT big parking lot. Years back we would sneak out on the local airport runway at night (no planes flying of course) and have your way with it....plenty-O-room for sure. Currently, it seems like every friggin PERFECT plot of ashphalt has a fence and locked gate around it. I know what your saying about spending too much time playing as you will get thoughs unwanted spectators in the black and white cars. However, early morning runs at a reasonable pace on any of my favorite play routes work too! Of course you can only play so hard on the street....a sactioned track is definitely the ticket for maximum fun and safety!!!

[zguitar71]

I drove a lot of dirt roads. I really learned a bunch about throttle lift and weight dianamics in a car. That was with my old car a `90 Saab 900 but I applied the same stuff to the Z and it is working great + all the stuff Jmortensen said.

[TomoHawk]

AutoX is about practice isn't it? Just go and do it...practice as you're doing it.

If you only get 3 runs for your $20, it doesn't seem like a good idea to blow it and the whole day on experimenting with how to drive.

I would just leave it in 2nd, so all I have left is driving a line & braking. I think my experience with bike racing would help to pick a line.

[240ZX]

If you only get 3 runs for your $20, it doesn't seem like a good idea to blow it and the whole day on experimenting with how to drive.

I would just leave it in 2nd, so all I have left is driving a line & braking. I think my experience with bike racing would help to pick a line.

You gotta start somewhere and $20 is pretty cheap now days. So, what size bike did you race.....650cc, 750cc, 1100cc?

[dogma420]

bicycle racing, heh.

[SJGREEN71]

I did some auto-x in my Ford Focus a few years back (H stock). I have a friend who made National Champion (though he had to borrow a Mini to get first place). It was a real eye opener when I let him take a run in my car with me a pasenger. I could not believe how late he would brake, and how hard he could brake without locking up the wheels. He could also use all of the track, exiting each corner just milimeters from the cones. If you can get this kind of demonstration from the best in class in your area you will learn a lot about how he (or she) extracts that extra second out of the run that you cannot.