AUTOX advise needed

[SILVER97LE]

There is a good autocross event near me tomorrow and I am thinking about entering just for fun.  I have a few questions-
1)  I have a stock LE suspension (I believe it is the same as the SE).  My car has 60K miles on it.  How do you think it will handle through the course?  Every stock 240 I have seen seems to "plow" in the front.
2)  My tires aren't in bad shape, but not the best either.  To me that equals sliding around the course ALOT. Is dumb to go out there without newer tires?
3)  Being this is my daily driver, is it worth the wear on the car when I am really not set up to raced

Any comments from people who have AUTOX'ed with a 240 (S13/S14) in stock form would be great.  

I really want to go out there and spank some Honda's!

[Natty]

Man, I wanted to ask this.
I was thinking about it. "Just once time man, what can just once do" &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/hehe.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':hehe:'>
Your clutch and tires may take a bit of abuse, but not much more than a day of driving.
If anyone knows... &nbsp; <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/lookaround.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':look:'>
Jeff

[Babylon]

AutoXing is about driving your car at the limits. &nbsp;As long as you're having fun, staying within you and your car's limits, there should be no reason not to join the event. &nbsp;There's always a tradeoff, if you think that your car, tires, clutch, brakes or other equipment won't make it through the day and you can't afford the downtime associated with repairs, then don't take the risk. &nbsp;Only you can decide if the wear and tear is worth it.
Racecars wear out faster.

[KiDyNomiTe]

I'd like to know where you found a 60K mile 240. You should consider turboing it.

About the AutoX, I would go just for fun, you don't have to test your car to the limits on your first time. I have been told people at AutoX are freindly to first timers. They usuallt say you should first talk to the whoever the leaders are and ride with them to get the hang of it, then hav an instructor ride with you while you go around the track. Dont expect to be in the upper half on your first time just get the hang of it.

[240sxygrl]

You should definately go! I went for the first time a few months ago and now i'm addicted. I didn't want to run on my dunlop's a second time, though, so i bought 2 steelies for the rear at my local yard. They hooked me up with tires too.

Just have fun and don't worry about your time. Who know's, you might even do well in your class. I definately beat a lot of the guys in my class my first time.

Kelly

BTW - I was bone stock at the time

[MasterOFDrift]

Just GO! &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/butbut.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':but:'>

[tnord]

to answer your specific questions

1) don't be concerned with the car, be concerned with yourself and how you drive. go slow, be smooth. this is something i'm still far from accomplishing. but anyway, if you have a rear sway, you will not plow.

2) truth be told, a tire performs the best just before it goes bad. this is because the individual tread blocks "squirm" upon initial turn in when new, hence why some race tires are shaved. just pump up those tire pressures to about 38lbs so you don't get excessive rollover and toast your outer treadblocks.

3) alright........here's the deal. i frequent the track (not dragstrip) quite often, so far i've driven at 7 events, 5 of them with the 240, and this is what i've learned. &nbsp;driving at the track doesn't neccessarily break anything on the car, but in order to have the car well prepared, it takes a lot of constant maintenence. for example, i've never had anything break (knock on wood) at the track as a result of hard driving, but i do have a list of 25 things i need to check over/replace before my next event. some things that are included on that list are an inspection/replacement of bushings, CV joints, replace brake fluid, check plugs, flush coolant.......etc, nickel and dime stuff. in summary, if you prepare your car properly, the wear on a car from running it hard really isn't significant.

[SILVER97LE]

Thanks for the replies. &nbsp;I think I am going to just go ahead and try it. &nbsp;It looks like fun and I don't have anything to prove or lose by it.

KiDyNomiTe - All the '97 / '98 240's I see have low mileage. &nbsp;People don't seem to drive them much???
Go to CARMAX.COM
They have 5 S14's with low mileage right now! &nbsp;You can get them shipped to a location near you for $150.

I'll let you guys know how my Saturday goes.

[240 2NR]

KiDyNomiTe - I bought my 93 240 last august with just under 48k. &nbsp;Right now it has 62K. &nbsp;Can you say daily driver?