Ghrankenstein's Rookie SCCA Autocross

[Ghrankenstein]

My First SCCA Autocross

By Ghrankenstein


I did something new last Sunday, as you might guess by the title of this article, one of those things that’s so much of a blast that I wish I’d done it sooner. I’d read about autocross as a kid, the aptly named “parking-lot races” held by SCCA that anybody could just drive out to and run in. I left having seen some really cool cars in action, some brilliant and others not, and with more respect and satisfaction for my own ride.

At the urging of an autocrossing co-worker (Jon), I headed out to the old Ducks stadium last Sunday morning at an unpleasantly early hour. We met up at the dealership, since we planned on taking a couple of cars out there to show. At the stadium, we got a ride back to the store, and grabbed a G5 GT and a 9-2X Aero, drove them out, and plugged them up with dealership magnets.

Of the two, I was surprised at the attention that the G5 grabbed. People at the SCCA meets are well-informed, and knew what the G5 was. Most of the comments were positive, in that passers-by liked the look, and especially the 17” flangeless wheels. The only negative opinion was that Pontiac should get a supercharged model like Chevy’s Supercharged SS Cobalt.

Despite the show vehicles, I was there to drive, and driving meant getting registered. I filled out some forms, waited in a couple of lines, and had my car inspected. For those who don’t know, I drive a stock 2004 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport 5-speed coupe. Responses that I got:

“Cool! We don’t see enough Cavaliers out here!”

“Cool! What mods do you have?” (None.)

And,

“Cool, you’re in our class. Joe’s gonna kick your butt, but he kicks all of our butts.”

The SCCA judges put me in something called HS (class H-Stock), which is where the mundane cars go. They asked me if my Cavalier was a Z-24, and I’d told them that it was an LS-Sport. My LS-Sport has the same suspension as the older Z-24’s, with a 140 hp 2.2L Ecotec in place of the 180 hp 2.4L Quad 4. I was kind of surprised, since another driver complained about Jon’s car.

Jon drives a 1995 Tercel 4-speed manual, and he showed up with non-standard wheels and tires, and another H-Stocker complained that his Tercel wasn’t stock. Jon and his Tercel were bumped up to another class, though I suspect that the giant “Denver Broncos” magnet on his hood might have affected the final decision. That left four cars competing in H-Stock: My Cavalier, an Escort ZX-2, a 2001 Corolla, and Joe’s 2002 Hyundai Elantra 5-door.

The rest of the field was as diverse as the industry itself. Some die-hard participants trailered in their cars, which included F-bodies, Corvettes, modified MGB’s, and even something with a welded tubular frame and a fiberglass body. For every “too-serious” driver was a goof-bucket in a muscle car who was just there to see what they, and their car, could do.

What surprised me was the number of domestics in the field. Apparently the ricers were off street-racing, drifting up parking complexes, or watching Scr-Y-Ed that morning. There was but one ricer douchebag, driving his dad’s STi (along with his dad). It reminded me a bit of GMI, what with the douchebag who thinks he’s the schizznit because of his dad’s car and all…

Miatas, Corvettes, F-bodies, and Mustangs dominated the mix, between two heats. Also present in number were second-generation MR2’s, second-generation RX-7’s, MGB’s, and late-model BMW 3-series. There was one other Cavalier, a highly modified Z-24. Odd-men out included a Lotus Elise, a third-generation Eclipse, a 350Z Sport, a late-model Saab 9-3 hatch, an Audi TT twin-turbo, and a Cobalt SS/SC.


How Ghrank Ran

I was originally scheduled to run in the first heat. In each heat all of the drivers run in sequence, repeating through five total runs. Those not running in that heat umpire the course, splitting off by corner to report the number of cones hit, gates missed, and to replace cones.

My comrades, including Jon and Joe, quickly campaigned for me to be switched to the second heat, since I’d never driven before, and because my car was still full of crap. That left me working Corner 4. A lot of people were working Corner 4, and, like the fat kid in gym, Corner 4 sent me down to Corner 5.

