Who autocrosses their car? How do you fare?

[Trmin8r]

I have an 03 Cobra and will be autocrossing it this spring. I autox-d my 98 Cobra and did alright, except for the handicaps.

If you auto-x your car, how do you fare? What suspension mods do you have, if any? Tires?

What class are you in if you are pullied?

Thanks for any input. Can't wait til this snow goes away so we can start racing!

 

[04cobratorchred]

I auto-x my old GT all last year but i traided it in for the cobra so i can't wait to see how it does. What class is just a stock cobra in well with exhaust and intake?

 

[ShelbyGuy]

subframe connectors and gordsford heat exchanger put me into a modified class where i get my ass kicked every time by a prepared vette.

if your class allows r-compound tires, USE THEM.

under scca rules i run in ESP, under midwestern council rules i run in Y/Mod

 

[Trmin8r]

I am always getting spanked by the STI's. Since everything is indexed too, there is a Mazda 3 that wins all the time. It is an automatic and actaully does quite well with the Raw times too.

 

[ShelbyGuy]

for me the justys arent the problem as those guys tend to be very abrupt on the controls. smoothness rules the autocross in a car that plows as bad as ours. when crushing cones is also the only time i will left foot brake. i tend to drive with the brake on to keep the weight on the front wheels.

by all means, get there early so you can walk the course. a blown gate usually means a dnf. even a lousy time is more fun to look at on the timesheet than a dnf.

dont worry about anyone else's time, just concentrate on improving your own time.

 

[5500]

My .02... only autoX'd a coupe of times in the Cobra, no experience driving anything else but the car is wicked nose heavy and way overpowered. It is real easy to lose it. Shelby Guy has good advice, smoothness counts, even more so in Cobras.

 

[Blk03SVTCobra]

I auto-x'ed my Cobra as well. I always got spanked by M3s and STis, but I'm getting much closer. And considering the 3 times I went last year were my first autocross events ever, I guess I was doing alright. At the time, I had an intake, clutch quadrant and firewall adjuster and was on the stock F1s. So basically nothing. I was running in the A Stock class.

And like Shelby Guy said, smoothness is everything. Walk the course AT LEAST 3 times. You'll do fine and have a lot of fun :thumbsup:

 

[JoeNashville]

Will a catback throw you into street prepared? I don't think so but wanted to ask...

Also, there is an autocross specific forum on here:

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=204

...it would be great if it got more traffic! That way it won't close down...

 

[cito]

subframe connectors and gordsford heat exchanger put me into a modified class where i get my ass kicked every time by a prepared vette.

if your class allows r-compound tires, USE THEM.

under scca rules i run in ESP, under midwestern council rules i run in Y/Mod

If you have subframe connectors other than the crappy stock ford ones from the Bullitt, Mach 1, and convertibles, than you are illegal for ESP. That mod and pullies (either one) put you into SM2, where unless you completely gut your car and modify the crap out of it you will get stomped at a higher level. Locally though, you might do fine.

 

[cito]

BTW, A stock is a harder class than ESP, so, you might as well go with ESP no matter whether your car is stock or prepared for ESP.

I did win my region this year, but would get stomped in divisions or nationals. At this point, ESP includes the f-bodies and Stievo's.

Mods to the car to consider would include race tires (Kumho V710's best for this car at this point), race-valved front struts with Cobra R shocks in the rear, higher rate springs particularly in the front, caster camber plates, offset front a-arm bushings, bushings in the back (I have poly, but delrin are better), two-point front strut tower brace (only legal form for esp), and, shoulda put this first, a better differential. Either a truetrac from tractech or, better, a torsen t2-r.

Mods to the driver are more important. Practice, practice, practice. Slow in fast out, smooth onto the accelerator, etc.

Shelby guy is right, though I have a hard time with this, it is really about how much better you can do than it is with how you compare to others to begin with. If you really want to be a national champ in autocross, then you wouldn't be driving a 2003/2004 cobra. It is definitely an underdog in the autocross arena.

