Feel the burn, My first AX Options

[peridotian]

So my 19 year old son and I will be trekking down to Marina on Sunday and I am nervous (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon8.gif) because:
1. I have never driven in an AX
2. Neither has my son and he has barely driven a stick
3. I do not have a helmet
4. My accelerator pedal sticks at WOT sometimes
5. I am sure that we will be the slowest car in the field

So as I am cleaning up and tuning the car Saturday, I will take the kid out for several runs around town and let him grind off a few more teeth on my tranny, check my battery hold down, and maybe buy a helmet.

Is there a prize for worst time (IMG:style_emoticons/default/clap56.gif) of the day?

[airsix]

You two are going to have a blast. I'm sure it will be a wonderful father-son experience. Autocross is great fun - expect to be hooked (both of you).

Get your throttle fixed ASAP. Add another return spring if needed. If your throttle-return is questionable you will NOT pass the tech inspection (for good reason). I'm confident you can get this bug worked out before "go time".

Get there early and start walking the course as soon as they let you. Find a nice experienced driver to walk the course with you. The value of this is imesurable and will make a HUGE impact on your experience. Your course guide will help you find the "line" and give you tips on how to set up for different portions of the course and how to link everything together so you'll be smooth. Walk the course as many times as you can. You need to really get it burned into your memory so you can worry more about driving the car and less about "where am I supose to go?". Don't try to drive at 100% the first run. Try the first run at 75% and then step it up with each subsequent run as you get more comfortable with the car and the course.

Getting some more seat time with your son this week is a good idea. He'll probably need quite a bit of practice on his 1st-to-2nd shifting since it's so easy to nick reverse - especially when your pumped up with adrenalin and trying to do it fast. The more comfortable he is operating the car the more fun he'll have IMHO.

Try to get into a novice class. Everyone else in your class will be relatively new and running on street tires too. You might be surprised at how well you do.

Talk to everyone. Make friends. Have fun. You're going to love it.

-Ben M.