Corner 5 had smokers, and I had smokes, and therefore I fit in. Unlike Corner 4, it didn’t have the best view of the course. The final slalom and corners weren’t even visible from our location, but there was another rookie driver down there, in a 302cid Mustang.

We watched as many of the “good” cars labored their way through the course. I felt a lot better about my own potential mistakes when one of the race-prep MGB’s spun out and even the Elise hit cones. The rwd V-8’s rarely made clean runs, but they were very fast when they did. I paid careful attention when the ZX2 came through, since it was in my class and I estimated its performance to be closest to mine, though I paid little attention to the Corolla.

By the fifth run, the Elise was making clean runs and hardly looked like it was working. Some of the Miatas were deftly handled; 1.6L models were classed differently than 1.8L’s, but it seemed not to matter. Like the Miatas, the MR2s’ times were largely determined by their drivers. Regardless, the rwd’s all seemed destined to hit a certain cone in a post-slalom switchback, and the fwd’s always passed it.

From my observations, rwd's ran the fastest, while the fwd's ran the cleanest, and it was up to the cones to decide which was better.

When my heat came around, my goals were simple: Don’t embarrass myself (at least with my driving). Drive the course in less than 60 seconds. Don't kill anybody (at least with my driving.) Beat somebody.

Before that ever happened, I had to race prep my car. That meant getting the load of crap out of it. It turns out that you can’t drive an SCCA Autocross with a load of crap in your car. Fortunately, I had a trash bag floating around in my back seat from the move. That meant that all the old bills, soda cans, Bruno Sammartino action figure, and Three Stooges tapes were quickly gathered up. The vast assortment of heavy metal CD’s and cassettes (my car has no cassette player) went into the trunk of the G5. Joe also insisted that I remove my spare tire for weight distribution, though I wanted to keep it for the same reason.

Fortunately, I was done with plenty of time to spare, spare tire and all. Joe had already driven his first lap, then he jumped into my car to offer pointers. These were simple pointers: “No, don’t turn there!” “No, don’t turn there!” “Turn, TURN, you’re going to miss it!” With Joe’s expert instruction, I finished my first lap with a clean run and an embarrassing 75-second time. All in first gear.

“That’s okay,” Joe explained. “That’s what first runs are for.”

After my run, I got into Joe’s Hyundai Elantra for his second lap. Joe is a nut, which largely accounts for the fact that he gets his Hyundai through the course faster than many “faster” cars. Joe knows how to use the Elantra’s abundant drifting abilities to his advantage, and he slides the car through the better part of the course. Joe uses the handbrake a lot, which strikes me as crazy, but gets me to thinking.

On my second lap, Jon rode with me. Like Joe, Jon’s main purpose was to keep me from driving off into the sunset, but this time I was determined to reach second gear. After a tire-smoking start, I drove the course much more aggressively. I hit second gear early, but plunged into the first giant sweeper (a full 270 degrees) with enormous understeer. I didn’t feel bad, because this turn was the biggest problem for the front-drivers. Resetting to first, I climbed out, wrenched through the slalom, and muddled through the second sweeper. I hit the second slalom okay, then plunged deep into the hairpin corner #3, but emerged without hitting any cones. After the final slalom, the result was a 59.9-second second run.

The friendly observers cheered, patted me on the back, and shook my hand. “That,” Joe hollered, “is how to shave 16 seconds off your time!” I was grateful for the encouragement, and that I had hit the first of my goals. It’s really cool that the competition at these autocrosses is so dominantly friendly. People are always riding along with each other, offering pointers, or just seeing what different drivers and vehicles feel like.

Joe rode with me again on my third run. I drove vastly more aggressively this time, but I still got lost in the course. I missed a full slalom gate, resulting in a DNF. I went ahead and ran the rest of the course as hard as I could, again plunging too deep in corners 4 and 5. My DNF time was a 59.8. I had already succeeded in one of my goals, but I didn’t take this as a success. I wanted to run better.

