I have two seasons of Autocross under my belt and I have attended a number of AX schools too. Overall I've improved greatly, however, I feel like I'm still missing something.

When I'm autocross and I take a sharp turn (tight radius left or right) I tend to plow. I know this is an issue with driving, but I want to know: Is there a way to spin an EVO out in a slow low radius turn?

How can I drive different to cause my car to be more loose?

I have coil overs w/ camber plates. during events I'm putting in as much negative camber as I can. Generally the car is fairly nuetral. This is not a setup issue. It is a driving technique issue.

Are there any driving excercises I could try? (I can rent a parking lot w/o too much trouble).

any suggestions would be greatly apperciated

 

You forgot a rear sway-bar. I just saw a post for a hotchkis rear sway bar. I highly recommend it. Use the stiffest setting and it will do exactly what you wish. I drift the hell out of my evo in my office's parking lot on friday's all that time!

 

it's all about weight transfer, mang. If you give the car a quick hard jab of the brakes right after turn in when most of vehicals weight is transfered to one of the front corners should be enough to break the backend loose. You have to be careful the with the amount of pressure you use on the brake pedal and your timing becuase getting wrong will led to massive understeer. You'll also have throw the car into the corner a little harder then usual. But you best bet with the evo is to just slow down your corner entry speed and take advantage the 4wd system on the exit. There are are a ton of different ways to get the backend to hang loose but none are going to faster auto-xing, they'll just make you look pretty durimg the run. A 25mm sway bar works wonders and will give you more options ( what I said above may put you in a ditch without one). Oh, that isn't a drifting technique just something to help rotate the backend.

 

Slow in fast out!

 

May I respectfully suggest that you quit with the low speed parking lot cone courses and try some real road racing? There must be a road course near where you live.

 

ding ding ding ding ding.

amen!

 

I have a hotchkis rear sway for autocross. On the lightest setting my car plows bad (pushes) just like stock. On the firmest setting, it loosens up the read allowing it to slid out a bit. Also, trail braking (two footing) will slid the rear around as well.

We had a 270 degree left corner, yes almost a full loop, and I would go in lined up in the middle of the lane give the car a slight right input, trail brake and turn in sharp left and roll moderately hard on the the gas in the middle if the corner and I would come out of the corner with a nice 20 degree drift which would let me correct with a slight right input and shoot out fast as hell.

 

you have 2 problems

1) when you get full body roll in autocross it usually means that you have lifted the inside rear tire. when the tire contacts the ground again, all available power is transfered to the front axle causing understeer.

2) if you get on the gas too early in the corner, you will push no matter what.

Like others have suggested, slow in fast out. Brake harder and earlier for the corners.

autocross != road racing. If you have the same body roll and transition rates that you have in autocross on a road course, then you have already lost it and you should be bracing for that impact.

One trick you can try is this: when your are near full body roll, approaching the apex, steer for the apex cone, and blip the throttle. That will induce throttle lift oversteer. This should cause the back end to step out. How much depends on your setup and alignment.

 

Question on the above. You say 'during events...." Do you actually adjust the camber plates by yourself before each event? I hope your are measuring/adjusting toe at the same time, bc you cant change one without the other.

 

Toe-out in the rear should help...

 

Try stiffening the rear and softening the front shocks. Do you try adjusting the cilovers betwee runs? Also, you could try running higher pressures in the rear tires than the front.

How much camber are you running in the rear? I am only runing -1 in the rear and -3 in the front and my car turs great (I am also sunning a Cusco rear swaybar on the softest setting). Some toe out will help too, and get the Quaife front LSD if you can afford it.

 

I'll dissagree to the death on that one.

Auto-x is closer to a drivers ed exam than road racing.

I mean, whatever suits you, but the dynamics are COMPLELTELY different. If you oversteer in an auto-x environment, big deal, you lose .6 seconds. If you do that on a road course, pulling 1.5g's+, you've got another thing coming.

Road racing is the full dynamics, traffic, passing, car preservation (not over-driving and roasting your rubber), and so much more.

I'm not downgrading auto-x, it's a great place to start, but i need real corners, straights with 125-35 braking zones, and double apex sweepers at 100+.

I just don't get the same excitement in a parking lot, driving around safety cones, ya know?

MORAL: More or less i'm saying if you're just gonna auto-x, then making the changes you are, are acceptable, but PLLLLLLLEASE, don't try to do a track event with your over-steer happy settings, it won't be a pretty sight

 

so it sounds like you agree with me

autocross != road racing. Never implied that it was. I am not comparing the two. The driving techniques are totally different along with the driving style.

 

ohhhhhhh! != is like ≠

 

I did that once at willow springs and almost **** myself (lifted off a little to much in turn 8).