i really want to get into autox next season with my 08 tC.
right now i just have TRD struts/shocks and TRD springs. I also have a TRD exhaust .... what class would that put me? and how do they know what class to put me in? do they consider the TRD suspension stuff stock since i bought my car with that stuff on there from the dealership? how would sway bars affect the class im in if i were to add them to my current set up?

any pointers on where i should start to look for local autox racing for next season and is there a requirement to race? like having to go to a race class/school or something? also is it expensive for a season?

sorry for being such a noob so if i missed anything please feel free to fill me in on anything you think i should know about the sport

Thanks

 

all good for being a noob, i was once at that point too... ive been autoxing for almost 2 years now, its a freaking addiction i tell you!

now to answer your questions... more than likely with the TRD struts/shocks and springs and exhaust, you'd probably fall into the same class im in, STS (street touring, i can never remember what the last "S" stood for, either sport or stock, someone please clarify that)
they have guidelines in which they go by as far as classing people is concerned, with all those mods, they put me in STS (ive got everything you've got). for tires, there is a treadwear limit for STS as well as wheel size and tire width. these links should help you find which class you would best fit under
http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/index.shtml

http://www.scca-milwaukee.org/Solo/c...sification.pdf

sway bars are allowed for STS, i myself have the TRD rear sway bar, makes a HUGE difference in the handling of the tc

i would look at www.scca.com

you should be able to find a region near you and possibly find the events for next year posted sometime soon or maybe the next event in december if they have events every month or so

http://www.scca.com/divisions.aspx?div=ne

there shouldnt be any kind of requirement to race, as long as you got yourself a safe car, it can be bone stock to highly extremely modified, as long as it passes tech, such as the battery is tied down, the breaks work fine, and your tires are in good shape (ie. no cords showing or no tire blister etc.) there is no race school required, those are pretty much for your own benefit, they do have an evolution autocross school, which i am not sure where the locations are for the east coast. racing is always an expensive hobby. its rare that something will go wrong with your car, being that its brand new. I autox my tc and its also my daily driver, and i havent had a problem for the last year and half or so *knock on wood* just dont let the dealership know that you race, that'll totally void your warranty as you may already know. but once you start you find more and more things that you could improve on your car which drains the bank account. there is a fee to race, to me its reasonable for us here in vegas.

other than that hope that info helps, if anyone sees a mistake on the info ive given him, please feel free to correct my mistake heheh T.Y.!

if you have any other questions about it feel free to ask, ill try to get back to you (busy schedule =X), there are other autoxers lurking on the site, a few, but they're on here to help as well.

advice fellow autoxers have given me:
-run crappy tires for as long as you can, you'll learn how to really control the car on crappy tires, run it to its limits, it'll help you become a better driver

- look ahead, this will come with experience

- walk the course at least once, get an idea on where your braking points will be, where your critical apexs are

those are all i can really think of right now, good luck, and if you're thinking of doing these events ALOT, become a member...and to warn to your region may have different rules than the Las Vegas Region, so just be prepared if how they run things over there isnt similar to the info ive given you!

above all, just have fun!

 

thank you so much for all that info, you have been a great help

 

Yeah...thats great, thanks x2....

 

no problem if you guys got any other questions, shoot- ill try to answer them to the best of my abilities. there is only so much advice i or anyone else can give you, the rest will come with experience....good luck, HAVE FUN! thats what it all really comes down to in the end.

 

I did an AutoX for my first time this year & I'm hooked.

Due to the lowering springs on my xA, I was put in STS, where I was way underpowered, but had a ball. I was up against 2 Civics, a Maxima, & an Imprezza RS. Everybody was super, including my competitors, who didn't hesitate to give me tips.

Your TC would be more competitive than my xA. The basics:
max wheel width 7 1/2" max tire width 225. no power adders. Don't mess with emissions or airbag stuff.

Have fun.

 

when i went, it was a blast, i placed 4th in my class, i was beaten by a a pontiac vibe gt (i don't know how i let that happen), a mark 5 gti, an rx8, and evo VII in the novice STS class.

my best time was 45.7, the other times were pretty close except for the rx8 was about 42, and evo did it in 40-41 seconds.

i didn't have my new clutch, flywheel and lsd on yet, so next time i go, i'll be in either STX or SM class. i'll be in SM class for sure once i have my supercharger installed.

while i like competing against all the other cars, my biggest rivals are my fellow tc drivers, because that is a much better measure of my driving ability versus theirs.

 

the RX8 & Evo shouldn't have been in STS...
maybe it was because of the novice class...

yeah, you're definitely putting yourself out of STS with your mods.

I'm gonna stick in STS & put minimal money & just work on my driving & a little tuning. I'll probably never win, but I'd like to nip at their heels...

