Autocross in the rain...

[azbobbybooshay10]

OK, I'm competing this weekend in an Autocross up in northern AZ, and there is a good possibility of rain during at least the afternoon portion of the event. Obviously they will run rain or shine, so its possible I'll have to make runs in the rain. I have BFG G-force Sport tires, which are rated very highly in the wet. But is there anything else I should be aware of for rain competition? Do's and Don't's?

[world-insight]

no clue but good luck

[sonza68]

There are only a couple of tips I have for running in the rain.

If it is raining hard (as in a measureable layer of water on the surface, not just a little damp), run lower pressures than you would in the dry. This is very tire specific though, so I can't really say how much they need to drop.

Smoothness pays off as things start getting slick. Although, you may find a suprising amount of grip on course, depending on the conditions.

The last one is a minor note, but if there are puddles on course, or if it is raining as you start your run, turn your wipers on a setting slightly faster than you would in normal driving. This will keep you from having to mess with them on course.

[Excelcier]

Autocross in the rain can be a lot of fun but more tricky. When I had to get my Tier 2 level driver training for Ford for test track access I had to run Autocross in the rain and still had to meet the qualifications to get my license. You can lose control of the vehicle much more easily. Even after a full day from 8am to 3 pm on the tracks at Ford, we all spun out our cars a few times trying to make the qualifiers time so just BE CAREFUL. In my case, it wasn't my car so I didn't give a crap but I would not push it with your own car.

[jaged]

slicks in the rain FTW!

things happen a lot faster in the rain with the car. so make sure you find that edge of control/out of control in the first run. after that its about going faster on course

[EricF]

Go have fun... its not nationals... ;)

[azbobbybooshay10]

Well as for tire pressures, I will definitely keep that in mind. I already run pretty low as is, I think last November I ran 38 in the fronts and 26 in the rear, but the track was VERY cold (it was right around our big cold snap of near-freezing lows seemingly every night), and I don't think I got heat in them all day. Then again though, I was running the pressure like that to keep the back from sliding out as the suspension was pretty darn old (140k mile old) and leaned quite badly. I now have the new springs and struts so my pressures will probably need to be adjusted accordingly.

But yeah, I'm excited to finally be back at a track. My one and only autocross event was last November, and I was hooked right away. This weekend will be kinda special though, my Dad will be coming and watching for this one. He did alot for me as a kid to teach me about racing and track fun, so it will be great to finally show him what I've learned. I'll be taking LOTS of pics and maybe some video if I can get a video camera from either my friend or my Dad.

[XplosivePlushToy]

Good luck out there!

[azbobbybooshay10]

Only had a damp (and drying fast) track for one run during yesterdays afternoon runs, everything went great. I placed 7th out of 17 Novice's, my last time of the day was fastest but they tell me I hit a cone somewhere (that I swear I have no idea where I hit it!). If that time had stuck, I would have ranked 5th out of 17 and only 1/10th off 4th on my PAX time.

I'm considering getting some sort of "R-Compound" tire to put on my 15's later this fall once I get my SVT wheels, and a Jaged RSTB and larger rear sway bar are the next "mods" on my to-do list.

I've got lots of video taken, but its on my Dad's video camera so he's gonna have to upload it and burn me a CD and mail it to me, but hopefully I should have something up by the end of the week. Lots of good in-car and out-of-car video...

[sonza68]

Sounds like you had a good day.

Quickly drying can make things interesting. A few years back, I ran an event on freshly sealed asphalt. It rained all morning delaying the start due to lightning, so it was pretty wet when we started. When wet it was almost like driving on ice, but in the dry spots you'd have a lot of grip. The transistions from dry to wet kept catching me out and I spun 3 times on 2 runs. On the last one, there was no sensation of motion, it felt like I was stationary and the world around me was being rotated.

[jaged]

the last event i ran was wet->dry. i improved 10 sec by the end of the day

[Terec]

rain autoX FTW

[Terec]

oh yeah, rain autoX in a miata with the top down on Hoosier DOT radial wets FTMFW

[azbobbybooshay10]

A couple pics I got from the weekend (video won't be in my hands until sometime around the weekend I think, depends on how quickly my dad uploads it and sends me the disc.)

Me and one of the local Focus guys who came up to run
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210008.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210009.jpg

The rain...
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210011.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210012.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210016.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210010.jpg

The yellow Evo that won both events in the Novice class
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210015.jpg

My car
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210013.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210017.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210019.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7210020.jpg

And me all strapped in ready to run...
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/P7220025.jpg

[azbobbybooshay10]

Oh, and here is a link to the results.

Saturday (http://flagsolo2.com/time_sheet.cfm?EID=4&DID=0)
Sunday (http://flagsolo2.com/time_sheet.cfm?EID=4&DID=2)

They are recalculating the times and such, as its not recognizing alot of people's "fast" runs. I went thru and did some calculating, and I got an 809 PAX on Saturday, and an 826 on Sunday. My PAX would have been 833 on Saturday had I not coned away my final run by 1/2 an inch.

I'm debating getting some sort of R-compound tires for Autocross use after I get my SVT wheels and BFG tires, after watching what 2 days of competition will take off of a street tire. Should help me be more competitive, and probably end up cheaper in the long run because I won't be killing a set of street tires in 6 months. :rofl:

[whitecat99]

It is too late for this race but may be some information for the future. In road racing with SCCA, we disconnect the sway bars when it is raining. It helps the suspension get set better due to the slower speeds in the corners when it is wet.

I don't know if that would work in autocross but it is something to consider and maybe ask around to some of the guys that that have been autocrossing for awhile.

I also put a little more brake bias to the rear with a rear wheel drive car. I have been told by a very fast front wheel drive car that he likes to run more brake bias to the front in the rain.

I am not that good at racing in the rain because I don't get much practice in it. Last year I bounced off of a concrete wall at the Runoffs in Topeka during qualification in the rain.

[MrFroge]

I enjoyed seeing your pictures.. ;)
R-compounds are great on a dry track but you can't use them on ANY mosture... A good 140-340 wear street tire will be fine in the rain, just remember to run them somewhat under-inflated.