What should be done to a vehicle before it is taken on an AutoX course? I'm not asking what mods should be put in the vehicle but lets say Maintenance wise? Should you be afraid of breaking anything if the car is in fine working order?

(New tires, shocks, not built rear just rebuilt, good rotors and pads, no check engine lights etc.)

 

No answers? Anyone?

 

Might wana post this in the road racing and autocross section below.

 

Need more info. What do you drive? 6sp or auto? (hopefully 6sp for AutoX) mods done? which tires? which pads?

If it's a stock wet sump with the stock pan you'll want an additional quart in there. Good thing autoX is short because without an enormous oil cooler you're F'd on long road courses.

Also shift under 6k, if you have stock gears you'll most likely stay in 1st and 2nd.

 

autos aren't terrible for autox. a little extra oil won't hurt but on relatively low speed turns with street tires you won't be pushing extreme G's.

before I go I check fluids (oil, power steering, brake), tire pressures, take absolutely everything out of the car that's not needed, and go. I bring a tire pressure gauge, painter's tape for numbers, a helmet, and some food. I remove the spare tire and jack when I arrive.

 

Ok I may try that. I am getting some info now so I might not have to.

It's a 3800 Firebird, auto, EBC ceramic pads with drilled & slotted rotors. 275/40/17 potenza re760's.

What tire pressures do you run? I'm guessing you want a bit more so the tire edges don't roll over and for stability, I have a tire guage in the car, jack and spare out, painters tape is funny didn't think of that, a helmet is almost always required so got that. Anything else? bring extra oil? a spare? a fire extinguisher?

 

I'm running a 3800 and have very little auto-x experience but using common sense and logic is the key.

Make sure your fluids are good, you don't have any loose parts and / or damaged parts on your car. Last thing you want to do is work on your car where you don't have any shade and can't get home.

Tires are a important factor. Overinflating will cause less grip. Underinflating you'll be losing time. It's simple trial and error; find the right PSI for you.

Have you done any suspension mods yet? Simple mods might help you out. Invest in a good set of shocks and springs first. Lower doesn't mean better. A good combo shock / spring setup helps keep roll down and will provide you with better traction than stock. There are plenty of setups that people have posted on this forum (from mild to wild). Sway bars, bushings and endlinks are a cheap and effective investment as well. The V6 front swaybars are 28mm front and 15mm rears which (in my opinion) don't support the car nearly enough. Stiffer swaybars will help prevent body roll (you'll still have roll but not as much). A 32mm front swaybar and a 19mm rear swaybar will help drastically. The 32mm swaybar is from the 1LE (SS / WS6) package and a stock LS1 / Z28 swaybar is 19mm so the rear will be way easier to find.

Also, if you're changing your swaybar, you will need new endlinks to hold the bigger sized bar in place. Polyurethene bushing and endlnks are just firmer than the regular hardened rubber that the stock endlinks use.

Since you have a A4, you might want to invest in a transmission fluid cooler. I'm not sure how many go(s) you get in a single day of autocross but it takes a toll on your transmission. Even a daily driver can benefit from a transmission cooler. Do a quick search on this forum to find which cooler might be best for you and to find a how-to guide on installing it. They're relatively simple depending on the location you choose.


Hope this helps out; best of luck on your search for efficiency, more grip and power.