Good Guys Autocross Challenge Thoughts....

[ScotI]

I've been to the GoodGuys Columbus show for 3yrs in a row now & loved the addition of the autocross challenge.

What was most obvious were the vehicles that weren't exactly 'ready' (the cars we brought were just finished & didn't have seat-belts). Next time, things will be different for us but based on what I witnessed.... still the same.

Some of the cars were absolute pigs on the course. I know the owners/builders had to be hating that so my question is where can hopeful participants get a scaled lay-out of the course? This would allow for some preliminary tweaking which was evident will be needed by many if not all. If a person can only make 2 events a year, it will take a while to get the car dialed in. Knowing as much about the track as possible should help everyone w/vehicle prep prior to the event.

We have a few months before the TX GoodGuys event so I'm doing homework now :thumbsup: .

[Rellim51]

I don't think they use the same lay out for every event. One of the ART guys should be able to answer all of your questions.

[ProdigyCustoms]

First, they WILL NOT have the same coarse at 2 events, at least not on purpose.

Second, there were some real pigs, but how fresh they were should have had nothing to do with it. We did not set the world on fire, but got around pretty good. And keep in mind EmptyNest was fired on Weds night / Thursday morning at 3AM, made a pass up and down our culdisack on Thursday night. We fixed 2 ahh ****s and at 4Am loaded it in the trailer and headed to Columbus. Friday morning I drove it maybe 3/4 of a mile from the hotel to the show field, then went straight to the autocross. We did 6 laps in all and I got a 19.3 including a 1 second come penalty on my second pass. Scott Pruit got it around in 18.5 seconds on his first run babying it

So what I am saying is how fresh the car is has nothing to do with it. Nothing was fresher then our car. Now weather the car was built to actually drive...................Now that is a different story. Kenny used the term rolling art. I think Kennys car is much more then rolling art, but many others obviously were not. Some absolutly beutiful cars, World of Wheels quality indoor show cars, really had a hard time. The red Cuda, orange Camaro, multi colored Nova, proCharged 69 Camaro all come to mind, amoung others. I really think it is great they had to prove they can run, because any of those 4 could have made the top 5 easily had the autocross not been part of the show.

As for knowing the track, they let us walk the track and I personaly spent 30 minutes watching the vendor challenge earlier in the morning at different track positions to familiarize myself with the track before we ran. At any other Goodguys event you will get nearly unlimited runs, so you will have plenty of time to learn the track. Only columbus had the limited run schedule. Also, you will find plenty of pros willing to help you with adjustments, driving style, etc. ate any GG event.

[ScotI]

The car in question has the DSE treatment w/4-corner Wilwoods so you would expect it to turn/stop decent but that doesn't control the mechanical gremlins that were obvious on more than one other vehicle. Sputtering..... stalling . . .... loading-up in the turns? Perhaps others noticed this.

I'm not asking for an exact layout of the track. But a general scaling of turn radius to be expected (or common track layouts) could help get general tuning close enough for the vehicles to make it through the course w/minimal tuning drama if they have an idea on what to expect out of the vehicle.

[novanutcase]

Just wanted to add a small sidenote!

Chris? Were you able to get the stain off of the blazer seat?:lol:

John

[dodge]

OK...This may come across as a silly Question...But why was the course so short??Does a 20second run really constitute a car that can run?Or was this course based on the available space they had at this venue?

This isn't having a dig so to speak..Just trying to understand how things work at your shows since i am in Australia:thumbsup:

cheers Joe

[jeff hanson]

I think it was pretty obvious that I loved the autocross. As far as the length, I wish it was a couple miles, but with the amount of cars looking for spots to park, it could only be so big. I also don't think they need to give us any more notice about the track than they did. It's only 1000 ft, how much time do you need to prepare for that. I was standing by my car when I realized they were all walking the track, so I didn't even get to walk the whole track before I went. That goes back to, how much time do you really need to get ready. I personally didn't really need any. They're not going to make it so hard that you can't do it. I actually relate it to snowmobiling, we pretty much go flying through the trails at 80-90mph and never know what the next corner looks like, you just have to be ready and confident in your machine. I can't wait to do it again!:thumbsup:

[MtotheIKEo]

I'm not asking for an exact layout of the track. But a general scaling of turn radius to be expected (or common track layouts) could help get general tuning close enough for the vehicles to make it through the course w/minimal tuning drama if they have an idea on what to expect out of the vehicle.

