fx12002

Hi all,

I have been thinking about trying some autocross in my leased 2013 coupe. I figure it would be a relatively safe way to have some fun with the car . . .

I am just doing it for fun, not really looking to be competitive and because of the leased nature of the car, not looking to do much in the way of upgrades.

The only thing I was thinking about changing was switching out my wheels and tires for the events. This lets me go relatively quickly from normal road tires to something with better grip and protect the OEM wheels in the sense that if I have a blow out or hit something like a curb at one of these events I am damaging something cheaper.

So with all that said:
- Any recommendations for inexpensive wheels for this purpose? I don't really care what they look like, just would be nice if they were light weight and possibly wider than stock, however I don't know how practical going wider is without changing other things on the car.

- Any tire recommendations? I realize some events have different rules, but considering I am keeping the car bone stock, it should probably be a road legal tire, but maybe just very high performance.

This car will be handful in most autocross settings, but I am sure it will be fun. I am in Los Angels, does anyone have experience with any of the events in the area?

Any thoughts on the safety of these events? I figure in autocross your biggest risk is hitting a cone, nothing very serious. Am I crazy?

Thanks!

K.

jvanbrecht

Make sure they offer insurance.. I don't know of any insurance companies that will cover a vehicle at a motoring event (car shows are a different story). Any type of racing, and you will need to get third party insurance for the event.

Granted, Autocross is less dangerous than going full out on a race track (at least in my neck of the woods, it is usually a bunch of cones in a massive parking lot).

And while you could probably get away with leaving the event then manking a claim, that is insurance fraud... don't do it.

zcct04

A well laid out autocross course should never put you at risk of hitting anything. If it looks like its possible to slide into a curb, a pole or anything solid, I'd walk away and try a different event.

There was a C63 at a recent autoX here and it was more competitive than I'd expected. Results are at http://www.houscca.com/solo/results/13reg05_sum.htm

If you're thinking about a set of dedicated autoX wheels and tires . . . I can't help on the wheels, but the SCCA classes usually let you run pretty sticky stuff in their 'stock' classes - much gummier that street tires. From tire rack at: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/comp.jsp#Racetrack

Dry Racetrack & Autocross Only

For enthusiastic drivers wanting DOT-legal tires for dry conditions during racetrack, time attack or autocross competition.

Never intended to be driven on the street or exposed to near-freezing temperatures, Dry Racetrack & Autocross Only special-use tires feature racing slick type tread designs and compounds optimized for dry traction to provide the ultimate in acceleration, cornering and braking in dry conditions*.

BFGoodrich g-Force R1

BFGoodrich g-Force R1 S

Hankook Ventus Z214

Hoosier A6

Hoosier R6

Kumho Ecsta V700

Kumho Ecsta V710

Kumho VictoRacer V700

Toyo Proxes RA1

Toyo Proxes RR

natman316

auto x is fun, and really safe. no need for insurance...everyone I've seen dont have them. as for wheels depends on your budget but forgestar and tsw are cheap and light. putting wider/larger wheels and tires than stock may put you out of stock class...but if your trying to have some fun it doesnt really matter (your not going to be that competitive in your stock class anyways, all drivers equal) the c63 feels pretty big and its hard to get your power down on auto x.

for tires, if you want a street tire you can drive to the track as well as on the street...try dunlop star spec 2 or yoko ad08...these are really popular tires for auto x. if you want to run dedicate tires then zcct has mentioned a bunch of them.



heres me doing some auto x! haha i enjoy it but once you get on track days it is so much more fun lol

amdeutsch

Do you attend unsave AXs and therefore need insurance? Member zcct04 has the correct guidance.

fx12002

Hi,

Thanks for the replies! I just figure anything can happen, especially when I'm involved, and because AX is typically so safe an insurance company specializing in track insurance may insure the car for an event for not too much money.

It does seem like a lot of fun, I just need to find some events in and around Los Angeles. Any event suggestions for a total rookie?

Thanks!

K.

4ramin

Don't even bother, I've done this 2x now, the car is way to heavy , hard to put any power down. You have to drive the car sideways or with the tail out. No way will you even win in your class due to the time loss sliding. I have kws, 2.5 negative camber both in the front and rear , toe in in the rear and toe out in the front with added caster and the car was extremely hard to control. Can you Hurt your car sure in fact two weeks ago during my last event a instructor did some serious damage to his Porsche GT3. Next if you do go for it be sure to ride with an instructor. Look up the Porsche clubs they have events in irvine and Fontana and you can join as a non member in the X Class. If you just want to go have fun and learn the car do it but just know you will not do good at all. Any question you can pm if you like

fx12002

Hi,

Thanks for the info! Yeah, I wouldn't think this car is well suited to AX. That said, it's really just for fun and I can look at my relative time from run to run.

Anything can happen . . . I definitely think some sort of track day insurance is a good idea. Hopefully it's not crazy expensive as it is much lower risk than racing on an actual track, especially with no other cars on the course at the same time.

K.

natman316

I havent heard of any track insurance covering auto x. You could always call them though

fx12002

Yeah, I haven't seen anything from my research explicitly covering AX. I was going to call them, I just can't imagine why not. It's even lower risk than what they would normally cover . . .

MRAMG1

I have Autocrossed for almost 30 years and you DON'T need insurance. In that time I have only seen 1 car damaged, and that was a rookie that made a VERY bad mistake.

