My First Auto X

[Hot Black Trans-Am]

I finally got a chance to give auto x a try with my car. I've been wanting to give it a go and never got a chance until a few weeks ago. It was quite the exciting experience to get to see what my car and Me as a driver could really do. I didn't win or set any records or thing, but I didn't expect to either. I was running in STX class and placed 6th out of a class of 10, a BRZ took 1st. Over all in the event I did 68th out 139 in PAX time, I beat most the first timers and a few of the regulars. I am quite shocked on how much experience with this type of driving really plays a huge factor in times. Just in driver mod alone I'm confident I would be able to hit top 25 with just more seat time on a track without changing my car any. Link to my best run of the day. I know I need some work, I missed 3rd gear on the back stretch, but not sure if they really made much difference anyway. Lots of places I could have gone harder picked better lines, but this was my first time doing this. AutoX 2012 :: WH12R4 video by thechevydude - Photobucket

After my 3rd run my power steering fluid was seeping out the cover a bit so I'll need a power steering cooler and would love to get some light wheels also.

[pajeff02]

Very cool!

[goof4080]

+1 on the PS cooler. Mine overheats everytime the events get hotlapped. I'm curious as to which you'll pick as I still need to pick one up.
I wish they would run laps back to back to back so I could really learn and experiment on the courses...but anyways what really caught my attention is 3rd gear!?! I've never come close to that on any of our tracks here in Chicago but I.think that would only help us fbods n vettes against the smaller lighter monsters of autox.

Glad you enjoyed it!

[Hot Black Trans-Am]

I have a 9" rear with 4.11's so that helps the speed climb a bit and if I'm on it out of corners early enough I can hit 3rd for a bit. I don't even have a rear sway bar installed so I have a few items to work on this winter. I also need to put my LCA relocation brackets on. I didn't manage to pull a max of 1G in the turns though. I'll post up what I end up doing for a steering cooler, I didn't get a chance to look into them at all. There was Camaro there running a Watts link and he said it's night and day difference so I'm looking into that too.

[pajeff02]

I ditched the P/S cooler in the upper radiator hose and installed this on the front of the K-member using the stock hoses:





Kept the same setup when I upgraded to a UMI K-member earlier this year.

[Hot Black Trans-Am]

Did a search and found your write up, very nice. I'll be installing one this winter.
My car isn't a WS6 so I don't have any PS cooler as far as I know.

[az gt eater]

That looks like fun. How do you remember which cones to keep left of? That is a tight course. I always picture a track. Just stay out of the grass. Looks confusing.

[Hot Black Trans-Am]

The tip of the cones that are laying down point to what side you need to drive on. 1st few runs were a bit confusing, but by my 4th time through it was getting easier. I got to the event just before it started so its my fault that I didn't get much time for a good walk through and to memorize the turns well. I've learned a lot there for sure! I'm looking forward to next year and am planning on running in a lot more events.

[Firebirdjones]

Crap, random cones all over the place, don't even know how you got through there. I'd need painted lines minimum or I'd just be running over shit not knowing where to go I couldn't make any rhime or reason as to which way you were going, looked pretty random.

I've watched this stuff before with a makeshift course setup with cones. Just no way I could do that. Honestly I'd be much better suited to an actual road course with a road to follow Otherwise I'd just be a comical mess out there.

[Hot Black Trans-Am]

I only had one DNF due to going on the wrong side of one cone. I'm just happy it wasn't that big of a course for I didn't totally forget where to go. At first there was a white line painted for the best driving line, but that didn't stick around long. There were a lot of people that got totally lost and missed 1/4 of the course even. There was almost one head on crash due to it. Really need to pay attention to during the course walk through.

[Firebirdjones]

I only had one DNF due to going on the wrong side of one cone. I'm just happy it wasn't that big of a course for I didn't totally forget where to go. At first there was a white line painted for the best driving line, but that didn't stick around long. There were a lot of people that got totally lost and missed 1/4 of the course even. There was almost one head on crash due to it. Really need to pay attention to during the course walk through.

I can see where that would be a problem. I personally wouldn't even attempt a course like that. Just no way I'd get through it knowing where to go.
I don't see why they can't at least put down a temporary single yellow line to follow, even with chalk or something that would wash off would be relatively easy to do.

If you thought that course wasn't big, you should see the courses they put cones out for at the Goodguys meet. It's so tiny cars don't even get out of first gear, and most times not even the top of first gear, it's pathetically small.

In any event, it looked like you had fun. T-tops off with helmets gave me a good chuckle.

[Hot Black Trans-Am]

This one you can faintly see the line and after the 1st runs were over it was gone.




I was hitting my helmet on the glass and side, I need a lower seat. Here's another vid

[Hot Black Trans-Am]

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[Hot Black Trans-Am]