Hi all
Finally competed in my first autotest on Sunday at Curborough near Lichfield.
It was an all forwards event with a few tight handbrake turns and plenty of fast chicanes.
I'm doing another one this Sunday too, run by Cannock And District car club if anybody wants a go.
There were 40 competing and I came 27th, which I didn't think was too bad as I had the lowest powered car and I haven't done one of these for nearly 30 years.
I can highly recommend taking part in one of these if you want some great fun, and don't want too much risk of damage.
The car ran a treat, but I did struggle a bit for grip, and really need to replace the ageing Nankangs with something decent.
What would be the recommended tyre be, I don't mind something that will only last for a thousand/couple of thousand miles, as I can use what I've got for daily use. The problem with tyre replacement seems to be the never ending issue of limited availability of the standard size
Without blowing too much money, what other things can I do to improve the handling that give good value for the outlay.
I do have to use road tyres and standard suspension to stay in the road going class, but a bit of "upgrading"won't be a problem

Hi. I would say get yourself a set of 175/50/13's assuming your running sporting wheels and some strut braces to stiffen the chassis up a bit

:yeahthat:

assuming you are talking oem wheels (i.e. 13x5.5j) and depending on budget i would go for one of the following..

pricey but very good - 175/50/13 yoko a048
bit cheaper and still good performer - 175/50/13 yoko a539
budget that i have heard good things about (not tried myself) - 175/50/13 maxxis ma-z1

Mine wheelspins and has no grip either. It was rubbish on old but high quality 175/50/14s and its rubbish on new but average quality 155/65/13s, it's on new dampers and has strut braces all over it. If you find a way of curing the wheelspin and making it grip then I'd certainly be interested in how you do it! I've drawn the conclusion that if you want a car that's as good at being thrown around a car park as a mini, then buy a mini. Whilst the Sei is quite good fun I think you need to spend serious money on suspension and tyres before you can consider it a serious contender.

That said, I'm bang up for making a hydraulic handbrake for mine and having a stab at a slalom or autotest.

Hi

I was chatting to a few people competing on the autotest, and the general conclusion was " you'll always do OK, but never win ", in a Sei. Probably wise words as these were national championsjust having a bit of a lark about on a club event.
I have competed in these before in Minis and all I could think about while it was losing grip was "I need a mini"!!
Problem now of course is the cost, they are £££silly.

I think I'll make my own strut braces for a few quid, but a decent set of tyres and stop there.

However, pounds per unit of fun, the Sei is unbeatable, so I'm going to stick with it for a bit longer and keep the costs down.

Thanks for the advice.

bracing is what a cento needs for actual motorsport, they are just a bit floppy. Front lower brace a la fingers helps alot, stitch welding the seams, custom rear arb, roll cage will all massively improve the stiffness which is the main issue really.

Hi everyone,

Just done another autotest yesterday, run by Cannock and district car club.

Very well set out tests, fast flowing and great fun.
Came 9th overall out of 21 and 5th in class, beaten by 2 minis and 2 micras.

Amazingly had second fastest time of day on the tightest test, only beaten by a fully specced autotest special mini by 1 second - so seicentos can be competitive.

A few lads had a good laugh at the car in the paddock, but my yellow peril did the biz.

Car performed great but trashed the tyres so I'm getting some yoko A539's this week.

see if this link works, I am genuinely rubbish on computers so don't complain if you get a cooking programme!

https://www.facebook.com/messages/100000719125786

This was a practice run after the event had finished - such are MSA rules, so no stopwatches used and I took a few more risks - commentry by my son Jack