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What is the SCCA?
How do I join?
What is autocross racing?
What is considered stock in autocross?
What is
the best launch technique for my car?
What on-board systems
are available measure performance numbers?
What computer
diagnostic tools are available for my car?
What are some
junk yards that deal specifically with F-Bodies?
What is the SCCA? How do I join?
The Sports Car Club of America is a national club for
sports car enthusiasts. See the section "National Clubs" for details.
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What is autocross
racing?
Autocrossing is a
SCCA-sponsored race event where
small "tracks" are setup in large parking lots (sometimes small race tracks are
used), and the every- day-driver can bring their car and race in the event.
Cars are grouped according to horse-power, weight, cylinders, and handling
characteristics. One car is sent out on the track at a time, and is timed
electronically. Each classification has an index which their time is multiplied
by. This makes all cars somewhat competitive, and places more emphasis on the
driver's skill. Tracks can include various challenges, including slaloms,
increasing and decreasing radius turns, hair pins, etc... The tracks are lined
with cones, so the worst that *usually* happens is you will knock over a cone,
and get penalized on your time.
It is important to understand that autocross is not a
speed-oriented event. Speeds are generally no more than 45mph and only in rare
situations (and with very fast cars) will they go as high as perhaps 70mph.
Again, the emphasis is on skill and handling, not absolute speed. A typical
autocross run takes about 60-90 seconds total.
Typically, autocrossing is no more stressful on your
car than the limits it was designed to handle for the everyday driver. Except
for the clutch and tires of course. Consider one autocross event to be roughly
equivalent to 500 miles of wear on your tires and clutch.
There are also
non-SCCA events sponsored by local
clubs. These clubs are often more lax in their definition of rookies and what
constitutes a "stock" car.
Some tips:
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Many drivers have special, high performance (but
still legally stock) tires that they swap on only for autocrossing events for
extra grip and performance.
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Also, you may want to put more air (40-45
psi) in
the front tires and about 35 psi in the back. If you don't increase air in the
front tires they will fold under and wear on the outside substantially. Check
power steering fluid levels before and after the event.
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What is considered
stock in autocross?
Stock is probably the most competitive class in
autocrossing. Within certain limits, you are ONLY allowed to:
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Change the shocks
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Change the brand of tires, so long as it fits on
the stock rim
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Adjust the suspension
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Run any air and oil filter element (you may not
mess with the airbox)
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Change the exhaust from the cat back (you must
retain the stock catalytic converter)
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What is the best
launch technique for my car?
With the automatic, it's probably best to do power
braking (1 foot slightly on the gas, the other on the brake), bringing the revs
up to 1000 RPM. When the light goes green, lift off the brake and hammer the
gas. Anything higher than 1000 RPM will probably cause you to spin. As for a
stick stick shift, bring the RPMs up to about 2500. Then slip both the tires
and the clutch in order to get the quickest take off.
In either case, a burnout of about 3 seconds is
enough to heat the tires. Then stage the car as shallow as possible in order to
accelerate forward a bit before getting out of the electric eye beams and
starting the timer. This results in terrible reaction times, but it will give
you a better 60 foot time and ET. You might also want to remove some weight
like the jack and spare tire. Also, run with only 1/8 of a tank of gas to
reduce weight.
As for the tires, the toe alignment can be set to
zero in order to reduce rolling resistance, and pump the front tires up to 45 -
50 pounds for the same reason. Finally, reduce the rear tire pressure to 26
pounds for the best traction.
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What on-board systems
are available measure performance numbers?
There's
Vericom. It's a black box which attaches to
the windshield with suction cups. It measures acceleration (time to speed, time
to distance, distance to speed, etc) and braking (distance from speed, time
from speed, etc). It can also measure G-forces and tell at which speed max G is
reached or placed on the side window to measure lateral G-force. It can measure
time for all sorts of acceleration modes, like 0-20, or 0-60, or 30-70, or
whatever. All results are stored, so you can stop the car and look thru all the
data. It is possible to change all measurements to metric or
English readings.
Measurements tend to show an ET that's 0.1 seconds
too slow because the Vericom starts immediately as the car starts, while at the
strip, timing starts after the car has rolled a foot or so. The only thing you
have to think about is to do all testing on a flat road. No uphill or downhill,
as this will confuse the Vericom, and give you inaccurate measurements. Vericom
can be reached at 1-800-533-5547 or 612-933-4256. They have a number of
different models ranging from $493 up to $2695.
There's also AutoXray which also gives you basic
performance numbers. It's much cheaper at only $220 from Crown Chevy
(510-828-6500, speak to Phil Stokes in the part dept).
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What computer
diagnostic tools are available for my car?
Rinda Technologies, Inc. (5112 N. Elston Avenue,
Chicago, IL 60630) makes a program called Diacom which is an MS-DOS program
that communicates with the ECM through a special cable that hooks up between
your computer and the diagnostic connector (ALDL) under the dash. There are two
versions of the program: a simple one costing $299 and an extended version
costing $599.
The AutoXray Inc. (2615 Pacific Coast Hwy Wuite 300,
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 310-379-0099 questions, 1-800-794-3008 orders) has a
scan tool that hooks up to the ALDL connector. If you have a 16 pin ALDL (94's
and on) instead of the 12 pin, you'll need to jumper two wires from the
supplied cable to your ALDL (the unit only needs ground and serial data). The
scan tool is $300 and the cable is $30. The unit itself is about the size of a
big calculator. It is powered by 4 AA batteries. It has four basic modes:
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Scan (takes a snapshot of all sensors/data)
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Monitor (monitors any sensor, real time)
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Capture (captures 14 seconds of sensor readings)
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Data (displays data captured under "scan" or
"monitor")
The unit scans: Desired Idle Engine RPM, Coolant
Temp, Manifold Air Temp, A/C Pressure, MAP Sensor, Throttle Sensor, Throttle
Posn, Battery Voltage, Barometric Press, Left and Right O2 Sensors, Block Learn
(BL) Cell, Left and Right BL values, Left and Right Integrator values, Left and
Right Inj Pulses, CCP Duty Cycle, Idle Air Mtr Pos, Learned Idle Pos, EGR Duty
Cycle, Vehicle Speed, Engine Run Time, A/C Clutch, A/C, Park/Neutral, Cruise
Ctrl, Brake Depressed, TCC Status, Fans #1 and #2, Air Switch, Closed Loop
Mode, Learn Control, and Kickdown Pattern.
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What are some junk
yards that deal specifically with F-Bodies?
Try these:
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Graham's Camaro/Firebird Salvage 4th Gens and LT1s
- AL (1-800-8CHEVYS)
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Miami Parts Unlimited - FL (305-688-4788, ask for
Dwanie)
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GTA and Camaro - TX (800-344-8721, ask for
Charlie)
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Junky Johns Auto - KY (502-358-8115)
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All Mustangs and Camaros - AZ (800-454-8387)
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Tallent Bros. - GA (800-722-6711)
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Everhart's Auto - OH (800-247-6033)
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Triplett Auto - OH (800-822-5555)
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KMK
Camaros/Trans Ams - TX (800-395-5657)
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Camaro Heaven - NH (800-226-2761)
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