On my fourth run, Jon rode with me. Jon was apparently good karma, and I ran hard. Hard, that is, after my very slow start. I took off from idle, trying to avoid the burnout starts that Joe said held Jon back by two seconds. Jon had responded that he was taking off from several feet behind the gates, and that his starts were pure net gain. At any rate, I chundered ahead, gaining speed rapidly behind my strong Ecotec.

This time, I decided to try out the emergency brake, since I’d had such a big problem with understeer through the course’s two huge turns. I was wishing that I’d left the spare in, as I’d originally wanted. I was much better through the 270-deg first turn, though I had to downshift to first and I still ploughed a bit on the way out. The second slalom was largely under acceleration, leading into the 180-deg second turn. More handbrake minimized my understeer, and I was able to exit under full throttle.

The quick right-hand jog after the third slalom was where the rwd cars started hitting cones. I aligned myself to the left, pulled the e-braked under full throttle, and squirted through in a manner that made me think I was as good as the Miata drivers. Into the 90-deg turn four, I continued at full throttle, and plunged too deep, lucky not to hit cones, but recovering at the right attitude to hit the final slalom at full tilt.

On my fourth run, I ran a clean 58.9, another improvement.

My last run was to be a solo run. Jon said that the extra weight on the right side of the vehicle was hurting me, but the real reason was one last initiation. I drove the course hard, still pushing in the big corners but less than before. I hit the third slalom’s jog perfectly, driving hard into turn 4. Once again, I turned too late, but I recovered without hitting any cones, and finished. My time was a competitive 55.4 seconds, though I was penalized 2 seconds for a cone I hit after the first slalom.

I had not embarrassed myself with my driving. Goal accomplished. Yet more cheers and congratulations, mostly associated with being a rookie and driving fairly well. Despite the final tabulations, times seem to be more important within various cliques, and cones hit seem to be grounds for trash-talking for the next round.


How the Others Ran

Since I was parked around the bend, I couldn’t see the times from the first heat. In my heat, there were some really good drivers and some really good times. The fastest times that I saw were from a very well driven 350Z Sport, which turned consistent sub-47 second times. Keep in mind, that was a full 2 seconds better than the FREAKING race-kart!

In the 48-50 seconds were the STi consistently, and fast, clean runs by F-bodies. These were few and far between, but strong when they worked out. Between 50 and 51 seconds were the Cobalt SS/SC and Saab 9-3 Hatch. I felt good for both, for the skills of the 9-3 driver and for the performance of the Cobalt.

In my class, the winner was the 2001 Corolla, with a blistering time of 51.x seconds. Joe, in his Hyundai was second in the 53.x range. Jon, up a class, ran a clean 54.x. I don’t know what the Escort ran, but it beat my penalized time, leaving me at a competitive 4th out of 4. I didn’t feel bad, though.

I had beaten an Eclipse and several Mustangs. I had pushed my Cavalier beyond its admirable limits, and learned what it can, and more importantly, cannot do.

I feel like I’m king of the world, and that means that I get to tell you, the reader, what to do. Now give me a whole bunch of money.

Mer-Maid-Ur
Mer-Maid-Ur
Mer-Maid-Ur
Mer-Maid-Ur

Ghrank

[FireFox89]

wow im amazed you beat the mustangs, or you were a vastly better driver anyways congrats. I plan on buying a used 2000-2002 t/a formula in the coming months. Then i wish a scca event was around here. Im a decent driver (fast on the straights anyways) dunno about twisties, wonder how or would i fare in the t/a i wanna buy hmm..

[asim]

Cool man, it sounded like you had a lot of fun and all that whatnot.

Hey, when are you going to get those Ghrank/GMI awards out for "Best sedan of the year" that particular stuff? Not to pressure you and everything, I know you're busy.

[Brglotus]

Hey FireFox, you should do pretty good in a Trans Am, the other cars in your class are pretty tough. I had a 97 SS Camaro and was placed in the same class as C4 Vette's, Mustang Cobra's, WRX's, Porsche 911's (up to about 96 i think) Boxter's and cars of this type. On the bigger tracks the Fbody shines good and could take on all but the best of driver's, but the small tight tracks (esp. coned parking lot's), it's hard to get the Fbody going around the corners compared to a Boxter. I remembered this guy kicked butt with that car on the small tracks. I can't remember if it was an S version or not. It's been a while.

