Went autocrossing (Solo II) this weekend at the California Speedway parking lot. This is cone racing against the clock. SVTOA So. Cal. put it on with instructor help from the So. Cal. Solo II Club. There were a bunch of stock Mustangs (mostly Cobra's) and 5 Lightnings. Only one Lightning was lowered which give a huge advantage but not as much as sticky tires like Kumho's or Hoosiers.

They give instructions, walk the course to show the lines, tech the vehicle, strap you in and off you go.

Lighnings ran best by leaving it in Second for the whole course. Instructors were used to either Corvettes, Camaros or Mustangs. They were a little apprehensive about "trucks" but came to the party real quick after the first corner, finding the big beasts stuck real well, then really powered out of the corner and into the next twisty.

Times for the trucks were surprisingly close to stock tire'ed Mustangs. I started out with a 74 second run and worked that down to 68 by day's end. The next day's times went from 70 to a low of 64. This was as fast as most Mustangs, faster than all but one lowered Lightning and fast enough for most everyone to put a Lightning on their Christmas wish list. Instructors were lining up to drive our "hay haulers". One guy pulled his shifter Go Cart to the track with his Lightning, ran his Stage 3 Rousch Mustang on Saturday, threw them both away on Sunday to run the truck.

Too much fun! Went through about 1/3 of my stock F-1's, but what the heck, they aren't supposed to last 20/m miles anyway.

If you get the chance, try it!

 

On my first auto-x, by the time I got that hang of it I was only a few seconds behind the Cobras. No if only we could handle well enough to keep up with those little S2000's

 

Get some race tires .... You will be amazed how much good rubber helps... Plus some race tires are cheaper than F1's

Doug

 

Stickies are worth about 1-2 seconds depending upon the course and driver skill. The best thing about that is TIRE RACK (no affiliation) now is closing out BFG R1a's 275x40x18
$95.00 each + shipping. Considering new F1's are $194.00 each, there's enough cost savings to warrant a spare set for play.

2 things I should mention.

1) Stock tires and race tires handle differently, and it takes awhile to adjust to the differences in grip. While the F1's fade away gradually and fairly evenly at the edge of grip (while complaining loudly), a race compound will give you more grip, but less warning at the edge. If you've never used them before, it normally takes about 2-3 events to relearn the limits of adhesion. Just about everyone who I know who ran race tires for the first time is slower (and is not happy about it). Be patient, the grip is there--and worth the effort.

2) When you purchase race rubber, spend the extra money and get them heat cycled. It not only improves grip, but improves wear. I won't go into all of it here, but if you're interested here the link; http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...ition/heat.htm

I'm pretty new at it myself, having only finished my first full season. The looks you get when you pull into the paddock with a 5k lb pickup truck change 180 degrees when you spank their butts on the clock <g>...

Once or twice last season other MKLO (NLOC Missouri-Kansas) L owners came out to play...you really get some looks & comments when 6-10 show up to play with the beemers, mr2's and miata's.

 

Will: I use to do a lot of autoxing with my Saab 9000 turbo and my Z281LE but both were 5-speeds.

I tried my L a few months ago and I too left it in 2nd. Didn't do too well--seemed too slow. When I posted that comment a few months ago, someone(forget who) said I'd get better times by leaving it in drive--haven't been back yet to try it out.

Dan