1st Run

2nd Run

3rd Run

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 You'll remember your first event for a long time. The adrenaline that makes you shake at the start-line before your first run, and the even bigger surge of adrenaline you feel when you finish. That excitement is part of the sport, and it's why we all do this. Don't let being a novice overwhelm you! Every driver, including the National Champions, had a first day and a novice season. Autocrossing is a skill that requires instruction and practice to see improvements. If it was easy, it wouldn't be so competitive, or so fun. The great thing about this sport, though, is that even when you're going "slow", it's still fun driving.  The course may seem "busy" at first, because it's tighter than what you see on the street, and you're trying to attack it faster than you could in traffic. You'll have fun learning the sport and learning to keep the car in control as you get faster and better with more seat-time.

  With that said, here are some tips to give you the right novice attitude, so you don't become discouraged:

• Your goal is to have fun! That's why everyone is here
• Your goal for the first run is to avoid getting lost on course (see course-walking tips)
• Your goal for the rest of the day is to improve your time on each run.

  At this point, you are learning a lot on each run, and you may be 10 seconds behind the class leader. That's not unusual! You're still doing OK. The veteran drivers like to help the novices, but just be careful not to interrupt a driver on a course walk, or while he or she is concentrating on going over the course in his or her head.

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• A safety helmet if you have one, otherwise one will be provided for you to use but are limited to 1st come - 1st served.
• Air in your tires. Stop at a gas station, check your owner's manual and fill your tires to the specific pressure recommended.
• Suitable shoes for driving. The best are light-soled, with a narrow sole which does not stick out past the side of the shoe
• Sunglasses
• Sunscreen
• Clothes appropriate for the weather forecast, plus a change for when the forecast is wrong.
• A hat
• A folding chair
• Thermos of water or other non alcoholic beverage
• Windex and paper towels
• A pad and pencil to write down all the advice you'll get
• A good tire pressure gauge
• Chalk or white shoe polish to mark the tires

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 To register you must have a valid driver's license, lanyard neck badge, & wrist band. If you did not pre-register for the event, you will have to do it on the morning of the Show (please see event schedule in the FAQ section). At the tech inspection area, you will be asked to sign the insurance waiver. All these rules apply to your passenger as well. Once you have completed and entered to the auto-X Pit Area, please place your car # signs outside the rear passenger windows (both sides).

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** You are not required to have your car registered for street use, but it must pass tech inspection. **

 Your car must pass tech inspection before you can compete. Read the tech inspection list below to see what you'll need to do. The tech inspector will place a second wrist band on your arm if you pass, or recommend changes to make the car pass, such as additional tie-downs for the battery or removal of loose items or hub caps if you've forgotten.  You will not be allowed to do any mechanical work or adjustments on the track property per our insurance.  If caught doing so, you will be asked to leave immediate with out a refund. No Exceptions!

[ TECH INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS ]

Safety Helmet:
 If you bring your own safety helmet, it must be approved by Snell in the current or two most recent ratings (e.g. if Snell 95 is in production then that, 90 and 85 are legal). The club provides loaner helmets for people who do not have one. 

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Safety Belts:
 Original safety belts, at a minimum are required. Shoulder belts are not required, if your car did not come with them, but you must have a lap belt. Belts must be firmly attached.

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Solidly Mounted Battery:
 The battery must be held down properly. If it can be moved at all, it will not pass. There are some additional battery requirements which may affect you if you have modified your car. The Tech Inspector will help you out with them.

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Legal Tires:
 In Stock and Street Prepared categories, the tires must have measurable tread, and must be in good condition. Excessive weather checks or visible cord/plies will fail inspection.

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Steering / Suspension:
 The steering must be tight, with no excessive play. Wheel bearings cannot have excessive play.

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Hub Caps and Trim Rings:
 Hub caps, trim rings and wheel covers must be removed for competition, unless they are bolted to the wheel.

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Loose Items in Car:
 All loose items must be removed from the passenger compartment and trunk. This includes the floor-mats. You may remove the spare tire and jack, but you are not required to if they are properly secured.

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Numbers and Class Markings:
 The car numbers should be prominently displayed on both sides of the car, outside the rear passenger windows. They should be large enough to be seen easily from the timing van/area.

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Adequate Muffler:
 Your car must be quieter than 95dbA measured 50 feet from the course at a place where you are under full throttle. Due to the possibility of losing sites for noise problems, this rule is strictly enforced. (If your car is quiet enough to avoid attracting Police attention, it will most likely pass the noise requirement).

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• If the cone is knocked over and is out of the box.
• If the cone is knocked over and is in the box.
• If the cone remains standing but is out of the box.

• The cone remains standing is touching the box
• The cone remains standing and is partially in the box.
• And of course, if the cone remains standing within the box.

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 After tech, you will have time to walk the course. Before you go, read the information below on course-walking tips. Course maps (while copies last) are available at Auto-X Information Booth.

