Road racing is a much much slower form of autocrossing (in terms of action and thinking), albeit higher speed. If you can master autocrossing, which is cheaper and safer, you can do well at road racing. The same can't be said the other way around.

 

Thats very true. You can look at by saying start out road racing and then move up to autocrossing. Road Racing does allow a good amount of time to relax between transitions and the corners tend to be much shorter and can be "attacked" with much more aggression ( often with less concern for repercussions ) looping it staying on concrete at 40mph is one thing, looping it at 90 mph goign from asphalt to dirt is another. Road Racing you can spend 15 seconds in one long corner. so you have to get used to getting on the edge and keeping it just ever so slightly over that edge.

I started out autocrossing - a few EM championship mugs on the mantle.. and good autocrosses more often make good road racers, but good road racers often find autocrossing overwhelming. Both have there pros and cons.

For most people road racing at HPDE is a great start. It's much much much more track time, so it's much better dollar to seat time ratio, and it's oine they can wrap out a few gears, instead of just leaving it in second. Autocrossing is a great thign to hone skills at as well. 90s of non stop thrashing is more "intense", but 6 minutes of chasing someone down and working on outbraking them, or breaking their concentration is too.

Either way panzies, you folks need to be out road racing. And you autocrossers should have a big leg up..

Then again I also have run into too many autocrossers spouting the above phrase, who have never run an open track event, and it kind of makes it moot. When you do both and have that first hand understanding it makes it much more worthwhile.

Doing both/either will improve your driving on public roads to such a degree you *WILL* look back and realize how incredibly dangerous and unsafe you were prior.

 

ZX3,

Nice response to me (translated: ZERO response) Apparently ZX3 guy likes talking the talk, but won't back it up at the track.

About autocross versus roadracing, autocross is a good way to learn car control skills with little possible repercussion as the speeds are lower and the mistakes involve getting cone smudges on your car. I did autocross for several years, never seriously with SCCA because they're **** clowns and I liked modding my car more than the stock rules permitted.

However, I do almost exclusively run on roadcourses and anyone that thinks road course running at 100% is easier than autocross needs to get their head examined. Maybe, in a slow a** car, road courses are easier, but in fast cars you have think and respond very quickly because if you screw up your car and/or your life is on the line. My bolt-on C5 can see over 150mph at the end of the straight at TWS and if you think hitting the transition in Turn 1 at 120+mph is something anyone off the street can do, then see my previous comment.

If you're pushing a car at 10/10th's on a roadcourse, then I would consider that much more 'dangerous' and 'challenging' than any autocross.

 

SCCA - **** clowns. sounds like someone needs to spend money to be quicker instead of beign skilled.. since this is getting into a pissing match...

Lets see you tighten a harness wihle autocrossing. I can tighten up my harness and check guages plenty of times in one single lap at TWS. The front straight at TWS is just waiting.

What zero response are you crying about this time? July 10-11 $300, NASA HPDE 6 - 45 minute sessions.

 

That's because your car is slow. Look, SCCA is great for A LOT of people, but with my headers, gears, etc. I'm in a class in which the car isn't even close to competitive. Also, sitting around AN ENTIRE DAY for 4 run that last around 35 seconds each is not my idea of a good time. Been there, done that, it's boring. Ripping up a road course is my idea of a good time.

 

WELL...you go tell the president of the united states to let me go roadrace then i will until then.. i kinda have a job to do....i pray for a weekend off and when i do get one what you think i do.... some people do have jobs that prevent them form doing what they want...If you wanna come defend the contry while i roadrace then come do it..please i would love to get my car on a road course!!!!

 

Novtec1, trust me I have been telling ole w (anker) to bring our countrymen home. I sure hope you can find some time to get out and enjoy your toy. and what do you do when you get time off? If you can plan time off, I highly suggest planning around some HPDE events. It will make the time between track driving a little more wortwhile defending us so we can all enjoy using our toys!

Thanks for your diligence and hard work.

 

no problem man... when i do have time off i spend it with my wife or catch up on some sleep. trust me i would love to get my car on a roadcourse.... im "suppose" to have some time in august... please keep me informed of the events you have. if i have time i will attend them.... thanks....

 

Bring the wifey, and catch up on sleep between sessions. Plenty of entertainment and thigns to do in the evening to make ita fun trip for the wife too.

