[JAM32]

Hey guys. Read some sutoX posts about driving mode but didnt see anyone having this particular discussion.

I'm doing my first Auto Cross this weekend. Ive done about 7 or so track days on smaller tracks, less than 2 miles, and the SS feels like a little too much car for those courses. Rarely get out of 2 gear in the infield.

Now an auto cross is even smaller imagine. But i hear even you ZL1 guys do them which seems crazy to me. Do you guys leave it second? Has anyone thought of just leaving it on 1st? I mean 1st is pretty tall, gets up to 58 i believe, and i doubt at an auto cross you cary that much speed thru the tight corners.

Is downshifting to 1st, or driving a lot in 1st bad for mechanical reasons?

Thanks for the help.

[JacobC1983]

I always get into 2nd as quickly as possible and stay there. I usually place very well in A stock if not winning it.

[FNxR3DNECK]

Originally Posted by JacobC1983

I always get into 2nd as quickly as possible and stay there. I usually place very well in A stock if not winning it.

This 100%! The LT1 has more than enough torque to pull you through the slow stuff in 2nd.

[JAM32]

I just worry about bogging it and getting bellow 3k rpm in some sections in 2nd. But you guys have the experience, so i trust you.

Thanks for the feedback.

[FNxR3DNECK]

Originally Posted by JAM32

I just worry about bogging it and getting bellow 3k rpm in some sections in 2nd. But you guys have the experience, so i trust you.

Thanks for the feedback.

Here's the PDR footage of my final run from my last event, short shifted to 2nd right before the timing lights and then was never below 3k rpm after the first corner. In other words bogging isn't an issue haha

[JAM32]

Thats awesome man. Were you in a PTM mode? I think that was a much larger track than what I'm lookin at but it was cool to see the kind of speed your maintaining through corners. Also i notice you didnt get past 50% break very often. I saw about the same on my first PDR video and thought maybe I wasnt breaking hard and late enough. Here's me: (you gotta skip to 1:20, they had me waiting awhile)

[JAM32]

Oh, and sorry for the annoying commentary.

[trophy hunter]

Just a little insight...…the reason most of the better drivers will upshift to 2nd and stay there, in most cases, is due to balance.

When you're in first (or any gear for that matter) in higher RPM levels, any small input can disrupt/upset the car's balance due to the "jerk" like motion it creates. In 2nd gear, while you may not feel as fast, the fluidity helps to stabilize the balance and thus you're not having to try and make corrections to "catch" the car. This all translates into faster times out on the course. There is a lot more to this, but that is a basic reason in rudimentary form.
Suggestion
After making a run yourself, I would strongly recommend asking a fellow (competitive) F-body driver if you could ride along on one of their runs to see how this is put into practice. I PROMISE you that this will open your eyes on how the car needs to be driven in autocross...……. you can also look on YouTube - plenty of videos there, but it is nowhere near the same as being in the seat.

Good luck and have fun ! !

[FNxR3DNECK]

Originally Posted by trophy hunter

Just a little insight...…the reason most of the better drivers will upshift to 2nd and stay there, in most cases, is due to balance.

When you're in first (or any gear for that matter) in higher RPM levels, any small input can disrupt/upset the car's balance due to the "jerk" like motion it creates. In 2nd gear, while you may not feel as fast, the fluidity helps to stabilize the balance and thus you're not having to try and make corrections to "catch" the car. This all translates into faster times out on the course. There is a lot more to this, but that is a basic reason in rudimentary form.
Suggestion
After making a run yourself, I would strongly recommend asking a fellow (competitive) F-body driver if you could ride along on one of their runs to see how this is put into practice. I PROMISE you that this will open your eyes on how the car needs to be driven in autocross...……. you can also look on YouTube - plenty of videos there, but it is nowhere near the same as being in the seat.

Good luck and have fun ! !

Very good input right here!!!

As for your questions, I don’t use PTM for Autocross I turn all the nannies off. If you are going to do Autocross on the stock wheel/tire setup I highly recommend going straight to PTM Race, that worked best for me when I ran on the goodyears last year.

As for braking this was a very fast course that only had one really hard braking zone so I wasn’t too hard on the breaks that run. Later and harder is usually what you want to do but sometimes if you brake early and not as hard the weight transfer is enough to get you the necessary front grip to make the corner (hope that makes sense). Just something you will have to experiment with.

[apexit53]

Originally Posted by trophy hunter

Just a little insight...…the reason most of the better drivers will upshift to 2nd and stay there, in most cases, is due to balance.

When you're in first (or any gear for that matter) in higher RPM levels, any small input can disrupt/upset the car's balance due to the "jerk" like motion it creates. In 2nd gear, while you may not feel as fast, the fluidity helps to stabilize the balance and thus you're not having to try and make corrections to "catch" the car. This all translates into faster times out on the course. There is a lot more to this, but that is a basic reason in rudimentary form.
Suggestion
After making a run yourself, I would strongly recommend asking a fellow (competitive) F-body driver if you could ride along on one of their runs to see how this is put into practice. I PROMISE you that this will open your eyes on how the car needs to be driven in autocross...……. you can also look on YouTube - plenty of videos there, but it is nowhere near the same as being in the seat.

Good luck and have fun ! !

I have autoX a many different cars. the only car i ever downshifted to 1st was an S2000. That was in tight turns and that car just had no torque.

This LT1 has all the power and torque you need to pull out in 2nd without downshifting. Like trophy hunter said, it also help keep the car balanced and the power under the wheels.

Feel free to check out my videos!

[00 Trans Ram]

Another reason you probably won't use 1st, except at the start, is wheelspin. If you are in 2nd at 3000 rpm, you are making around 220rwhp. You are also going ~36mph. This means you are probably in a turn, pulling some high-gs, and loading up one side of the car. In other words, your outside tire is the one that's being asked to handle the majority of that 220hp and put it to the ground. Even with slicks, that a LOT to ask of a tire that's already using up a large portion of its grip to prevent the car from sliding sideways.

Think about it this way - how would/does your car handle having 440rwhp being put through both rear tires in a straight line? Chances are good, at 35mph, you're going to spin them. But, you're not in a straight line - you're turning, so they have even less available grip.

TLDR - in 2nd gear, at 36mph, in a turn, you won't bog the engine because you won't even be needing all the power your car is making.

[JAM32]

Sorry for the delayed update. Here's my best lap from my first AutoX last November. I was still about 4 seconds off the best in my class think, which is a lifetime on a small track like that, but all i wanted to get below :35 and I did, so I was pleased.

I still don't think I'm breaking late and hard enough. And it looks like i'm in between 2k-3k rpm most of the track. Its a small course and big car.

But i really appreciate the responses guys. The point about balance really makes sense, and i can understand why 1st would just make things uncontrollable. so even though I'm kind of bogging in 2nd, smooth is fast.
also I can probably push for lots more speed in the corners, I'm just still learning the car.