How to mark number and class on your car

[Christine Grice]

I guess we could eventually move this to the new to autocross section but since I am seeing even experienced people making mistakes I figured I would start here.

The right way to mark your car:

Car_Marking_Proper.pdf

(19.93 KiB) Downloaded 376 times

The wrong way to mark your car:

Car_marking_wrong.pdf

(20.27 KiB) Downloaded 368 times

- The timing computer has two fields that the timing person has to fill in every time you come up to line. Number and class.

- The class is listed in the computer as main class followed by class index. Examples: PAXBSP, SK1AS, SK2LDS

- If you have registered at an event in SK1 in a SS car but have now brought out your AS car to a later event, then there will be 2 entries associated with you points card number in the computer. When the Computer operator puts in your number and then uses the class drop down box they will see both SK1SS and SK1AS. Unless you have put your index class on the side of the car, you run the risk of the computer operator assigning you the wrong class. Or worse they could assign your first two runs to SK1SS and then your last run to SK1AS. This just creates more work for Rick after the event who has to go back and find out what class index you were actually running and then fix it in the computer.

- You should always be running your X-runs after your regular class runs.

Did I forget anything?

[Chuck Fowler]

i know it has a color no no in the PDF, but get someone over 40 to look at it from 30ft away. if they squint, get something else, please

[Aaron Goldsmith]

i know it has a color no no in the PDF, but get someone over 40 to look at it from 30ft away. if they squint, get something else, please

I can't figure out what this means,

[Rick Brown]

Are those numbers on the car thick enough? I know it's just a mock up, but doesn't look like it would be a 1.5" stroke.

But thanks for this Christine, something we needed to point out to people.

I think we need to start photographing numbers at events and start a Good, Bad and Ugly thread.....

[Chuck Fowler]

Are those numbers on the car thick enough? I know it's just a mock up, but doesn't look like it would be a 1.5" stroke.

I think we need to start photographing numbers at events and start a Good, Bad and Ugly thread.....

only need one "good", then we can shame the bad / ugly

[KJ Christopher]

my additions.

[Christine Grice]

Are those numbers on the car thick enough? I know it's just a mock up, but doesn't look like it would be a 1.5" stroke.
But thanks for this Christine, something we needed to point out to people.
I think we need to start photographing numbers at events and start a Good, Bad and Ugly thread.....

The picture of the car that I used was a concept car so I am assuming that the scale on the car is large enough to make the numbers have at least a 1.5" wide stroke.

I figured I would give advanced warning before singling people out of Mako's photos. After the next event, let the embarassment begin.

[Christine Grice]

Rules from the national rule book:

3.7 VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION
A. All vehicles must display numbers and class letters on both sides, which must be readable by Timing & Scoring, Course, and Grid workers at all times.
B. Only one set of numbers and class letters may be visible while the vehicle is running.
C. Class shall be represented by the upper-case abbreviated form rather than be spelled out. Ladies’ classes shall be indicated by the letter “L” following the class letters. (Example: “BSPL” instead of “B Street Prepared Ladies”).
D. Numbers and class letters should be positioned next to each other. All letters and numbers must be on body panels, not on windows. All numbers and class letters must use the same typeface and the same color, and this color must provide adequate contrast to the background color (see Appendix F for examples).
E. Numbers must be a minimum of 8" high with a 1.25" stroke. Class letters must be a minimum of 4" high with a 0.75" stroke. In all cases, the height of the class letters must be between 25% and 75% of the height of the numbers. Stroke width must be at least 10% of the height. (See Appendix F.)
F. The “1” on two-driver cars and the “L” on Ladies class cars are subject to all of the above requirements with regard to placement, color, size, and stroke.

[Eric Clements]

I think we need to start photographing numbers at events

Contrast is important. Photograph your car in Black&White to see if your numbers have enough contrast.

Silver/grey cars are hard, sometimes white or black numbers show up great other times they are almost invisible. Probably depends on sunny/shady side. Shadowline numbers work great with middle of the road, not light/not dark colors.

