Ass Whoopin

Ok, I finally went WAY ou tof my region to an event run on asphalt instead of blacktop. These dunlops might as well be on ice. Man was it ugly.
Actually, it wasn't that bad, but DAMN I hate to lose.
Turns out I showed up at an event that last years National Champion in E-stock (the current G-stock) decided to be at also. He was running his "protest magnet" CRX. I swear that thing looked to be modded as all hell, but you can't win nationals in a modded car I guess, so it was all legal.
He was running camber, toe, and caster settings I could only dream of. I can't do it because I actually drive my car to work still. He was also on race tires, and I'm still running my factory Duns.
Anyway, in G-stock there were 9 cars. the 3 running race tires had a huge advantage, and they used it to its extent. The other 6 of us were running street tires. For the street tire group, I was the fastest, so I got 4th in the class. I was about 2 seconds ahead of the rest of the group.
I really wanna get some race tires. BUT, we'll play more with that later.
More info to come.

Tough luck dude! One advantage to being where I am is that there isn't a ton of vehicles that go out to autoX and those that do are just normal drivers and not super-hardcore veterans so I have a decent chance when I race.

I was super disappointed yesterday because the autoX that was scheduled got cancelled due to there being too much snow on the ground. It was horrid driving conditions....and just ridiculous for May.

Actually I felt pretty good. The Nat. Champ guy ran a 62.1xx for his best, and he's damned good. I never got SLOWER than a 69.8xx, and my best was a 68.655. I figure, if you factor in 2 seconds for street tires, that put me at 66.6. I don't feel bad being that far off the champ in my daily driver. If I could play with the tires, wheels, camber, etc.. I would probably easily pick up some time. The factory setting just LOVES to push. I hate understeer. I can deal with oversteer as I raced carts for a while. Drifting through corners is fun.
Anyway, I know it wasn't great, but it was a good lesson for me, and I still feel good about being the fastest on street tires.
Does ARD have a good set of wheels/tires they wanna sell cheap and get some advertising for? (I'm always trying to get something. )

cjstringer,
I know how you feel. Our last event we had several Past National Champions and or Trophy winners in a several classes. Since I compete on the PAX index in Street Tire/Daily Driver class, I always look to see how I did against them.

As for the understeer, I have gotten most of it out using the tire pressures. It will still plow in tight turns but in the more open turns it is much better. I have been running the rear tires a bit higher than the fronts. Depending on the course, as much as 10 PSI for a really tight course. A more normal course only a few PSI higher. I know that this seems wrong since the rear wheels do so little work but it has been working. The other thing I have been doing is left foot braking, with the throttle on, on some of the turns to break the rear end loose. Hard on the brakes but it can sometimes help. The thing to remember is that the rear wheels just keep the rear bumper from dragging on the ground. Concentrate on making the front go where you want it and the rear end will be right behind.

Hehe got the pics from yesterday's cancelled autoX posted on the Winnipeg Sport Car Club website...in the first picture that's me 5th from the right...wearing a grey and blue jacket undone and no hat...I'm hardcore baby!

Check out the last pic....look familiar? Yeah it was cold and snowy and there were drifts around some of the important pylons including a chicago box, so no go.

http://www.wscc.mb.ca/_results/20020505.htm

you drifted in the mp3? woah.

cjstringer said:

.............Drifting through corners is fun. ......

Click to expand...

If you get the pressures right, trail break just right, and have the perfect turns with decent front end grip, you can slide these little puppies all over the place.
The "drifting" can be done in a FWD car, it's just a little tricky. And if you can do it in an autocross, you're a hell of a lot faster.

too bad i cant get anything right, i mean im even left handed!!:mad:

wow

I have to ask you... how in the world do you drive that thing in the snow?? I thought that the MP3's were aweful in the snow???

You drive it very carefully! I have winter tires, but had already changed back to the Dunlops in the middle of April. I took forever to get to the autoX and figured it wouldn't be a big deal on the course if I was slow due to the tires as it's just a lot of fun regardless to get out there and do runs.

