I just took the fit autoxing this weekend for my first time. It is awesome. The Fit is definetly capable of being a contender since there aren't too much straight aways where the lack of power becomes an issue. It took me a couple runs to get used to racing the fit, and getting used to the course, but it has a lot of handling potential.

I ran in sts for my springs, strut bars, and intake so I was limited in power but the handling was fantastic. I didn't see too much in body roll but Im pretty sure I was lifting the back inside tire on almost every turn. I realized right away that the car prevoked understeer once I made the transition to turn while braking which is a bad habit I was trying to break the whole day. If I improved my braking, I think I would have dropped another second or two. The whole day out of 6 races, I dropped in time every lap. My best time was actually one second slower than an S2000. The second half of my racing I realized to pull the handbrake a little just after entering a turn top provoke a little oversteer to get the front lined up for the next turn and ended up dropping a couple more seconds. I'm saying the Fit really sings when you keep it in second the whole time screaming in vtec. The thing would fly through the slalom and transition turns with amazingly tight response. People really seemed to like seeing the Fit there with a couple people saying they were looking into buying one. I realized I definitly have a skill at racing that I would like to improve with more seat time with the Fit, and I have to say that all my hours playing gran turismo is paying off.

I didnt get any pics, but I am going back oct. 1st and ill make sure to bring a camera

 

LOL! Gran Turismo can help you learn some things about cornering!!

Take your time, learn about trail braking, late apex, heel-and-toe, hand positioning on the wheel, and everything will fall into place.

I began autocrossing in 1979.

Just go out and have fun!!!

 

Good job. Do you remember what your tire pressures were? First thing you want to do is get a little bit of shoe polish and dab a little on the places where the tred meets the sidewall. If youre rolling into your sidewalls then your tire pressures are too low. If youre not using all your tread then your tire pressures are too high. Once you get your front tire pressure set, Id leave it alone. Then use the rear for tuning. I used to run 42f/38r psi on my 98 Jetta. I found this to be the optimal setting. When I would let go of the throttle the tail would stick out ever-so-slightly. And if i dabbed the throttle it would tuck it back in.

AutoX is awesome. Not as good as road racing but its quite a bit cheaper. I cant wait to go in my fit.

 

sorry i couldnt make it rick.....i was helpin my sister move to her new house..........theres one oct 1?

 

http://64.81.147.40/modules.php?set_...um.php&page=10

it was pretty cool, lots of cool cars. I mad for not bringing my camera. Someone was tracking a lotus ex-something. First time and I had fun, the Fit impressed me the way it handled so I'm going back on Oct 1st if its not that bad out. Its not scca, its wci or something but it is basically the same kind of event. There is an scca solo on oct 8th as well. You have to get there at 730 or 8am to reg. though. I found a website for the cars running that some guy takes pics of everyone, I didnt see any of the cars including mine in the heat I was in, so I believe he was racing in that one. It has pics of some other badass cars though. The lotus and a chop top mr-s thats super loud.

As for a similar thread running, there was a stock mini cooper s there. It was running F class, but its best time was about 2 sec. faster than mine and Im a noob at this. I think the mini s is an easy competitor against the fit!

 

yup! everything you said is what I predicted in the fit's potential

 

Not bad! How did you do in your class? I bet there was a bunch of old-school Si's in STS. How far behind were you compared to them?

 

I placed 14th out of 19 in sts. A bunch of SIs were ahead of me, old and new. I beat a newer eclipse, a couple 240sxs, and a hyundi elantra
not sure what the number under my best time is, I also want to know what number they index the fit as if anybody knows.