 

ok.... I have to thrown in my 2 cents, having read some, but not all of this thread. I track raced a Ford Sierra Cosworth in the UK for several years. You may be able to take the intial classes with tuition without ripping up stock tires and pads, although it is really preferable to take the tuition in one of the instructor's cars if that is available as an option. Otherwise, track racing your car with stock tires/pads will rip the hell out of them whether you are an expert or an amateur, period. If you're not out on the track with slicks and race pads, you're not learning anything about race skills. A car handles completely differently with slicks and race pads, not to mention the fact that you probably want stiffer suspension, harness, roll cage etc.

Bottom line, track racing is a LOT of fun, and something I would love to get back into again, but it costs $$$$$$. Been there, done that, know it for a fact.

 

Texas does have scca events for autocross. Well at least in Dallas/FT Worth area. I have been to about 6 events and I have only seen one other EVO. A few STIs show out consistantly but not EVOs. This sucks for the EVO because this car is awsome at the track. If ppl are worried about the cost of the event then yall are just cheap. It's only $25 for the event which is held each month. Save your money and eat at home!! www.texasscca.com for information.

 

It does not have to be expensive. I ahve seen many people start spending a lot of money to go faster instead of working on their skills. I see it all too often. When you see the guys in "slower" cars running very quick times vs someone always looking for the next upgrade to try and keep up you think it would be more obvious, but somehow many think you can buy skill. You buy it with time, not $$$$.

I can run my slow daily driver around on crappy pep boys pads and es100s and still have a blast and every time work on my skills. I can also take a 500awhp Evo on full yoko slicks out and keep it on the 10.5/10ths edge, but you know what controlling the car at the limit and just slightly over it whether at 70mph through a corner or 85 mph through the same corner, it's still fun in both. In the slocus If get rowdy and want to slide around and act up - a set of tires is $300 mounted balanced and on my way. Pads $50. If someone wants tehy can easily throw on some $275/tire slicks and $250 pads and easily spend $1500. But for an HPDE, you're not winning anything. There is no 1st place or winners circle or big check to collect. Slicks are sometimes more durable and grippier at the track, but novices 1st time out and learning "HOW TO DRIVE" are plenty prepared with stock tires and pads. Heck even some of the cheaper tires like Kumho MXs are perfect for feeling things out in a car. How to anticipate over steer and preemptively dial out steering, or when something sneeks up on you to use the gas, not stab the brakes and loop it. I've run 4 days of track time on street tires and still gotten 12k miles out of them on the focus while setting some of the fastest lap times against comperable cars. The brakes though did require pad changes, but it was much cheaper to swap them then buy one set that would maybe have lasted. Trackign a car should not be about tearing it up. That is too much from the I'll make it faster by changing some part instead of changing the driving realm.. or the torn up part was becuase it was inferior or something. All the more reason to get to a HPDE with instructors. This goes for autocrossing as well. Too many folks invest in their cars and complain they can't afford an evolution driving school. That school will teach you not to tear up stuff and be quicker than most any mod.

 

Cheap Bast Ardos! You have a High-Performance car. USE IT!

All you DFW folks need to be at the NASA HPDA event. I'm tired of seeing wrecked Evos on flat beds and people whining of how they can't afford it and making excuses. Even worse getting a ticket for something so dumb and lame that wasn't even fun getting when instead you can spend that money to learn how to drive, do it safely and do it for a lot longer than you can probably handle. You get the best of everything. No tickets, all the fun, as much as you can muster. And you learn things that will make you a safer smarter driver who won't be watching your balled up Evo get towed away on a flat bed.

 

I can't disagree there. Money is MUCH better spent learning driving skill than putting on another go-fast part on the car. But, once you have a very strong foundation of driving skill, you can obviously put some money into the car to make it more 'fun' and maybe a bit faster. All the mods on my Vette (intake, headers, exhaust, gears, wheels/tires) were for sound, thrust, and traction. The fact it made it a bit quicker was icing on the cake.

Don't use modifications to cover up driving inadequacies. Also, ZX3 guy, I certainly understand the old adage that it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. I just prefer to drive a fast car fast.

 

The point here is to get the novice scaredy cats out to the track to stop the wrecking/abusing/ticketing for nonsense monkey business on public streets. They have all sorts of misconceptions, fears and they just need to get out there and do it. Same goes for a lot of vette owners. rather stand around there cars baking in a parking lot than use em.. They should at least take a 10 night cruise or somthing around Curucao, Korfu, Belize, or even Hawaii if they're just going to lounge around..