anyone do autocross

[beenen]

was wondering if anyone had experience with autocrossing their G body. I wanted to start off in there a see if my monte I have in the drive way was any good to start off with (will need a different engine, and suspension mods for sure)

or would the 4th gen camaro be a better platform for autocross?

thanks

 

[jrm81bu]

I've been wanting to. I thought about hitting up one of the events at the Coliseum. Talked to a guy that runs there, just to see if they were snobby about an older car coming out. He said they weren't, they welcomed people coming out to have fun. I'd only be doing for fun, not to be competitive.

Another question is, are you going to Baer Field for their drag racing? I plan on taking the Malibu out on Memorial day.

 

[beenen]

yeah I was just at the one at IPFW over this past weekend. I always see some 4th gen F bodies but never have I seen a G body there, which makes me wanna build the monte up for then but not sure how well they handle even with full suspension lol.

I didn't even know they had drag racing at baer..when do they usually have it?

 

[online170]

A friend of mine started to just for fun with his 85 Regal.

Its got the hotchkis TVS system, boxed frame, hotchkis tubular control arms, bilstein (hotchkis) shocks, and its a very competent handling car.

this is with 15" wheels and tires that probably aren't the best and a bit skinny, but it changes direction rapidly and stays flat doing it.

 

[liquidh8]

My neighbor does it, but with a wrx sti. I will be tagging asking with the wagon when it is done. My wagon will be my dd to and from work, so it won't be super extreme. But it would be fun to do.

 

[billyjack]

Once I got involved in circle track racing I no longer had time for autocrossing (see avatar), but I spent quite a few years wrangling the cones in such unlikely vehicles as a '67 Malibu 283, '73 442, '67 Firebird 6 cyl. in addition to a few Corvettes and Camaros. Autocross is more about man than machine and the lessons you learn in vehicle control will remain with you for a lifetime. It should go without saying that you need a mechanically sound and safe vehicle, especially in the areas of steering, suspension and brakes. Like any competitive venue, you want to get a copy of the rules so you can take the proper direction in car preparation to take advantage of class breaks. I always ran in a stock class, so I focused on the things I could do to the car while still staying within the rules(barely).
Here's some of the things I would do to a stock g-body:
Get the fattest rear sway bar allowable. Since you want the car to be loose on demand, the fattest front bar may not be the most desirable. If it's a street-driven car, use as much polyurethane as you can, including sway bar bushings, control arm bushings and body mounts. Use as large of a front tire and as wide of a wheel as you can legally run. Rear tires are less important, since our G's are nose heavy and rear suspension doesn't have camber change issues. Get a good front end alignment, maximizing positive caster, minimizing toe-in and setting camber as close to 0 as possible. I'd carry some 3/8" shim packs with me and insert them once I got to the course to have a bit of negative camber. Use all the body- stiffening pieces you legally can get away with. Buy the best shocks you can afford, such as KYB's, Bilsteins or AFCO. Start with tire pressures around 40 front, 35 rear and adjust depending on feel and how much the tires roll under in cornering.
Most importantly, get out there and do it! We all want the best vehicle performance possible, but in the beginning, the more seat time you acquire, the faster your lap times will improve.

Bill

 

[454cutlass]

I have only done it a few times. Not in the cutlass but in my Audi. It is fun but put a lot of strain on the car.

Fun times

 

[Kansas Bu Wagon]

Anybody have videos of gbodys autox-ing?

 

[beenen]

Once I got involved in circle track racing I no longer had time for autocrossing (see avatar), but I spent quite a few years wrangling the cones in such unlikely vehicles as a '67 Malibu 283, '73 442, '67 Firebird 6 cyl. in addition to a few Corvettes and Camaros. Autocross is more about man than machine and the lessons you learn in vehicle control will remain with you for a lifetime. It should go without saying that you need a mechanically sound and safe vehicle, especially in the areas of steering, suspension and brakes. Like any competitive venue, you want to get a copy of the rules so you can take the proper direction in car preparation to take advantage of class breaks. I always ran in a stock class, so I focused on the things I could do to the car while still staying within the rules(barely).
Here's some of the things I would do to a stock g-body:
Get the fattest rear sway bar allowable. Since you want the car to be loose on demand, the fattest front bar may not be the most desirable. If it's a street-driven car, use as much polyurethane as you can, including sway bar bushings, control arm bushings and body mounts. Use as large of a front tire and as wide of a wheel as you can legally run. Rear tires are less important, since our G's are nose heavy and rear suspension doesn't have camber change issues. Get a good front end alignment, maximizing positive caster, minimizing toe-in and setting camber as close to 0 as possible. I'd carry some 3/8" shim packs with me and insert them once I got to the course to have a bit of negative camber. Use all the body- stiffening pieces you legally can get away with. Buy the best shocks you can afford, such as KYB's, Bilsteins or AFCO. Start with tire pressures around 40 front, 35 rear and adjust depending on feel and how much the tires roll under in cornering.
Most importantly, get out there and do it! We all want the best vehicle performance possible, but in the beginning, the more seat time you acquire, the faster your lap times will improve.

Bill

thanks again Bill for taking your time and typing that all out. I'll make sure to see what I can do with my monte, while taking your help into it

 

[beenen]

Anybody have videos of gbodys autox-ing?

heres one of my favorite montes doing it


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMdS9cNECQA