Hello all,
I attended my 1st autocross run by BMW CCA....sponsored by Habberstad BMW/MINI
It was a BMW/MINI Event.

1st impressions....
- It feels extremely "safe".
My wife called during it and asked what I was doing ..I replyed.
"I'm drving fast ...in someone's parking lot.... "
- There are people who are very serious about it.... and people like myself ...who just wanna have fun.
This can be a ...sticky... situation ....but such is life ....
- Walking the course is interesting/mandatory... and driving w/ an instructor is a must for the 1st run or so...
- 2nd gear ...is your friend.... (you start in 2nd and stay there.)
- I was in the "AA" category.... w/ M series vehicles.
- I came in dead last .....but enjoyed the hell out if it
- (6) runs... my best time was 67 sec....
(best time in the category was 62 sec & a 5 sec diff is a tremendous.... difference in time )
- I also enjoying "working the course".
This consisted of standing in a designated location on the course.... running like hell to re-set fallen cones... and reporting hit cones and off course incidents.... to the start team.

I compare this experience.... to snow skiing.
It seems to be all about....
memorization of the course layout and constanly tweaking your implimentation of what line to take/reaction time/smoothness & flow/rhythm and consistency/controlled speed & braking.

I will definately do it again

Next event is: Sat Aug 21st
Location: Nassau Colliseum, LI
cost: $30 member/ $ 40 non members
http://www.nybmwcca.org/autocross/


Peace,
D 8)

 

Hahahah! Another one hooked! Glad you enjoyed yourself.

 

D,

Glad you had a good time. As a marathon runner past my prime and after 18 finishes I'd have to say that going for a personal best lowest time is far from my capabilities but going for a "safe and fun" experience is a worthwhile and achievable mission.

Autocross is a sport like many others and to do your "best" you need to think about being "one with YOUR car" and being smooth using the least amount of effort and movement always keeping your car in balance. When you watch the fastest people out there they look so smooth like they are not going that fast but they are. Then others that look fast but get times that are still 2 seconds slower than the best of the day. In Autocross the difference may be thousandths of a second so everything counts from starts, to corners, taking the right line, not braking too hard (slowing down really hurts time because it will take you 8 times that distance to speed up again) and steering gently while looking far ahead on the course.

Walking the course is good for exercise and even better for planning. It's study time to learn where to go and how to drive based on the physical layout which changes every event. Check out the slaloms and count your steps in between cones. If the cones are evenly spaced then you get to go through at roughly a constant speed but if the cones are getting closer together then you'll need to slow a bit as you go through- which is tough when you are trying to go faster.

Safety- working the course is serious business. Stay alert and watch all cars. People can loose control and spin off the course. If you see others that are not being safe on the sidelines you have to act. When working you have to move fast to fix up the course and reset it for the next run.

We have quite a few MINIs at our monthly autocross in H-stock, G-stock, FSP, and SM classes. My advice would be to keep your MINI as is (street mod since you have the pulley upgrade) and do at least 6 events before doing upgrades- the first being R-compound tires like the Kumho Victoracer V700.

Enjoy.

 

The MINI is meant to be driven in this event. Enjoy!

 

In autocross, it is very important to know your cones! Here is some basic information to get you started.

http://animation.filmtv.ucla.edu/stu.../coneindex.htm

 

I cannot see why someone went through the effort to make that site on traffic cones, unless they did it for-
1) a school project on building websites
2) They have a very weird sense of humor
3) For the love of traffic cones
4) They have way too much free time and a computer sitting idle

Back to autocross-
On using second gear- I did some runs in first gear only but you reach redline so fast that it doesn't really work. Shifting to second does work but then if you slow too much by braking hard then you ought to shift back down to first and anytime you shift it takes time and you need to be precise which means there is more potential for error.

For me in my runs I try to reach third gear. Here's how. As you walk the course look for anything that resembles a long straightaway and that is where you might be able to use third then you go backwards from that area and predict where you might be able to be in 2nd as you set up for that straightaway. On the walk through you need to look at every turn or straight and predict how best to setup for what comes next, that way you have not set up less than optimally.

As for wheels- here is the problem. Runflats can be used but they are the most sticky but they come with the MINI so that is easy for most people. Choosing non runflats you can use street tires like the Bridgestone Potenza S-03 or Yokohama AVS ES100 and those are better than runflats. Falken Azenis Sports are good but only for 15" or 16" wheels. Next up on tires is dedicated R-compound DOT approved ones like Kumho ecsta V700 or Kumho victoracers or even the high priced Hoosiers but these are track only tires and you'd need a set of wheels for the track and another set for street use.

For 17" rims, few tires are available in the stock 205/45-17 size. 215/40 or 45-17 is a good choice for street non runflat tires.
225/45-17 is found in the competition tires but will likely rub in the wheel wells and require trimming with a dremmel tool.

 

I've done a few autocrosses. What a kick!

I'm relatively unexperienced at it so I can't make many recommendations. I have learned one easy and useful autocross mod that everyone can do without tools. For an unobstructed view of the conefield in front of you, remove your rearview mirror. It's very simple. All you do is grab the base of the mirror, twist it counterclockwise and take it away.

 

D,

Was it more fun or less fun for you and your M than the road course?

 

I was driving alone...which was way more fun. (I was blasting the radio...which I'm not sure I should have.... but no one said anything )

I took off the ASC.... which ...was way more fun!!!!. I got the rear end to slide out into a few turns...just to see what the car can/couldn't do.

I really enjoyed being "alone" on the course... not having to check the rear view mirror . It was all about driving and and developing the line and your personal rythm.

================================================== ===

I didn't like the vagueness of the "cones"... as its easy to go off track and harder to " plan" your route/line..... as apposed to a track where there are clear definitive... places you should be and should not be.

On the track I enjoyed the speed, banked turns, striaght away sections and going thru the gears of the car (2nd ,3rd & 4th)...as opposed to the autocross...where it's 2nd gear ONLY ....and that's all she wrote. You can basically autocross w/ an automatic car...IMO.


Both have there +'s and -'s.....
I'll surely continue to do BOTH.
If I had to choose...... I'd pick the track.
If i had to pic a track of the (2) I visited... I'd pick...Limerock.

Peace,
D 8)

 

That will change with experience. As a newbie, you still see every cone on the course.

With time and experience, you'll look at maybe 10-15 cones on the whole course, the rest are just there in an effort to keep the newb's on course, or to confuse the experienced people Like in a slalom, you look at maybe the first and last cones, in a turn you look at one maybe two cones, a lane change has maybe 2 important cones, etc. When you see them all, it's a mess. When you are only seeing the important ones, it's a lot of fun!

I honestly have an equally hard time finding the apex on a track as I do on an autocross course.

If I had to pick, I'd pick autocross in a heartbeat, although I do like driving on the track, too. In autocross, you can drive 11/10ths from the starting lights to the finish lights. At a track, you can do that, but you'll wreck your car sooner or later if you do.

 

Does your club outline the course with white lines? We do in our area. Makes the course look more like a 'mini' road course. We use a chalk line marker like they use on football fields for 10 yard lines.

Cheers,
Dave