Jaysus...
Your first time and folks are telling you about shock settings and overfilling
oil pans? Hehehe...
I've autocrossed for over three decades, been the President of the local SCCA Chapter, designed courses, been a safety steward and run (and won) in everything from a Vega GT and 510 BRE to Vettes and Cobras, conducted schools, etc., and the single biggest problem I see newbies having is worrying about way too much sh!t.
My word of advice...calm down and make your goal to simply learn and have some fun.
1. You're running with folks who have their engines (and mass) in the wrong damn place...take any advice from them with a grain of salt.
2. Go to the SCCA site (or Google) and read up.
3. Go early...make the drivers' meeting and watch others. Hopefully, your work group will be before you run, so get out there and watch from the course.
4. Walk the course.
5. Walk that sumb!tch again.
6. If there are slaloms, walk off the distance between cones...are they consistent, increasing or decreasing distances between cones? Them little Nazi boys like to play tricks.
7. Pump up the tires. Avon radials...get them up to between 36 and 40 lbs. I like about 3-4 lbs more in the front to ease steering and turn-in.
8. If you expect heat, get a rose sprayer (cheap plastic) to spray the front of the radiator with between runs.
9. Don't screw with tire pressures in between runs this first time out. You're not going to make that much difference. Focus instead on seeing/feeling what it's all about and getting a clean run.
10. Don't worry about spinning out...you'll never know the limit til you exceed it.
11. Fill your gas tank...prevents sloshing around. Half-full is the worst. Later, you can play with barely full once you know how your pickup works, etc.
12. Everything out of the trunk and from behind the seats, check your wheel bearings and steering couplers. Make sure your helmet is new enough...no motorcycle helmets. Clean the frigging windshield.
13. Relax...breathe deeply before you start. No drag race start---spinning tires, etc. The first turns are usually sharp and quick, and your time doesn't start until you break the beam anyway. Same thing at the end...usually tight corners to slow folks down, and after you break the beam, hit the brakes and come to a stop at the sign.
14. Don't worry about classes or who's faster...learn and feel the car this first time out.
15. If it's hot...dump the coolant (you should anyway) and run water with some Water Wetter. Water cools better and you don't want to make the track slippery if you dump stuff.
16. Forget what you know from Willow Springs...I love watching road racers spin out their first few times autocrossing. Learn to give up speed to gain quickness. Do your braking beforehand and power out as if there's a raw egg under your right foot...asspecially in a Cobra.
There's more...much more...but that's enough for now.
Just go have some damn fun!
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