PS: For your first autocross do not waste your money on rims and tires. You do not need them my friend as you will NOT be competitive. Sorry for the truth, but some of those guys are VERY serious, know the best car for the class, and drive in EVERY event.

Some tips:

Front tire pressure 40, rear 35. Adjust per driving style.
Walk the course ATLEAST 2 times, 3 is perfered so you don't get lost.
Finally, ENJOY!!!

They are alot fo fun, just don't expect to win your first time out.

Good luck

fx12002

Thanks for the info! If I can find insurance at a reasonable price, I just figure better safe than sorry. I was thinking I may just try it to see how it is without spending the money on tires/ wheels, but I also figure going with something really sticky can help some and not destroy my daily drive tires. Really just out there for myself more than to try and be competitive against others.

The course walk seems pretty crucial, it takes me a long time to learn a normal track, so a sea of cones seems like it will be a lot harder.

amdeutsch

Again, you don't need to waste your money on insurance. Walk and look over the course. If you feel there is any place where you could go off and not get stopped in time before hitting something the course is not safe.

kent426

If you want to be serious about autox, the C63 prob isn't the best car to start with, I stopped running my C55 and moved to a 944 turbo. The C63 is heavy and has way too small of tire.

Now that being said, if you are just doing it to have fun, switch to BFG rival or Dunlop Star Spec 2, get a subscription to Grass Roots Motorsports and get this book


You'll want to get some camber bolts from SPC too. Improve your driving before wasting money on the car.

PTW

Jeez some downer comments in this thread, "Don't even bother" "but just know you will not do good at all" ........maybe some of you just can't drive? Besides, the bloke just wants to have fun.

Get out there and enjoy yourself mate.

fx12002

Thanks all for the input. Great book recommendation as well.

For me, it's just for fun and I fully expect to be sideways/ knocking cones over the majority of the time . . . this car is not exactly a Lotus nor am I exactly Lewis Hamilton. I'll probably just get out there totally stock, OEM wheels and tires for the first time just to try it out.

I wish there were more events in and around Los Angeles. If anyone knows of a good group hosting less serious, great for starting out events in the area, please let me know. The SCCA events I see seem great, but are also pretty serious/ geared towards national competition that may not appreciate my lack of skill!

PTW

See if you can find some sort of driver training mob that uses, and/or hosts "fun motorkhana/autocross" events at skidpans that can be wet down. The low grip levels when wet down or better still having some diesel thrown on as well make for great car control training but most importantly fun. It's also less wearing on the tyres too. We have a number of locations here in Oz and I'd say you blokes would have something similar over there.

zcct04

Don't let that perception scare you off. SCCA is always a mix of serious competitors and people just having fun, and all of them will be happy to see you show up. I can't speak for LA but every place I've run SCCA they've had an active novice support program. Newbies are welcomed with enthusiasm, assisted in course walkthrough's and encouraged to have experienced members ride along to assist and offer tips and directions. Most of 'em love what they're doing and are eager to share it. Also, most of the SCCA events have grouped all the novices together so that you've got lots of company.

Look at this as an opportunity to have some fun and learn a bit about how your car behaves at the limits. Don't bother with tires or mods - you can have a ball completely stock.

PTW

Steel on target

Diabolis

Have to disagree with you here. As someone who has both auto-X and track experience, the people telling him that using the C63 as an auto-X car is not a good idea are correct. It's way too nose-heavy for any kind of fun (you'll be rolling over the front tire sidewalls no matter how much pressure you put in them), and there are better ways to have fun than doing this. He could also be having fun riding a skateboard hanging off a pickup truck doing 50 mph.

if you think that a C63 would be in any way fun at an autocross event, I am sorry to tell you that you're the one that can't drive. He needs to go to a proper DE event, with a wet skid pad to begin with and go from there.

Diabolis

Instead of buying a set of wheels and tires for a car that he doesn't own, he could get a 20-year-old Porsche 924 or 944, a Mazda Miata, Honda Civic or an old E30-series BMW for pretty much the same amount of money and have more fun in that at an autocross than he ever will in a C63. The C63 is not the right tool for the job, period.

Diabolis

Yes, I definitely agree with this so that he can learn the dynamics of his car and how to handle oversteer for example, but an autocross event on a dry parking lot in a C63 will only destroy his front tires.

PTW

Perhaps your just hard to please In any case I'll be happy to prove you wrong.....

That's a laugh, the fronts will look relatively unscathed compared to the rears

Diabolis

Maybe you should start by looking up the difference between autocross and drifting. All this time I thought the idea was to carry as much speed as possible and be smooth, not convert your tires into smoke in the shortest possible amount of time, but I guess I must be a crappy driver and way too inexperienced compared to you.

It's an autocross event where you will barely reach speeds higher than 50 mph, and the C63 is a nose-heavy car that will understeer through the tight turns no matter what. Burning up the rear tires is optional depending on how smooth you're on the gas, but then again, I guess I haven't quite reached your level yet. I only managed to make it to a lowly instructor level with the local BMW and Porsche clubs.

PTW

I was waiting for your resume to arrive.....

Again, did you miss the OP's part - "I am just doing it for fun, not really looking to be competitive" I guess so

fx12002,

Just go and have some fun mate