What I Learne At Autocross Today - HADA #1 2006

[AlienDNA]

What I Learned At Autocross Today…

1. On Friday when I was cleaning the garage, looking for my numbers and helmet, I ran across some chairs. I thought “I should pack a chair for HADA”. When packing the car on Saturday, I put everything in and drove the car back in the garage. I noticed the chairs hanging on the wall. I thought “I’ve got to remember to pack one of those tomorrow.” On Sunday morning, I opened the garage door and saw the chairs and then remembered I’d forgot the extra-special, autocross CD I’d burned the night before. I thought “I’ll just run back in the house and get the CD and then grab one of these chairs and I’ll be off.” I’ll never remember to bring a chair…

2. Sticker V710s can compensate for a multitude of sins.

3. There were a lot of rookies out there today, and kudos to HADA for their recruiting efforts. There must have been forty people on the newbie course walk. After the first run, however, it was suggested we might need a second course walk. Or maybe a safety car.

4. Visible changes in your front camber after each run probably indicates you need to sort your car some more.

5. If you're buying new glasses, make sure you take your helmet with you.

6. The first HADA event of the year does not necessarily feature weather normally associated with, say, the planet Neptune.

7. I think I’m a bad person to ask for advice because I’m so inexplicably surprised when I have success myself.

8. On the other hand, when I do offer someone advice, I need to learn that it may not apply to *me*, as anyone who witnessed me clearing the pin turn wall can attest.

9. If you leave your helmet in the garage over the winter, you might want to check what’s in it before your first event of the year.

10. I don’t think applying sunscreen after you are already burnt does anything, except maybe lock in the flavour.

Hey, here's some bonus WILAAT for my first event of the season:

11. The next time I’m in the emergency ward, I’ve really got to remember to swipe a box of those latex gloves.

12. When working the stop box, you can get pretty freaked out if the incoming driver is looking at the time display instead of the stop box. At least, until you realize that's actually a passenger in a right-hand drive Integra. :)

13. It’s good to be back!

[AtomicPunk]

1. I like r-compunds :) . It was my first event with them - I think I've now found another way to spend lots of money on car related items.

Thanks to HADA. Good event, nice layout and you ordered the perfect weather. We expect nothing less for the remainder of the season (hey, you set the standards high).

Todd

[Piotrov]

1. Cornering with a almost empty tank of gas will slow you down more then make you faster.

2. Going in a circle 2 times is a fun way to get the car to oversteer, even if it is just a little bit :D

Great event HADA! Would like to thank everyone that made this event happen!

[FastFox]

I learned that some people, no matter how poorly they are doing, will reject several offers for help.

[jduffett]

I learned:

1) clockwise=stiffer
2) stiffer=better
3) clockwise=better? Seems logical...
4) street tires still suck
5) not having to change tires at the end of the day is kinda nice
6) sunscreen is a substance that has been painstakingly developed to adhere dirt and rubber particles to one's face. It works quite well.

[opal]

1. Rotation rocks
2. VTEC is the best thing on the planet, but you still have to brake (ahem)
3. I need a lot more practise at this whole "having horsepower" thing
4. I'm going to bring a dart gun to punish the next sod that asks questions at the timing equipment. Seriously. No bugging, people.
5. Sleep. Need sleep.

[h-bomb]

1) HADA saved my butt - big time today!
2) HADA saved my butt - big time today!
3) HADA saved my butt - big time today!
.....

Oh yeah 4) Brown men CAN burn... :D

Uh - you get the idea. There were several HADA members who went over and above the call of duty to make the event run today - Thank You!

[Marsh]

I learned that some people, no matter how poorly they are doing, will reject several offers for help.

You could combine this with what I learned at the school: No matter how many instructors tell a driver to do the right thing one instructor telling them to do the wrong thing is all it takes if that's what the student wants to hear. Somebody in my group was telling students to sit further away from the wheel and the result was 10 rookies who couldn't reach the top of the wheel when their seat belts locked.

[Samalet]

I learned that:
1) no metter how hard i try, i still need r compounds.
1) adding people to the car reduces time
1) as does slowing down

[RRRex]

I had fun keeping the nOObs on course. :) Well, as many as I could. :p

[Slowpoke]

#1: HADA is a great team that puts on a great first event of the season. Any internal chaos did not get conveyed to the participants.

#2: No matter how much pressure I put in my tires, it's never enough.

#3: That weird shifty behaviour through the right hander can be reduced by remembering to adjust ALL FOUR strut valves instead of just three.

#4: The more adjustments you give people on a car, the more errors that they will make setting those.

#5: Before the driver's meeting, you should be able to recall the whole course with your eyes closed, noting shift points, braking zones, etc. If you can't, walk it again. Then, when keeping your vision up, it's just a matter of correcting your line, not trying to decide whether to go left or right.

