hello all,
i just came from my first auto-x in my bmw and i must say WOW. t was probbally one of the funnest things i have ever done in my car since i purchased it. I was placed in the Street Touring Xtreme class (stx 1) was my number. I cant put up times that are competitive in the street mod class so i figure that i would just race in the stx catagory. I was wondering if anybody else also races in this class and what are some of your guys setups. I was told that if i have m3 cams i would be in the street mod class and i dont want to do that. Just wondering....


AUTO-X IS THE BEST!!!

You think autox is fun, do a track day.

You think autox is fun, do a track day.

:lol no sh-t

yeah...i have always wanted to do one, but these are more prevelant in my area considering that there really isnt a track where i am, but no doubt. any advice, tips to get better times?

yeah...i have always wanted to do one, but these are more prevelant in my area considering that there really isnt a track where i am, but no doubt. any advice, tips to get better times?

Wha? Road Atlanta isnt close?

You think autox is fun, do a track day.

+1
once you get on the track, you'll wonder why you never did it before! But be ready to be "hooked"!

yeah...i have always wanted to do one, but these are more prevelant in my area considering that there really isnt a track where i am, but no doubt. any advice, tips to get better times?

MORE SEAT TIME :)

(oh forgot you're new) get seat time, ridealongs w/ veterans, and focus on improving yourself.
then to get more competitive for stx i'd get
. bang for the buck 245/40/17 tires (eg bridgestone re01r, hankook z212, dunlop z1)
. coilovers (eg ground control/koni, choosing 450 or 500 lb springs)
. camber plates (eg vorshlag)
. bigger front sway; maybe also rear
. intake, chip/ecu

what is done to your car so far? If it's stock, I think you should be in ds, or whatever the stock category is. Having good tires is deffinately a huge advantage. It will also help to have someone experianced ride with you, and maybe even ride with them. Just be smooth with the car and have fun.

You think autox is fun, do a track day.


Autocross does have the advantage of being a competition. Some people thrive on that. Track days have other benefits, but that one is missing.

driving tips
. slow in, fast out (brake enough so you can get on gas early; exit speed is usually more important than entry)
. when in doubt, pick shortest distance (eg take inside/tight line in a sweeper)
. a lot of street tire squeal likely means you're past the limit, so slow down a bit; some squeal is good (note some street tires squeal more than others at the limit)
. "attack the back" in a slalom: setup the car so that it seems like your inside rear tire would run over the slalom cone you're just passing

btw make sure your alignment and suspension parts/bushings aren't shot or out of whack, cuz that can throw off proper technique.

yeah...i am in savannah at school (college student) so i just cant ride up to Road Atl whenever i want. I just visited robeling road, but theres only 1 event a year there. But other than that...yeah, i have chip 225 18's all around hr sport springs...short shifter. im thinking about getting bushings and new struts and shocks cause from what other drivers said... i am rolling ALOT in the corners and that is causing me to throw my car more which is where i loose speed. ..im thinking of getting the bilstiens combo???

Autocross does have the advantage of being a competition. Some people thrive on that. Track days have other benefits, but that one is missing.


Exactly - as someone who this year gave up autocross to exclusively do trackdays, if you're seriously competing in autocross, it has an intensity you can't find at a track day (not racing - I mean HPDE) - even if you're in so called HPDE championships. If you just show up to an autocross for fun, well yeah, it's tedious spending a day to get 6 minutes of runs.

I've yet to get an adrenaline rush on track that I've gotten trying to nail a perfect run - while trying to nail 1st against tough competition. Not to say trackdays aren't fun - I wouldn't be looking at 20+ days next year if they weren't - but if you're seriously into competition, don't let the track dudes talk you out of autocross competition.

There are events at Roebling all the time. Check out trackschedule.com for events with NASA, PCA groups, etc.

Isn't it funny how when anyone posts that they had fun at an auto-x there's immediate peer pressure to do DEs instead? :D But once you get the DE bug, its hard not to...

Autocross does have the advantage of being a competition. Some people thrive on that. Track days have other benefits, but that one is missing.
True. Competition + track events = club racing, which raises the stakes quite a bit with respect to preparation, safety requirements, risks and costs. Time Attack/Time Trials are changing this, however, and something more and more HPDE drivers are moving towards to get that missing competition element.

Costs are still much higher for even HPDEs than auto-x. Entry fees can easily be 10X higher or more for DE's (auto-x entry fees tend to be $20-30), and the wear and tear of hours of track time vs minutes of driving around in a parking lot is considerably higher. Potential damage risks are much lower in auto-x as well. But not having to work a corners at an auto-x is worth something, too.

Not discouraging people from doing track events - they are an insanely good time! - but new people should just know up front that the costs and wear is higher than doing parking lot events. It sounds like the OP is a college student, and budgets tend to be on the tight side for most folks in school. He could likely do 10 autocrosses (a whole season) for the cost of one HPDE, and the car control you can safely learn in an auto-x setting can be put to great use once you move up to track events.

STX is a great class for many non-M BMW cars, allowing a good number of suspension mods while removing the need for R compound tires. You'll likely have fun racing in that class.

Its all good. :)

Isn't it funny how when anyone posts that they had fun at an auto-x there's immediate peer pressure to do DEs instead? :D But once you get the DE bug, its hard not to...


True. Competition + track events = club racing, which raises the stakes quite a bit with respect to preparation, safety requirements, risks and costs. Time Attack/Time Trials are changing this, however, and something more and more HPDE drivers are moving towards to get that missing competition element.

Costs are still much higher for even HPDEs than auto-x. Entry fees can easily be 10X higher or more for DE's (auto-x entry fees tend to be $20-30), and the wear and tear of hours of track time vs minutes of driving around in a parking lot is considerably higher. Potential damage risks are much lower in auto-x as well. But not having to work a corners at an auto-x is worth something, too.

Not discouraging people from doing track events - they are an insanely good time! - but new people should just know up front that the costs and wear is higher than doing parking lot events. It sounds like the OP is a college student, and budgets tend to be on the tight side for most folks in school. He could likely do 10 autocrosses (a whole season) for the cost of one HPDE, and the car control you can safely learn in an auto-x setting can be put to great use once you move up to track events.

STX is a great class for many non-M BMW cars, allowing a good number of suspension mods while removing the need for R compound tires. You'll likely have fun racing in that class.

Its all good. :)

+1 Preach on brother! Can I get an AMEN? :redspot

Another advantage of auto-xing is you really learn car control. A auto-xer can more easily correct over steer in a high speed corner on the track, than a guy who has only done track events.

As a instructor I see this often and it worries me. Most guys learn to go faster and begin pushing know limits into the unknown, next thing you know they are way over their heads. Nothing like understanding the feeling of almost loosing control than to do a 45 sec auto-x run.

Nothing like understanding the feeling of almost loosing control than to do a 45 sec auto-x run.

+1.

Ideally I think one would autocross for a while before doing track events. Also, if there are ADSS's (Adv. Driving Safety Schools) or equivalent, attend them all. Lots to learn on the skid pad, lane change, and braking drills.

I just had a student on his second day in a prepared M3 lift going onto the straight when he saw brake lights at the end of the straight (maybe 1/4 mile away). Scared me because a) I thought the car broke (WTF ?!#@$) and b) we would have spun if we'd been going faster. I don't think an experienced autocrosser would have done this, for example. The student actually had an all-day lift problem, applying too much throttle, then jumping off of it. These are lessons best learned at 40 mph in a parking lot.

Autocrossing is lots of fun. Having a good memory for the course helps a lot.