Any tips for autocrossing a 430?
I've watched a number of autocross events this last month... and the larger/faster cars don't do nearly as well as the smaller more nimble cars. I watched as miatas and evos tore around the track as larger, heavier and more powerful cars just couldn't keep up. I'm sure some of it was the driver... but it was a pretty consistent outcome. I'm with Hitch-hiker... put your car on a proper track. I've tracked my F430 a few times and it's heaven to be able to shift at red-line and really feel the car in the way it was designed.
I agree with the others here, don't do it. Very wrong car for an autocross. Are you in Boulder? If so, do you have a red coupe I saw going south on 9th a few weeks ago?
Absolutely agree with this statement... I just did my first track event with my 360 yesterday. Had an absolute blast!!
Start out in 1st then finish the course in 2nd gear. Its about the driver more so then the car. Have fun. Pump up the tire PSI ~35-40. It'll be going circles if you just keep it in 1st.
Despite of its width, the F430 is a good autoX car. Lots of people would recommend track over autoX, the reality is that you need both. You cannot push 10/10th at the track or you will be in trouble. At AutoX you can push hard enough to reach the limits of the car or exceed them, learn your car, with the experience at the limits of adhesion you become both faster and safer at the track. I took my car to the SCCA National Championship last year, I had cone penalties on my best laps, otherwise I could have gotten 3rd or 4th place at a National Championship against some of the best drivers in the nation, my car was almost 400 lbs heavier that its legal allowed weight in the class. Lots of road racers started autocrossing, Randy Pobst one of them. If you local Club designs 1st gear courses, stay away from them, there is no reason for such tiny courses. I often run at an airfield (Fast&theFurious and RedLine movies, testing venue for CarAnd Driver, MotorTrend, etc). Sometimes we have courses with speeds of up to 100mph. I use a Traqmate data acquisition system in my cars. The fastest racetrack in the area is California Speedway (ROVAL Setup), where actual track speeds in the Scuderia almost touch 160mph running on low grip tires. Entering the infield (turns 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11) essentially all the turns but the NASCAR speedway turn, they are all autocross turns. I have taken turn 4 at stupid drift angles keeping the car looking for the exit unwinding and flooring it, no driving school, track school will teach this. Streets of Willow, Laguna Seca, Willow Springs, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Pocono, all these tracks have autocross turns. In all my years at the track, I have witnessed horrific driving on the advanced groups, I have seen accidents caused by driver errors most of the time. We are at risk when driving at the track, so to minimize risk, the equipment and the driver need to be at the top. The F430 is a great track car, most drivers with F430 not so much. Tips: - Don't use your street wheels/tires. Get a set of wheels exclusive for track/autoX, if you're starting (not an expert autocrosser), stick to a street legal grippy tire. Yoko AD08 or Bridgestone RE-11. Run the car on 18" wheels, reduces the cost of tires, and improves gearing (reduces unspring weight too). - Porsche Club typically has the fastest courses consistently nationwide. Run with Porsche Club and SCCA. Some BMWCCA chapters have fast autocross courses. - If you have the chance to get a National level driver to drive your car for a couple of laps, you can then see how far behind you're to an experienced driver. - Use Clear Bra, Painter's tape, roadwrap, on the corners of them front bumper, fenders and side skirts. - Most F430 and 360 have a messed up alignment, but most owners won't even notice. Spend 15 minutes getting a print-out of your current alignment, most likely is messed up. A good alignment makes the car both safer and faster. PM if you want more info.
The National rule is you drive a Porsche or you're a PCA member. Same deal with BMWCCA. However, certain local chapters are very restrictive. PCA San Diego is only Porsches, but I have run with them with non-Porsches sending a letter to the chair, and I have been accepted every time. They are great people Here is another upcoming PCA Autocross, they let me register with a non-Porsche as well. The track is longer than some well known racetracks, the facility is used to train police officers on car pursuits. http://gpx.pca.org/Documents/June%2027%20Zone%208%20Fairplex%20Autocross.pdf I forgot, instructors are free, and autocross events are cheap, this applies everywhere.
Taking a 430 to autocross... you are looking at 5 figures in maintenance, depreciation, clutch and brake wear... For that price, pick up a used Lotus Elise. You can get an '05 for $20K now, and it's one of the lightest / fastest cars for both track and autocross (high-speed track - not so much). My first autocross in my Elise, I went in newcomer class... right behind an SL55 AMG. I was able to instantly shave 4 seconds off the AMG's time. Regardless of what car you take... protect your bumper! Clear bra is best, as cone rash wipes off with WD-40. If you haven't clear bra'd your bumper, cover it with painter's tape... repeat every autox weekend. The best part about autox is your first spin. Learning how your car feels approaching the limit. Learning how it feels what it crosses it. Feeling how you lose control. And eventually learning how to regain it and prevent spins. That knowledge is priceless.
It is actually 4 figures whether you drive a F430, a GT3, a Mini Cooper, or an Elise. My brand new track pads came at 10mm thick in the front and 9mm thick in the rear. Currently, the front ones are at 8mm, the rear ones at 8mm. My stock pads are practically new, as they were on the car for 300 miles. My track pads have over 5,000 miles, 2 track days and multiple autocrosses, almost zero wear. At AutoX we use less brakes than driving on the highways or around the Canyons. Almost no wear on brakes at autoX. Very low wear on the clutch as well, there is no hard take-off at autoX, there is one shift to 2nd gear, and that's it, sometimes you go to 3rd. You wear out the clutch much more on public streets. A typical autoX course is 1 mile long, with PCA we do 3 sessions with 4 laps each, that's 12 miles of driving per day. You could run 30 autocrosses (30 weekends) per year and drive around 360 miles on the car if you have a car trailer. With the SCCA we only get 3 laps, so it would take almost 100 weekends to reach 360 miles, as their courses are shorter. These cars don't generate 5 figures maintenance bills in less than 400 miles, real ownership experience. Look at the F430 racing in the Challenge series, they put more miles than that in just one weekend, at much higher speeds, much higher levels of grip (slicks), using heavy braking, lots of shifting, and they don't replace the clutch or brakes after the race. At the 24Hr of the Nurburgring, a Ferrari 430 at an average of 110 mph for 24 hours (over 2,500 miles) came to the finish line, 2nd overall, same clutch, same brakes, driving at much higher speeds. Over 2,500 miles of autocrosses is a lifetime. I just had my yearly service completed, just fluids. Cheaper maintenance than my 2 current Porsches, and all of the ones I had before in the same period of time. Depreciation, well the garage queens collecting dust in their garages are depreciating and badly. In 2008 I was shopping for a F430, 2005/CCB/Race seats: $225k, same car today with the same miles $125k and it wasn't at an autocross ever. How much of a hit would it take on the used market for being driven at autocrosses but being in perfect conditions? my guess, a lot less than the $100k that it already took just sitting and not being driven.
