[Eric SS]

I did my first SCCA Solo autocross in this car today. I have done auto-x in other cars in the past and do track days so am pretty familiar with racing. I ran in track mode with TC in "competition mode".

I feel like "Competition mode" wasn't working very well on such a short tight course. I was still getting bad wheel spin off the start line and coming out of corners which created a lot of throttle induced oversteer. Granted a lot of this is the driver and me still getting used to the edge but I can't help but feel that I would have ran better times with TC fully on. On track days I've had success with "Competition Mode" (In my SS Sedan) but It just doesn't feel like it was doing much in a tight course at low speeds.

Anyone else try cone racing with competition mode both on and off and have any thoughts? Thanks.

EDIT: As a side note, I was not very impressed with the tires and was expecting a bit more out of them. I was running at 32psi all around. What pressure have others been running at?

[mbar]

For a tight AX I would run with all nannies completely off.

[Nick S]

If competition mode works the same on the 6th gen as the 5th gen then Traction control is disabled and stabilitrack is enabled at a reduced sensitivity. So wheel spin will not be prevented by the computer in Competition mode but stabilitrak will engage but will allow you get a little more sideways before it does interfere and try to pull the car back straight. My guess is you just need more time behind the wheel to become more familiar with the throttle sensitivity and programming in the 6th Gen 1LE so you'll be able modulate it better yourself.

I guess in the end all you'll need to do is try a few runs with all nannies on and then try a few in Competition Mode. But keep in mind that the more you drive the course the more familiar you will be with it so sometimes if you try it in Comp mode after a few runs into the heat the better time might be from familiarity with the course and not the difference in the TC/Stabilitrak settings.

Good luck with the Autocrossing! I wish it were warm enough around my area all year long to be able to autocross this time of the year!

[rotis]

I've run both. I'm faster with everything off.

[fighting irish]

I was a novice this past year for autocross, but did 6 timed events and 2 test and tune events. I have run in essentially all the settings, and here are my thoughts. Keep in mind I have limited experience.

I typically run in competitive mode. The first time I ran with the nannies "on" was my second timed event. And I did it accidentally on my second to last run. Essentially I stalled out while in grid, and forgot to switch everything back off. And guess what- it was my fastest run of the day by a half second. I was somewhat upset that this was my fastest run, because who wants to be the guy that loses to a computer? Anyways, I experimented with it a few times over the next 2 events and realized my driving had improved significantly with rear end traction management, and recognizing understeer/oversteer situations that the nannies were getting in my way. I couldn't get on the gas soon enough and power was cut significantly during cornering situations. I stopped using this mode at the 4th timed event, and haven't gone back.

Competitive mode completely turns off traction control, enables launch control, and enables stabilitrak to a very small degree. Essentially stabilitrak should not engage unless you are about to lose it and spin. But you can still spin out with it engaged (ask me how I know). I think it has saved me from spinning a few times where I was sideways and out of control (generally a power oversteer situation), but I haven't really noticed it compromising my times. The GM engineers used this at SCCA nationals. However, they didn't win. Competitive mode enables you to have a good amount of control and freedom to experience and sometimes exceed the limits of the car, but have a small degree of safety with stabilitrak slightly on.

Since it is winter here in the northeast, I'm going to have to wait to give my full review of disabling everything. I have done it a few times (maybe 10% of my runs) and didn't notice a significant difference compared with competitive mode. This next autocross season, I will probably use it closer to 50% of the time and actually keep track to see which mode is fastest with my driving ability.

In terms of tire pressures, I felt it was somewhat dependent on ambient temperatures, but somewhere in the 34 psi range seemed about right to me. Under about 32psi and I was rolling onto the sidewall. The tires would usually get up to a reasonable temperature after 1 run, and be optimal at the 3rd run and afterward. The stock GYs aren't the best autocross tire, so if you plan on doing more, get a set of RE-71Rs. A race alignment will also help significantly.

[DetCam]

My 2 cents:

Tight AutoX, definitely nannies off (Track mode and double tap traction control). Tight Track days (meaning dangerous track with Walls or trees nearby) Nannies On (Track mode only).

Here is my take: If you are driving at 100% or anything less, you will never have the nannies kick in. If the nannies kick in, that means you went over 100% and it will take "some time" for the power to come back on. It's quick, and much less intrusive than older system, but it's still there. Stability control is always there, and helps you not spin the car like a donut king, but it won't keep you from blowing a corner if you come in too hot or try to gas it out way too hard. If you have the nannies off (Running full competition mode) you technically can drive the car slightly over 100% and use some of that wheel spin and slide to your advantage. It's when you go just a tiny bit over that when you're toast.

