going with My friend and his car club to NH its a tuners show but the all cars can do the test and tune and autocross. anything i should do to prepare my oil is at a good Level but dirty almost to the 3k mark.

a video of what happens when one of the rpm bulbs is out kind of a cool effect
https://plus.google.com/u/0/106702833287997199995/postsFixed link

 

Link doesnt work, Unles you have an acct with google... (It asks you to sign in) I dont have a "Google" acct...

If your almost at 3000 miles... I recommend changeing it...
But Hey Thats just me.

 

its getting changed along with the coolant on the 13th i have 300 miles before 3k though

 

Make sure all loose items in your car are removed or secured. Battery needs to be very secure. Increase your tires air pressure to about 42 pounds. You will experience less roll during the cornering. For us FWD cars when we are going into the turns you need to let off the pedal and about 3/4 of the way through the turn really really get back into it hard. Rear wheel drive cars stay into it going in the turns and get out of it while in the turn. AWD's just stay in it all day long...

Speed is not everything but it is important. It's really how well you can slip into a turn or curves and not slow down very much. Find the right line of attack and try to brake as minimal as possible. Some sections are set up to cause you to brake, so do it only when needed and get back into powering out and away to your next challenge.

With that being said you want to make sure you have good brake pads able to withstand some abuse, not ones with only 1/8" of pad remaining.

Look over your tires, hope you have at least half the tread remaining.

Check your tranny fluid level

Check coolant

And drive like you stole it!! LOL, Thats all i did and it worked for me! Sometimes I just knew I was going to roll my tires off the rims, but never did. Super hard acceleration, intense braking and then getting hard back into it about 3/4 of the way through the turn, and shooting down to the next turn. Tires and brakes smoking when I'm done...

Best of luck, your going to have fun for sure. Let me know how it went....

 

my 15'' rims are gonna suck for autocrossing lol and my tires are decent on tread theyre about a year and a half old my pads are about the same age and recently my mechanic said 75% life left 90% on the drum pads

 

I think your 15's will be just fine. I ran on 16's and still run 16's. If you had a wider tire's on the 15's it may help some. I saw some half built cars run faster times than built cars. Alot of it is up to the driver and his attack angles and not slowing down your momentum only to have to build it back up again as you move to the next obstacle. Take your time be consistent in your approaches and after a few passes, then try to shoot for a good time. Just try to glide through the course with the greatest of ease, smoothly.

 

I always smoke people in go kart races so we shall see. It'll be practice for becoming a state trooper when i graduate college. i gotta go to a shooting range sometime too lmao

 

Don't get hung up on what your autocrossing. Just make sure the car is in good shape to do it (being at 3000 miles, an oil change is a good healthy thing to do).

I've autocrossed my '84 Camaro and since it was down and out, the last few years, I autocrossed my '94 Grand Am (all stock, except the L67 coils and K&N air filter, neither are going to make a noteworthy difference).

Some good tips during the event:
- Empty the car of all loose items. Some clubs will not even let you run with floor mats. If it's NOT secured in a center console or glove box, don't bring it. I also recommend emptying the trunk of none-essentials (such as if you have school books or other items, remove them). Some clubs have made people empty the trunk of all but a spare tire. Plus, it makes the car lighter
- If you have a helmet, BRING IT. All clubs I've ran with have a helmet or two to share. Seriously, I don't need someone else's sweet on my head. I have never seen a club allow you to run without a Helmet.
- If they let you walk the course (most events do), DO IT!!! Don't wing it, walk the course, get an idea of how the car needs to move around it.
- Between runs, you will probably have to wait a while until your next run, pop the hood, let the engine cool down some.
- Most courses I run, you don't need more then 2nd gear. In a stick, once your in second, LEAVE IT, in an auto, set it to 2nd and forget it. Reason, shifting up or down takes TIME. Most courses don't need a higher gear, and the quick movements in going up and down gears like mad on the trans are costing you precious time.
- No matter the tires, PRESSURE is important. Usually I end up dropping a couple pounds of pressure from my normal street driving (it may be in just 1, 2 or all wheels). You don't want to go too low on pressure as the side walls may roll to much, but just dropping 1 or 2 pounds can give you MORE tread on the ground for traction. ALSO, keep in mind, you may tend to drive the car hard, tired heat up, air expands, pressure thus increases too.
- Watch how the competition moves and handles, learn tough spots in the course.
- Don't compare your time to other cars (unless they are in your car class). Such as a stock Fiero or Miata can easily kick the crap out of a F-body on an autocross course. They are smaller, tighter wheel base, more equipped to handle the maneuvers then the larger F-body with the big bad v8. It's not about raw horse power, this is NOT straight line drag racing.

Biggest rule, HAVE FUN! Autocrossing is a GREAT way to sharpen your driving skills. I've had some good moments in learning better handling on a safe autocross course (including reliving the same feeling and effect that caused me to wrap my Camaro around a telephone pole on an icy winter day, except on the autocross course, there was no danger of hitting anything but a cone and dry asphalt makes for a FASTER stop then ice).

OH and don't be like me, here's my first time mistake.... When I had my tech inspection, my Camaro did not have the battery hold down. Loose battery is a NO GO! Luckily, a MacGyver-ed bungee cord was permitted (problem later resolved).

 

the battery shouldn't be an issue since its sideways and underneath the washer fluid tank i think its tied down

 

Great points the Maniac brings up I neglected to mention.

I never shift gears either leave it in 2nd and drive.
Pop the hood to cool down the motor between runs.
Bring a helmet if you have one.
Walk the course
Bring an air compressor and tire gauge too.

Tire pressure is so open to whats the best and whats not. Generally heavier cars run higher tire pressures and smaller ricer types run lower. But then it all depends on the tracks temperature, your suspension and FWD or RRD. The final decision on tire pressures will be your "Time" After a couple runs and you feeel like your understeering add more pressure and vice versa. And a thermal gun can be helpful, when a run is over you can shoot your tires for areas hotter than others and add or decrease pressure as needed till you have a consistent surface temp. If your time is getting better then your moving in the right direction. Good luck