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first auto-x advice?

I

icysvt

Addicted CEG'er
Joined
Dec 17, 2005
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Location
Loudon,Tn
Well there is a local enough Auto-X this weekend and I am thinking about taking the svt out and having some fun. I haven't ever been to one much less entered one. It is an SCCA event iirc. anybody have any advice or pointers for me other than not taking out the cones:crazy:
 
Talk to some of the guys out there for some tips, that helped me a lot. Also, take your time walking through the track and walk where you want your car to be.

I also filled my tire pressure up to about 38 in the front and 40 in the back.. it will help those sidewalls from rolling.

Other then that have fun!
 
And don't be embarrassed if you take out some cones. Even the fastest drivers hit cones; it means you're exploring all your options.
 
icysvt said:
Well there is a local enough Auto-X this weekend and I am thinking about taking the svt out and having some fun. I haven't ever been to one much less entered one. It is an SCCA event iirc. anybody have any advice or pointers for me other than not taking out the cones:crazy:
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So...are you going to make it out tomorrow morning? Give me a call if you need anything. You've got my number in the original PM and maybe still from months ago. I'll be up at 5:30AM.
 
TennTechMan said:
So...are you going to make it out tomorrow morning? Give me a call if you need anything. You've got my number in the original PM and maybe still from months ago. I'll be up at 5:30AM.
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oh man I thought that was today!? thought i mised it, pm me the exact address if you have it and I can use my gps.
 
I have a question while we are on the topic... (kinda)

I'm quite paranoid about the whole oil starving situation, but as i understand it auto-x tends to be more multiple corners and such, so go at it without fear? (I do have 6qts in there).

Thanks.
 
I think you should be fine with 6 qt. It's more the long sweeping turns you have to worry about from what I've read. I have only autox'ed once and I didn't make it out of second gear the course was so tight.
 
You have to be holding a HIGH steady-state G at HIGH RPMs for a LONG TIME for the fabled oil starvation to occur. Autocross tracks aren't nearly large enough to even come close.
 
That is what i was hoping/thinking, but I can never be too sure, this whole "long sweeping curvs" and "high RPMs" seems so objective... what it comes down to me now is clutching it on the on/off ramps, or keeping it 2.5k or below (sometimes up to 3k but I try not to).

Thanks!
 
I dunno. I took a 270-degree right-hand freeway on-ramp this summer as fast as I could go on these tires, at probably 3500-4000 RPMs, for a good 15-20 secoonds. My oil pressure gauge never budged. Actually, I do that kind of stuff all the time. I'd like to drop a 3 into this car, but I can't justify it as long as the 2.5 isn't giving me any trouble. So I do give it a workout, and have been for years.
 
lol yeah as you know from NECO I also drive the piss out of my car, but I take care of it very well. I also haven't had any oil issues. But like you were saying, an autox course is way to small to worry about that.
 
you guys are ridiculous about the oil starvation issue. I accidentally ran 4 and a half quarts on my 2.5L while autocrossing and had no problems. unless you are pretty much at redline without a windage tray and 5.5 or less quarts of oil for longer than you should be at redline then you should be fine! If you guys are so worried about this oil starvation issue drop your oil pan and make sure you have the windage tray and top off your oil before you race. It is that simple!

rant over.

on a better note. hope you have/had fun at the autocross. scare the fear of contour into them.
 
I've done a few laps backwards on a clay 1/3 mile oval without a problem. I only had five quarts of oil and was doing about 65 mph in the turns in third gear. That probably puts the engine speed at about 5000 rpm. The turns were banked for whatever that's worth. When I swapped my oil pan for the awd one, everything looked fine. There was no burnt oil, metal shavings, or anything else that would indicate oil starvation.
 
Yeah, I have never been worried about it, how many engines has this oil starvation issued claimed anyways? I think BBOX's hybrid blew because of it so that's 1 to my knowledge. But to sounds like people are freaking out over nothing..
 
Monkay619 said:
That is what i was hoping/thinking, but I can never be too sure, this whole "long sweeping curvs" and "high RPMs" seems so objective... what it comes down to me now is clutching it on the on/off ramps, or keeping it 2.5k or below (sometimes up to 3k but I try not to).

Thanks!
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I have been interested in doing auto X in my tour as well, but have also been very worried about the starvation on long sweeping corners at high RPM. I to clutch it when above 3k on freeway on/off ramps as well:rolleyes:. I run 6 quarts of full syn Mobile 1. I mean what is a long corner? 10 seconds, 20? My on/off ramps are 5 seconds hardly more.
Im pretty sure it the right turns that create the problem.
 
You're not going to oil-starve the engine on an autocross course unless your pump dies, in which case you'd starve it anywhere. Let's just put this topic to bed already. I just tracked my 138,000 mile original 2.5 for an hour at constant near-redline conditions on 6 quarts of oil without a hint of pressure fluctuation. FWIW, the oil temp held at a rock solid 210 all day as well, what it normally runs on a hot day at low rpm highway speed. This track day was also after a full season of autocrossing. Just make sure your oil is full and go.
 
I autoX my first SVT for two years on RComps and never had any problems with anything. The two biggest problems with the CSVT and AutoX are no LSD and it is too heavy. It is a ton of fun though.
 
2000SilverSVT said:
I autoX my first SVT for two years on RComps and never had any problems with anything. The two biggest problems with the CSVT and AutoX are no LSD and it is too heavy. It is a ton of fun though.
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I'll second your choice of main disadvantages. No LSD is infuriating on tight courses. Almost makes me want my stock diff to break for the excuse to upgrade.
 
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