'Street Touring S' - Total Entries: 19 Trophies:
Bereuter, Larry00 Subaru 2.5RS Silver 65.453 64.998 64.312 64.312 65.039 64.983 65.135-2
Gentil, John1991 Honda Civic SI Red 64.469 65.938+2 64.820+1 64.469 64.807+1 83.573+DNF 64.7060 .1573
Marcellis, Dan91 Honda Civic SI Red 70.180+1 70.485 66.185 65.759 69.333+1 66.144+1 65.759 1.2904
Watkins, Dave1990 Honda Civic Si White 71.680 67.671 67.194 66.431 67.753+1 66.790 66.431 0.6725
Schultz, Sara1990 Honda Civic Si Red 68.604+1 67.971 66.929 66.515 68.260+2 67.012+1 66.515 0.0846
Sloane, Andrew2001 Subaru 2.5RS Blue 67.799+2 67.174+1 67.233 66.586 66.586 69.315+1 66.7120 .0717
Kroupa, Ryan95 Nissan 240SX Red 74.387 67.520 67.243+2 66.853 67.478 67.104 66.853 0.2678
Bailey, Chris2006 Acura RSX Type-S Blue 70.502+1 67.635+1 67.049 67.049 67.421 66.590+1 68.541+2 0.1969
Wakefield, Joel99 Honda Civic Black 70.677 69.523+1 68.499 67.912 68.380 67.912 68.064+10 .86310
Wahrea, David91 BMW 318is Black 70.719 70.166 68.735 67.952 67.952 68.232 68.0220 .04011
JoeBlack Civic Si 71.472 68.104 68.565 68.104 68.846 68.667+1 68.9620 .15212
Stuper, Chris06 Acura RSX Type S Blue 73.471 71.592 69.733 68.115 69.457 68.896+2 68.115 0.01113
8Kelly, Joseph02 Ford Focus SVT Red 68.929+1 69.243+1 68.235+4 68.125 69.336 68.125 69.6590 .01014
Read, Rick07 Honda Fit76.393+DNF 71.957 71.054 69.194 70.433 70.169 69.194 1.06915
Wahrer, Andy92 Nissan 240SX Gray 72.934 76.921 69.910 69.861 69.254+1 69.861 69.693+1 0.66716
Atkinson, Eric1990 Nissan240SX grey 78.619 76.202 73.717 72.034 72.034 72.397 74.2482 .17317
Broderick, Tim2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse Silver 78.623 74.209 77.873 72.857 73.707 72.857 72.8680 .82318
Greif, Paul06 Hyundai Elantra Black 79.845+DNF 80.806+DNF 77.443 74.280 76.190+1 72.280+1 75.197+3 1.42319
Jones, Jeremy1995 Mazda MX6 Green 79.413 79.114 76.652 74.299 75.566 75.497+1 74.299 0.019

 

Considering that you were a n00b, and you probably dont have competative tires (falken azenis or Hankook ventus) you did FRIGGIN' AWESOME man! I bet with a little practice, competative tires (surprisingly cheap, actually) and a couple more strategical mods, you could shave off 3 seconds off of that.

Your strengths are going to have to be in handling and braking. Braking is VERY IMPORTANT. Youve got ABS. USE IT! If you arent setting of the ABS then you aren't braking hard enough.

Keep it up man! I bet you could get 10th in your next event.

 

dude, thats sweet......it sucks that u have to be there at 730am

 

At least you can take a nap in the Fit after you get set up. Its way harder when you take an MR2....

You can take your tires and other stuff, set-up your canopy and cooler, kick-back and enjoy the show while you wait...

 

jits14,

Congrats, you did great.

Some suggestions-
Get there early so you can walk the course- a bunch of times, more is better- until you know it really well. Draw it out on a paper-mark the fast and slow areas- the tight turns and the longest straightaways.

On anything that leads to a straightaway, try to set yourself to enter the straight going as fast as you can- it might mean taking the corner or element before the straight just a little slower (slow in fast out).

Measure in steps the gaps between the cones in each slalom. Sometimes it will be evenly spaced, or decreasing or increasing in spacing. Slow or increase speed accordingly.

When your car doesn't have excessive power don't get on the brake too strongly. Tap the brake to settle the car to allow more weight on each wheel.

Accelerate or brake with vigor but smoothly so you don't upset the balance of the car too much.

Keep a written record of what you've done to prep your car- tire notes/psi numbers, mistakes and successes, etc.

Try driving with a quarter tank of gas

Never coast- ever.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes and have fun.

Realize that drivers that have done it for over 25 years (and in the same car) still have more to learn.

 

Can't wait to be there

 

if the Fit wasn't my only car id drive it in the Auto X .. maybe ill get something to build up for an Auto X though

 

I think anyone could do fine with a completely stock FIT.

Yours is modded so you can't run in a stock class but that's also fine.
Mostly you gain experience and learn how to drive on a given course for each event. Since every event there is much to learn you gain experience with each run.

Bring a helmet (or rent one) and some shoes. Or at least go out to the event and watch. Walk the course and observe/study. Maybe go for some fun runs at the end of the day.

 

NICE....whats ur setup on FIT. ......