cool thread. nice to hear of another nj guy interested in doing some autoX type raicng wth a third gen. these cars do handle well in stock trim, but there are LOTS of improvements you can make to really get the car on kill.
there s a guy named Matt on thrgen.org who is currently getting his black iroc setup for autoX here is a link to his build progress
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/orga...o-touring.html
there is a LOT of information over on
www.thirdgen.org forums, technical writeups with photos. check the brakes, suspension, sub-forums and also this
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/orga...ing-autocross/
as mentioned above, autoX is fun, and a stock-ish car can do well if it all holds together.
brakes
suspension
steering
tires those are the big items
to clarify for ya:
autocross is different from open track road racing. autocross involves a course that is marked out by orange cones and is on a flat surface, typically a large parking lot. it is usually a tight series of twists and turns with a start and stop line. you never really get to high speeds, so low end torque and cornering is key...
on the otehr hand open track style road racing is on a paved course with straightaways, turns, elevation changes, etc. there is really only one track like this in Nj that i can think of and that is New Jersey Motorsports Park NJMP in Millville . bonzo posted the link. this is a real track like you would find in a video game or on tv. this is much more demanding on the car and you really have to have the car well built and checked over. high speeds, cornering at speed, multiple laps, etc
I have done both (also Polar Bear has too) autocross is much easier to "just go out and try" compared to road racing. I will be doing some autocross events this upcoming year for sure.
www.autox4u.com is a good way to find events and locations within NJ, NY, and PA
here is one of my autocross runs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbJ8p88O0nk
here is video from the road course (lightning course) track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Jmp0FS9bU
(the first lap is a warm-up lap )