AutoX brakes & tires

[Mike_Yi]

I just got back from my first Autocross. It was with the Chicago PCA at The Tire Rack in South Bend, IN. I won my class (Boxster & Boxster S) by 3 seconds! I had a lap a second faster than that, but I just grazed a cone and knocked it down. The guy working the corner swore that I didn't hit it, but it was laying down when I was done. I blame it on the wind.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions for those of you who autocross regularly.

1. Do you use race pads or street pads? I use Hawk Blues on the track. I know they aren't very efficient until they get hot. So it seems like they'd be worse for autocross than stock because they'd never get that hot.

2. What kind of tire pressures do you use when you autocross? I started with 38lbs all around. On the track I aim for 40 lb hot. However, after thinking about it, I began to think that you run higher pressure on the track for less rolling resistance on the straights. On an autocross, straight line speed isn't as important as cornering speed. When I lowered my pressures, my times came down and the car seemed to handle better. It definitely like less pressure in the fronts, otherwise it would understeer like mad. So what do you guys use?