A lot of firsts this event. First in the Veloster N, first of 2025, in NNJR, in a DCT car. What a blast! It’s been a long time since I’ve autoxed like this, and my initial impression is that the Veloster N lands squarely somewhere between the Mini and the Evo, and maybe even better than I expected.

This is also my first time driving a FWD car with so much power. I’ve driven other fwd cars before, but none that had enough torque to break traction so easily. It builds speed quickly, not a ton of turbo lag at all, and the handling is exactly what I want from a FWD car – very, very loose. I 360’d twice in my first run. To be fair, it was about 40degrees during the first heat, first event on the lot (lot of dust), first after a complete washout (lot of dirt), and the tires were very cold. They’re also badly heat-cycled out. They were pulled of my old Evo time attack set – I forget how many track days and runs it’s had, but they’re a couple years old now and have been sitting outside for a while as well. They did ok overall though, and after fixing my inputs and dropping the rear pressures by a degree, that seemed to settle the car down decently, especially once the tires got some heat in them. I practiced throttle control in the M3 – that same throttle control is needed here. The brakes are also very grabby – feels a little bit artificial, but it makes it difficult to modulate braking – something I will have to practice in this car the keep the rear from stepping out.

For my N Custom settings, I’ve got everything on the most aggressive setting except steering, which is on the lightest. I don’t like heavy steering, it doesn’t make the car feel any more connected to me, just more effort required to turn the wheel. For the DCT, I tried manual the first time, which was a mistake. I spun twice, and any time you come to a stop in the DCT, it downshifts to 1st. I kind of forgot about shifting, really all the controls mixed me up a little bit at first. I decided to try auto the next run, but it was not nearly as aggressive as I needed – a little disappointing but not surprising. I finished the rest of the runs back in manual mode without issue, and it’s likely this will be the mode I use for any competition event. Eventually I was shifting into 3rd for the ending, and it’s nice just clicking the paddle!

Regarding the competition, the drivers in this region are FAST. Many of them are multiple trophy winners at SCCA nationals. While I was 2nd in my class, I was off by about 2 seconds. The margins widened when the second heat started, as the lot was about 20 degrees warmer and had really started gripping up. The fastest car in the class is the BRZ/GR86, and he put down an impressive time given we were under the same conditions. I definitely left a lot of time on the table – easily 1s, even on these tires. Part of that is just learning how to drive the new car, shaking off the cobwebs of delicate inputs, etc. The car is extremely well balanced on this setup and responds well to inputs – good and bad. I was very hamfisted my first few runs. I’m liking the competition in DS here, and I think this will help me improve as a driver. I’ve also heard rumors that this car might get moved into GS – which is very exciting!

I always wondered why drivers didn’t use NGS during autox, and now I know why. It’s just a little too chaotic to think about doing something like that. As I get a little more experience in the car though, I expect I’ll be using it here and there. I think it’s best to use it at or near the end of the run – you don’t want to use it first, and then it’s in cooldown while you’re also still pushing the car for the rest of the run. I’d rather use it at the end, and let the car cool down after that. I don’t have any good videos of the car, the mounting solution I tried with a long-armed camera extension didn’t work. It was ok the first couple of runs, but just not stable enough to hold the position. I’m trying a new route – a shower curtain pole extended in the middle of the car – I think the headliner will be ok, especially if I take it down after every race, so this might be a great solution for me.

Set Up (VN):

• DS
• 255/35-18 RT660, 36psi/35psi
• WL 24mm RSB on soft
• Camber at -2.0 0 toe, -1.5 0 toe
• Brakes: Stock

Notes (VN):

• 2025 VN: 6 autox / 0 track
• Car is loose, reevaluate with more heat to see if the tires are ok or if I should swap to a new set to be more competitive right away

2025 Event Count: 1 Autox