Don't feel too bad! Remember those National Champ guys roam the country going to National level autocrosses just to get as good as they do. And they've been doing it a lot longer than you have. Those dudes are some serious freaks when it comes to autocross.
I just ran a National ProSolo event this last weekend in Atwater which is 1.5 hrs. from my home. It was fun, but for that much driving, not quite fun enough(let's see, 3 hours of driving every day for three days(9 hours total) for a grand total of 6 minutes of racing just doesn't seem to compute right to me). I didn't have it that bad though, since I went home every night, the guys who came from So. Cal, Oregon, Washington and the like had to stay in hotels. And they do all that just for autocross. They aren't going to waste that much time to come out and get beat by some local who's been doing this, casually, for about 7 months. Oh yeah, there was a National Solo2 at the site the week before which all of the same guys competed in so they had actually been hanging around the area for longer than just that weekend, they'd been there the whole week! These guys plan their vacations and any possible free time they have around autocross. To say they take it seriously and that they will use any and all advantages they can get is a total understatement.
At this event everyone in stock had race tires. There wasn't one guy on anything with a treadwear rating over 50 (basically, either Kumho Ecsta V700's, Victoracer V700's or Hoo$ier'$ autocro$$ tire). Matter of fact, to be competitive locally here you have to run an R compund tire(I just invested in a set of Kumho Ecsta V700's myself along with an extra set of wheels).
In the ProSolo I came in 8th place in front of a guy with a CRX Si from So. Cal. and the guy who didn't show up. I would have been a step or two higher but some misunderstandings about the one of the courses caused me to get a couple DNF's. Also, I have never done an event like this (ProSolo has a drag race style start with a tree and the whole bit and you race head to head against another person on two "identical" mirrored tracks). I was also getting used to the new tires and still getting them scrubbed in so that hurt me as well. I was about 1 second off of the top time in our class on my best run so I feel good about my performance considering all of the factors and the competition level I was in (National Champion drivers).
But I do agree with CJ that at this level the cars are quite different than "stock". When was the last time you went to your local Subaru dealership and got your Impreza 2.5RS with Koni double adjustable shocks? Shoot, single adjustable for that matter? Every car there except mine and one other had adjustable shocks. While the tire rule allows for a pretty insane amount of traction and a tire that you would never buy to run on the street, the shock rule in stock class is absurd! Everytime one of those guys came over and asked about my strut tower bar being stock I asked if their adjustable Koni Yellows were stock. I know I can proudly answer yes when they question my vehicle. The truth is the top guys are really scared of our car. They know as we become better drivers and "development"(read: better tires and shocks, etc.) of our vehicles comes about they are really going to be in some serious trouble.
However, I will never be on their level competition-wise because I don't really want to be. I think autocrossing is a fun thing to do as a way to kill time and some dollars. I went for the gusto this last weekend just to see what it was all about. I think driving any farther than an hour away to autocross is really a waste of time! As it stands right now I have a lot of opportunities to autocross about 15 minutes away from where I live and I'll be fine just having fun right there with fierce competition that exists in my own "backyard". With the occasional trip to the Bay Area(about an hour away) to compete with some friends I've made down there. I enjoy the competition aspect of autocrossing and don't like to do things half way so I'm willing to spend a few bucks on tires, but that's about it. I'm never going to travel cross-country and spend precious vacation time just to autocross.
The unfortunate thing about all of this is that the stock class really isn't about "stock" at all. I see the stock class as an excellent, very cheap way to come out and have some fun in your street car, but the rules allow for so much leeway that guys will spend all kinds of money, sometimes as much as STS or modded classes, to change their cars so they can win.

cfbjr,
What tires and rims did you get and how much were the rims? I am seriously looking into lighter rims to lower my unsprung weight and gain acceleration out of the corners and I also want to get some race tires. If you found a deal, please let me know. I have a feeling I'm gonna start getting killed as the weather warms up and I'm still on my chunked out Dunlops. I race at an obscenely rough track in my region and it eats my street tires to pieces.
Let me know what you found!
Thanks man.

I got the ASA JS1 wheels. They are not the lightest, but they're only $159 per wheel from Tire Rack(tirerack.com). I think they're around 19lbs. so you save a few pounds per wheel. Of course you can get a lot more weight savings if you're willing to go to a far more expensive wheel like the racing hart CP-035 or the enkie wheel that fits, but you're talking some pretty serious scratch when you get into those wheels. There is a new wheel coming out that fits and is light and is relatively cheap but it's not really available yet. It's the Team Dynamics Pro 1 wheel. I've been told it is about 6 weeks out before it becomes available. I didn't really want to wait and figured I could sell the ASA's later if I really wanted to switch wheels. I think the Team Dynamics are around 16lbs. a piece. The problem with wheels is that if you want to stay in the stock class there is not a huge selection of cheap light wheels in the 17x7 51offset 5x114.3 lug pattern variety. There are a lot of 17x7.5, but that'll put you in STS.
For tires I got the Kumho Ecsta V700 in 205/40-17 size, These are a lighter tire than the Victoracer V700 and definitely lighter than a regular street tire so you save a little weight there too. The tires were $125 a piece from Tire Rack. If you're feeling wealthy you can go for the Hoosier R3S03($188ea.). The Hoosiers are VERY sticky, but they wear out VERY quickly and they are easy to ruin. The next closest size available is the 225/40-17. They have Victoracers(might be sticker than the Ecsta's bu the verdict is still out), Ecsta V700's, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup and the Hoosiers. BUT I've heard on some cars that going to the wider tire will cause premature wear on the outside edge of the tire because it has a higher propensity for rolling over. Plus they may rub on our cars. Probably not a good idea...