StanV

Hi all,
Well, cold, windy spring has arrived on the Canadian prairie, and the '82SC is out of mothballs. Fired up like it had been sitting only a day!
I have just discovered a 2 year old motorsport club in town, which holds autocrosses on paved and dirt grounds, as well as TSD rallies. The paved surfaces used are parking lots and the local oval track. There's nothing else within a day's drive, and few local Porsche owners. My question is: since I value my car's reliability (2 or more 1000+ km trips each summer, plus a few day trips of up to 500 km), will autocrosses lead to decreased dependability overall? I don't mind a more frequent or rigid maintenance schedule, just wouldn't want to find that after a couple of years I spend more time fixing than driving, and fear a long road trip. I have no intention of modifying the car, just want to see how it behaves and explore (carefully?!) its limits in a legal, insured environment.
I would appreciate any of your thoughts or comments. Thanks.

Stan

H. D. Smith

that is exactly how I feel...and I do like the reliability of my old 75 911. I am going this morning to watch an Auto X here in Albuquerque, and from this I hope to see something to help me with this choice. If all goes well and it appears that I am able to run an Auto X and keep it all under control then I will probably drive in the Santa Fe Auto X at the end of May. Otherwise I may just decide to be a spectator at the events and just enjoy the show. I do hope to drive in one though before making the final choice.

Jim Michaels

I've never had any reluctance to autox any of my P-cars. Although autox does put a little extra wear on some components (e.g., tires), the cars are built to take it. If I had an older car that I'd never autoxed, I think I'd take it in first to a good shop for a safety check, because even a little extra stress will test any component that is weak or about to fail anyway. Autox wear is minor compared track wear.

I strongly urge you to do the autox. You should have fun and learn a lot. I'll limit myself to two tips: (1) at the start don't rev the engine and dump the clutch like some others will surely do; (2) don't try to speed shift, or it might not go into gear.

Have fun.

Oh, I forgot. I'm very reluctant to do it in the dirt. They call that rallycross around here. If you have a Baja 911, go ahead; otherwise, I don't recommend it.

Chris Martin

I suggest getting your car checked out and then having some fun! AutoX is a great way to enjoy your car with minimal ill effects. You will wear through brakes and tires quicker, but that's about it. Of course, this assumes are driving your care carefully; shift smoothly, dont over rev and so on. Get a sold safety inspection and have some fun!

I would stay off the dirt myself, it must be heard to clean mud out from everywhere.

Have Fun!

gerry100

I'm considering the same thing, A friend of mine who avidly autocrosses a Honda S2000 made a few points-

- its only for 30-40 secs, 3-4 times each event ( at least for the local events which are layed out in a parking lot,and well attended). How much wear and tear can you put on the car?.

- tightness of the course and top speeds indicate one shift to second and that's it. Shifts to third for short straights cost more time than they gain.

Any maintained Porsche should handle that with ease. The only thing I would do is idle the engine when I knew my turn was coming to make sure the oil was warm and distributed well before winding the engine up to 5-6000 rpm.

Just my observations from the local AutoX.

H. D. Smith

Just returned from the auto x here in Albuquerque...and I am ready to give it a go! The cars were really cool to see and I am sure that with a litle caution and patience it will be lots if fun. I was so amazed at how much fun 1 min 30 sec of porsche speed could be (ride along with instructor), so May 24-27 I will give it a go.

Skid

Hey Stan V, from one cold prairie mudpie to another.... if you are anywhere near Calgary the PCA chapter here has 4 autocrosses a year using the twisty end of the roadcourse at Race City. Not nearly as tight as your typical parking lot course but not intimidating to newcomers either. Just had the first one Thursday night and there's another one in a few weeks.

HarryD

Hi,

A few weeks ago I did my first AutoX with my 73 and I would recommend it to all. The level of styress on my car was minimal and as ne other poster noted, other than the shift from first to second, it was all steering, brakes and throttle. I am looking forward to continuing as it seems a good way to understand the performance of your car without the risk of a high speed track event.

I feel that if ny car can't take AutoX, then I shouldnt be driving it anyway.

StanV

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts. I've decided to go ahead, avoid the dirt (here, autocross is on dirt and autoslalom is on hard surfaces, for what it's worth), make sure the car and driver are as prepared as possible, and have fun. It turns out one of the members is restoring a 914; from what I've read, on a tight parking lot course that might be the only car to fear!
Looks like the PCA Wild Rose chapter will be on my "to join" list. Calgary is only a day's drive, and any excuse to drive a day in a Porsche is a good one

JPIII

StanV wrote:
(snip)It turns out one of the members is restoring a 914; from what I've read, on a tight parking lot course that might be the only car to fear!(snip)

Damn right we are

Tom

One side benefit of autoX is that it forces you to remove all the junk from your car, and tends to force loose anything you overlook. It's really nice to find everything thats hidden away and to get it all put back in a nice organized manner. It also forces some maintenance issues while they are minor (your brake pads, wheel bearings, fluids etc are all actually inspected). If you have something bad going on it will usually call attention to itself so it can be made right.

Zigzagn

Hi Stan

I know I am replying to an old post, but couldn’t resist talking about a subject I love. I am with the Porsche club in Edmonton. Our club is very involved with autocross events and in 2002 we had 10 events as well as our annual D.E day at race city Calgary. I know it is a fair drive from Regina to Edmonton but check our web site in February 2003 and we should have the first 3 events posted for the 2003 season. We are hoping for 10 events again in 2003.
. We use the old air force base in Edmonton for our events and averaged 14 drivers in 2002 at each event, and EVERYONE had a great time. If you are a member of PCA you would be eligible to run in our events-for PCA insurance coverage you must be a member of PCA or an invited guest of the local club-
We have excellent driving instructors for newbies and for those that just want to sharpen their skills. This past year we had many enthusiasts that just wanted to come out and watch, they did not watch long! Before they knew it they were in line waiting for their turn on the track.
Auto crossing generally speaking is not harmful to your car, other than tire and brake wear. Our cars were designed for this stuff!! Because our track layout is relatively large approx. 1 mile, the car has time to really get moving in a safe controlled environment. You will be able to do things with you car that you could never do on the street.
BTW we had one fellow from Regina come out to our DE day a couple of years ago

I have said it before and it is worth saying again.
Auto crossing is the most fun you can have with your cloths on!!

Hope to see you in 2003
pca.org/pol