Auto x's are fun but leave much to be desired. I started autocrossing my X this year in STU class, and just got bumped out of novice. I've heard of time attack series and a NASA series but the information i've found online is really confusing.

Can someone shine some light on how i can get more quality seat time? Is it too much to ask if there's a good "bang for buck" in terms of seat time??

Also, anything specific to Texas would be helpful....

 

Join the NASA group! Check out nasatx.com and our forum here. We have a great time and you will get ample seat time.

If you don't have any track experience, you will start out in HPDE 1 (High performance driving education 1). The classes go up to 4 and then you can get signed off for the TT (time trial) group. Last week, we had 7 Evo's (3 in TT and 4 in HPDE)



We will be racing at the next event in College Station on April 25-27. You should definitely sign up and come drive with us!

 

HPDEs are a great way to get more seat time.

 

Are you quitting autox cuz you got bumped out of novice class?

 

Haha, no not at all. I'll still be autocrossing. I went to harris hill the other week and noticed how beneficial all that tight course practice was on certain turns. I'll still be autocrossing and double d riving each event, but i want more highspeed stuff where there is more emphasis on lines & braking.

 

I noticed there's only 3 events left this year in texas. Can you give me a lttle more info like how much it costs? The amount of time spent on the track i can expect? Is it 1 day? 2 day? My car is also my daily, should i worry about tracking it at a nasa event?

 

Also, what do i need to do to my evo to make it track-ready?? I understand that i should get performance oriented brake pads as the stock pads eat the rotors at track temps. I also hear i should spend time on brake ducting/cooling. Oh, and SST cooling..... Some ducting and a computer fan?

Is there anything else i should worry about/pay attention to?? This is my daily and i wanna keep it reliable.

 

First thing you'll need to do is sign up up for a NASA membership though nasaproracing.com, it'll cost you 45 bucks. From there you'll pick a region to join, in your case the Texas region. I can't speak for how NASA Texas does things, but I can give you some insight on how NASA AZ works. Events are usually on a Saturday and a Sunday. You can sign up for just saturday, just Sunday, or both days if you wish. Since you have never ran with NASA before you will sign up for HPDE 1. In this group you will have an instructor with you riding shotgun the entire time. In NASA AZ we give HPDE 1 students 4 to 5 sessions ranging from 20 to 25 minutes. A one day event costs 169.00 and a two day event costs 269.00. In the first session your instructor will ask you if can drive your car to learn what It can do and how it will react to the track you are driving. They will also show you the racing line, braking zones, etc. after a few laps you will pull into the hot pits and switch. From there you'll be driving the rest of the day. The instructor will riding with you to coach you and help you progress through out the day as well as give you tips and insight to be smoother, smooth is fast.

 

I wouldn't worry about throwing a ton of money Into your car as you will not be going full out in HPDE 1. The point of HPDE 1 is to learn the track, the racing line, the braking zones, your car, and most importantly your skills as a driver.

 

Get a sanctioned competition racing license through NASA and then start doing Chump Car endurance races.

 

We recommend a more aggressive pad to start. The Hawk HPS (S is for street) is a wonderful pad for daily and occasional track days. The stock pads don't eat the rotors as you mentioned above. They actually can't handle the sustained heat and will fade and wear out very quickly.

Brake ducting for the X's isn't really available any more. AMS used to sell a very effective kit, but have since stopped production. We have plans to begin making a similar kit in the future.

SST cooling will be a necessity in the hotter months once your skill level improves. We have installed many of the SSP cooler kits and have never had any complaints. There are others out there if you want something different.

You will need a surge tank very quickly. The Evo X is notorious for fuel starvation at anything lower than 3/4 of a tank. Most novices can get away with filling up after every run, but that doesn't work for long. We make a surge tank for the Evo X's that will allow you to run your tank all the way to empty (if you want but it isn't advised).

We also advise our customers to get front and rear sway bars as early as possible. The Whiteline bars and adjustable end links will decrease body roll without sacrificing ride quality. And your tires will last longer because you will experience less positive camber on turn-in.

You can always get performance mods if you want, but I guarantee that you will not be able to reach the limits of the stock power anytime soon (Unless you have a lot of previous track experience in a large AWD car).

The best thing you can do is sign up and attend one of the events. The NASA event at TWS in College Station will be the perfect opportunity for you to meet the crew and ask as many questions as you want.

