Autocross in College Station
02-08-2009, 05:54 PM
#2
This is the first autocross that I had ever attended, and it was a lot less complicated than I thought it would be. I thought trailors, money and more money, but I just showed up and drove. Anyways I could really see doing this on a regular basis. Hey enjoy the pics and any suggestions for cheap mods on my stock Max let me know.
02-08-2009, 07:36 PM
#3
had you ever taken turns or driven 'crazy' like that prior to your first event?? cause thats my biggest thing, i dont know how my car would react on an autox track and quite frankly id be scared to turn like that. lol, but i really wanna try some turns. actually, id much rather run a road course cuz i wanna be able to reach higher speeds as well as turn.
02-09-2009, 08:30 AM
#4
I thought you would really rag on your car, you know like slam through the gears. I don't know how most events are set up but I just shifted into second and stayed there for the rest of the lap. It kept me in the power band maybe like 3k to 5k, there were only like two short blips where I would get up to 6k or 6.5k. So you really never get over 50mph. As for the turning, I mean I am the kind of guy that pretty much goes the speed limit but when there is a jog in the highway I love to speed around the people that past me in the turn. I mean I like on ramps with really cool curves, I guess it is really what you like doing. If you like going fast in a strait line go to a drag strip, but if you like turns I would start with autocross. I think it would be better to try to learn what your car will do in turns at lower speeds. I mean if I went 120mph down a strait I don't know if I could figure out when to brake to take a sharp left, i would probably break to soon.
02-09-2009, 12:40 PM
#5
It's better to brake too soon than too late. 
*most* autocross courses are set up so the max speed reached by the fastest cars is about 65mph. the point is to keep the cars slow enough so they don't cause any real damage if someone loses control. there are always exceptions (almost always it involves an IDIOT behind the wheel), but generally autoX is the safest form of racing you can do.
Given that, AutoX is probably the best place to learn how to drive the car at it's limit. Huge open space and nothing to hit out there but a few cones- which usually don't even leave a mark ont he car.
Screw up on the street and you're wrapped around a pole. screw up at the road course and at minimum you're cleaning grass and dirt out of your car for weeks. worst case is you wrap the car around a pole or hit a wall or whatever. with the higher speeds some much higher risk. I generally don't recommend going to a road course until you've been to a handful of autox events and know the limits of you and your car at slower speeds. Then and only then should you graduate to road course events.
point is, AutoX is the best place to learn car control. Afraid you're going to go out there and be slow? don't worry- you WILL get beat no matter how fast you think you can drive before you go... Don't expect to win in your class for at least a year. There are people that have been doing this for 30+ years in our region.
So go and have fun. Don't worry about going fast. learn how to drive the car and the speed will come with experience.
*most* autocross courses are set up so the max speed reached by the fastest cars is about 65mph. the point is to keep the cars slow enough so they don't cause any real damage if someone loses control. there are always exceptions (almost always it involves an IDIOT behind the wheel), but generally autoX is the safest form of racing you can do.
Given that, AutoX is probably the best place to learn how to drive the car at it's limit. Huge open space and nothing to hit out there but a few cones- which usually don't even leave a mark ont he car.
Screw up on the street and you're wrapped around a pole. screw up at the road course and at minimum you're cleaning grass and dirt out of your car for weeks. worst case is you wrap the car around a pole or hit a wall or whatever. with the higher speeds some much higher risk. I generally don't recommend going to a road course until you've been to a handful of autox events and know the limits of you and your car at slower speeds. Then and only then should you graduate to road course events.
point is, AutoX is the best place to learn car control. Afraid you're going to go out there and be slow? don't worry- you WILL get beat no matter how fast you think you can drive before you go... Don't expect to win in your class for at least a year. There are people that have been doing this for 30+ years in our region.
So go and have fun. Don't worry about going fast. learn how to drive the car and the speed will come with experience.