Nice web sites include sccaforums.com

Here is a link to the scca rulebook now available on pdf.

http://www.scca.com/Solo/Index.asp?reference=rules

 

[cito]

Will a catback throw you into street prepared? I don't think so but wanted to ask...

Also, there is an autocross specific forum on here:

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=204

...it would be great if it got more traffic! That way it won't close down...

No, a catback is legal in stock, but you should want to be in ESP because that is where the car is more competitive.

 

[Snake40]

Will a catback throw you into street prepared? I don't think so but wanted to ask...

Also, there is an autocross specific forum on here:

http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=204

...it would be great if it got more traffic! That way it won't close down...

Didnt know we had an autocross forum, thanks Mike

 

[ShelbyGuy]

yeah im not exactly esp legal, but nobody has complained, probably because i dont come close to winning in that class either. :cryying:

If you have subframe connectors other than the crappy stock ford ones from the Bullitt, Mach 1, and convertibles, than you are illegal for ESP. That mod and pullies (either one) put you into SM2, where unless you completely gut your car and modify the crap out of it you will get stomped at a higher level. Locally though, you might do fine.

 

[cito]

I figured you knew that. Its a stupid rule, but I just wanted people to be aware of it if they go to an autocross and somebody makes a stink about it. You are usually fine at the regional level (though I had some foxbody guys a lil' pissed at me this year just because I was in ESP and it ended their reign in the class and they would have probably gotten me dq'd if they could find a reason), but at nationals and divisionals, people can be really anal about that stuff.

People have weird reactions to the Cobra. The people (like Dave Schotz who is an Autocross deity) who really know autocross will say its not well-suited at all for autocross, but I had one guy accuse me of putting my car in the wrong class because he thought it was an overdog. In general, people really love to watch the car because it is big, bad, and noisy, and the way I drive, not so smooth, it makes a lot of smoke, but some people will be really down on the car and others will think I suck as a driver because there are still some miatas and Corvettes (okay, also some Mini's, BMW's, and Stievo's) that are clearly less powerful and still beat me. Of course, I am not a very good driver, but its not an easy car to drive smoothly and quickly.

 

[Blk03SVTCobra]

BTW, A stock is a harder class than ESP, so, you might as well go with ESP no matter whether your car is stock or prepared for ESP.

I know, but I figured I'd challenge myself. My buddy won the STS class last year in the Washington D.C. Region (Jason Rohrbaugh). He's a dang good driver. I've taken a lot of my advice and guidance from him. :thumbsup:

Can't wait to go to Bob Bondurant's School for the 4-day course :rockon:

 

[Imperial Pose]

SM2

Can't wait to go to Bob Bondurant's School for the 4-day course

Took same class Jan 4-8, good time.

 

[Power Trip]

Auto crossing seems fun.. though ill probably never get around to doing it. Anybody have any vids of them racing?

 

[ShelbyGuy]

crushing cones:
http://nitro.vapornet.net/qtmedia/Media/8-1-SCSCC-Auto-X.mov
http://nitro.vapornet.net/qtmedia/Media/oct3auto-xscsccjojuco.mov

on the track:
http://nitro.vapornet.net/qtmedia/Media/saturdaynorthwoodssession2.mov (173meg) pay no attention to the pea gravel that comes out of my car the first few corners...
http://nitro.vapornet.net/qtmedia/Media/2004SCSCCBHFAuto-X.mov

 

[BenD]

Cobra's are much better on Road Courses

Competing in Road Racing is where the Cobra shines. However, much suspension modification is necessary to really be competitive against the Z-06's, Ferrari's, Vipers, M3's and others. In adddition to suspension mods, and making the car lighter, the most important mod is brakes, wheels, and of course tires. With those changes you can really worry the hell out of those high dollar cars and smoke 'em if they don't know how to drive.

If auto cross was my thing I'd be looking hard at the new Lotus Elise. Add a few basic mods in that one and you would have a real smoking Devil on your hands.

 

[Power Trip]

Cool vids shelby guy. In the big vid, was that a SHO that passed you? Man that thing sounded like crap lol.