[hotrodbob]

Well I am going to give it a try next month. I have wanted to do some road racing and so I am first going to go do some Solo stuff. They do it at a army stage field. Got to start some where.

[roger-SAI]

Great place to start. You will get hooked.

[RStangsOC]

Just make sure you bring a couple or rolls of that blue painters tape - 3 or 4 inch width You will want to tape up your splitter (front valance) and rocker panels - cause you WILL hit cones

Are you taking a class - or just gonna pull the triger?

Couple of tips - 1) Look ahead. Dont look at the turns as you go into them - thats to late. You need to know where you are going - well before you get there. As you are going into a turn, start looking ahead for the next turn so you can set yourself up for it. 2) Finese the throttle/brakes. Rapid changes in acceleration/deceleration can cause problems (spinning out, or locking up the brakes).

And, the 3rd tip - HAVE A BLAST

[hotrodbob]

Just going to go for it. Thanks for the advice. My wife hope's it is just a thing for now but it is like alot of other stuff when you do it and like it is just keeps on getting more fun. I am doing this for fun. I do like to win but to have fun is the main thing.

I hope my tires do well, they are Falken 452's. We shall see.

[SGT/SC#0471]

Dude...Rock on! You will love it!

[calvin]

Just a FWIW, I have been running my GT350 in autocross and Solo II since '74. The cars only real miles are on an autocross course or track event these days. Strange that I trust putting the car on a road course, but not so much with the other drivers on the street.

[ilmor]

calvin, on Aug 19 2008, 12:50 AM, said:

Just a FWIW, I have been running my GT350 in autocross and Solo II since '74. The cars only real miles are on an autocross course or track event these days. Strange that I trust putting the car on a road course, but not so much with the other drivers on the street.

I'm with you; I feel much safer on the track!!

[svttim]

hotrodbob, on Aug 13 2008, 12:40 AM, said:

Just going to go for it. Thanks for the advice. My wife hope's it is just a thing for now but it is like alot of other stuff when you do it and like it is just keeps on getting more fun. I am doing this for fun. I do like to win but to have fun is the main thing.

I hope my tires do well, they are Falken 452's. We shall see.

Its been a thing for me since the 70's

[tpow96]

hotrodbob, on Aug 13 2008, 01:40 AM, said:

Just going to go for it. Thanks for the advice. My wife hope's it is just a thing for now but it is like alot of other stuff when you do it and like it is just keeps on getting more fun. I am doing this for fun. I do like to win but to have fun is the main thing.

I hope my tires do well, they are Falken 452's. We shall see.

All good advice, and I'll just add a little bit more (I've been doing it off and on now for
12 years).

I'd say what knocks out 75% of novices in their first year of autox is getting lost
in that sea of cones. Everyone says walk the course as many times as possible, which
is true, because a good read of the race line is imperative to fast times. However,
first you have to visualize the course. That means after you walked it several times,
close your eyes and "run" through the course in your mind. Then walk it again to see
how right you are. Correct any errors and do it again. Only when you've got that
down, can you focus on specific cones (typically less than a dozen) that will truly
mean trouble and cost you time.

Oh, and don't worry about street tires (I presume you'll run in a stock class that
allows R-compound tires). R tires are worth about 2-3 seconds. If you can get
that close to the top guys, then you can worry about the tires, because you'll
be hooked for sure.

-Tom