My First Auto X ..

*ae01maxine* · 12-03-2007, 08:22 PM

Hey wuts up guys,

So I finally went to my first Auto X events .. The whole setup was fun (except it being cold as hell) working the event and of course the driving. A friend of mine went with me to be a sponsor and co drived my car.. We did as good as we can with my setup now I got some goals on what i want to do with my max. Thanks for all those peeps that had replied and helped with my questions ...Most of all thanks to Daniel for coming out and helping/teaching me.. Here are some Pics...

Roger Times ***** Daniel Times

1st Run: 92.605 70.869

2nd Run: 75.202 66.836

3rd run: 72.174 66.751

So basically i got owned in my own car

but it was all worth it .. Daniel got 9th and i got 10th place out of 18 cars.. These pictures were the best you can get with the way the setup the track my wife is pregnant so i dont think it would of been a good idea to get any closer..

*DrunkieTheBear* · 12-03-2007, 08:46 PM

Very nice job man. do you plan to do more events? and do you have coilovers? How did they handle

I am going to my second one this month...after finals.

I wish some of these other guys with max's lived closer to race with them and compare setup's and learn from them.

Congrats on the family as well

*ae01maxine* · 12-03-2007, 08:52 PM

Yeah i got Ksports but I guess they were running to stiff.. And it didnt help that i have POS tires and i didnt get a chance to camber either.. Next week there having another event close by and were going again and so is my friends dad with his 5.5 gen .. So that should be alot more fun ..

Thanks for the congrats.. this is kid #2 hehe

*Regime* · 12-03-2007, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01_Maxine

Yeah i got Ksports but I guess they were running to stiff.. And it didnt help that i have POS tires and i didnt get a chance to camber either.. Next week there having another event close by and were going again and so is my friends dad with his 5.5 gen .. So that should be alot more fun ..

Thanks for the congrats.. this is kid #2 hehe

Yeah your car needs alot of tuning and a decent set of tires to really compete out there, but overall wasn't too bad considering what we were workin with.

G4nismo · 12-04-2007, 03:13 PM

hey. glad to see you finally went out!
what settings were you running on?

when ever i run, i set it the 2 turns away from the stiffest up front and stiffest in the rear.
my main issues is understeer and traction but thats prob due mostly to the tires...

*Regime* · 12-04-2007, 04:39 PM

Not sure what the rears were set at, as the adjusters were not put in when they were installed.
The fronts were 2 turns away from stiffest, but we needed a bit more body roll for how rough and slick the track was. We were sliding all over the place, thanks to the combination of crap tires, bad adjustments on the shocks and the horrible amount of gravel on the "new" surface they put down on Candlestick's lot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by g4nismo

hey. glad to see you finally went out!
what settings were you running on?

when ever i run, i set it the 2 turns away from the stiffest up front and stiffest in the rear.
my main issues is understeer and traction but thats prob due mostly to the tires...

aprisamotorsports · 12-06-2007, 08:27 PM

Seems like a pretty cool sport it's something I would like to get into.

*irish44j* · 12-07-2007, 10:27 PM

wow, only 18 cars total? Or in class?

if total, you should have gotten like 20 runs in

*Regime* · 12-08-2007, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irish44j

wow, only 18 cars total? Or in class?

if total, you should have gotten like 20 runs in

Haha I wish, you have to realize we are in SFR SCCA which is by far the largest region in the SCCA SoloII. Roger was incorrect there was 10 cars total in STS, which we were running. However there were 16 cars in our run group, which was incredibly low, usually STS has 20+ cars by itself. Back when I was really active in SoloII we averaged around 300 cars per event, though this was the second to last event in the Slush season, and it was chilly out there (for CA) must have been mid 50's to low 60's.

G4nismo · 12-08-2007, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Regime

Haha I wish, you have to realize we are in SFR SCCA which is by far the largest region in the SCCA SoloII. Roger was incorrect there was 10 cars total in STS, which we were running. However there were 16 cars in our run group, which was incredibly low, usually STS has 20+ cars by itself. Back when I was really active in SoloII we averaged around 300 cars per event, though this was the second to last event in the Slush season, and it was chilly out there (for CA) must have been mid 50's to low 60's.

average around 300 cars per event?! jeez that a lot. how many runs did you get then? the most cars there been to an event i went to was the BMW auto -x and it was there record of 241 cars

*Regime* · 12-08-2007, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by g4nismo

average around 300 cars per event?! jeez that a lot. how many runs did you get then? the most cars there been to an event i went to was the BMW auto -x and it was there record of 241 cars

Almost always 3 runs. Very very rarely we would get 4, or we would get a fun run at the end.

*SilverGLE* · 12-08-2007, 02:20 PM

Yikes, 300 cars and only 3 runs!

The ETR region has had maybe the lower 80's total (once or twice). We usually get in 6 runs, only got 5 in at the last event. It's some fun stuff! Looking forward to next season!

