Excuse my first 2 runs, this was my first autox and i was still getting the feel for things, but maybe you can use them to see a bad habit developing or something.
you don't look to bad at all. its harder to see autox vids because of the space/speed you are confined too. there is a "line" but semi-hard to not miss. it looks like you aren't really stepping on the brakes. i forget if you have a lsd but with fwd vehicles. you brake in hard (straight btw) and then accelerate thru the turn hitting the apex and sweeping out as far as you can. some of the places i can tell you were weary to step on the gas and it "seemed" like you cruised through a few turns (hard to tell) which if you are, you shouldn't be.
other than that, all i can say is good runs and keep going, you will improve and it will be second nature after a season. btw love your car and its noise
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"I am a ricer because I have Z3 fenders" Bless Her Heart ORG
the vid is currently downloading, so excuse this question if it will be answered in while watching the video...
did you have an instructor in your car? that is perhaps the single best thing you can do to improve your driving... most clubs will put an instructor with you if you ask, and you could even ride along with an instructor (preferably in a similar vehicle) to see how they drive the course...
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1993 Mercury Grand Marquis - Road Trip Beast
1994 Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon - Soon to be in Project status
I'm not sure about the 4th Gens, but my 5th Gen loved trail braking. Learn to use your left foot for braking, you'll save time and you can also use the brake to settle the car while you are still accelerating.
Take the walk through seriously. Try to find someone at your events that has a car similarly setup to yours (FWD, Honda, Prelude (if you are lucky)). While walking the course, walk as you would drive it. A lot of people will just walk through the course because that's what everyone else is doing. Example: if you can look at the corner and know that you'll have to swing wide to gain a proper angle of attack, then swing wide while you walk. Don't be afraid to stop and analyze a corner. As some people around you what they think and what their plan of attack is. Very rarely will you run into an AutoXer that won't share their thoughts.
Also, as said earlier, brake harder, turn in sooner, and get closer to the cones. Most of the time, the shorter distance traveled is the faster line. You'll see some people swing wide to gain corner speed, but they are also adding distance traveled, so the extra 1 or 2 mph they gain is negated.
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Chris @ DeatschWerks (Fuel Nerd)
1991 CRX SiR
1991 Civic Wagon RT4WD
to clarify, on the gas also includes maintaining speed...
for the second part, i agree if we're talking about a car that has a tendancy to understeer, or cannot oversteer via throttle input...
I have yet to autocross a FWD car that oversteers on the throttle, which is most relevant to the videos. Closest I found was an ITR, and a well set up STS Civic.
OH, to the OP one thing I did notice particularly in the tight S bends before the finish is that you kept adding lock as the car was pushing, this was noticeable as a lurch as the tires finally caught up with the steering input. When the car is understeering, you need to reduce the slip angle: unwind the lock just a smidge and the tires will come back.
I have yet to autocross a FWD car that oversteers on the throttle, which is most relevant to the videos. Closest I found was an ITR, and a well set up STS Civic.
OH, to the OP one thing I did notice particularly in the tight S bends before the finish is that you kept adding lock as the car was pushing, this was noticeable as a lurch as the tires finally caught up with the steering input. When the car is understeering, you need to reduce the slip angle: unwind the lock just a smidge and the tires will come back.
I think i was getting a little rammy at that point. I think my brakes feel a bit soft, like they dont just bite down and want to throw you through the windshield. Should i change pads? My next one is Saturday.
The lurch I was taking about can usually be attributed to the fact you plow into a turn and the car doesn't quite feel like its turning to the driver, so, instinctually you add more steering lock. All this does is increase the slip angle and cause the tires to slide MORE, until speed finally gets to a point they can catch up, then the car suddenly lurches and you have to dial off lock to head in the direction you wanted to go anyway.
When was the last time you had thebrake fluid changed? You might want to have a brake flush and refill. If you really want to spend money on new brake pads: Hawk HP+ are pretty much the most used.
The lurch I was taking about can usually be attributed to the fact you plow into a turn and the car doesn't quite feel like its turning to the driver, so, instinctually you add more steering lock. All this does is increase the slip angle and cause the tires to slide MORE, until speed finally gets to a point they can catch up, then the car suddenly lurches and you have to dial off lock to head in the direction you wanted to go anyway.
When was the last time you had thebrake fluid changed? You might want to have a brake flush and refill. If you really want to spend money on new brake pads: Hawk HP+ are pretty much the most used.
Oh you must of meant my first run, where i looked like i was going to steer into that cone before the hairpin? yea i know what you are talking about. I improved on that in later runs. I thought you were talking about me trying to plow through the hairpin.
I have yet to autocross a FWD car that oversteers on the throttle, which is most relevant to the videos. Closest I found was an ITR, and a well set up STS Civic.
I've had my 5th Gen SH oversteer on the throttle. ...but it wasn't something you could just ask for. It was only present when the car was accelerating through a tight apex. I did become a little more predictable when I went to DSP/STX because of my spring/strut and rear sway upgrades.
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Chris @ DeatschWerks (Fuel Nerd)
1991 CRX SiR
1991 Civic Wagon RT4WD
I've had my 5th Gen SH oversteer on the throttle. ...but it wasn't something you could just ask for. It was only present when the car was accelerating through a tight apex. I did become a little more predictable when I went to DSP/STX because of my spring/strut and rear sway upgrades.
I have noticed this too with my sway bars. The car really doesnt have any roll to it but it likes to slide.
taking out the front bar would make your car fairly tail happy for a front driver... if you're having heavy understeer problems and can't fix them by driving different, that would a solution...
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1993 Mercury Grand Marquis - Road Trip Beast
1994 Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon - Soon to be in Project status
Oh you must of meant my first run, where i looked like i was going to steer into that cone before the hairpin? yea i know what you are talking about. I improved on that in later runs. I thought you were talking about me trying to plow through the hairpin.
There was evidence of it in a couple of places, including the loop/turnaround thing, but most notably at the end of the runs.
Leave your stock sway bar on the car. Driving around and through characteristics of a FWD car will make you a better driver. So just drive the car as it sits now...
Also, removing a front sway bar on anything short of race suspension, will make the car really darty, with lots of bump steer, as the car hits bumps/potholes/ruts in the road it will yank the steering wheel around. Take it from a guy who has a RWD car that decided to eject its front sway bar: not fun, and scary.
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