User 52121

Practice, practice, practice. It took me not quite 2 seasons to really get the hang of the 951. The more events you do, the quicker you'll pick it up

lee101315

Yea, definitely practice. Im doing it every other weekend this spring and summer.
My instructor took my car for a run and pulled off a FTD in the S2 class

User 52121

That will definitely help.

I usually only get ~5 events a year. I wish I could go 2x a month!

95ONE

Did you search the word autocross? Mine did fantastically well. So much so, I had 3rd fasted time of the day - for all classes - (except the shifter cart stuff) on the 2nd time I ever got to drive my car. - Granted, I had autocrossed over 5 years in a row at every local event and some regionals, and was Houston SCCA Street tire champion in 1998, maybe 1999, I can't remember. - SO, I kinda knew what I was doing. (brag and stuff and things) But I couldn't have gotten those kind of times without the 944.

Here is a video in 2008 where the camera died from being bounced around too much. Also from lack of a proper camera mount. I've posted this video quite a bit, but I guess I'll do it again. My friend had already ran in a heat before me, So I had him call out the gates in the one slalom area. I got there late and did not get a chance to walk to course. At the time I had a GT30R in the car, a MoTeC ecu. 2300lb car with Khumo Victo Racer tires, Koni street shocks and stiffer springs. I had to lower the boost to the wastegate spring pressure.(12psi) Any more and the wheels just spun.

LUCKY DAVE

I do just fine in PCA San Diego region AX's, the car is an '89.
I'm rarely out of the top ten TTOD and usually in the top three, there are typically 120 or so entries.
I have a stock engine/fuel management/trans with a Max 951 class legal chip and big exhuast/no cat on 100 octane fuel, so no big power on tap. I don't power brake.
The car is well set up with all top shelf parts on 275 Hoosiers (square) and stock weight. The chassis is set up for big track (Willow, etc) use so it's not optimized for AX.
Driver skill is the key, the right guy is fast in anything.

Droops83

I agree with most of the sentiment posted here already.

My '86 has a 100% bone-stock engine at stock boost, stock springs, street tires (Dunlop Direzza Star Spec or Hankook RS3) 225/5016 all around, Koni Yellows, Tarett sway bars, and that's it. Almost 3,000 lbs without driver. But I am routinely near or at the top in the local Santa Barbara PCA auto-Xs (granted not the fastest region in the world but lots of modern Porsches and S2000s, Miatas, etc). The guy who designs the courses here tends to make them diabolically tight and uses a LOT of cones. I can actually use the tall gearing of the 951 and stay in 1st for most of the course and literally slide through the whole course. Not necessarily dramatic tail-out drifting, but a slight slip angle through every gate, keep the boost up, and if I have a good run I am untouchable and beat guys in modern Porsches on R-comp tires. The problem with this driving style is that it is knife-edge and you can take out a few cones if you go too far. I don't left foot brake that much in auto-X, though maybe I should since I don't shift much.

The bottom line is seat time! Learn the limits of your car by doing as many auto-Xs and track days as you can. You will probably mow down some cones at first but it is possible to beat some cars that are much more capable on paper if you drive proper line, have quick but smooth inputs and are comfortable driving the car on the extreme limit of traction for the entire course.

m73m95

My GOD that looks fun!

Paulyy

when read this thread i first thought about your car and that setup. was going to mention it and post that exact video but you've already done it.

a good auto-X mod is 944 S2 R&P gears in a 951 box.
a big turbo is not needed.

333pg333

Don't forget most modern cars have all sorts of electronic 'stuff' that our cars don't. This makes a lot of difference, especially in the wet. Having said that Sean / JET951 has won our club Motokhana championships a few times. This is our version of your Auto X but much tighter and slower. So the emphasis is on smooth, tight, controlled throttle and brake applications.

I think something nice and light with a relatively small turbo and perhaps higher compression...(something like Bruce's car was) could be very effective. Suspension, tyres also very important. Oh and S2 ring and pinion vs stock gearing.

LUCKY DAVE

PCA San Diego region AX's are much faster than most, 50 mph average speed with some 4th gear sections aren't unusual. I'm a little further down on the results page (10th or so) when the track is very tight and favors the short wheelbase NA 911's and built 914's.
Still, always remember it's mostly the driver, not the car.

User 52121

4th gear?

OMG that would be AWESOME.

Our fastest courses have me peaking around 6,000rpm in 2nd. Tops. Generally I consider it a "good" course if I never fall below 2,500rpm in 2nd. We've had some courses that put me in no-mans-land (sub 2000rpm in 2nd.) I seem to have a hard time getting a heel-toe down into 1st for some reason (never problems heel-toe'ing down to any other gear) so my times usually suffer on those courses.

LUCKY DAVE

We hold our ax's in the Quallcomm Staduim west lot, it's the largest single piece of asphalt west of the Mississippi (look at it on Google earth).
We could have straights a mile long if we wanted (we hold DE's here too).
Apparently some guys returned home after we last hosted Parade babbling about the size of ax track we run. It ca be more like a big track at times, (or a grocery store parking lot track -meh) depending on who designed that particular layout.

User 52121

That is awesome.

Our regions leadership is heavily DE and Club Racing focused - they don't like AX. As such it's tough to get approval to spend any money on it. There are a few bigger lots in the Chicago area (like the one we used at Sears Center for Parade 2010) that would be AWESOME to run on but we can't get approval to spend the $$$ for the rental fee.

ausgeflippt951

Blah blah blah, yes it's driver related. But so is driving anything

BUT, there are two reasons why 951's tend to be better for DE's than Autox:

1) Polar Moment of Inertia -- not like a Boxster/911.
2) Turbo lag.

I tend to do well when autoxing but much prefer DE's. The 951 definitely does prefer "corvette courses" over "miata courses". A stock miata will always out-handle a stock 951 on a tight/twisty track, all else being equal.


Now, DE's are another story...I LOVE destroying Boxsters/Caymans at the track. yee haw.

Richgreenster

What about your local SCCA? One thing that I love about having a Porsche is that you can double dip on both clubs. PCA and the SCCA.