*ae01maxine* · 12-09-2007, 02:19 PM

Hey g4nismo Sorry havent been able to follow up on here .. But looks like daniel has it down

Quote:

Originally Posted by g4nismo

hey. glad to see you finally went out!
what settings were you running on?

when ever i run, i set it the 2 turns away from the stiffest up front and stiffest in the rear.
my main issues is understeer and traction but thats prob due mostly to the tires...

*BEJAY1* · 12-13-2007, 08:46 PM

Roger, congrats on getting your first event done. In addition to Dan you might look for Barry Chafin and his Miata at the next event. He's a top driver and wrote the book on Max setups. SFR is indeed tough with Chin, Fong, McCormick, etc. Oh and stop complaining about cold til you run out here. One of my first events was 3/25/01 and we faced work assignments in this.

*ae01maxine* · 12-13-2007, 10:48 PM

Were californians .. Were not used to it being cold.. Yeah i didnt know who he was tell dan told me afterwards who he was . But yeah ill definatly try to meet Barry . Thanks for the congrats and advice..

Quote:

Originally Posted by BEJAY1

Roger, congrats on getting your first event done. In addition to Dan you might look for Barry Chafin and his Miata at the next event. He's a top driver and wrote the book on Max setups. SFR is indeed tough with Chin, Fong, McCormick, etc. Oh and stop complaining about cold til you run out here. One of my first events was 3/25/01 and we faced work assignments in this.

*ae01maxine* · 12-19-2007, 07:58 PM

Heres the video of my my first run at the last turn my wife had a feeling i was going to spin out so she started recording..

*BEJAY1* · 12-19-2007, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01_Maxine

Heres the video of my my first run at the last turn my wife had a feeling i was going to spin out so she started recording..

Not sure what's funnier - you spinning or her laughing!

*irish44j* · 12-21-2007, 08:59 PM

wtf, I don't think I could spin out like that if I tried on an autocross course

*ae01maxine* · 12-21-2007, 11:03 PM

Well it takes alot of noobieness and no skills to accomplish that my friend

..

You can see how much lose dirt there was on the ground you can see it behind my tires..

*Regime* · 12-21-2007, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irish44j

wtf, I don't think I could spin out like that if I tried on an autocross course

To Roger's credit, there was a metric sh!t ton of loose gravel out there. In addition to some super crappy hard tires. In my first run I actually hung the a$$ end out for an entire 70'+ sweeper, later my friends whom happened to be working that sweeper came over to ask me how I hung on to it, as they were certain they were going to be picking up a lot of cones.

*ae01maxine* · 12-21-2007, 11:21 PM

Haha thanks D ..

Yeah i dont know how you kept a hold of the car on that turn .. We thought you hit the cone but you didnt and you even miss the one that the tail was swinging towards.. One talented driver i had for a sponsor.. Cant thank ya enough !

Whats up with next year?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Regime

To Roger's credit, there was a metric sh!t ton of loose gravel out there. In addition to some super crappy hard tires. In my first run I actually hung the a$$ end out for an entire 70'+ sweeper, later my friends whom happened to be working that sweeper came over to ask me how I hung on to it, as they were certain they were going to be picking up a lot of cones.

*michaelnyden* · 12-22-2007, 02:18 AM

I never understood how people spin there maxima's, I have never spun my max on the autocross course...I think the rear on our cars is plenty stable, and all we get is major push/understeer...perhaps on a slalom if your being violent with the wheel and jerky, I can see it happening, but I always found the max to be very communicative and predictable...so it's easy to counter early and prevent any spins...

*Regime* · 12-22-2007, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelnyden

I never understood how people spin there maxima's, I have never spun my max on the autocross course...I think the rear on our cars is plenty stable, and all we get is major push/understeer...perhaps on a slalom if your being violent with the wheel and jerky, I can see it happening, but I always found the max to be very communicative and predictable...so it's easy to counter early and prevent any spins...

As every great racer I have ever met says, You are simply not pushing your car hard enough if you haven't spun it. The maxima IS very stable at lower speeds, but every car has it's limits, you push it past that point and every car in the world will spin. When I used to race my max regularly it was known for lifting the rear inside tire all the time, the rear suspension does not have that great of geometry when one tire lifts, because of the solid axle, once a tire lifts you are then left with less than one tire's worth of traction for your whole backend. Yes an experianced driver can use this to their advantage using just enough of the lift-rotation to get around a corner faster. All that being said, it was Roger's first run, the first day he had ever autox'd so give him a break. I have spun my max once, and it was in the rain at a National event and I was a bit overzealous going into a hairpin.

As I stated previously the surface conditions of the track we were on in this race here, was absolutely horrible, it was the first race on the new re-surfacing and it was loose as hell, combine that with a fast and wide course that was designed by a vette driver, and it was very easy to misjudge a corner.

