I wrote last year about my problems in auto cross racing.
We had a race here that was extra long, 100+ seconds for every thing but karts.

I continue to totally suck and this event made it look even worse.
I have raced since 76. All of which was in front wheel drive Civics. My best results were in a DP Civic 1200 where I won driver of the year in 98.
It totally baffles me that I can kick butt in a Civic but have no luck with my 240 hp rear wheel drive beauty.

I was able to talk to two guys that have been friends for many years about what they saw me doing on the course. These two guys were working while I was driving.
The first guy said that I over drove the slalom that he was stationed at. He said that I was swinging the tail out too much. I never hit a cone in his area but he felt that I wasted a lot of time trying to drive it to fast.
The other guy said that in his station I was far and away the fastest and smoothest car in my heat. His area had a couple of sweepers.

I bought a extra set of wheels and tires but at the moment are using So2`s that are like new. I had felt that the over steer in my 2000my was too drastic and bolted on a White line front bar from Muz.
It remains to be seen if the sway bar helps.
The plan is to switch to Kuhmos when I can.
What I want to know is how you guys set up slaloms. I always approached them as straight as possible and as close in. The 1200 ran on slicks and would go through as fast as I could turn the wheel. This car does not seem to like this approach.
If any one can give me some tips as to how to attack these things I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Elliott

 

what are your alignment specs?

Where are you finding a problem? Do you have more trouble w/ longer slaloms or do you struggle from the beginning?

 

I started out autocrossing in an FWD car, and switched to the S2000 about 14 months ago. It took a few months for me to realize how much time I was loosing by swinging the rear around. I have come to the conclusion that any time the car slides (front or rear), you are going in too hot, and loosing time. I make a concious effort for every run to focus on my exit speeds more than my entrance speeds for any course component.

 

Personally I like to enter a slalom when it is at the end of a turn. This way I am already on the brakes. After I get into the slalom portion I am on the gas the whole time with an emphasis on getting that good exit speed. I keep the apex of each cone to the far side (ie. not right at the cone but just past it). This may not seem to make sense as I'm finding it difficult to describe without drawing it. Basically, I make sure I have a good lead time into the next cone thus I am starting my turn back for the next cone just as my front wheel passes the previous cone. The wheels (S02) will squeel a bit but as long as the steering input is sufficiently smooth you shouldn't slide the back-end out. Oh, remember to be smooth with the throttle as well or you'll have a harder time keeping the back-end in line. -course you probably already know all this, oh well for what it's worth.

 

Thanks for all of the ideas.
The Civic had no body lean and huge cantilever slicks. I feel sure that a front wheel drive car with out slicks would have to be driven far less aggressively into a slalom even with out taking body roll into account.

I expect you guys are correct. I charge in to the slalom full tilt boogie. Some of them I get out of alright but even then I feel sure that a lot of time has been scrubbed.
I will take your advice about slowing down just before entering the slalom and try for the faster exit. It is very hard to curb the desire to enter full speed.

I will also try to enter all of the features with the emphasis on the exit.

As far as the alignment is concerned, I have no clue. I have owned it for 8 months but not taken it in for a alignment.

Thanks again for your ideas. I will post again after our next race.
Elliott

 

you need an alignment. it will help night and day.

not sure what the ideal auto-x alignment is but there are people here that can help w/ that.

 

I find that looking ahead, turning in early, and modulating the throttle make slaloms a great place to gain time.

Don't be afraid to look at least two cones ahead in a slalom. Think of each set of two cones as a gate and just link them together. You'll want to be anticipating your next turn-in before you pass each cone. Turning in late in a slalom is the worst thing that can happen. It does two things, it gives the slalom an offset feel (because you are going too wide) and it will give you much less time to get the car rotated for the next cone/turn.

Don't be afraid to modulate the throttle. I agree it's best to enter a bit on the conservative side and speed up as you feel more comfortable (unless the spacing is not consistent, pace it off during the course walk to confirm). By modulating the throttle you can transfer the weight of the car back and forth per the slalom. I find that lifting slightly before turn-in and adding throttle in the transition to be very successful. If the spacing is too close this may not be effective. Finally, smooth is key.

 

You said you were not hitting cones. You are probably turning too late. Try starting each turn a half car length earlier. You will find it requires less effort to get through each cone and you can carry more speed. You should start hitting cones. This is a good thing as you are not taking the best line if you don't occasionally whack a cone in the sloloms.

 

I would say you're correct in approaching the slalom entry as straight as possible.

You probably are used to going in hot with the front wheel drive and scrubbing speed as you track through the slalom. Our car is not optimized for going in hot and I find the back likes to come around too much with late trail braking. I try to get off the brakes a little early to give the car time to settle.

You may find better result by finding a steady throttle input which will maintain your speed, assuming the cone spacing is equal, and trying to get through with minimum movement of the steering wheel.

If the back starts wagging too much, ease off a little but not much, to try to maintain a similar amount of thrust for stability and consistency of suspension action. You don't want the back end pogoing when you're already hanging the tail out.

Rear wheel toe in setting are critical on our car, so you might try going with the European settings. I haven't tried them, but many here belive they work well.

Keep trying different things the folks here have suggested, as different things work for different drivers and car setups.

Have fun,