[ STEPS ON COURSE WALKING ]

Step 1) Walk the course:
 Your first walk will be to get the general layout, and is often a social walk. Now get away from friends and walk the course alone, concentrating on memorizing the layout. Think of it in sections, with key cones marking the turns.

 Stop every now and then and run through the course in your head, from the beginning to where you are. Get down - the course looks different from a seated position. This will give you a better picture of what the course will look like at speed.

 Pace off the distance between cones in a slalom. Some course designers vary the distance, and it's good to know before you arrive whether you will have to vary your speed in a slalom. Take a note-pad if you like, and make notes such as pavement changes, camber change, bumps, sand, etc.

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Step 2) Plan the course: (Do this while walking the course again)
 Now decide exactly how you want to drive the course. Driving the course perfectly involves two things; coming up with the correct plan, and executing the plan correctly. If you don't have a plan, you can't possibly know where you didn't execute it correctly. It's hard to know if you did this step correctly, but step 4 is something you can work on.

 The plan involves the line you will take through the cones - the quickest way through. Note, I didn't say shortest. Think about the characteristics of your car; does it corner better than it accelerates, or the other way around? That will tell you whether to slow down so you can get through the corner in control and get on the throttle as soon as possible, or try to carry speed through to keep up the revs.

 Don't forget to plan where you will be looking. There is no need to memorize every cone on the course, only the ones you plan to be near, the "important" ones. Look from one important cone to the next in your plan.

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Step 3) In Grid:
 Before you run, while you are in grid, go over the course again several times in your head, executing the plan you made before.

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Step 4) After the run:
 Sit in your car and go over your run. Figure out where you didn't execute the plan. If the plan was to be near a particular cone, and you were five feet from it, then you didn't execute the plan correctly, and a red light should have gone off in your head. Maybe you need to adjust the plan because you were going too fast in the slow parts. Decide at this point whether your next run needs to be a better execution of the plan, or a modification of the plan.

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 The drivers' meeting is mandatory for all drivers. A PCA event representative will hold the meeting approximately 1/2 hour before the first car starts. Be sure to attend. This is where you will find out information you'll need to know about the course conditions, number of runs, particular safety concerns, how penalties are assessed.

 There will be only one class available. We will be allowing a total of 75 participants of VW, Audi, Porsche, BMW, & Mercedes (event will open to other makes if spots are not sold out, but will not qualify for awards). We will have 1st - 5th awards including a prize for the fastest time of day. Spots are limited and will sell out fast, so pre-register today!

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 After tech, you will have time to walk the course. Before you go, read the information below on course-walking tips. Course maps (while copies last) are available at Auto-X Information Booth.

[ RECOMMENDED DRIVING TIPS ]

Look Ahead..
 It's so easy to forget, but makes such a big impact on my driving. It all relates to hand-eye (and eye-foot) coordination. Look where you want your hands to drive you, and look far enough ahead to take advantage of the feedback. If you're looking at that outside cone that you're afraid you'll hit, well, you'll hit it. If you're looking ten feet in front of the bumper, the turns will keep surprising you. Imagine looking at your feet while you are running on foot! You won't be very coordinated, and you won't have a good sense of distance or speed. Same goes for driving hard corners as you do in autocross. Look ahead. You will be astounded at your performance the first time you remember to do this all the way through a course.

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Slow Down to Go Fast..
 A common problem when you're starting out is trying to take the tight sections too fast, and not staying in control. I still remember finishing a run and saying, "Well, I didn't go very fast, but it sure was smooth," only to find out I'd gone faster by a full second! Just be patient in the slow spots. They're slow spots, after all.

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Brake hard in corners..
 Go ahead, squeeze the brakes hard. There's no morning coffee on your dashboard, or eggs in the front seat. Once you decide to slow down for the corner, don't waste any time. If you find yourself at a crawl and you're not at the corner yet, why, you've just found out that you can brake later. Locking up your tires will not make you stop faster, so squeeze the brakes and let them do the work, not your tires.

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Adhesion..
 Don't ask too much of your tires. For any tire/pavement pair, there's only a certain amount of traction. You can use up that traction with your throttle, your brakes or your steering wheel. So if you're going into a corner, using 100% of your traction to make the turn, what happens when you ask for more traction by applying the brakes? Either you won't brake or you won't turn. Or both. Same goes for accelerating out of a corner. Ease in the throttle as you ease out of the turn. So use full throttle and full braking only in a straight line. This goes back to slowing down to go faster, and brings us to...

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Smooth Inputs..
 You may have noticed that I used the phrases "squeeze the brakes" and "ease in the throttle". This is where you have to change your mind-set about inputs to controlling your car. You need to convince yourself that you can make your car respond better by squeezing the brakes hard instead of standing on the brakes, by rolling in the throttle rapidly instead of stomping on the gas, by turning the wheel quickly instead of cranking it around. Subtle, but it will show up in how often your car is in control instead of scrubbing off speed pushing around a corner. And it will take a lot of practice to become second nature.

