Saab Link Forums banner

AutoX questions

1K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  Redfoxx 
#1 ·
i'm actually going to get my feet wet and try out AutoX with the 9-5 this year and was wondering if anyone had any hints or tips with AutoX, especially a basic handling characteristics of the 9-5 Aero. i am an alignment tech in our body shop and plan on doing a little toe out on the front for sure but not sure about what toe setting i should do for the rear.
i would adjust camber but all four of my wheels have more negative camber in them than they should and the only way to adjust them is by using adjustment bolts up front and shims in the rear but i don't really see what the camber i have now as a concern.

the group that puts on the AutoX here have a test and tune day May 1st and a week or two later have a school. i was thinking about just going to the first test and tune day just to watch and doing the school a week or two later or is this something i should just dive in to the test and tune right away?
 
#2 ·
The biggest modification you can to a car for autocross is the nut behind the wheel.

Last year at the autocross novice school, many people in less than competitive cars (saabs for one) were able to school guys in much nicer cars.

The test and tune could be wasted on someone without much autocross experience, but if it is the sort of T&T that allows others to ride int he car with you and coach you give suggestion about your driving style then it might be worth it. Tire pressure changes can do quite a bit for the feel of the car. I always start at around 45psi and go down from there depending on how my car is behaving on the pavement surface. You want the high pressure to keep the sidewalls from flexing. You can also increase or deacrease oversteer and understeer by playing with the pressures in the front and rear.

I definitely suggest doing any sort of autocross school that you can do. The one here involves a few hours in a class room one day, then behind the wheel on the next day. I was able to get about 15-20 runs in, it was great for the money.

You will learn how to read a course, where in the course you need to go slow to be quick, where you can cheat the corners, etc. Autocrossing something like a 9-5 or my 9000 is not "easy" compared to a miata or something. And autocrossing something like my old SPG that had quite a bit of power for a small FWD car was downright brutal...but also brutally fun. I've never been competative in any of my cars, but I always have a blast.
 
#4 ·
Spend the test and tune day with an experienced driver and play with air pressures front and rear (like JK said) . I started with 42psi in all four tires (in my 9-3) and adjust from there, but I have very stiff sidewalls on my summer tires.

AutoX is 70% driver, 20% tires, 10% everything else.

Our clubs courses are very short and tight, so my car is not competitive at all, but I still have a lot of fun and you learn a lot each time.
 
#7 ·
Definitely walk the course at least 3 times. The guy that walked the course with me said that you should be able to draw the course by memory before you even run it. Then on your parade lap...stay far back so you see the course, not the back end of the car in front of you.

Being fluid is very important..especially with a FWD torque monster like a Saab. screwing up is just a jab of the throttle away. But dont be afraid to push your limits. Chances are the car will be able to do more than you expect. When I went on sunday, on the first run of the second heat, I pushed the car really hard into the first corner and made it through, but ended up with so much speed I blew the 2nd corner. Its all about learning what your car can and cant do.

You definitely dont want toe out in the front. Maybe a tiny bit of toe in, and then neutral on the back end.
 
#8 ·
Another thing to remember regarding not "over driving" is that if you reach the limits you need to back off.

For example you begin to roast the front tires coming out of the corner? You need to step OFF the gas pedal, mashing it more is going to keep you from accelerating as you need to, and its going to make following the exit line much more difficult.

Likewise if the car begins to plow through a corner, or like above if you loose traction mid corner you need to steer OUT, rather that giving more steering input. It feels very conter intuative to steer out when you are plowing through a corner under power, but it works.

Things like that are what they really pound into your head at autocross schools.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top