[Hudson]

I remember my first time out in an autocross...and I enjoyed it so much. I expect to return to the sport next year, I can't wait.

One question...the Audi TT was modified with twin turbos?

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

Congrats! Although you mentioned some of the "best cars". That's an incorrect statement. It' sbaout the driver. I good driver should be able to take a Cavalier or Corolla and outdrive a guy driving a Mustang GT.

To learn more about driving check out: http://www.springmountainmotorsports.com/

I took both the 1st Level and got back from the 2nd Level class in June. You'll learn braking, hand/seat position, heel/toe shifting, and learn to hit your apex. Hitting your apexs is a focus of the course. You'll hear "You missed your apex" through your headset more times than you care to remember. But if you hit your apexes, the reward is, you'll go fast.

Great class! I apply many principles in daily driving in my '02 Z28. I'm currently looking for a used C5 Z06.

The next step from autocross, is road course. There might be a few around where you live. Check it out. Enjoy braking, downshifting and turning to the right.

The Key? Have Fun!

[jwrebholz]

I really wanna try this sometime. Maybe even in my Cavalier.

[ScottS]

Originally Posted by FireFox89

wow im amazed you beat the mustangs....

It's more about the driver than the car. A lot of people are timid on their first try. Some have a hard time getting the course down in their mind. Some just have no idea how to use the throttle smoothly, especially in muscle cars. I've seen a lot of ridiculous driving coming out of new people whou think they know it all.

Originally Posted by FireFox89

I plan on buying a used 2000-2002 t/a formula in the coming months

If you want to get serious about autocross, make sure it's not a WS6. The WS6 will bump you into a stock class that's not competitive. That, or if you want the WS6, make sure you have some decent cash to do the mods necessary to move you up to the "e-street prepared" class. 2nd, don't start modifying the car before you find out what's allowable in the class you want to run.

Originally Posted by FireFox89

Im a decent driver (fast on the straights anyways) dunno about twisties, wonder how or would i fare in the t/a i wanna buy hmm..

There's no carry over from being fast in a straight line. As they say, drag racing is for fast cars, autocrossing is for fast drivers.

[FireFox89]

Originally Posted by ScottS

It's more about the driver than the car. A lot of people are timid on their first try. Some have a hard time getting the course down in their mind. Some just have no idea how to use the throttle smoothly, especially in muscle cars. I've seen a lot of ridiculous driving coming out of new people whou think they know it all.



If you want to get serious about autocross, make sure it's not a WS6. The WS6 will bump you into a stock class that's not competitive. That, or if you want the WS6, make sure you have some decent cash to do the mods necessary to move you up to the "e-street prepared" class. 2nd, don't start modifying the car before you find out what's allowable in the class you want to run.




There's no carry over from being fast in a straight line. As they say, drag racing is for fast cars, autocrossing is for fast drivers.

Thanks for the heads up, and yea i would need some adjustment going into a road coarse and prolly rethink the way i drive, im not a hot shot 20 year old driver anyways, and i will openly admit theres ALOT i need to learn before ever "teething" on a roadcoarse. The car i was looking at was a loaded formula (310hp) a non ws6 which registers 320-330hp.

Ps "There's no carry over from being fast in a straight line. As they say, drag racing is for fast cars, autocrossing is for fast drivers"
I was poking fun at myself about the drag racing quote in not being a good and if not horrible autocross driver (at first anyways), i know it wont carry over

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...ng=&cardist=56

[ScottS]

Originally Posted by Ghrankenstein

After my run, I got into Joe’s Hyundai Elantra for his second lap. Joe is a nut, which largely accounts for the fact that he gets his Hyundai through the course faster than many “faster” cars. Joe knows how to use the Elantra’s abundant drifting abilities to his advantage, and he slides the car through the better part of the course. Joe uses the handbrake a lot, which strikes me as crazy, but gets me to thinking.

