I'm going to my first Autocross in March. I need some input from those of you who're veterans out there. What is the average speed the car goes up to in an autocross. Do you just use 1st gear to start and then keep it in 2nd gear, or do you double clutch it to 1st gear around tight turns? Are there anything I should know or techniques that I should learn before I go and make a fool out of myself?

Thanks

 

First of all this should be moved over to the racing and Comp forum for the best answers. But who cares, you asked it here.

You won't make a fool out of yourself. You're going out to have fun and learn. At our last event we had a lady that took twice as long as the next closest car. At the awards we cheered her. She had the guts to get out there and try it. We want her to come back.

All courses are different but on the average course once you get to 2nd you can usually just leave it there. You'll lose more time shifting up and down than you'll gain, at least to start with. When you get to the site tell people you're a newbie and that you'll take all the advice you can get. Also make sure and offer to help out in any way you can. The people running the events always need all the help they can get and they love it when a new person is willing to lend a hand.

Just go out and have fun.