This Sunday was my first auto x and the car ran great the main issue I had is I could not find any grip. i kept sliding as soon as i gave the car any sort of throttle coming out of the turns. Currently I am running 14 195 falken Azenis. i do not have the money for bigger wheels and tires yet. I was curious would an LSD drastically help with this issue? BTW it is a 1989 325 with a few bolt on go fast goodies on Billy sport with IE stage 3 springs.
You're better off with smaller tires for autocross anyway. Did you have anyone watching you? Do you know whether it was only the inside wheel spinning? How old are your tires? There are a couple different ways to address this once we know what exactly is happening.
I sometimes autocross my 1987 325ic with an open diff (I usually use my 1991 318i with an LSD). I can easily cause the inside wheel to spin on the 325i, but there is no issue with the rear actually sliding because of power application. If this is truly what is happening, you probably have a different issue. Per CRKrieger, you'll have to analyze. It always feels like there is not enough grip. That is the fun; running the car at the traction limit. It takes a lot of AXes before one develops a feel for which wheel is beyond the limit of traction. Enjoy the power slides: they are a lot of fun.
Yeah, what he said! For some people in San Diego, the slide seems to be the entire point of autocross. . . .
When you slide do you mean the rear of the car is breaking loose? If that's the case you should either remove the rear sway bar and/or put more weight in the rear. Like a full tank of gas and maybe the spare tire. Another thing to do is get an instructor to ride along and help you out.
This is my first post here. Please be gentle My name is Zach Mickle. I am a NASA AutoX and HPDE instructor in the MidAtlantic region. The op said that its his first autox. I often find that novice drivers are very eager to get back on the throttle. They simply overdrive the car. Big inputs on steering and throttle. This combined with small tires, decent torque, and the limited slip diff could cause the problems hes describing. I would recommend more seat time and like someone else said, maybe an instructor. If you can find an Evoloution Autocross school they are extremly valuable. Just one day with them and you will be much more confident and may even give the veteran drivers a run for their money. Good luck