I suspect Joe's "abundant drifting abilities" are probably the reason he's two seconds back on 1st place. Two seconds is a TON of time on a 50 second course. Maximizing your tires' slip angle is one thing, but drifting does nothing more than add time.

Originally Posted by Ghrankenstein

Joe rode with me again on my third run. I drove vastly more aggressively this time, but I still got lost in the course. I missed a full slalom gate, resulting in a DNF. I went ahead and ran the rest of the course as hard as I could, again plunging too deep in corners 4 and 5. My DNF time was a 59.8. I had already succeeded in one of my goals, but I didn’t take this as a success. I wanted to run better.

Newbie mistake, don't quote a DNF time. Everyone knows if you'd had to maneuver through the gate you missed or around a cone you hit, your time would be slower.

Originally Posted by Ghrankenstein

On my fourth run, Jon rode with me. Jon was apparently good karma, and I ran hard. Hard, that is, after my very slow start. I took off from idle, trying to avoid the burnout starts that Joe said held Jon back by two seconds. Jon had responded that he was taking off from several feet behind the gates, and that his starts were pure net gain. At any rate, I chundered ahead, gaining speed rapidly behind my strong Ecotec.

Joe again proves he's not to be listened to. It's just like drag racing at this point. You want to maximize your acceleration. You don't want to bog, but you don't want to sit there and spin the tires either. You find the happy medium the same way you do when you're trying to cut that good 60' time at the strip.

Originally Posted by Ghrankenstein

I had not embarrassed myself with my driving. Goal accomplished. Yet more cheers and congratulations, mostly associated with being a rookie and driving fairly well. Despite the final tabulations, times seem to be more important within various cliques, and cones hit seem to be grounds for trash-talking for the next round.

If you had a good time, that's what matters. Autocross is intense, it's competitve, but yet I've also found it to be a great place to find new friends, even those you compete head-to-head with. Hope you find your way back to another autocross. Getting better is all about seat time and figuring out which techniques work.

[jwrebholz]

I think they have autocross events out at BeaveRun. I REALLY have to get out to that track sometime and look around. Maybe I'll go this weekend and see what they've got.

I'd guess my car would fall in the same category as Ghrank's ('01 Cavalier 2-door, 2200 OHV four, 3-speed auto, something around 100 horsepower, bone stock mechanically but has tinted windows). If the windows bump me up into a modified class I may as well forget about posting a competitive time.

[MaxLegroom]

It's been too long since I've autocrossed. Truth is, it's been long enough that the Sebring has never seen an autocross course. I used to run whatever I had at hand at the time. This included my Camaro V6 with F41, the Escort that followed it, and, once, just once, my parent's '76 Monte Carlo Landau. That one was a simple matter of letting the suspension do its work in the corners, as any real use of the throttle simply pointed six feet of hood at the next cone.

I'm not surprised about you beating a few Mustangs, at one event I beat a GT's base time with a '81 Jetta that was starving for fuel on right hand turns because I foolishly ran with half a tank of gas.

I don't recall any of my times, or that I ever won anything. What I do recall was enjoying myself immensely, and the fascinating sort of people who were at the events. Thanks for bringing back some great memories. I hope you're having as much fun with this as I did.

[AndrewGS]

I wonder how my Silverado with the Z85 Handling/Trailering suspension and G80 locker would fare?

[LAMRONH]

Nice work, Ghrank. Moving ever closer to The Edge.
Nobody commented on your green skin?
When I attended Bondurant years ago, they used 5 liter Mustangs I believe. I wished they used more typical street cars like Taurii, because it's really not all about the power. It's about control.
One of the top points I think you make is that it's the singer, not the song. No matter how kewl or conventional a car you drive, it's still you handling the vehicle and you, the driver, can make it sing or yodel.
All driver's ed classes should go out and do this. This is vehicle dynamics, and it's important for the youngums to know.

[King Riffle]

If I ever get the Fiero running...