You've all heard the old saying, "Experience is the best teacher." While this may be true, sometimes experience is also a really strict teacher with a bad attitude. Some people find it necessary to figure everything out the hard way; but for the rest of us, we're happy to learn from other people's mistakes as well. I've been competing in car audio competitions for a lot of years and as a result I think I've earned my degree from MIT (Mistakes I've Tried). There are many tricks and techniques I've learned to help me win shows over those years, and I'd like to share some of them with you.
If you're a serious car audio competitor, October and November are important months for you. This is when the major sound-off organizations hold their annual Finals, the car audio equivalents of the Super Bowl. You go to shows all year to earn enough points to just get invited to these mega-events; so you owe it to yourself to prepare your car for success. Hopefully some of the following advice will help you to avoid common pitfalls at a big show, and keep that old strict teacher from sending you to the principal's office.
The first step to preparing your car happens well before the big weekend starts, of course. The biggest thing to remember is to keep it conservative: don't mess with a successful formula. I can't tell you how many times I've seen competitors actually building their cars at the show, only to wonder why they don't score well in the lanes. If you have an invite to the Finals, the car is already successful. The worst thing you can do is to totally rebuild the car right before the big show. If you do this, you not only take a chance of not getting it done in time, but you also make a proven system into an unproven one. Focus on things that install and sound judges have told you over the course of the competition year. You did listen to those judges' comments, didn't you? If the same comments come up over and over, focus on those items first. Ninety percent of the installation points in most sound-off formats can be had by simply making the system solid and safe, so make sure you have the basics down according to the rule book. It's silly to lose points because of a wiring error or a loose amplifier when it is so easy to correct. Don't get me wrong; I love the custom installations and the never-ending pursuit of bonus points, but the month before the Finals is not the time to dive in and completely re-tool your setup. Save the major renovations for the off-season when you really have the time to do it right.
As all of you serious competitors know, the biggest single section on most score sheets is sound quality. The same thing applies here: keep the changes subtle and conservative, and focus on the comments you've received during the competition season. I learned this one the hard way: in 1994, I decided it was a good idea to re-tune my car the night before the IASCA Finals. I ended up taking second place by losing a tie with another competitor who had a slightly higher sound quality score than mine. I was tired, in a hurry, and I mistakenly decided to change the sound quality settings that I scored well with all year. If I would have just left the system alone (with the proven set-up) I probably would have won that show. Sound is very subjective, and it is important to get opinions from as many people as possible in order to find a balance that sounds good to everyone. This balance should be adjusted throughout the year, not at the last minute before the judging starts. Again, don't mess up a winning formula. I'll cover this in more detail in future installments of Competitor's Corner, so stay tuned.