Annual College Challenge Autox Sept. 29 (SATURDAY)

[NTIman]

I think there is a lot of wisdom in driving on slick tires at least starting out. You definitely learn a little bit about moving the car around to maximize traction, being smooth on the wheel and smooth on the brakes. Then again, I can't afford more rubber, so I'm sure there are others who might disagree.

Very few people will disagree other than the fact that an old tire becomes unpredictable in handling and can sometimes teach you bad habits.

However, the reliance on a sticky tire like a hoosier is far worse to teach you bad habits in my opinion. It is hard to explain, but the lower the limit of the car, the quicker you get to the maximum the car can do for your current driving line/style. If you stay with it, you then learn, that if you change your line or style, the maximum of the car can go up.

I hear EVERY autocross, and EVERYTIME I instruct people saying "I am at the limit of what the car can do, I need stickier tires/coilovers/etc". Without fail, those are the people that are slow or "slow-er" than the top people. You tire may be at the limit, but that is because your driving style overloads the tire and does not let it work.

There are a bunch of club members in here that have a ton of experience with autox/road racing that you should latch onto. Some are not very vocal on the forums, such as Peter Tyson, David Lonnquest and Dr. Thomas, and then there are those who are active on the forum. Seek these guys out and I promise youll have more to learn from them than you can absorb for quite a while.

That's part of the reason why I refuse to drop money on anything for my car right now. I know I would pick up speed with a set of tires, but I know there is a lot more speed in what I've got. I just have trouble with spinning my tires coming off corners, and that's more throttle control than tires. I'm happy with what I've learned so far, but I really want to get everything out of my car that I can.

Hell, the only reason I have Hawk pads is because they were $20 cheaper than OEM and my brakes needed changed. I don't even see a bit of advantage there. But you're definitely right, I have trouble with overloading my all-seasons. I think there is a second or two left in them over what I've run in the past.