Newbie Auto-xer

["Duane Collie" <drcollie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>I'm taking my '95 M3 to a driver's school next month, and an autocross the
>following day.  It's a regular SCCA Solo II event; a big 'ol parking lot
full
>of cones.  Right now, the car is completely stock, build date is 9/95 (must
>have been one of the last '95s built) and it has a hair over 20k on the
odo.
> I'm expecting to BL/SS the car before the end of the month, and I'm also
>thinking about 'sharking' and bracing it.

Mike, you mention you want to stay in stock class.  Doing *any* of the above
mods (shift kit, chip, braces) throws you into CSP...where you WILL get
eaten. <grin>. By Hondas. Most embarrassing.

>TIRES and SUCH DEPT.
>The big question is tires.  The car's got a set of very recent Pirelli
P7000
>Super Sports on stock Double Spoke I rims.  Would anyone advise me to get a
set
>of purpose tires for autocross use?  I'm mostly worried about tearing the
>Pirellis up, rather than getting an extra 2 seconds (plenty of guys at the
>local chapter would tear me a new one anyway)  I do plan on driving pretty
>hard.  If so, which tires are considered the best for autocross use?

Oh yeah. P7000's while a nice street tire are gonna give it up at the
auto-x. BIG TIME.  You'll both be sliding the tires and eat them up at the
same time.  Get yourself an extra set of wheels and sticky 'R' Compund tires
(BFG R1's, Kuhmos, Hoosiers, etc.) if you're gonna do this regular.  Saves
money and more smiles per mile in the long run.

>MODS DEPT.
>While I'm putting 'Elsa', my beloved Cosmoschwartz fraulien in the shop,
are
>there any other (basic) modifications worth considering?  I'd like to stay
in
>Street Stock class, so I guess forced-induction is out huh? :-)  The air
filter
>debate ---has that been settled?

Stock is....well....STOCK. You can't even change the wheel size!  Add a
harness, run the R compound tires. That's pretty much it.  BTW, the single
biggest weakness in your instance is....<ta-da>..YOU! The car is more
capable than you are in stock configuration.  Yeah...yeah...I know....you
can drive the whee outta it (can't we all?), but you need a full season of
auto-x and track days before you should go beyond the tires and harnesses as
mods.

Auto-x is generally (IMHO) won or lost when you walk the course!  It's like
playing chess.  Until you can map out every turn and corner in your mind and
know how you are going to take them - before you even set foot in the car -
then you'll never have a top time.  The best auto-xers can blast a winning
time the first run because they already have the course memorized. Auto-X is
much harder to do well than running the track as you have no practice.

On the track its different. You have time and repetition on your side to
refine your line and technique. Same layout each time you go back.  After a
dozen days at a track you have it nailed down. Your risk factor is much
higher at the track, as is the pucker factor - but the real skill at the
track is wheel-to-wheel racing.

Have fun!  Stay stock for a bit. You'll thank me later!

Duane Collie
RM3DR1/UUC/PizzaFest
National Capital Chapter

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