*michaelnyden* · 12-22-2007, 01:08 PM

I know plenty of people who take their max out to autoX for the first time and all they get is terminal understeer, but never spin...nonetheless they are smooth drivers whom just go in to "hot"

lol...you have no idea...I am one of the fastest & consistent N/A fwd cars in my region and in dsp...pushing my car hard enough has never been an issue...I have to use every last bit of grip available to ensure I can compete in one of the most notoriously skilled and competitive regions in autox'ing...

if you've spun your max, you are not driving smooth enough or you simply don't have a natural sense of balance or intuition to correct/counter early enough...but then again, my car is setup properly with shortened strut bodied, custom valved progress coilovers, so no rear wheel lift here...perhaps that has something to do with it.

if the road conditions were to blame than I can understand...!

*irish44j* · 12-22-2007, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Regime

the rear suspension does not have that great of geometry when one tire lifts, because of the solid axle, once a tire lifts you are then left with less than one tire's worth of traction for your whole backend.

I'd need to lift both rear tires to spin it

*michaelnyden* · 12-22-2007, 05:25 PM

irish, out of curiosity, what tires are those and what size?

I wish I had a good photographer to take pics of me while autocrossing...lol

gdmaxse · 12-23-2007, 08:02 AM

I have spun a few times of times due to various reasons. Cold R comps, incorrect pressures, lifting off the gas in the middle of a Fast sweeper, bumps in the middle of turns. It can be done, although the maxima is really easy to catch with the throttle if you are ready for it. The times I went around were when I wasnt expecting it to break loose.

*ae01maxine* · 12-23-2007, 10:51 AM

The spin out was my first run . After Daniel started getting used to what the track was like, he definitely gave me pointers every time we ran . I never knew what the max was capable of and thats what my first auto X was about. Daniel was very good on keeping the car inline with the very bad setup i had. Especially with the gravel everywhere it was easy to lose control but this guy knew what to do in those situations

and I was just learning how much the throttle can help .

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdmaxse

I have spun a few times of times due to various reasons. Cold R comps, incorrect pressures, lifting off the gas in the middle of a Fast sweeper, bumps in the middle of turns. It can be done, although the maxima is really easy to catch with the throttle if you are ready for it. The times I went around were when I wasnt expecting it to break loose.

*ae01maxine* · 12-23-2007, 10:53 AM

Show off !

I definitely want to get a better setup when I go next time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by irish44j

I'd need to lift both rear tires to spin it

*Regime* · 12-23-2007, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gdmaxse

I have spun a few times of times due to various reasons. Cold R comps, incorrect pressures, lifting off the gas in the middle of a Fast sweeper, bumps in the middle of turns. It can be done, although the maxima is really easy to catch with the throttle if you are ready for it. The times I went around were when I wasnt expecting it to break loose.

Having IRS helps alot too with stablity at the limits.

G4nismo · 12-23-2007, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 01_Maxine

The spin out was my first run . After Daniel started getting used to what the track was like, he definitely gave me pointers every time we ran . I never knew what the max was capable of and thats what my first auto X was about. Daniel was very good on keeping the car inline with the very bad setup i had. Especially with the gravel everywhere it was easy to lose control but this guy knew what to do in those situations

and I was just learning how much the throttle can help .

ha, saw that vid! and talk about a lot of dust and crap. i woulda complained and told them to blow that off and give me another run!

*ae01maxine* · 12-23-2007, 06:31 PM

Well they had a couple of guys out there walking with blowers and blowing it off the track but it was really windy that day so im sure that didnt help either.

*Regime* · 12-23-2007, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by g4nismo

ha, saw that vid! and talk about a lot of dust and crap. i woulda complained and told them to blow that off and give me another run!

The actual surface was basicly peeling off, it was cleared off a couple times during the day. But after 2 or 3 cars it was complete gravel again.

MaximaMark123 · 01-21-2008, 08:17 PM

Nice pictures, love the tire in the air.

Drockb418 · 01-21-2008, 09:56 PM

i have done the same thing when i when to a auto x and they made fun of me because i had a maxima but o well they were shocked how well it handled

*DrunkieTheBear* · 01-21-2008, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelnyden

I never understood how people spin there maxima's, I have never spun my max on the autocross course...I think the rear on our cars is plenty stable, and all we get is major push/understeer...perhaps on a slalom if your being violent with the wheel and jerky, I can see it happening, but I always found the max to be very communicative and predictable...so it's easy to counter early and prevent any spins...

Funny story this weekend for me, I was actually getting my backend to kick out just right to get me around the corner, no understeer for me. I impressed some of the vet's...right up until the end when some how my hand slipped and got caught in the wheel and i understeered plowing 2 cones over lol

z32drifter · 01-22-2008, 07:12 PM

I've spun plenty of cars autoXing, but never the Maxima. Last event I went to was a blast just stand on the gas and let the "R" compounds do their job.
3 wheel'n Maxima style....

Occhoppersb418 I'm sure Sav would like your sig, if you look close you can find me in Lunatics

Maxnine · 02-03-2008, 01:47 AM

Q: Did u happen to tap the brakes, causing you to spin?

I was at a rainy autox on Jan. 27 and met Barry C. I was also 7 sec of the fastest time of the day in my 240sx, the fastest car was a well sorted subie.