[atakacs]

Ok it's like this: At my last AX I was probably 6 seconds slower than the avg for my class, ESP on what was mostly a 50-60 second course. Most cars were mid to low 50s and a Z06 even ran a 49. My best was a 60. I am literally one of the slowest drivers at the event. I'm on stock tires which I know sucks, but... even when I let a buddy drive my car, he got a better time than me the 1st time ever driving it so I know it's me, not the car. I mean... there's a guy in a lightly modified CTS-V on street tires that gets better times than me!!!

I ran a few AXs last year... 3, maybe. How can I improve or practice without spending several years doing it? We get so few runs per event and then I couldn't attend the local driver's school, and I'll miss about 4 of the AX events over the summer for work as well as the EVO school. I thought about setting up some cones in a Wal-Mart parking lot after hours but I'm sure the cops would show up in no time... so I tried something different. I got a Logitech/Momo racing wheel & pedals for the PC and a few driving games/simulators like NFS and GTR2. I'm not sure how good they are at making you a better driver... unfortunately I think they made me more cautious, not more competitive.

So what do I do? I'd like to be competitive by the end of the year and recognized as the most improved this year. Do you think there's any hope?

This post has been edited by atakacs: May 11 2007, 08:21 PM

[atakacs]

I thought I'd give everyone an update on my progress and thank those of you who offered up some good advice and point out the things that really seemed to be helping me in my 1st season.

In an attempt to gauge my progress, I use 3 different sets of numbers. Since ESP isn't a popular here, I look at my overall standing in the PAXed times for each OVR event. I also compare my progress to that of my only real consistent competition in OVR's ESP, Matt, a STI driver and also supposedly novice.

OVR Event # FTD PAX ESP pts
1 145/161 151/161 35
2 107/131 106/131 52
3 94/123 90/123 64
4-6 (did not compete)
7 98/135 92/135 77
8 87/101 83/101 25 (spun and hit 3 cones in the rain, total of times counted for points, not best time - which killed me here. Matt didn't compete this day but Bill had me by almost 3 seconds on a ~38-40 second course anyways.)

I also attended 2 days at Beaverun AX practice, 4 events in NWR region while assigned to Ft. Lewis, WA over the summer, and 1 day of driving school at NW OH region.

In my first AX of the year, I generally sucked and was one of the slowest cars in the field. As you can see by the FTD, PAX and ESP scores, I've been making steady progress. I consider pts #8 an anomoly since for this event, the times for all runs were added and one bad run or a spin would pretty much kill your scores.

The best thing of course is seat time in my car. I think I did somewhere around 100 runs so far this year in all events. Thanks for the tip about Beaverun. I got more track time in one 1/2 day of BR than a good 6 AXs. And the best thing was that I could change my line or push a braking, turning or accelerating point from lap to lap and not feel the pressure to compete and I could do enough runs to finally get comfortable and consistent, knowing what my car was capable of instead of estimating. By the end of the 2nd day of BR, I was less than 3 seconds behind the fastest car there on a 35-ish second course. And I was still on street tires and a stock suspension. I also attended the school at NW OH (toledo area) which was not a bad thing. I got to refine specific skills like accelerating through a turn, the slalom, etc and about 10 runs in a short course. It was worth the 3 hour drive each way. All of the Evo schools during the time I was available within reasonable driving distance were full.

The next best thing is probably seat time in the racing simulator GTR2 along w/ a Logitech/Momo force feedback wheel & pedals. It taught me to be smooth w/ the throttle and brakes if nothing else... to roll into throttle as I straighten out of the turn instead of stomping on it, maximizing the traction circle. I also realized what I thought was the racing line... wasn't. It also drives home the absolute precision required to maximize the racing line. This helps you immensely in that aspect. It's comparatively dirt cheap. For the cost of the gas it takes to go to BR and back and the entry fee, I was able to pick up the wheel and the game was only $20 if I remember correctly. The great thing about it is I could get simulated seat time when I wanted, not just when there was an event. Games like the NFS series, although fun are nowhere near as realistic or helpful in teaching you.

Secrets of Solo Racing by Henry Watts proved to be a good book, although I'm not much of a reader and I found it a little dry for my post y2k mind. It's good but could be updated w/ better diagrams or photos... and more of them.

Additionally, while I was up at Fort Lewis, WA, I took 4 opportunities to drive a rental car at NWR AXs including a cadillac DTS, chevy aveo and V6 mustang. They all helped me get some seat time and also showed me a bit what it was like to drive cars that handle differently. The Aveo was great for teaching me to use a more speed conserving line, since it was so underpowered as well as begin turning smoothly but early since the suspension was very soft.

The only mod I did so far this season was an alignment to the maximum negative camber allowed by factory specs (.1 degree, I think) and neutral toe. My stock tires were bald on the outside inch and I reverse-mounted them last night for daily driving.

Next steps:
I think my newb senses are giving way to intermediate skill and I think I will honestly appreciate a better suspension and tires now. I'm going to make the jump to lightspeed and shell out some cash for upgrades - a set of 17x11s, some used v710s in 315/35/17, and probably a Strano handling pack 4 for starters. I know I could get a lot more consistent on my stock suspension and tires - I'm not saying the suspension & tires are the only things holding me back, but while I'm making leaps and bounds in my progress, I want to continue to build on that learning curve instead of risking plateauing on my current setup. I also feel it's time to stop destroying the stock tires on my daily driver and if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

I'm still looking at going to an EVO school... but I really don't know when I'll get a chance to do that. I want to compete in the next 3 OVR events and some of my other weekends will be filled with work-related duties. I'll probably be headed back to Iraq in a year or less and I need to spend some quality time w/ my wife and kids. I can't spend ALL my weekends auto-crossing. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Thoughts/ Comments?

[sgarnett]

I need to spend some quality time w/ my wife and kids. I can't spend ALL my weekends auto-crossing. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Wise choice (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)