I've been stuck wondering about what approach I should use during autocross in the slaloms in order to cut times. I don't have a Geez cube or anything so I don't have (measureable) concrete data on what's actually going on except for what I'm feeling behind the wheel.

In many slalom sections, it's one of those where you can drive it in 1st at 7800-8500 rpms or drive it in 2nd near the VTEC transition point. I've been coping with the extra twitchiness/responsiveness in 1st for now involving the risk of hitting the limiter at the exits but someone suggested that I drive in 2nd (easier to manage) and I may be able to drive it smoother and won't have to worry about switching gears/hitting the limiter between sections. The obvious problem is lack of power at that rpms..., if I had some kind of gear reduction it may be easier to cope with in 2nd, but not on OEM gearing IMHO. I'm running in ASP so gear reduction isn't legal.

I don't have enough room to use 2nd gear beyond 7000 rpms usually (and if I do, it's only for a fraction of a second) however I can't help but think that there might be a better way. Any input would be appreciated.

 

Raise the rev limiter to 9.5k!

What is the distance between the cones and how many? Are you coming in slow under acceleration or fast slowing down?

Most that I have done in the past couple months have all been about 20/21 paces equally distant and about five cones. When I am accelarating into the slalom I tend to use first gear and shift to second upon exit or if it's really needed (i.e. Rev limited). If I am slowing down for the slalom then I tend to stay in second. I have shifted to first in situations where the slalom was at the finish to accelarate toward the finish lights. I have also screwed this up either by down shifting too early causing a rev limit before the lights or not rev matching well and upsetting the balance of the car. Very tricky situation.

FYI - I have only autocrossed this car five times and I am still a novice.

 

Feather the rev limiter. 1st gear in our car is a huge advantage over all other cars that can't rev to 9k.(44mph) If your going faster than than in a slalom its not a slalom any more. Every time I shift in a sl I don't steer enough and hit a cone.

 

Ok, I'll be contrary. I try to use 2nd for smoothness unless it's truly a slow slalom with a fast exit. 1st gear can certainly be used but you absolutely must learn to be smooth in 1st, especially when modulating speed for different spacing or to compensate for too fast/slow entering the beast.

Don't forget that an upshift will cause a 1/4-1/2 second loss in accleration due to the shift. Your 1st gear acceleration has to also overcome this issue...

 

1st gear in a slalom was a good way for me to spin. Until I can get smoother with my throttle inputs - 2nd for me - unless of course it's a really slow slalom.

 

95% of all slaloms I've seen are second gear. In addition to the problems Jeff pointed out, you should ask yourself if you are really at the limit of adhesion, or if you are backing off because you're near the rev limiter?

 

Actually, I don't think I've ever seen a first-gear slalom other than one right after the start lights.

There's no benefit to using first in a slalom itself. First buys you more acceleration, but you shouldn't be accelerating significantly in mid-slalom; if you are, you should have just entered it faster in the first place. There would be a case for taking a slalom in first if it you anticipated exiting onto a straight at a slow enough speed for first to be of benefit, but that's not the case if you're in danger of hitting rev limiter in the slalom itself.

Again, I don't recall ever seeing a first-gear slalom except at the very start of a course.

Steve

 

I think the only good reason for 1st is if the slalom leads directly to a slower corner. Downshifting in a slalom is not fun!

 

At our last event, the first part of the course was a loop where 1st could be held for most of it. However, going into the start slalom for the completion of the loop, you had to go to 2nd or hit the HARD rev limter and lose a lot of speed. I wanted to go back to first for the exit so I tried doing it in the slalom - once. It was all elbows and assholes trying to keep the clutch, shifter, gas pedal and steering all sorted out.

I didn't try it a second time...

 

I'm not an autox guy, but I've run a few slaloms. I've lately been realizing that on the track there are a lot of times when, if you have the choice between a higher gear and a lower gear you should use the higher gear. Even in our peaky cars, the extra smoothness resulting from the higher gear can balance the lack of available torque.

Besides that, there is a simple and obvious answer. Just get a little bit faster and make the point moot. Sometimes you think you can't go through a spot any faster, but really you can if you are smoother and more precise. Being in a higher gear can help artifically aid that.

A scientific way you could make this decision is just go out and set up a typical slalom. Try it both ways (several times) and see which way is faster. Then adjust the spacing and determine the sensitivity to that. How close do the cones have to be before 1st is an advantage?