02-10-2009, 07:14 PM
#7
The good thing is that you're in an AWESOME location for tracks. Get a little more time behind the wheel and when you're ready to play at the road course, you're within 3 hours of a zillion tracks.
MSR-Cresson (Cresson)
Texas Motor Speedway- Ft worth
Eagle's Canyon- somewhere near Dallas
Texas World Speedway- College station
Hallett- just west of Tulsa (4 hrs)
Harris Hill Road- San Marcos (about 3 hrs)
Driveway- Austin
MSR-Houston, angleton (20 min s of Houston)
Grand Sport Speedway, SAnta Fe- (30 min SE of Houston)
Lonestar Motorsports Park, Sealy (30 min west of Houston)-- under construction
Another track under construction near Kingwood- 30 min NE of Houston.
MSR-Cresson (Cresson)
Texas Motor Speedway- Ft worth
Eagle's Canyon- somewhere near Dallas
Texas World Speedway- College station
Hallett- just west of Tulsa (4 hrs)
Harris Hill Road- San Marcos (about 3 hrs)
Driveway- Austin
MSR-Houston, angleton (20 min s of Houston)
Grand Sport Speedway, SAnta Fe- (30 min SE of Houston)
Lonestar Motorsports Park, Sealy (30 min west of Houston)-- under construction
Another track under construction near Kingwood- 30 min NE of Houston.
02-27-2009, 08:10 PM
#9
Yep. Autocross+stock suspension = tons of body roll. You can have lots of cheap fun autocrossing safely without the fear of doing a Joey Hand at a road course. Keep going back and improving your skills and you'll be amazed how much you get faster each time.
03-02-2009, 11:57 AM
#10
It's better to brake too soon than too late.
*most* autocross courses are set up so the max speed reached by the fastest cars is about 65mph. the point is to keep the cars slow enough so they don't cause any real damage if someone loses control. there are always exceptions (almost always it involves an IDIOT behind the wheel), but generally autoX is the safest form of racing you can do.
Given that, AutoX is probably the best place to learn how to drive the car at it's limit. Huge open space and nothing to hit out there but a few cones- which usually don't even leave a mark ont he car.
Screw up on the street and you're wrapped around a pole. screw up at the road course and at minimum you're cleaning grass and dirt out of your car for weeks. worst case is you wrap the car around a pole or hit a wall or whatever. with the higher speeds some much higher risk. I generally don't recommend going to a road course until you've been to a handful of autox events and know the limits of you and your car at slower speeds. Then and only then should you graduate to road course events.
point is, AutoX is the best place to learn car control. Afraid you're going to go out there and be slow? don't worry- you WILL get beat no matter how fast you think you can drive before you go... Don't expect to win in your class for at least a year. There are people that have been doing this for 30+ years in our region.
So go and have fun. Don't worry about going fast. learn how to drive the car and the speed will come with experience.
*most* autocross courses are set up so the max speed reached by the fastest cars is about 65mph. the point is to keep the cars slow enough so they don't cause any real damage if someone loses control. there are always exceptions (almost always it involves an IDIOT behind the wheel), but generally autoX is the safest form of racing you can do.
Given that, AutoX is probably the best place to learn how to drive the car at it's limit. Huge open space and nothing to hit out there but a few cones- which usually don't even leave a mark ont he car.
Screw up on the street and you're wrapped around a pole. screw up at the road course and at minimum you're cleaning grass and dirt out of your car for weeks. worst case is you wrap the car around a pole or hit a wall or whatever. with the higher speeds some much higher risk. I generally don't recommend going to a road course until you've been to a handful of autox events and know the limits of you and your car at slower speeds. Then and only then should you graduate to road course events.
point is, AutoX is the best place to learn car control. Afraid you're going to go out there and be slow? don't worry- you WILL get beat no matter how fast you think you can drive before you go... Don't expect to win in your class for at least a year. There are people that have been doing this for 30+ years in our region.
So go and have fun. Don't worry about going fast. learn how to drive the car and the speed will come with experience.
Great advice!
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