theykallmekem

i attended my first autocross (sort of).

it was being held by FCSCC (Fairfield County Sports Car Club) in Connecticut. it was a novice school day, and they just intro you into the basics of autocross. there was the slalom and the increasing/decreasing radius skidpad. learned alot.

then after the mid day break, we did an actual autocross mini event to show case our skills on what we learned in the morning.

http://fcscc.com/09results_rschool.htm

thats the results page, i came in 11th place LOL. my car is just stock.

my question: can some one explain how i got to 11th place?? how did they factor in the times and the rankings??

it was alot of fun to do, and a good intro to auto crossing.

Jim Michaels

You had the 11th best PAX "time" (the last number in the each row that's lower than any of the raw times). Using PAX times is one way to mathematically adjust the raw times of a variety of cars in different classes so they can be more reasonably and fairly compared. Otherwise, a driver in a lower class usually wouldn't have a decent chance to "beat" a driver in a much higher class.

Each class has a different PAX number which is multiplied by each raw time to get the PAX (adjusted) time.

I guess you'll be back, huh?

sjfehr

Sounds like you had fun I had the good fortune of doing a cone clinic as my first taste to autocross, too; you just can't beat the seat time! Beware: it's incredibly addicting Better watch out, or you'll be one of those guys tearing the radio and air conditioner out of your car to lose a few pounds, and dropping a grand a year on racing tires!

Here's the PAX index for SCCA for 2009, if you're curious how the different classes compare:
http://www.scca-chicago.com/solo/indexes/rtp2009.html

roman944

I took mine for the first time last season's last race and I loved it

going back again as soon as the car is fixed!

theykallmekem

i will definantly be back !!! i am thinking about joining their club since i am familiar with them now, but ill keep checking events at myautoevents.com to see if any are happening in my area.

i dont think my car is ready yet for the scca lol. or any upcoming events. this opened up my eyes and my car to see what it can and cant do. she is capable but with a little more mods, and some minor repairs (like roman944 lol) she can handle the track days.

and yea i definantly want some new tires all around which means i need to get some track wheels

but i will be back and ill browse through this part of rennlist more often

Jim Michaels

I autocrossed a '84 944 for several years, starting in 1986. It was in SCCA B Stock class (with Vettes!) initially; then to E Stock; then to C Stock. I switched to an '88 911 in A Stock after that.

SCCA stock classes are somewhat restricted in mods allowed (PCA stock classes even more so). You can change shocks, but not springs; can run a cat-back, but not headers; can mount wider tires (even R-comps), but only on OEM sized wheels.

At our SCCA autocross last Sunday someone ran his first autocross ever in his C Street Prepared '85 944 and did extremely well. His dad is a Porsche tech with his own Porsche shop, so I guess he knows something about how to make the 944 competitive in class.

Mussl Kar

Shush...let him get addicted first. I get 7 events out of my A6s, maybe 8 if I want to chance it.

theykallmekem

well, my instructor (dave from FCSCC) drove my car on every exercise so he can demonstrate how the coarse should be done. he did the slalom, decreasing/increasing radius, and the course.

if it wasnt for the fact that my car was an automatic, it would have done better according to him. he said it was very well balanced compared to the other cars he did demos in, and doesn't see that many 944's around in his area do the autocross.

but as far as modifications go, im not going all crazy now, like getting coilovers and sway bars etc. just want to update the shocks to something new to give the car new life. and tires are just important as well, since i ran the falken 912's that day, they were ok i guess but could have been better.

i look forward to more events for sure !! in the mean time i will prep my car for those minor things and i gotta say, i am already thinking the next one for sure =). my next mod im going to invest in is a certified, approved helmet, im leaning towards the closed face one, what do you guys think ?? the open faced makes me feel naked >_>

Mussl Kar

Open faced for autocross. You need max vision, and they are a ton cooler in the sweltering heat of summer.

sjfehr

Snell M2005 have a wider field of view than snell SA2005, and are generally accepted for autocross. If you think you might do DE and time trials, you might want to check with the rules of your local tracks if they require SA. SA is a little more expensive, but could save you the cost of having to buy a 2nd helmet in 6 months or a year

Also, I worry about closed face helmets with air bags. Probably an unfounded fear, but still.

N_Halbert

If you do track events with an open face, make sure you do get a shield. You have to run with your windows down typically. I have heard of numerous cases of debris coming in and hitting a driver in the face or neck. Usually rubber ***** deflected off the mirrors. Not fun at speed.

theykallmekem

no way ??!! thatll definantly give you a nice wake up call lol.

since i like autocross, i would like to look into other motorsport activities such as the DE events. ive used the opened faced helmet in the novice school with FCSCC, and it really helped me breathe and speak and see the track and cones as well.

ive also used the closed faced helmets at an indoor go-kart place called Velocity 17 in NJ. as far as sight, it wasnt too bad, just that i cant see my blind spot or who is behind me, but my auto cross instructor told me nothing behind you matters !!!!!

00r101

The FCSCC guys are a very nice group. I've run with them twice several years ago and will run with them again when I am in the area. check out their crazy Eddie challenge!

knfeparty

Go ahead and get an SA closed face. You hate to not be able to do an event (like an HPDE) because your helmet isn't up to snuff. Also just think about your face hitting the steering wheel. If you 944 is like mine, no airbags.

By the way, for your 86 "with no reverse" check to make sure the bolt that holds 5th onto the shaft is on. Mine backed out and I couldn't use reverse for that reason.

Don't modify your car at all for at least a year unless something is really worn out or broken (bushings, shocks). If you have to, replace with OE or OEM stuff or konis if you're going to get shocks.

If you're going to run on something other than the tires you drive every day, just get some worn-out, low tread depth tires from somebody (they'll probably give them to you to avoid the disposal fee) and run those on some cookie cutters or phonies (speaking of cheap things...). That will help you learn and keep wear off your street tires. It'll all fit in the back hatch with the seats folded down.

theykallmekem

hey knfeparty, about the reverse problem

i have not really looked at it in depth, but when we were towing it home from the guy i bought it from, it did not engage in reverse. nor do i remember turning it on actually. so it was a PITA get it from that little ramp on the curb to the back of my garage butt first lol. took 3 guys but we did it. i hope its just that bolt that holds onto 5th in the shaft. but ill see when i have more time to go surgery on it.

thanks you knfeparty for your concern and tips ^_^