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Shift near redline..
 On the street, we don't usually shift near redline (high rpms). But in autocross, you want to be making the most of the power available to you. You'll learn to hear the motor as you drive and stay in a low gear longer. Most courses will be in second gear for stock cars. If you're shifting to third, you're shifting too soon, and giving up power.

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Launch at / around 4000 rpm..
 Each car varies, but try to start at higher rpms than you're used to. Don't "dump" the clutch, or you'll find your wheels spinning. Let it out rapidly and find the right rpms to maintain traction. Higher horsepower cars will want to use lower rpms than less powerful cars.

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Don't worry..
 The the blinkers, wipers or horn, you're bound to hit them as you drive. Don't let it throw you. We've all done it! Always remember to have fun, even when you are being stomped by some national expert. You'll never stop learning - the best drivers will tell you this still applies after ten or twenty years! Remember, seat-time!! Nothing will make you go faster sooner. And nothing is less expensive in improving your times.

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[ SET-UP TIPS ]

Tires:
 For those of you that have done previous autocrossing, you might try adding an extra 10 to 15 psi in your tires. The reason for this is to keep your tires from rolling under during hard cornering. But how much is too much? Put chalk on the edges of your tire, in three places around the diameter, and you can see how far over the tire was going during your runs. Bleed out a little if the chalk is still showing on the tread, or add a little more if the chalk has been worn off down the sidewall. The line of worn chalk to remaining chalk should be right at the corner of the tread and sidewall. Keep notes on how many psi you ran, and where the chalk line was, for your next event. Remember that as you get better and corner harder, you'll need more air to compensate, so keep using the chalk at every event.

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Driver Restraint:
 In order to have good control in driving, you, the driver, have got to stay put. So make sure your seat belt is tight and firm. Some people like to tug hard (fast) on the shoulder strap to engage the lock on the reel.

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Driver Location:
 Most experienced drivers will agree that the best place for your seat - to give you the best control - is seat forward far enough to have your leg slightly bent when the clutch is all the way to the floor, and seat-back reclined or upright to a position that allows you to rest your wrists on the steering wheel when you shoulders are firmly against the seat. This position allows you to run the full range of steering inputs and foot motion without stretching or moving in your seat, and can have a huge impact on your driving skill.

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Alignment:
 If you're looking for a cheap way to improve your Auto-X set-up. To get some suggestions, though, ask a driver who has a car similar to yours in weight, wheelbase or front or rear wheel drive.

* Note: Manufacturers set their alignments to what they consider to be the most predictable and stable settings. Improving your car's turn-in for autocross may make your car twitchy on the street. So use your own discretion.

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 You will have a minimum of three timed runs, weather permitting. Depending on the event, you may get as many as five timed runs. Find out who is running before you and after you, so you know when to line up. Running in order makes the timing people's job easier, and keeps the event running smoothly, but if someone gets in front of you, or you are running a little behind, don't worry too much about it. The event Auto-X representative will call out which group(s) is/are to come to the grid (line of 4-5 cars waiting to run)

 Once you are in grid, you will wait for the cars in front of you to launch, and you will move up until you are on the start line. A starter will wave a green flag when it is OK for you to start. The green flag means go as soon as you are ready, the timer will not start until you pass through the lights. Don't take too long if we are running two cars on course at once, because you start is timed to make sure you do not get too near the car already on course.

 If you do get "lost" on course, take the time to orient yourself and continue. Don't head back to the start line, because you may be pointed toward another car.  Just take the time to get back on course, and continue the run as a practice! If the next driver catches up, they will be red-flagged and be granted a re-run (which they'll use to its fullest potential). Times are posted after each run. Your fastest run (of your first 3 runs of the day) is used to determine your finishing position.

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 There is none!  Dubfest has hired officials to work the track so you can enjoy the Auto-X and the show.  If you are interested in working or helping out, please contact our staffing department through our contact page.

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 If time permits, we will hold fun runs (or extra runs) for those interested.  The first 3 runs will be your qualifying times for your results of the day.

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 Once all the timed runs and fun runs, if any, are complete, that’s it.  The Official Dubfest Auto-X staff will maintain bringing in the fire extinguishers and flags, cones and timing equipment, and clean up of the track coarse area.  We would like to ask for your cooperation in helping maintain a clean track.  If you are caught littering in/around the track or pit area, you will be asked to leave with no refund. (no exceptions)

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 We will have awards for the top Five Fastest Times of the Day (FFTD) along with a prize from Falken Tires (a set of RT615 15-18") for the First  place / Fastest Time of the Day (FTD) held at the award ceremony / stage area at the same time as the award ceremony.

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Sponsor Contact Information:

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