Black/red combo's are usually bad. Jason's #55 red camaro with black numbers works because of the size of the numbers (24" tall with 3" stroke?)

[KJ Christopher]

I think we need to start photographing numbers at events

Contrast is important. Photograph your car in Black&White to see if your numbers have enough contrast.

Silver/grey cars are hard, sometimes white or black numbers show up great other times they are almost invisible. Probably depends on sunny/shady side. Shadowline numbers work great with middle of the road, not light/not dark colors.

Black/red combo's are usually bad. Jason's #55 red camaro with black numbers works because of the size of the numbers (24" tall with 3" stroke?)

The bad part about Jason's car is that it is a camaro, so the first thing I think of when I see the 55 is SS. Every single time.

[Kristoffer Gjevre]

How do I mark my car for X runs when I run SK1 SS?

BTW, I have noticed that my X runs in the indexed results only have the SS index and not the SK1 index - is it my bad marking that does this or a limitation of the system (in the garage I have to select X & SS instead of SK1 & SS)?

Thanks,
Kristoffer

[Aaron Goldsmith]

How do I mark my car for X runs when I run SK1 SS?

BTW, I have noticed that my X runs in the indexed results only have the SS index and not the SK1 index - is it my bad marking that does this or a limitation of the system (in the garage I have to select X & SS instead of SK1 & SS)?

Thanks,
Kristoffer

yeah, that sounds like how it works, though I thought X runs were usually stripped out of the indexed results.

[Rick Brown]

How do I mark my car for X runs when I run SK1 SS?

BTW, I have noticed that my X runs in the indexed results only have the SS index and not the SK1 index - is it my bad marking that does this or a limitation of the system (in the garage I have to select X & SS instead of SK1 & SS)?

Thanks,
Kristoffer

yeah, that sounds like how it works, though I thought X runs were usually stripped out of the indexed results.

We don't double index X-runs. Yes, a software limitation. I usually do strip out X-runs from the indexed results, sometimes I forget, at least in preliminary versions. Reminds me, need to update the last results to the final version........

[Mike Simanyi]

my additions.

What's that scribbling? And no, I'm not talking about the numbers... ;)

[KJ Christopher]

my additions.

What's that scribbling? And no, I'm not talking about the numbers... ;)

Wow, that didn't translate well to the adobe reader i'm using. white outline around the letters that makes it almost unreadable.

[Mike Simanyi]

What do you mean "almost" ?

[Rick Brown]

What do you mean "almost" ?

It's readable (just barely) if you zoom in far enough

[Mike Simanyi]

It's readable (just barely) if you zoom in far enough

And squint.

I now refer you to message #2 in the thread... }:)

[Q V]

No matter how I mark my car, my car's times (#369) & vincent w/ the black mr2's times (#396) often get mixed up (it's happened a couple of championships already).

[Kurt Rahn]

No matter how I mark my car, my car's times (#369) & vincent w/ the black mr2's times (#396) often get mixed up (it's happened a couple of championships already).

Lysdexia

[Will Kalman]

Lysdexia

Dyslexics Untie!

[Bob Beamesderfer]

No matter how I mark my car, my car's times (#369) & vincent w/ the black mr2's times (#396) often get mixed up (it's happened a couple of championships already).

Sometimes co-driven cars don't get the numbers swapped around. Not saying that's the case here, just sayin' ...

[Christine Grice]

Bump!

Just a friendly reminder. I think it has gotten better, but I have seen a couple of really bad ones recently.

[Steve Towers]

- You should always be running your X-runs after your regular class runs

Do the radio folks need to call in cones, etc. for x-runs? If not, maybe x-run folks should remove their numbers.

[KJ Christopher]

- You should always be running your X-runs after your regular class runs

Do the radio folks need to call in cones, etc. for x-runs? If not, maybe x-run folks should remove their numbers.

it would be hard to track their x-runs (how many) if they took the numbers off.