Kizashi and Autocrossing

SRN · Sat Feb 24, 2018 6:06 pm

I grew up with Autocrossing. My dad was the 1973 National Champion in the E Stock class; and when I got my first non-4x4 back in '01, an '83 VW GTI, I spent a few years chasing cones myself. I've had a '90 Miata for 10 years, but never took it Autocrossing because, well, everyone has a Miata out there. And mine only has 32,000 original miles on it and I baby it.
I've decided this season I'm going to give it a go with my Kizashi. I have a feeling it'll do pretty well in its class (H Street), but I wanted to see what others have experienced. I know there are some people that have taken theirs out, and I'm curious how they did.

Tom Kizzie · Sat Feb 24, 2018 8:44 pm

I am curious to see more of a kizashi in autocross. In my country with autocross i think of swift gti and baleno hatch (esteem hatch) ..sometimes with hayabusa engine in the back.

z06jeff · Wed Mar 07, 2018 3:35 pm

I autocrossed my wife's Kizashi a couple years ago, just to try it. Ours is a CVT, so it was seriously handicapped when it came time to put the power down. Your 6-speed will do much better. It is a great handling car, even at the limit. Very light-feeling and toss-able. A fun car no doubt, but it's not going to be a class winner against Fiesta STs and Minis. It comes down to the age-old question... Do you just want to have fun, or be competitive? If it's the former, the Kizzy will do just fine. If it's the latter, better get some numbers on that Miata.

Thu Mar 08, 2018 1:59 am

Like that 2nd pic...nice.

SamirD · Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:27 am

OH GOD I MISS AUTOCROSSING!! And taking pictures like those.

Autocrossing is something I've always wondered about the Kizashi because of the massive grip it gets from the Bridgestones ours wears. Second to my Boxster, I think the Kizashi will be next to impossible to find the limit. As long as I can keep a smooth line, I think it can use this massive lateral grip to really be impressive for what it is--underpowered and underdesigned for the competition.

Ours is black too and it's just soooo sooooo beautiful to see it in action captured like this. Props to the photographer who spent the time to capture those shots. Getting a solid panning shot like that 2nd one takes a lot of skill and timing to do for each car all day long.

z06jeff · Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:23 pm

Props to the photographer who spent the time to capture those shots. Getting a solid panning shot like that 2nd one takes a lot of skill and timing to do for each car all day long.

We are fortunate in the Pittsburgh area to have a few shutterbug hobbyists at autocross events/HPDE's/road racing events/etc. Just about every motorsport event I've ever attended, I've ben able to find pics of my car a few days later somewhere online. I do appreciate it, and let them know it when I see them.

SRN · Fri Mar 16, 2018 2:59 pm

SamirD wrote:OH GOD I MISS AUTOCROSSING!! And taking pictures like those.

Autocrossing is something I've always wondered about the Kizashi because of the massive grip it gets from the Bridgestones ours wears. Second to my Boxster, I think the Kizashi will be next to impossible to find the limit. As long as I can keep a smooth line, I think it can use this massive lateral grip to really be impressive for what it is--underpowered and underdesigned for the competition.

I've done some hard canyon driving with my Kizashi over the years and have been damn impressed with how well it handles. So I think that it's going to do well in Autocross. Unfortunately the first two events here have been snowed out, so nothing to report yet. Next one is on March 31st, so hopefully I'll have something to share then!

SRN · Sun Apr 01, 2018 3:58 pm

Alright, ran my first event with the Kizashi yesterday. Overall winning time was 40.610 (in a Cobalt SS of all things!). Winner in our class was 42.678 driving a 2014 Fiesta ST. My time was 47.656, 7th in a class of 8. Now, five of the six cars ahead of me all had "autocross" tires. Legal by the rules, but I think pretty lame in a stock class like H-Street. I was running my new set of Kumho Ecsta 4X II's, so nowhere near the same level of grip.

On a whole, I was VERY impressed with the Kizashi. Excellent pickup off the line and out of corners and I never found the limit cornering. I know that I, as the driver, was what was holding my times down. The car had much more to give. I think had I had another run, I could have gotten 6th place. Every run I was shaving time off, my best time was my last by nearly half a second. And with grippier tires, no doubt that I would have been vying for a top three spot.

Have another one on next Sunday, so hopefully having had some seat time I'll be able to fight a little harder. Regardless, though, its a blast to be back at it after a long absence!

Tom Kizzie · Sun Apr 01, 2018 4:45 pm

You will be faster every time. Do you have a time sheet of all cars? just curious..

btw if you google "zandvoort kizashi" you can see the kizashi was the pace car for years with the (dutch) formido suzuki swift cup;)

SRN · Tue Apr 10, 2018 1:46 pm

PE3 was this past Sunday. My morning run group was crap. I was three vehicles back from the start line for my first run and it started to hail! Lasted for a few minutes while they held the start, but the track turned into an ice rink. No grip, so my times were terrible,but so were everyone else's! Collected two cones on my second run because I was sliding and unable to stop in a puddle. Afternoon was better. Ended up 5th of 6 in my class and 37th of 67 overall according to the PAX.
Next event is the 28th and 29th of this month. Gonna tinker with the camber and toe a bit and maybe shave a few seconds. We'll see!
For those that are interested, the timing sheets are here: http://utahscca.com/autocross/schedule