 

i'm a novice driver (not including drag racing and years of Gran Tourismo LOL) with about four auto-xs and half a dozen HPDE events. auto-x is fun and teaches great hand/eye/think fast coordination and reflexes. it's also awesome for being able to learn the limits of your car while still within reasonably safe speeds. but, i have to admit after HPDE, i just don't get the same thrill from AX. this is just my experience; not saying anything negative about AX. my only real complaint is that it's about $40 to run locally. while i do like being able to just jam over to the venue without packing for a road trip, that comes out to about $9 per minute of driving whereas HPDE at my "local" track is more like $1 per minute.

80-100mins of seat time > 5mins.
i drive with Northern California Racing Club. it's hard to say "no" to $100 Buttonwillow days. you will typically get 4-5 sessions of 20mins each. it's a GREAT way to get seat time and there is no pressure. you get to drive at any pace you like; your only opponent is yourself.. which can be a good or a bad thing LOL.
anyway, you can drive anything safe. there is tech, but you don't have to follow certain rules to qualify for a particular class (other than signing up for the right run group, dependent on your experience). pretty much all areas have organizations such as NCRC, SpeedVentures, SCCA, etc that sponsor HPDE.

even my hard-core drag race friends were stoked after ride alongs and absolutely hooked after driving in one.

it's addicting. after your first event, you will proabably already be starting to plan your next one haha. even if it's not your thing, everyone should get to experience it at least once. it's a blast, dude.

lastly: the only things you need is a GOOD brake pad and good brake fluid. the better they are, the more fun you will have. it's no fun when you start getting faster and then your brakes start to fade. personally, i run a DOT 4 Fluid such as ATE or Motul. for pads, i picked up a used set of Hawk DTC 60s.

other than pads and fluids, the rest of your car is just fine. no need to spend a ton of money on other stuff. other than a helmet that is, and they may even have a loner for you. keep expenses low and changes simple until you know it's something you want to pursue. if you do? man.. it's all down hill (financially) from there. LOL

 

THanks for the info. I'll look into the hawk pad. Also i'm pretty sure my evo hasnn't had its brake fluid changed in the 35k miles its had so getting a good fluid should probably be done anyway. As far as brake ducting, would something like this make sense? http://www.binaryeng.com/products%20...e%20ducts.html

For my SST, i'll probably find a large sucker-fan made for computers and slap it on my sst oil cooler. Its getting hot real quick here in texas. I'll also look into creating my own ducting to the critical areas using some quality duct tape and old plastic sheeting.

As far as sways, i hear a lot of conflicting information regarding rear & fronts on the X. Some say no front, others say both with the front on medium stiffness and rear on low stiffness. The tires i'll be tracking on are also my daily tires, and i'd like to preserve the shoulders if at all possible. They are Michelin PSS.

Your comment of the surge tank worries me a bit.... I usually auto-x at 1/2 to 1/4 of a tank.... Do i run risks of sucking up air and blowing up? Some of the courses we run can be pretty large (~80 seconds for a competitive STU car, hitting 7k in 4th gear on my sst). I have almost full boltons, tuned to 300 whp on a hot texas summer day (100 deg F - mustang dyno). As far as power goes, i feel this is more than enough for me.

 

The Binary caliper ducts will work fine. You will still have to source a lot of parts (clamps, hose, inlets) to make it function correctly. If you can find any pictures of the AMS kit, try to copy that.

The fan on the SST cooler is a joke and is done by people who autoX and never see high speeds or long/high heat runs. At an AutoX, you will probably be full throttle for 20% of the time during a very short run. Then you will stop moving and wait to go again, that is why people put those fans on. In road racing, you will be full throttle >30% of the time over a 20-30 minute session.

If you want, you can hold off on the SST cooler until you actually need it, like when your ECU puts you in limp mode due to overheating. My guess is that you will not need it until your lap times begin to improve.

I speak from track data and countless worn out tire shoulders by our racing team to tell you to get sway bars front and rear. You need the added roll prevention for that fat pig you call an Evo X.

And lastly about the surge tank. Most autoX runs do not see enough lateral G's (especially on street tires) for long enough duration to warrant the need for a surge tank. And you won't even use 1 gallon of fuel at a typical DAY of autoX. Whereas you can go through 4 or 5 gallons of fuel in one 30 minute session on the road course. This is when the surge tank becomes a requirement.

All of the information above comes with a caveat. You can have plenty of fun with your car as it sits now! There should be no fear in damaging parts while you are learning to drive on the track. Change the brake fluid, get a set of Hawk HPS pads, and fill her up after every session. You will have a blast!

Once you get that track bug (which I know you will), then start making changes to the car. That is why I say sign up for HPDE 1 at TWS with us. It is a great group of people and you can learn a lot about your car. And as an added bonus, there is a big party on Saturday night with free food and beer

 

focus on this part.

too bad to hear about the fueling issues. what a drag.