Autocross set-up

K

Ken Thompson

Member
I have a 95 Lightning with the following chassis mod's:
eibach's, edelbrocks and energy suspension bushings. The tires are Goodyear's F-1's and the rims are G2's copies by AFR. I am interested in Autocrossing the truck and need information on setting my truck up. What have I over looked, and what do I need?
Thanks,
Ken
 
If you haven't done it before, I suggest just concentrate on you, the driver. Get lots of seat time and instruction. Also ask lots of questions. After a while you might want to consider getting a 2nd set of rims and race rubber. I think you have a good start. So just have fun! :tu:
 
what Bimota Guy said. Go do a few auto-x events and see how things are run and get comfortable whipping it around cones. If you decide that you like it definately buy a second set of rims and tires so you don't wear through the daily driving ones. Then concentrate on your driving, when you get better then you can see what needs to be done.

The first time I auto-x'd I had the Hotchkis springs only on my truck. I ran in the modified class. There was also a few cobra's that were in the group I came to the event with. We were all new to this. Anyway my barnyard door came within 3 sec of all the cobra's. And then there was the experience Dan (thepawn) in his bone stock L who did so much better then all of us I won't even go into how much faster he was.

And then when you have mastered driving you truck, done all the suspsension work you can and you find the need to auto-x somemore and get faster time:

go out and buy an s2000. A front wheel drive go kart. They move so quick on those courses it's almost discouraging.
 
Its such a blast, I love throwin my truck around these little courses... Englishtown is murder on tires with that rough pavement, but they do have a nice long track... I'm looking for you to catch up to me this season Pete. :) heheh.

Definately get some drive time in there Ken, you'll love it. Plus, you learn how to autox well and man does it prepare you well for everyday driving. :)

Daniel
 
Thanks, for the encouragement. : tu: I also have a Sean Hylan Focus EVO. slightly modified. This little car puts out 130whps, not crank hps. At the crank, it probably put's out 150 to 155 hps. I also plan to run this car on the track, but thought it would be a kick to run the truck, too.
Ken
 
Ken Thompson said:
I have a 95 Lightning with the following chassis mod's:
eibach's, edelbrocks and energy suspension bushings. The tires are Goodyear's F-1's and the rims are G2's copies by AFR. I am interested in Autocrossing the truck and need information on setting my truck up. What have I over looked, and what do I need?
Thanks,
Ken
Click to expand...

Ken, it sounds like your truck is more than capable. I must agree with those who advise to 'work on the driver'. In autocross its roughly 70% driver and 30% vehicle.

One thing you didn't mention however, is tire pressure. This is one of the most important things you can do, and its FREE. You'll want more than regular street pressure to keep the sidewalls from rolling over. Get some chalk/shoe polish and mark 1" from the corner of the tire (both ways) where the sidewall meets the tread. After a run examine the sidewall marks for evidence of rubbing, and adjust accordingly. A ballpark guess for a Gen 1 (I have a Gen 2) would be about 45 PSI to start and then monitor closely until the marks don't show any rubbing on the sidewall.

Some general tips that work follow. Take these to heart and they should help you trim 1.5-3 seconds off your time (at least it has for all those who've followed it--including myself).

1) Keep looking as far ahead as you can. The hands follow the eyes and the truck follows the hands. Things happening 10' in front of your vehicle are too late to accomidate anyway. Don't take this to mean "stare ahead", there's a difference.

2) Slow in, fast out. Exit speed is more important than entrance speed. Every MPH you have on exit will be carried with you until the next braking point. It is easier to add throttle on entry than scrub off speed with your tires (which becomes expensive!). Scrubbing off speed can (and usually will) put you out of position for corner exit, which will inhibit the amount of throttle you can feed it.

3) Stay as close to the cones as you can. Learn how much room you have between your tires and the cones, then minimize that distance. This will, for all intents and purposes, make the lane wider. On sweepers this will decrease distance traveled, on slaloms you will require less steering input (since you'll be turning earlier), and on straights you'll be able to track out farther which will allow more throttle with a straight wheel (2 things that mean FAST).

4) ...and finally, one of the most important things you can do is course walk prior to running. Find the most important corner and set up your line from there. Where is the most important corner? Its the one immediately before the longest straight (remember exit speed is additive the entire length). If that corner is the last one of 3 back-to-back, then devise a line that will allow you to exit #3 at the fastest speed.

All the above will require seat time, seat time, seat time to accomplish.

Good Luck!
 
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Great info! :tu:

My 2 cents to add: Don't be afraid to seek out advice from some experienced autocrossers. Walk the course with them, ask them questions. If there are fun runs afterward, ask to ride along with them. Riding along with an experienced autocrosser can be eye-opening.

Also, try not to drive with a "road course" mentality -- sometimes you don't have to swing out wide to hit an apex so you carry speed. I see people walking courses saying, "Well if I setup way over here, I can carry some speed." If there's a slalom or some other maneuver following that (i.e. not a huge straightaway like on a road course), there's really no point in carrying a bunch of speed if you're just going to have to jam on the brakes right after that. The key is to carry momentum. You might be better off running a tighter line -- you may be a couple mph slower on the exit, but you didn't cover as much distance and you won't need to use the brakes much (if at all) right after that for the next obstacle.

If you can get away with lifting a little early and coasting or lightly touching the brakes, it's usually faster than trying to get max speed and standing on the brakes.
 
SVT SE-R said:
Great info! :tu:

...sometimes you don't have to swing out wide to hit an apex so you carry speed. I see people walking courses saying, "Well if I setup way over here, I can carry some speed." If there's a slalom or some other maneuver following that (i.e. not a huge straightaway like on a road course), there's really no point in carrying a bunch of speed if you're just going to have to jam on the brakes right after that. The key is to carry momentum. You might be better off running a tighter line -- you may be a couple mph slower on the exit, but you didn't cover as much distance and you won't need to use the brakes much (if at all) right after that for the next obstacle.

If you can get away with lifting a little early and coasting or lightly touching the brakes, it's usually faster than trying to get max speed and standing on the brakes.
Click to expand...

Excellent points Pat! Especially on the tight(er) courses where the small added MPH won't make up for the increased distance traveled! Elapsed time is what its all about.
 
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