Rant - why don't more of you autocross?

[kbmb02]

I've never auto-crossed, so I cannot speak to that; though, based on the posts I see, there's a healthy amount of skill involved. I tried an open track day, but felt it lacked one of the most intense parts of competitive road racing (the rolling start).

And there's the fun of braking, especially after 25 seconds at wide open and then slowing into a tight 90° left-right combo.

(forgive the lack of heel-toe in the downshifts - still working on that)

[Hamburgers]

It always seemed to be such a ripoff, $70 for 2-5 runs (plus, being 17, I am barred from most BMWCCA events) . When I first joined the club I was hoping it would be more like a drag-strip; where you pay $5 per run, and show up when you please. The reality let me down, why do I need to sign up in advance with a Snell 2000 helmet, and liability paperwork for the privilege of tooling around the Safeway parking lot at under 30mph?.

Don't get me wrong, to me the concept of autocross was great; the ability to hone your driving skills on a technical circuit where the only car-prep is checking the brake pads was hugely appealing. However, I felt like I could have had a lot more fun if I just called up some car-buddies, grabbed some parking cones, and set up a scaled-down version of Road America.

[gil2002]

I'm doing my part at the Marina, CA air field...

http://steve510.com/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=123&pos=55

-Gil

73tii

[harrym2]

OK i think if the general Idea is to get some more of us into doing autocross and motorsport in general with are 2002's then i think we should have a separate index on this forum for motorsport .

What better way to advertise racing a 2002 than to show us all on this board how its done ( video clips , pictures) , such as your cars and how you set them up and also the preparation that goes into getting ready for a weekend of raceing and also the cost

I know there are a lot of you on this site that do some sort of motorsport with your 2002 so there shold be a lot of different types for us to read about and this should lead to more of us giving it a try

for people like me that have not done any racing but wont to, it would be a great help . so show us all about it , how you got started , what type of motorsport you do and why you chose to do that particular one over all the others , how you have to set your engine up and your car for the type of racing you do . i for one would love to know all about it

[Pierre]

OK i think if the general Idea is to get some more of us into doing autocross and motorsport in general with are 2002's then i think we should have a separate index on this forum for motorsport .

What better way to advertise racing a 2002 than to show us all on this board how its done ( video clips , pictures) , such as your cars and how you set them up and also the preparation that goes into getting ready for a weekend of raceing and also the cost

I know there are a lot of you on this site that do some sort of motorsport with your 2002 so there shold be a lot of different types for us to read about and this should lead to more of us giving it a try

for people like me that have not done any racing but wont to, it would be a great help . so show us all about it , how you got started , what type of motorsport you do and why you chose to do that particular one over all the others , how you have to set your engine up and your car for the type of racing you do . i for one would love to know all about it

I think that is an awesome idea. Steve? Rob?

[KFunk]

It always seemed to be such a ripoff, $70 for 2-5 runs (plus, being 17, I am barred from most BMWCCA events) . When I first joined the club I was hoping it would be more like a drag-strip; where you pay $5 per run, and show up when you please. The reality let me down, why do I need to sign up in advance with a Snell 2000 helmet, and liability paperwork for the privilege of tooling around the Safeway parking lot at under 30mph?.

Uhhhh, I don't know what you're talking about, but its not autocross. Thats completely wrong.

Autocross is usually ~$25 for SCCA members, and ~$35 to 45 for non-members. I've never seen less than a 3 run minimum, but usually 4 or 5 runs at least. Fun runs, if you have them at the end of the day, can be $1 per run. Most allow walk-up registrations, but encourage online pre-reg.

There's a few more waivers to sign, but I've seen kids as young as 5 driving go-karts at autocross. 17 should not be a problem.

You shouldn't need a helmet, as I've never seen a club that hasn't had loaner helmets.

If you're staying under 30mph, then something ain't right with your car or your just terribly slow. Even with crappy street tires and an ill-prepared car, I can usually redline it in 2nd gear (50 to 60mph?).

I've ran with 5 different clubs I think now, from Maine to Hawaii, and never seen less than that. You need to find a real autocross club, and not whatever it was that you went to...

[jp02ti]

Russ,

hopefully I'll be joining you at some Atlanta area events shortly. I'm coming back to Georgia in July with my 1970 ti clone (and perhaps the 1969 real ti...).

Where are the events run now? I think they stopped using the Gwinnett fairgrounds?

Jon

[harrym2]

OK i think if the general Idea is to get some more of us into doing autocross and motorsport in general with are 2002's then i think we should have a separate index on this forum for motorsport .

What better way to advertise racing a 2002 than to show us all on this board how its done ( video clips , pictures) , such as your cars and how you set them up and also the preparation that goes into getting ready for a weekend of raceing and also the cost

I know there are a lot of you on this site that do some sort of motorsport with your 2002 so there shold be a lot of different types for us to read about and this should lead to more of us giving it a try

for people like me that have not done any racing but wont to, it would be a great help . so show us all about it , how you got started , what type of motorsport you do and why you chose to do that particular one over all the others , how you have to set your engine up and your car for the type of racing you do . i for one would love to know all about it

I think that is an awesome idea. Steve? Rob?

I would like to see how you lot get on with your raceing . it would be good to follow you all from the start of the year to the end , i think it would make good reading

[jgerock]

I've thought about it, but the image of breaking a stub axle and rolling my tii makes me cringe. My hat's off to those who take part in autocross sessions and don't worry about not being able to drive home. Smooth driving rewards a decent time, so I guess I'm up for a round in the future.

Case in point - here is Dennis Tharp (NCC member) at last year's Chapterfest in Bowie, MD. His 2002 wasn't very fast, but I'll bet he had fun trying to weave his way thru the cones. My tii was at home with the engine apart.

[a54atii]

I'd bet a 2002 could do well in EP. There's one from Montana (?) that does OK, beautiful car.

I _know_ a 1600 could do GREAT in EP. 2 liter, ehh, the car can't get light enough (but it could certainly do well....).

Iain (Vail Tour, be there or be square! That's derogatory for any non-74+ 02 owner;)

Can you give me a rundown of how you would see an EP 1600 set up? Just a basic overview would be fine. I've been mulling over what direction to go with my '67 1600 and would love to get back into autocrossing.

FWIW, back when I drove a 2002 as a DD, I used to think about autox but the 2002 always seemed to need something, so I never ran it. After that 02, I bought a new car and started autocrossing about a year later. It was a lot easier running a new car because everything worked and I didn't have to worry about anything braking. Now, with family obligations and three youngs kids, I'm running against a different 'clock'. I don't have the time (or desire) to pursue a national-level trophy but it sure would be nice to get out and scare some cones.

Karl