I dont know how familiar you are with autocross but one of the key aspects of it is that the course is unknown until you are there and get a chance to walk it.

If it is something that interests you it wouldn't be a bad idea to look up your local SCCA region and see when and where they hold autocrosses. Running local events will give you more chances to tune your car, or more importantly, to become familiar with it's handling and improve on your driving ability. Being able to drive an autocross course quickly and smoothly takes a long time to learn.

[esscott]

MtotheIKEo is right, the best thing to do if you want to become comfortable with the course is to do more autocrossing. After you have run a few different courses it gets much easier to get comfortable with the layout.

Consider other things you did for the first few times and how much better you got after you had more experience:unibrow:

If possible, a course walk can also be a huge help.

While some SCCA autocross events can run the same course multiple events, It is almost impossible to have the same layout from one Good-Guys event to the next. In columbus the main factor for the lot we used was the condition of the asphalt. We used nearly every inch of the largest uninterrupted smooth spot we could find.

On a personal note, I thought all the cars looked great going through the cones - fast, slow, or otherwise. I would say great job to all the participants and thanks for putting on such cool show.

[ProdigyCustoms]

If you have a DSE car, you have a ace in the hole as DSE is at every autocross Goodguys and you can always ask Kyle and Stacy to help. I am sure they would drive you though the coarse in their car, or yours.

So assume the turns will be basically equal to the coarse you saw at Columbus and somewhere between 20 and 30 seconds total.

[ScotI]

I was thinking more along the lines of mechanical performance. Many of the big names were hampered by ill performing vehicles as they were thrown into & out of the corners.

My personal car isn't pre-72 so GG events are out for me. The cars that we brought from TX for the Columbus event were customer cars so they won't see the road course @ all after this particular event.

[Tony@AirRideTech]

The coarse will change for every event... there are a few reasons for that. Fisrt and foremost it is to keep things fresh. Second is also available space and obstacles like light poles, barriers, good pavlement and bad pavement. To answer the question about a 20 second run being long enough to be a qualifier?.....It was enough to put a hurting on some of the cars that were there as it were. Not only that but it is hard to hurt something or someone on a shorter autocross coarse, you keep the cycle times, and it works better for the spectators.....

As for my opinion on the SMOY participants being required to do it.... I think it is perfect. We are already inundated with indoor shows and AMBR type shows which their only focus is on fit and finish and the only mechanical requirement being that they drive in under their own power. For a VEHICLE to be crowned SMOY it better be bad ass... and not just fit and finish. To me the SMOY award should be the most coveted award for any builder who touts that they build serious drivers.

[BRIAN]

Not sure if I read all the posts but what is or was considered the fast time for that course. Did any say z06 or DSE prepped rides hit course and post better times?

I guess what i am looking for is what would be considered as fast or the fastest time besides the top 5 cars? Just trying to see how far off the so called show cars were to a real cone carver???

Setting a car up for an autocross is different than setting a car up for highway driving. I would assume more usable power and sticky race tires will be on next year.

[Stuart Adams]

DSE camaro 15.90. Air ride 2nd gen 15.95.

[marolf101x]

About tires:
To be eligible for prizes (at all Goodguys events except Columbus as it was a SMOTY and vendors only auto-x) the vehicle must wear DOT approved street tires (no R compound, no slicks, no race tires) so we can keep everything fair.

At Columbus all cars except the Hotchkis Nova were on street tires (ART and DSE cars run BFG KD's or KDW's). Hotchkis was on Hoosier race tires.

[XcYZ]

About tires:
To be eligible for prizes (at all Goodguys events except Columbus as it was a SMOTY and vendors only auto-x) the vehicle must wear DOT approved street tires (no R compound, no slicks, no race tires) so we can keep everything fair.


Just need some tire softener. :D