First Time Autocrossing!

Velox

Velox

Well-Known Member
48
90
Naples, FL
Vehicle Model
2013 Civic EX
Body Style
Coupe
So I did autocross for the first time over the weekend. I attended a "novice school" held by the site operators on Saturday then tried the full course on Sunday. This was the MOST fun I've ever had in a car…period. And that's saying a lot considering this one girl Jane was cray… never mind.

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I seemed to have a lot of trouble with understeer, so hopefully I can improve on that next time. I was asking around on how to fix my problems but I was one of the few people driving FWD so I couldn't get any good answers. Anyone have advice on taking sharp turns or U-turns without locking up and skidding straight? Since I drive an EX not an Si, I felt like I was struggling quite a bit if I slowed too much for an element. I simply didn't have the power to come out of some of the turns as quickly as I'd like.

I filmed all my runs, this was my cleanest (I hit cones 3/6 runs :/) Any advice for improvement would be great.
 
It's nice seeing a R18 doing some autoX. I've been thinking about registering myself for next season. Most answers I've heard regarding improvement is seat time; the more runs you do, the more experience you gain, the better you become. Depending on the class you run in, you can always consider upgrading some of the suspension components in order to handle better around turns.
 
Looks like you had a good time, and that's a nice lay out for the course.
 
FB2Chris said:
It's nice seeing a R18 doing some autoX. I've been thinking about registering myself for next season. Most answers I've heard regarding improvement is seat time; the more runs you do, the more experience you gain, the better you become. Depending on the class you run in, you can always consider upgrading some of the suspension components in order to handle better around turns.
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Yeah, that's what I've heard. I'm just anxious to learn quickly and trying to gather all the information I can :)

Pauly99to17 said:
You could add a thicker rear swat bar to help with understeer.
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I was mostly referring to my driving ability and skills to improve rather than just throwing money at the problem. I don't really want to put more money into this car because I may be getting a different car if I pursue autocross more heavily.
 
You can be an awesome driver, but if the car understeers (and ours do) then there is only so much you can do. Making the suspension stiffer will dramatically improve handling and eliminate the understeer.
 
Pauly99to17 said:
You can be an awesome driver, but if the car understeers (and ours do) then there is only so much you can do. Making the suspension stiffer will dramatically improve handling and eliminate the understeer.
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Oh, I see. I assumed there was a technique change that could solve the problem. If it truly is the vehicle, I'll definitely look into a stiffer anti roll bar.
 
The rear sway will go a long way towards addressing the understeer. You'll be limited in the amount of modifications you can perform before having to compete outside of a stock class. There are many here who autox that can provide more detailed information.
 
i autox my Si. and like everyone said before. stock under steers, and for stock class you can't do much. If you would like to spend money wisely do rear sway bar and maybe see how your rear toe is set at and try to dial that out to 0 rear toe.

money you should spend:

seat time
rear sway bar
better tires (u can see what people are running in but for street tires people generally get the very sticky summer tires)

if you don't need to stay in stock class and just want to go faster and make the car handle better:
crash bolts and get some negative camber up front - this puts you in STX.

see if you local event has an RTF class. basically despite being a "stock" class they are actually a fast class because despite being stock they are allowed to run R-comps. therefore if you are running a street tire a more equal class is to be RTF (road tire front drive) H stock.
 
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Velox said:
So I did autocross for the first time over the weekend. I attended a "novice school" held by the site operators on Saturday then tried the full course on Sunday. This was the MOST fun I've ever had in a car…period. And that's saying a lot considering this one girl Jane was cray… never mind.

bRhtivfh.jpg


I seemed to have a lot of trouble with understeer, so hopefully I can improve on that next time. I was asking around on how to fix my problems but I was one of the few people driving FWD so I couldn't get any good answers. Anyone have advice on taking sharp turns or U-turns without locking up and skidding straight? Since I drive an EX not an Si, I felt like I was struggling quite a bit if I slowed too much for an element. I simply didn't have the power to come out of some of the turns as quickly as I'd like.

I filmed all my runs, this was my cleanest (I hit cones 3/6 runs :/) Any advice for improvement would be great.
Click to expand...

is it automatic? if so i may can help u
 
i do have a tip for everyone. if you fold the rear seats down. it will slightly lower the center of gravity and you will notice a small enhancement in handling. my mud flaps ride real low on the front wheels so usually when i go for a mountain run it usually scrapes the ground the entire time through each tight corner. but after i fold my backseats down i dont hear another scrap from my flaps. so try it.
 
stormCIVIC said:
i do have a tip for everyone. if you fold the rear seats down. it will slightly lower the center of gravity and you will notice a small enhancement in handling. my mud flaps ride real low on the front wheels so usually when i go for a mountain run it usually scrapes the ground the entire time through each tight corner. but after i fold my backseats down i dont hear another scrap from my flaps. so try it.
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Good. Tip. Every little bit helps. Also take EVERYTHING that is not necessary out of your car. Spare tires. Jack. Anything u haul around. Removing weight that way is free! I wish I could give more driving tips but I have been doing rwd for 4 years and only fwd for 3 events so I am learning myself.
 