[slai]

1. Now that I don't have the excuse of driving a 3600lb car, I still suck at autoxing. :o

2. Remember to torque all 4 wheels instead of just 3.

3. A sunburned scalp hurts like nothing else...my hair hurts.

4. RRRex really needs to wear a belt when he's crouched by his car.

5. Being a marshal when lunch arrives and noone relieves you for 30+ minutes while the scent of melted cheese and pepperoni slowly drifts over sucks ass.

[Methanoxide]

Don't wait until the night before to swap your pads, rotors and fluid only to find out that your calipers seized up over the winter... :( :mad:

[opal]

1. Now that I don't have the excuse of driving a 3600lb car, I still suck at autoxing. :o

Bah. New-car-itis. That's MY excuse. I'm willing to share it! ;)

[13inches]

1. I can't believe I didn't forget to bring anything

2. I can't believe how many people showed up

3. I can't believe how fast the Alien was

4. I can't believe an S2000 clutch could smell like that

5. I can't believe I hit the same cone 3 times

6. I can't believe Andrew hit 3 cones in the paddock, and none on his final run

[engsr]

What I learned:

- being outside in the sun doesn't help when you're already sunburnt from the day before

- rotation is sweet

- the winter helped me prepare for this event

- I'm not Shane so I shouldn't try to save the car if it's starting to go sideways

- black Mercedes SUV drivers are not the smartest people in the world

[Guillermo]

I learned that:
1) no metter how hard i try, i still need r compounds.
1) adding people to the car reduces time
1) as does slowing down

R-compounds don't make you a better driver. R-compounds only make you 2 seconds faster, but 2 seconds faster then very slow is still slow :rolleyes:

In the past i've learned that in a flowing autoslalom like the HADA events there are many factors that have a much greater affect on your lap time then the weight of a passenger. I know this from auto-xing a 73 HP Insight that weights 1880 lbs. But if the passenger weighs more then 200 lbs it starts affecting when I need to start braking... :p

I learned that SPDA guys seem to know that passenger weight does not affect their lap times. That's why they seem to like taking experienced passengers that help make them faster. That's one of the reasons SPDA drivers have become so fast.
The sooner the rookies start doing this the faster they will learn.

[tanney]

I learned that selling my CRX a couple of years ago was a bad idea. My driving style is ALL about the CRX......or the Type R!

I would have taken the Class 3 win with only one run in Brian's R during fun runs...

Thanks to Miles and his brother for the ride and Brian for the fun run.

[Guillermo]

On Saturday I learned that lapping on track with street tires is almost as fun as lapping with Rs.
On Sunday I learned that once en experienced competitor is used to auto-xing with Rs doing an auto-x with performance street tires is no where near as fun as using Rs :rolleyes:

[search161]

As a rookie, I learned some key things:

**) Hada puts on a great event!
1) Sunscreen is mandatory
2) I can push my car really really really hard and it still performs
2.5) I still want coil-overs.
3) There are 5 timed runs included, not 4.
4) Seat time is everything
5) Seat time with an instructor riding shotgun should be more (I just didn't ask soon enough, I think).
6) I need to figure out how to figure out shift points.
7) I need to cool my turbo charger after runs to avoid the massive blue smoke show.

Was driving the Red Veedub. Had a blast - I'll be back for more!

[Samalet]

R-compounds don't make you a better driver. R-compounds only make you 2 seconds faster, but 2 seconds faster then very slow is still slow :rolleyes:

In the past i've learned that in a flowing autoslalom like the HADA events there are many factors that have a much greater affect on your lap time then the weight of a passenger. I know this from auto-xing a 73 HP Insight that weights 1880 lbs. But if the passenger weighs more then 200 lbs it starts affecting when I need to start braking... :p

I learned that SPDA guys seem to know that passenger weight does not affect their lap times. That's why they seem to like taking experienced passengers that help make them faster. That's one of the reasons SPDA drivers have become so fast.
The sooner the rookies start doing this the faster they will learn.

by reduced i mean made faster :)

[Gosok]

I learned that I could heel-toe downshift to 1. (prevously I thought 2 was lowest I can downshift to)

Gosok

[blue dragon]

1.2I learned that you can never have enough tire pressure and negative camber
2. Always take up offers for instruction from experience autox'ers
3. I want R comps :p

[h-bomb]

1. Mini Coopers can BEGIN to change direction really good, the problem after that is they convert to OWD - one-wheel-drive.
2. Sometimes all you need is 0.001 seconds. I got lucky this time.
3. My face is still burning. Being an experienced competitor, I brought the suncreen. Being an idiot, I didn't put it on.
4. I like Mini Coopers.
5. I'm glad it got beat by a Honda :)
6. I like Hondas more.
7. Next time I'm bringing my Honda :D
8. G took my course design and added a few nice twists to it. Here's hoping the two of us don't get too carried away with the rest of the designs :)

[Slowpoke]

As a rookie, I learned some key things:

7) I need to cool my turbo charger after runs to avoid the massive blue smoke show.

