So I took my cobalt SS to my very first autox today. At first I was just trying not to finish last but as i did more runs and got more comfortable with the limits of this car on stock tires, I got more competetive. I never realized how much fun making my tires squeel on a big sweeper was or how badass my car is in the slalom. I ended up being the fastest car through the slalom section of the course.

At the end of the day, I was 1st in my class (D-stock) and 3rd overall PAX'd for novices (1st overall went to a miata driver with 1 year of autoX experience running drag slicks). my class was littered with BMWs and subarus (WRX, 128i) and i managed to beat a few s2000s and an STI. If anyone else has ever done this, share ur experience. I learned a **** load about my cars character today and cannot believe how much fun it was. Sorry I dont have pics/vids.

I was running 38psi up front and 34 in the rears if anyone was curious. Sorry for the noob question but can someone explain to me what a negative camber alignment is and how it would help me in autox?

 

Congratulations! good job on the win. I got my first win in my class at my last autocross and it was awesome. I beat out an ms3 on my last run so that was very exciting. I usually run 40 psi all around. It seems like everyone says differnt things when it comes to psi. but 40 seems to work for me so that is what i go with.

 

Adding negative camber means that you are tipping the tops of the wheels inward. This helps keep you on the flat part of the tread when you corner hard, as you are rolling onto it, instead of rolling off of it. When deciding how much to add, there a lot of other variables at play, including the surface, your driving style, etc. But that is the 30 second theory behind it.

I autocross a Subaru with over -3* in DSP now, and it really helps save my tires. They wear more evenly, instead of toward the outside. So, while I don't own a Cobalt yet, I can address your question from experience. To get that much, I had to do a few modifications...

 

fslick,

If you want to stay in DS, make sure your alignment changes are within the SCCA stock rules.

Search "alignment" or "camber" within "Autocross and Road Racing" forum.. i've asked a lot of
questions just few months back.. I'm sure you'll find them... lol

 

^ Good point! The slope gets slippery once you start down it... Stock classes are definitely cheaper.