Before you go out and purchase a sway bar and start messing with the suspension settings which can make your car even harder to handle for a novice may I recommend some advice? 1) Try playing with tire pressures. Drop the front to around 29-30 (just enough to not make the TPMS light come on) and raise the rears up to about 34-35. 2) A great set of tires like Hankook Ventus RS-3s, Falken 615s, Dunlop DZIIs, etc. will all help immensely vs. adding some suspension pieces in an autox. Your tires are the only thing on your car contacting the surface you are driving on and usually make the biggest improvement vs. adding a lot of suspension pieces.

I would continually compete for top time of the day at some local autoxes in a bone stock 8th gen Si sedan. I had a decent set of tires with the right tire pressures. This is one thing I preach when I'm instructing too. Modifications don't always make your car faster in turns, they can just make your car harder for you to drive.A big rear sway bar is going to give you a lot of mid corner oversteer and if you've never had that experience in a front wheel drive car, you're going to be all over the place before you learn to just point the wheels and stomp on the gas.

But at the end of the day it's all about having fun and tuning your car however you like it! I just wanted to throw out some useful advice.

Low tire pressure up front, a lot in the rear, helps counteract understeer!
 
Also another freebee mod for a stock class is simple disconnecting the front sway bar. But as I stated above you don't really need to mess with the suspension yet. Learn the limits of your car in stock form first. Try to become a better driver, that's always the best mod there is! Then once you feel super comfortable with the car start modding it where you see fit for A) the class you want to run in and B) what could help improve on your driving habits. I had more fun driving my bone stock Si in autocrosses than I did with my Trans Am that was built simply to run in C-Prepared and for HPDEs.
 
dirtybird222 said:
Drop the front to around 29-30 (just enough to not make the TPMS light come on) and raise the rears up to about 34-35.
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Please be very careful doing this, as the lower the tire pressure the more likely of rolling to the sidewall and possibly onto the rim. Running a lower pressure can be helpful for traction on the front, but without proper camber (which a stock 9th civic does not have) I wouldn't go that low and would be very concerned about rolling too far.

I have never ran front tire pressure that low on any of my autocross cars (not saying it doesn't work), but I usually will bump all four up to about 40 psi, mark them with chalk and make sure I am not rolling the tire too far. Starting at a high pressure helps in two ways: It stiffens the sidewall of the tire to prevent tire rollovers, and allows you to easily "dial" down the pressure to determine and tune the best pressure for your style driving.

EDIT: And good job to you Velox! That was probably one of the longest slaloms I have ever seen!
 
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Some good advice here for all. Thanks to those who contributed with their ideas. I've heard it said that the best money spent on modifications is on driver education first.
 
richard_rsp said:
Please be very careful doing this, as the lower the tire pressure the more likely of rolling to the sidewall and possibly onto the rim. Running a lower pressure can be helpful for traction on the front, but without proper camber (which a stock 9th civic does not have) I wouldn't go that low and would be very concerned about rolling too far.

I have never ran front tire pressure that low on any of my autocross cars (not saying it doesn't work), but I usually will bump all four up to about 40 psi, mark them with chalk and make sure I am not rolling the tire too far. Starting at a high pressure helps in two ways: It stiffens the sidewall of the tire to prevent tire rollovers, and allows you to easily "dial" down the pressure to determine and tune the best pressure for your style driving.

EDIT: And good job to you Velox! That was probably one of the longest slaloms I have ever seen!
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This works too - it's all in driver preference and what type of driver you are. 29-30 is not that low and if you have a stiff sidewall tire it's not going to be a big deal. I ran 26-27 on my RS-3s for autox and 25 cold for HPDEs. I have seen guys out there with cheap-o tires running 60-70psi all the way around on a FWD car......
 
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When I ran these I was using my TR Spitfire, then my 914 Por., I'd bump the air pressure up about 6 - 8 pounds. Why.... Because all the winners I talked to said that's what they did, and I started winning as well....:D

PS: This was for usually running one lap and starting on cold tyres. When running 3 laps or more on a regular track I had to allow for the tyres to warm up, and different tracks required diff pressures.
 
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