Was driving the Red Veedub. Oh! That's what it was... I was the one who called for the fire extinguisher. :p Be on the lookout for a turbo timer for Solo2 then. That should help out.

[search161]

Oh yes!! My noobishness ensured that I would do this in a location that provided maximum visibility to all ppl attending.

I manually did a 'cool off' during warm up and the issue went away. After the following run I did 3 toodles around the parking lot and things were fine on the next start. Looking into a turbo timer though - sounds handy.

Thanks for the advice!

[ShaneG]

1/ sunblock ..... bin-said Al-before!
2/ We hoped for a good turnout but ...wow :eek:
3/ The HADA gang did not disappoint. Everyone stepped up to help out :cool:
4/ when lunch arrives marshals disappear :rolleyes:
5/ after not doing anything to the rear suspension over the winter..It has not got any better
6/ I need tires, or even tyres (I have to admit that I kinda' knew this one before the event)
7/ somebody put a bunch of S2000s in my class! :(
8/ I learned that invoking the HADA VP special 1.1 PIP reduction would not have helped as I would still have been beat by 2 or maybe even 3 classes below - excuse generator is saying see #6
9/ I was thinking "Oh Boy it's been a long time"...my wife was thinking "Crap it's starting again already"
10/ no matter how elabourate the plan for marshal asignments, you can't relieve the marshal on-course, until the next guy (or Gal) arrives for marshal duty.




and speaking of which...
Did anyone notice the length time you were stuck marshaling? (not counting those that got stuck on course when lunch arrived)
Was there any tangible difference to the normal marshal duties?

[sr20de_99]

1) I should have used 1st gear more
2) G can still take my car for a fun run and shave seconds off my time
3) I'm a better navigator/instructor than driver...I helped someone get a time better than mine. (should have guided him off course!)
4) Those somosas are good!

[Guillermo]

1) WRX's are easy to drive at the limit, I took Mike's stock WRX for a fun run and I beat my own time by 0.1 seconds.

2) Hankook RS2 max performance street tires on a stock WRX are good, they almost feel like entry level Rs.

3) When the difference between my first run and my fastest run is 0.2 seconds, I guess i'm not a rookie anymore.

4) Getting more ideas on how to get faster after driving 5 runs means I have a lot more to learn.

[Slowpoke]

10/ no matter how elabourate the plan for marshal asignments, you can't relieve the marshal on-course, until the next guy (or Gal) arrives for marshal duty.

and speaking of which...
Did anyone notice the length time you were stuck marshaling? (not counting those that got stuck on course when lunch arrived)
Was there any tangible difference to the normal marshal duties?Uhmm, I think that the stints were short at the beginning of the day, and if you're naive enough to show up for marshaling on the last run, expect to be there until the last car goes by.

I would love to see a club actually take away a best time for not showing up to marshal.

[gatherer]

the removal of a best run for not marshalling has been an empty threat.. in the years I have been doing this I have yet to see it happen....

[h-bomb]

the removal of a best run for not marshalling has been an empty threat.. in the years I have been doing this I have yet to see it happen....

Don't tempt me :)

[Greg F]

I would love to see a club actually take away a best time for not showing up to marshal.

I've seen it happen at PITL. Two guys were actually pulled out of line just before the start line and sent packing. They were warned numerous times, yet still chose to not marshal.

[tanney]

I have seen it happen quite a few times in the last few years both in Solo 1 and Solo 2. I remember someone that was DQ'd for an entire Solo 1 event because he didn't marshal.

Note to organizing clubs..... Feel free to bring any no shows for marshaling to the Solo 2 Directors attention. He would be more than happy to add some 200's to run times, as long as the Sub-regs stipulate that each competitor MUST report for marshaling immediately after each run or their fastest time will be disallowed and records are kept of all marshaling.

[StewPiddass]

We've done it at TLMC events a few times...

[Travis]

1. God I miss autox. I'll be there next time.

2. I regret having the great weekend I had because I know 48 hours of fun isn't as good as 5 minutes of autocross.

[Pete@Marcor]

1. Mini Coopers can BEGIN to change direction really good, the problem after that is they convert to OWD - one-wheel-drive.
2. Sometimes all you need is 0.001 seconds. I got lucky this time.
3. My face is still burning. Being an experienced competitor, I brought the suncreen. Being an idiot, I didn't put it on.
4. I like Mini Coopers.
5. I'm glad it got beat by a Honda :)
6. I like Hondas more.
7. Next time I'm bringing my Honda :D
8. G took my course design and added a few nice twists to it. Here's hoping the two of us don't get too carried away with the rest of the designs :)

1.a Actually, I find that Mini Coopers change direction really well, they just don't like to accelerate while doing that.
4.a Me too.
5.a HEY!
6.a I like the fact that I can drive a Mini faster than I can drive a Honda. At least, in relative terms. :-) Either that, or I am actually getting faster with practice. Who woulda thunk? heh....
7.a Um, would that be get shaft? heh.....

[Jasonoff]

1. Sunscreen is your friend.

:p