From what I have seen it looks like the DS class is the class for us. I went to an autocross weekend before last...cant wait, how has the success been?

Are you going to the track with 40 PSI all around and then bleeding air after your first run back to 40, less in the front?

It seem like the car is going to be hard to down shift and will need alot of heel toe action has this been the case?

Torque band seems to be 3500 to 4500rpm is this were you've seen the best results?

 

I drive to the event with normal tire pressure. I have an air tank that I bought a month ago. I fill it with air prior to leaving the house (I have a big compressor in my garage) and use it to air up my tires when I get to the track. Befroe I got the tank I used the compressor that's in the trunk. The compressor that comes with the car doesn't look like it's built for a lot of use..... I typically run 41 lbs in the fronts and 39 in the rears. That seems to work very well. BTW.... Buy a good tire pressure guage. Did they show you how to mark your tires with chalk so you can tell if you need to ad or remove air pressure?

As for shifting.... I have the auto stick so shifting is a piece of cake. Most of the people that have manual trannies usually shift into second and leave it there. Only very rarely do the down shift. It really depends on if there are and extremely tight gates.

All and all the Crossfire does very well. My times are very consistant with the 350Zs (touring suspension versions). And am beating BMW M3s. The only cars in DS that really stack up pretty well against the Crossfire are the SRT 4s and the WRXs. Nothing else in DS is coming very close.

Lastly... Make sure the traction control is OFF. If you have it ON it will ad 2 - 3 seconds to your times on average.
There's nothig more beautiful than an ALABASTER Crossfire on an Autocross course with it's tires screaming!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Ran my first Autocross today...what a gas.

Car handled well, I will be able to push the car more my next time out. it seems to like the road course, and is able to put the power to the ground.

Accept for the start, ran the whole course in second gear.

The car (or I) had a tendancy to push in the big sweepers, need to work on my driving to help that. Adjusting the air pressure helped with my last run.

Once the results get posted I post them here.

Here were my times today:

57.692
56.290
55.234

I had second fasted in DS Novice, I'm not sure were that was over all, too
many cars to sort out!


On to next weekend!

 

Congratz Keljen!!! awesome story and makes me pumped to jump in on one!!!!

 

Keljen, Welcome to the Autocross club!!! You'll find yourself getting more and more confident in the car, and yourself, each time out.

 

The results are in!

DS Novice


Vehicle
1st VW R32 54.465
2nd Xfire (me) 55.234
3rd WRX 55.640
4th Celica 58.298

There were 10 total in the DS class the winner was a BMW 330i at 52.718
I would of finished 6th over all including the non-novice.

I think I did prety well last week end, my quickest time was in my second run, started to try new things on the next 2 runs and that did not pay off..

Too much fun, run again on August 8

If you have not tried Autocross..... YOU SHOULD!!

 

Great job, Keljen!!! For your first time out that's awesome. After my first event I was aabout in the middle of the DSN class. One thing that I can tell you is that the more seat time you get the lower and lower your times will get... And with your start you're going to be killing them.

 

Way to go Keljen,
I think that is 3 or 4 autocrossers now.

 

I can't wait to get some more Crossfires autoXing here. The 350 Z guys have about 6 cars at every event. It would really be great to be able to compare times with the same model of car.

 

I ran one in the vette club, my first. What a blast! Did extremely well at the end (52.88 compared to the fasted time by ba vette of 49.06), but the extra runs didn't count. I have a very important question on tires, at this rate the edges of my tires won't last long at all. Any suggestions on pressures or anything else? Thanks, Kenny

 

For starters it depends on what tire you run.

I run the stock Michelin Sport

I started at 39 rear and 41 front per Wes M. I had good tire wear in the fornt. This weedend I went to 39 all around, car drove better, but I did see more wear on the front tires.

Tire pressure also depends on your driving style and how you want the car to feel.

Try your first run at 40 all around, Second run see how you like the feel and look at the tires (use chalk) because the air will expand due to heat, you will find that when you ck the pressures all four tires will be a little off, you will also know what tire is workin the hardest.

Before the third run, bleed the tires to a pressure you want to set for your last speed runs. I would not go any lower than 38 based on what I have seen.

Let me know how it works for you!

 

If you have the PS2 tires, they are designed with softer compund on the edges. So it will wear more. Since you are being aggressive with the tires (as compared to normal street driving) your tires will wear faster. I consider it part of the cost of the sport...

 

Just found this forum. I Autocrossed the Crossfire once this spring. Great fun but I didn't do well. I kept getting lost on the course (I was good at this back in the 70s).

I was running 34 psi and the car understeered when taken into a turn a little too fast. The 40 psi you guys are talking about might make it easier to get the car to "point" in the tight turns.

The last turn on the course was a hairpin entered about 3500 rpm and I had great fun powersliding the car around the cones.

Most of the stuff you see in print is about how fast this car is (or isn't) but what really impresses me is how it corners. I had a 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse (which was no slouch in corners) before the Crossfire and now I add 15 mph to my entry speed for the local freeway ramps. I took the car over the mountain from Snowshoe to Cass, WV shortly after I bought it and I have to say I have never driven a car with such excellent road manners when pressed hard.