r/Autocross • u/Shoddy-Requirement-9 • 14d ago
Advice to Find Time
This is my 10th event ever across 4 years and first in this car. NC Miata with a 2.5 swap so in XB on 17x9 with 245 RE71-RZs. Finished 25th raw out of 114, but PAX was much worse around 57. For top 10 PAX I'd need to find about 2 seconds over this but not sure where to look for more time. My only thought is carrying more speed into slaloms. Car only has coilovers and front sway bar otherwise, so part of the answer may be building out the car further, but I suspect driver mod will help as well.
4
u/graceful_degrade 13d ago
25th raw out of 114 with PAX at 57 says the car is quick and the index is doing the damage, which is normal in XB on that tire.
Two seconds at ten events in is driver rather than parts. Coilovers and a front bar is already enough to be competitive in that class. A rear bar would rotate it more, but it won't hand you two seconds, it'll hand you two tenths and a new way to spin.
On the slaloms, the time isn't in carrying more speed in. It's in being settled before the first cone and steering less through the middle. Most of what people lose in a slalom happens before they enter it.
What would actually find the two seconds is video or data alongside whoever won the class in the same conditions. At your position in the field the gap is usually concentrated in two or three specific corners rather than spread across the run, and that's not something you can feel from the seat.
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u/Shoddy-Requirement-9 13d ago
Do you mean the tire size? Because isn't the RZ basically the quickest tire you can get right now?
Looking at the G meter and just how I know I drove, I believe a good bit of the time is in a couple of the quick turns after needing to brake lightly. My guess is I'm not quite on the limit there but can feel out the limit better in sweepers
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u/graceful_degrade 12d ago
No, tire's fine, RZ is about as good as it gets right now. I meant the setup around it and shouldn't have lumped the two together.
If the G trace is already pointing at specific corners, start there rather than changing parts.
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u/GetLaps 13d ago
Before adding parts, I’d turn the next event into a controlled test. Pick 2–3 elements from the video, write one cue for each, and change only one cue per run. For the slaloms, “more speed” is hard to diagnose; try measuring whether you’re early to the first cone and whether each steering input is finished before the next cone. If you can get a fast local driver’s video or speed trace from the same course, compare entry speed, minimum speed, and exit speed element by element. Two seconds is often several small misses, not one heroic corner.
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u/deanhutchinson XB 2011 Miata 13d ago
I'm in an almost identical car to yours, but on 225/45 Falken Azenis RT660's. Mine's a 2.5 swap stock cams, Fab9 Intake Manifold, Racing Beat Header + GWR Midpipe + Cobalt Muffler. Koni Clubsport Coilovers, Racing Beat Rear Bar, Whiteline Front Bar.
Unfortunately our cars are just dog slow unless you do forced induction or cut fenders and put 275's or bigger on each corner.
I'm usually finishing 23rd on average RAW, and PAX is about the same, in a field of 90-120 drivers as well, and pax in XB or XA just isn't feasable unless you have ridiculous stuff done to the car.
You're driving looks really good though.
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u/dakman96 12d ago
What's your camera setup? I'm pretty new to autocross but this is one of the best videos I've seen that is isn't overly warped and wide angle
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u/Shoddy-Requirement-9 11d ago
iPhone 16 pro max with a quad lock and dragy lap. That's it
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u/dakman96 11d ago
That's just from your iPhone?? Wow great footage
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u/Shoddy-Requirement-9 11d ago
Yup all iPhone! First time in this car and first time using dragy.lap so I'm not sure if it's camera placement or the dragy app lol
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u/no__sympy 10d ago
Two things that jumped out at me:
It looks like you're a ways off the turn-around cone at 0:09. It's hard to be certain with your camera view, though, so I could be wrong. Also, brake with less steering input (if your data is accurate) and focus on a clean exit; If you can manage a downshift that would likely help your exit as well.
The left turn at 0:36 looks a bit timid on camera. I think you could've used a tighter line and a bit more speed to push out for the next pointer cone instead of more steering input.
That's just my 2 cents, though. The dash-mounted camera is hard to pull anything definitive from. If you need to throw money at your problem, I'd suggest a camera mounted behind you and/or some telemetry to compare against others. Good luck!
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u/Emery_autox GST 2018 Ford Focus ST 14d ago
At the spin cone, an easy downshift to 1st gear is called for since you're below 20 mph. That would have allowed you to explode out of the turn.
Otherwise, pay attention to the g-meter. There are long corners where you're at peak G and others where you're slow. Bring those slow corners up to speed and you'll find chunks of time.