 

oh yeah for you un-lowered guys,
stock allows slicks, exhaust & air filter (not intake), & shocks (not coilovers)

I wouldn't do stock in an xA, but a TC would do just fine.

 

Yea, I wanted to stay in stock class, but not being able to lower my car was not an option for me... so into STS I went...

Remember, it's not all about what mods you have done to your car. Auto-x especially, drivers make all the difference. In the club I race with down here at school the STS champion is going to be a guy in a 1996 Dodge Neon. And back home, people get crushed by a guy in a bone-stock 1999 Dodge Stratus because the guy drives fast, but smooth. Driving smooth is the name of the game.

So get out there, practice, and have fun.

 

oh man talk about the fast person in our SCCA region out here in vegas... he drive an 89 honda civic si....whooops everyones behinds every event, the car is way way underpowered, with an agressive suspension, but then again he does have 16 years of experience...he drive the damn car like a kart...what some say is what seems slow to you is actually fast on the course...SLOW IS FAST...especially around the corners, no matter what you've got, whether it an extremely modded car to a bone stock car, it all comes down to the driver, we had quite a few exotic cars out, and we know they're fast a F*ck, but the driver sucked! and dave in the 89 honda civic si still beat an exotic car in his beater...like what hat trick hokie said, the driver is practically everything when it comes to autox

 

Ill vouch for that Si....Wicked fast(figuratively speaking) and awesome a driver! If there werent any long straights on that course he could have easily taken the evo's and sti's.
x2 on driving with smoothness. I told my friend to ease out his braking, acceleration and turning and he shaved 2 seconds off his time. AutoX is definately all driver skill but it doesnt hurt to have a 4wd Evo....

 

im looking to get some sway bars... should i hold off for my first event and then put say a TRD rear sway on. then later down the line upgrade to a hotchkis setup, or should just go straight for the hotchkis

what do you guys think about this

 

I've heard rear only swaybar. At least on my xA.
Stiffer rear helps to turn.

 

I can vouch for the TRD rear sway. I had it w/ no other modifications on the car, and it made a huge difference.

I know for a front wheel drive vehicle a stiffer rear sway will make the biggest difference. Just like what mrexotica said. But I'm sure the Hotchkis setup will provide some more gains.

 

both set ups are good i have the TRD rear sway and boy did that make a huge difference, FWD you'd want a stiffer back is correct, helps the car fight the understeer, helps you get around the corners better...

unxpectederror...i would suggest autox the car as it is for right now, learn the cars limits without mods, then put the sway bar, i say one mod at a time, just so you can learn to drive the car without mods, and learn to drive the car to its limits without mods

i first started with 18" no rear sway bar and was lowered with the TRD spring/shock set up, i was 10 to 15 seconds slower than the average, i put the rear sway bar, learned how to drive a little better, then i was 5 to 8 seconds behind the average, went to our stock wheels after my accident, smaller wheels, less rotating mass, pick up speed faster, 3 to 5 seconds behind the average. instead of 215/40/17, i went up to 225/45/17, more contact with the ground with a wider tire, helped reduce the roll a little more, now after almost 2 years i'm within 1 to tenths of seconds from the average in my class. but with every mod, the car reacts differently, you as the driver gotta kinda used what you already know and learn some new things about the cars potential/limits with the new mods. i suggest one mod at a time, i think you'll learn a lot more.

 

gee you make the scion tc sound like it sucks at this lol what kinda cars are you running against to have been so far behind with your original setup

thanks for your input and suggestions, always appreciated

 

well the tc doesnt suck it self, i sucked as a driver back then (still kinda suck now) hehehe, but then again up until now in my class, as well as the many others that participate in the STS class, we're all getting whooped by a 89 Honda Civic Si... but then again the guy driving has 16 years of experience over all of us. but i do have somethings to complain about when it comes to the tc, i do somewhat wish that the roof wasn't glass, it would help a ton, however, that carbon fiber roof is expensive (can't afford that yet) and im not ready to be classed up to the Street Modified class (SM), i dont think the tc and i as a driver, can really take on the Spec corvettes and such on the course, unless I was an excellent driver, which im no where close to being good, im still learning afterall hehe =D

but it took time, lots of seat time, and lots of help and advise from others that got me very close to the average, and within tenths of seconds from my competitor in the STSL class. so its them i thank and practice practice practice, sometimes my fellow autoxers / mazda owners go karting before an event, it gets us ready and some practice i guess, but karting is soooooooo much more different, i wish i could drive the tc like a kart, but the car wont let me, not yet at least, the guy with the 89 civic si, now he drives that car like a kart

 

SCCA

And I second autoxtc she seems to really know what she's talking about practice practice practice and some more practice.

Gotta go slow to go fast.

 

the nut behind the wheel