Does anyone on this board track or autocross his (her?) '08 Lancer? I'm particularly interested if there's anyone in the DC area doing this.

 

Me, a little bit (AX).

Any info you were looking for, or just kinda polling the crowd?

 

Pretty much just polling the crowd and seeing if there is any interest out there, or if anyone has any advice to offer. I sold a 944 prior to buying the Lancer. The 944 was my daily driver, grocery-getter, autocrosser, and track car. The Lancer already serves the first two roles, and it certainly has potential for the third. I wonder about the track??? I still have a '99 Boxster that I autocross, but with my helmet on my head sticks well above the roll bar. I'm not sure how strongly they enforce it, but Porsche Club has a restriction against people being on the track in soft-tops if your head sticks above the bar. I've never seen anyone go shiny side down when I've been on the track, but I don't want to be the one to show why that restriction is there!

 

Subscribed....

only because I might one day move to DC and I want to know where you guys go to race.

WADAD

 

I can't imagine that the 08 Lancer would need a tuning approach radically different from every other FF car that AXs. In its stock form I would primarily bump the tire pressures up to 50PSI front and prob 47-48PSI rear. Then play with pressure until you get no sidewall rolling and try to get as neutral as you can.

Since you're coming from RR (or is the 944 MR?) you'll be driving in a whole new way. You're going to throttle out of turns later. The car will understeer like it's nobody's business.

not much to offer in the way of advice because there's not much to say Once there's an aftermarket for parts then we'll see a lot more creativity with car setup and driving style

That said... if modding an 08 is anything like modding a previous gen Lancer, you're going to want to put those AX $'s into the Boxter (especially if all you need is a taller roll bar). Way more bang for the buck.

 

i wana AX my car.. but im not sure where and when around my area.

 

try googling "Autocross NJ" or the name of the city nearest you. I just found about 6 links that looked viable for racing. You don't have to stick with just SCCA (the classing is a nightmare and it changes yearly.) If you know someone with a Porsche or BMW (for example) and they want to race with the marquee club (i.e. Porsche Clube of America) chances are that they can bring one guest (non Porsche driver) per event... but be sure to get permission from the event chair or you end up looking like a cokfor.

 

Stock, it's pretty fun.

As Erik pointed out, the tire pressure needs to be altered. I just had the stock PSI on my GTS and the tires were rolling over. I spend a lot of time moving laterally around turns.

Power felt fine (I have CVT), although I'd always like more.
Handling felt good and solid.

My only real issue was the tires. I'm going to follow E's advice next time and show up inflated to 50 PSI. Unfortunately, where I AX, it's kind of a "sometimes there's an air pump, sometimes not" kinda thing, so I was S.O.L. last time. Once I get decent tire pressures, then I can get a better feel for the suspension and overall handling.

 

I do rallies and rallycrosses mostly. We are goin out to the desert this weekend so I can finally test my car out on the dirt. FF FTL!

 

If I were to autocross the Lancer, the purpose would simply be to learn the limits of the car in a controlled (and non-ticketable) environment. There are some nice curves and cloverleafs that I drive on frequently, and I prefer not to learn what the car feels like when it's coming loose on a public road.

For the time being, any competitive juices will, indeed, be channeled through the Boxster. I'd been autocrossing the 944 quite a bit, and only recently switched to the Boxster. Despite the limited experience autocrossing the car, I've been getting some good times in PCA events. Alchemist is right on that if I'm going to put money into one of the cars, it will be the Boxster (although I've been tempted by some leather seats I saw for the Lancer on another thread). If I could do ten autocrosses in a summer (a fantasy the way my life's been lately--workaholic wife, 9-year-old son), I would probably do eight of them in the Boxster. (Actually, my son's about old enough that he can go with me.)

FYI--The 944 has engine in front, transaxle in back, rear-wheel-drive, and amazing balance. A wonderful car to push to its limits. The downside is that a regular (i.e., non-turbo) 944 is rather low on torque. In fact, my Lancer ES has slightly better horsepower and torque numbers than the 944 (which, granted, was designed 25 years ago), albeit with a bit more weight than the 944. The Boxster is a mid-engine car with rear-wheel-drive. I wouldn't mind more power in that car, but it is still a joy every time I drive it.

JROX--Porsche Club autocrosses in my neck of the woods are open to anyone. You do not need to be a member of PCA, and you do not need to be driving a Porsche (track events are restricted to members). Go to www.pca.org and find the region nearest you. Get on their web site and look for information on autocrossing. It will probably cost about $40 to enter, and it will be loads of fun. Also, PCA autocrosses in my area are much less crowded than SCCA events and you get more runs. Also, you get to drool over lots of really nice cars. Don't be afraid at all about showing up to a PCA event in a Lancer. Go to the following web site and you'll see there were all kinds of cars in the last autocross I attended (way back in June ) including a Focus and a Scion. Also, ask for an instructor!!! You'll learn a lot quicker if you get some advice from someone who knows what he's doing.

 

You can't pick up a cheap $15 lighter-plug pump? Even a long-tube bicycle pump? They are slow, but they get the job done.

 

For maybe $30 you can pick up a portable air tank (check Home Depot, Lowes, etc.). This is a metal canister with about a five-gallon capacity (I'm sure they come in various sizes) that you fill with air from a compressor, and take with you.

 

I got my 5gal air tank at Harbor Freight for about $25

You're lucky that your PCA club will let you run without being invited by someone. I know that our group would hardly get any runs for PCA members if they didn't have the "One invite per member" restriction.

 

here's a thread on the evo side... definitely a lancer but that thing can surely tear up cones https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=292007

 

I've draged my 08 GTS a few times. 16.5 @ 86mph