We all know that drifting is not fast. Clean is fast. However, in my region we all get our butts handed to us by a guy who seems to defy the laws of physics. He drives his car at 105% consistently. I can't get close if I drift or spin, my best laps are if afterword I feel like I kept the car at 95-98% of it's traction limits. My goal for next year is to get it closer and closer to the actual limit. Whenever I try to drive at or slightly beyond the limit, I overdrive the corners and lose time.

I feel like I learn faster and fix my subsequent runs so much better with the nannies off. If the nannies helped me complete my run, I don't do a very good job of correcting the next time around.

As for Tire Pressure: We can hotlap if we like, meaning I get to run all 5 laps with no getting back in grid, one after another. On a hot day I start low (maybe 33) but the tires don't do as well on the first lap. By second lap they have heated up and pressure is closer to the optimal 35 or 36. If they heat up over 38psi they get greasy. If I can keep them in the 35-38 range, they actually do quite well. Sure the RE-71R's are going to beat you (assuming all other things are equal), but I was shocked how close I could get to the guys running those. I can still blame a significant amount of lost time on driver error, so I wasn't in a hurry to throw away perfectly good tires.


For reference: I've done 3 years (maybe 15-20 events total) AutoX in a Pontiac Solstice, and one year (8 autoX Events) in my 1SS A8 on stock tires.

[bpang1234]

Originally Posted by rotis

I've run both. I'm faster with everything off.

Same...I have experimented as best as I could with TC on, Competition Mode and Full Off...Full Off is fastest but is obviously the hardest.

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by Eric SS

I did my first SCCA Solo autocross in this car today. I have done auto-x in other cars in the past and do track days so am pretty familiar with racing. I ran in track mode with TC in "competition mode".

I feel like "Competition mode" wasn't working very well on such a short tight course. I was still getting bad wheel spin off the start line and coming out of corners which created a lot of throttle induced oversteer. Granted a lot of this is the driver

My guess - nearly all of it is on the driver here. Learning what your throttle foot can get away with doing with TC always there in the background works against learning how to get really close to the limit without blowing clear through it. You subconsciously learn to step on the pedal too hard/too fast for when TC isn't there.

From the online version of your Owner Manual, Track Mode supposedly sharpens the actual throttle response, which would be an additional factor working against getting the throttle modulation right all by yourself.


Norm

[Eric SS]

Thanks all. It's clear I definitely need to work on my autox skills. I've always autoxed with either an awd car or a track prepped Vette on R compound tires so that would make sense that I need to get used to so little traction and work on throttle modulation. Definitely more touchy than track days.

[MatthewAMEL]

Ran my 1st event in this car yesterday. Quite a change from my FWD Focus.

Had 8 runs. Tried PTM-Dry for 2. I would not recommend PTM for AutoX. The computer is just confused by the rapid, tight turns.

Did 4 in 'Competitve Driving Mode' and 2 with everything off. Those were the most 'exciting' runs.

[Eric SS]

Originally Posted by MatthewAMEL

Ran my 1st event in this car yesterday. Quite a change from my FWD Focus.

Had 8 runs. Tried PTM-Dry for 2. I would not recommend PTM for AutoX. The computer is just confused by the rapid, tight turns.

Did 4 in 'Competitve Driving Mode' and 2 with everything off. Those were the most 'exciting' runs.

How was the rear grip in the 1LE? That's what I was struggling with in my SS with stock tires.

[laynlo15]

We made 12 runs with mine and I had a co driver. I only ran 1 time with traction control on and it was my slowest run. I had to learn to control the power and I was still 9 seconds slower then my co driver who finished 1st in my car and I finished 6th out of ten cars. It took him a couple runs to get used to the torque and we ran mine in 2nd gear except for one time when I tried to run in 3rd, didn't work out that well. Mine is an A8, I won't be running mine anymore now that I've gone Supercharged. Just too much power, besides I'm set up for the strip. Ax is hard on tires for sure, I pretty much ruined my run flats in the 12 runs and they only had 4500 miles on them.

[MatthewAMEL]

Originally Posted by Eric SS

How was the rear grip in the 1LE? That's what I was struggling with in my SS with stock tires.

Grip is outstanding. I was very impressed with the G3 tires. Not quite at a RE71R level, but neither am I in this car.

This car has so much 'insta torque' there is always the ability to break the rear end loose if there is even a little turn in the steering wheel. I will be practicing making my inputs (throttle/steering) smoother.

The only place I felt a little let down was in the braking. I'm hoping a pad swap will take care of that.

[bpang1234]

I forgot to update my thoughts.

TC Full Off...Car in Track Mode...get into performance shifting as soon as you can (wish there was a way to activate it with a switch press versus having to just wait for it to believe you want it).

My fastest laps have been when I trusted the car to handle and threw caution to the wind.