As I told many people at the Ohio Meet on Saturday Oct 4th, I took my 09 Cobalt SS to a local autocross the following day, Sun Oct 5th. Much to the surprise of everyone, including myself, I faired well. Even though my car had a big goofy R on the side of it, I wasn't classed with the rest of the rookie but instead with the two drivers in the D-Stock class there.

I know I’m not the best driver of standard transmission, but I could keep it in second gear the whole track and had a total blast. I also found out in the afternoon that competitive mode really helps shave seconds off. Next time I'll muster upt he courage to go all systems off. Does No-Lift shift work with ESC Off mode?

Here's my rough sketch of the two courses we ran, essentially course 2 is course 1 backwards, but with some tweaks to increase the speed:

I don't have the standings yet, but I believe I came in second, the two other drivers were taking turns on the same BMW with racing slicks. One of them was seasoned and the other was a rookie like myself. Both me and the BMW rookie driver posted realtively competitive times. We were seconds aways from the Miatas, of which there were 18, and they are generally very fast in autocross (so I'm told).

The fact that I bested someone of equal skill who had an expensive BMW with racing slicks is awesome credit to the car. I garnered a lot of questions and looks from the rest of the drivers who were impressed by the car as a total package. "All that is stock?" I was asked repeatedly.

Now for the pictures!



Once I got in a straight line the Cobalt exploded between the cones. The acceleration was phenominal! I kept it in second gear and ran up to the rev limiter in the straights on both courses.



Another angle



This is from my very first lap around the track, I got a DNF, but that's to be expected. It is really hard to anticipate what the course looks like at speed from just a couple walkthroughs. I'm taking it easy through this corner.



This corner got everyone all day long. In track 1 there is a right handed hairpin directly after a slalom. No matter which way I went around the slalom I could not brake in time to make the hairpin. Luckily I wasn't the only one, the morning course was difficult for everyone around the board.



In the afternoon track (2), the finish line was followed by a 90 degree turn, it was extremely difficult, mentally, to hold the throttle down passed the line, left foot braking a must. Some people were e-braking after the finish.



Here I am lined up for my first run, I was passengerless for a frightening amount of time. Luckily my fraternity brother came to the rescue. Later I had help from the girl behind the silver car and in front of the deep red Miata. She is a track racer and has 3 or more cars, I took a ride in her Sentra seR, it was frightening as hell. She had some mad skills. At lunch I pointed out that being a passenger was heart wrenching, she pointed out that the run I rode with her was 2 seconds slower than my fastest. I guess being the driver helps quell my fears.



And the all important picture of the competition, the only other DS car and its two drivers. The one on the left worked in the same lab as me at CWRU, he kicked my ass. But if I had racing slicks I would have given him a run for his money (ahh, hubris, how I love thee).

All in all, I can't wait to go to the next event, if you haven't tried Autocross: give it a chance. So much fun to be had using that big wheel in front of the driver's seat. It's not just there to keep you in a straight line.

 

congrats it looks like soo much fun

 

Man I would love to try that some day. Thanks for sharing.

 

awww your poor baby...

 

Think theyd' make fun of me if i did that in my LS? LOL

 

Cool. Good job man!

 

Good informational post! Thanks

 

i want to do an autocross so bad...just worried about the knuckles...read on another post they could break Who took your pics? awesome shots

 

I'm trusting that the "revised steering knuckles" GM boasts on the TC models fixes the problems. If not, well, then I'm lucky my Cobalt isn't my daily driver, eh?

The shots were taken by a club member from NORA - ASCC. I'm trying to get an email so I can ask for high res shots of some of these. if your go to the website noraracing.com you'll find lots more shots of similar quality.

 

auto x ftmfw

see here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4iDjPS5nFc (dont mind the narration that knows nothing)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp4WJojf8RQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TsQb...eature=related

 

i'd say it would depend

 

HELL NO!

****, you're in Ravenna? Register on the NORA website and come up to the next event on the 19th at Northfield park. It's a half hour drive, costs 40 bucks for the whole event and is a total blast.

The group I roll with accepts everyone, there was a hatchback Mazda from like 10 years ago rolling around and a civilian converted cop cruiser. Let me know if you're interested, I'll give you more info.

 

They posted the times finally. http://www.axtime.com/8

Pt Event #9 Part 1 and 2 if anyone's interested. I'd be the only Cobalt.

 

They wont, I took my bone stock LT down there, Had a blast, and ended up in the top 10 novice. Defanetly something everyone should try atleast once, can't wait to get back to it.

 

Umm YEA i'm down. You will NEVER find me turning down an opportunity to race. I need new tires soon anyways. I might as well expedite this

Keep me posted.

 

i have always wanted to do this! i cant find any by me

 

Kaz!!! If i go can i do a lap in your SS/TC ??? Mines 5 speed as well and I've driven VERY fast cars in my day.

Perhaps I'll talk my dealership into an all day test drive w/ the SS/TC muahhaha ON THE 15TH

 

I think I'd be insulting my girlfriend if I let someone else drive the car before her!

PM me for details, definately consider coming down to the next (and maybe last) event. Do not think having an LS makes someone slow. Someone with 3 years of experience beat me in a stock base model Celica. Plus the GS category is highly competitive.

 

great pictures. looks like it was a blast. you may want to look into some springs, sway and strut bars. flatten it out a bit.

 

I'm trying to figure out what's allowed in the stock class. I believe I can get DOT stamped HoosierA6s, a front sway and adjustable springs. Anything more would put me in the modified class, which I would then need coilovers and a rear sway to remain competitive.

Are there front sway bars specifically for the SS/TC out there? Does anyone know where I should look?

 

I'd love to Autocross, but I can't fit a helmet between my head and the roof.

 

Is your seat down? Meaning the little handle on the left side that controls seat height.

 

Don't let that stop you. I know you're tall but you can definately fit it all in. If you're free sunday come on down.

Pre-registration is open until Friday under Akron Sports Car Club. I'm pretty tall too, and I fit in the car with a helmet even with the sunroof.

If you aren't working there's no reason not to work it around a track. Except for this small detail.

 

Looks like you had a great time! Autocross is a blast! I'm definitely planning on running my SS/TC in DS stock tires class when I get it next spring, before my mods start going on it.

Hey if you had a good time doing autocross try doing a HPDE (High Performance Driving Event) or commonly known as a track day/track event. Seeing you live in Ohio, I believe Mid-Ohio hosts them occasionally. check this site out too... www.myautoevents.com It also lists all the autocross events around you too! Good luck out there!

I thought I read on here that the SS/TC's come stock with the upgraded steering knuckles?