Road Course/Autocross TechAutocross, Road Race, and Open Track Event discussions. Preparation, technique, tips, and stories from the events. Tell us about your last event.
We finally got some good weather for a weekend, and all the snow/ice melted, so that allowed for a very nice event this Sunday the 18th. We were at a new lot, which led to quite a learning experience for me. At the last Winter event, I took first overall, but we didn't have many of the top drivers. Still, it was nice to win. This time, we had several of the top drivers from last year, so it was a big challenge. I decided to try out X class instead of SM, because that's where our top drivers compete in an indexed fashion. As I said before, this led to QUITE a learning experience.
The course was short and tight, which at first didn't seem to be a problem, but after my 1st easy run, I found that I could not drive 10/10ths the way I'm used to driving. I struggled to find out when and where I could actually get into boost, because each time I would tap the gas, I'd already be at the next gate and beyond my turn-in or braking point. This led to several mishaps and even one spin - very strange for me, but this was the first course I'd been on where I literally could not go WOT except for maybe 1 or 2 times, 1 of which was just through the finish line, and the other was leading up to a hairpin turnaround, so nothing during the meet of the course. Luckily, since there's less people at Winter events and the course being so short, I was able to get 6 runs. Normally, we'd only get 4, and X only counts their first 3 during the real summer series. It took me all the way to run _5_ to finally figure out a halfway decent method for getting through the course, but I clipped 2 cones on my right side. For my 6th and final run, I decided to drive it the same way but make it a point to avoid those 2 cones. I managed to avoid them, ran clean the whole way, and lopped off another .4s from the 5th run, which was a full second faster than my previous fastest raw time.
In the end, my 35.3 was good enough for 4th in X class, 4th overall indexed time, and 4th overall raw time. I was dominated by an ITR who took 1st and his co-drive took 3rd, as well as a Lotus Elise that took 2nd and was driven by a national champion (David Fauth). The ITR was actually at the last event that I won, and I beat him by .6s in index time on a longer course where I got to use my power. This taught me that you have to be ready to adapt to any type of course whether it suits your car or not. I'm happy that I pulled out a solid run in the end, but I also realize that during the real season and during any Divisonals/Nationals, I'll only have 3 runs to figure things out. That's the beauty of these Winter events, though. It is giving me time to learn this new awesome setup, and so far it's working well.
Here's a vid of my best run followed by several nice pics:
A little countersteer to save my "ass" (literally)
Hey Clay, looks like you're in a new class now? We'll have to work on your magnets I just got the new decal designs finished up and posted. We'll have to get you some of those to replace the ones you have on their now. Much easier to read.
Sorta. I'm still in SM, but I ran in X class, which is a special class for the top drivers. The top drivers in the region remove themselves from their normal class so that they can all compete against one another instead of the regular drivers in their class. I'm not necessarily a top driver, but since I got 1000 points at the last event while finishing 3 seconds ahead of the #2 SM car, I decided to try my luck against the X class folks while allowing the other 11 SM cars to battle it out. It worked out well, because I finished 4th in X, but I would have been 1.8 seconds ahead of the next best SM car.
During the summer, though, I will probably run SM so that I can go for a class championship instead of jumping straight from 3rd in SM to trying for X. That way, I can actually continue to improve and have something to show for it (SM champ maybe), then move up the next year. Also, at the end of the year or any point during the year, I'm allowed to move all my points up to X class, but I can't start in X class and move points down, so I'll probably stick with SM for now.
I didn't know there were new decals, so let me know about that. I also need something for NASA, because it's TTS class, and I need a 3rd for the rear or front - can't remember right now.
We'll have to get together for dinner soon so we can figure out the numbers/decal situation (for both of us). I need to figure out if I'll need new numbers as well.
Hey Warrtalon,
Could you post me a link to where you discuss your wheel and tire combo and how you got them to fit. If no such link exists, could you discuss here?
size, offset, brand, spacers, longer lugs - yes or no, etc.
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584whp/527wtq-Stock ECU-Tuning Tech Tuned & Built
The 40 offset allowed me to have no spacer in the rear but it required huge 25mm spacers up front. I only knew what to do thanks to Robi who sold me the rims, consulted me on how to make it all fit, and had the 25mm spacers MADE for me. To fit the rims and spacers, I needed to add ARP extended wheel studs up front, and I went ahead and put them in the rear, too, because it's WAY easier to change wheels quickly with the aftermarket studs. I also needed open-ended lug nuts.
As far as car modification, all I had to do was roll the fenders - heavy rolling up front to pinch the lip up against the fender, and mild rolling in the rear. I have no rubbing on the suspension nor fenders because of this. YOu saw the fender rolling pics in the other thread.
I'm trying to decide between 275 and 285s. I will have to use 275s for the EvoM national meet in Vegas, so I'm thinking about just sticking with that size and dialing in everything around the Nitos, which sponsors the event.
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584whp/527wtq-Stock ECU-Tuning Tech Tuned & Built
Well, 275s just don't work well on the Evo. 275/40s are too tall to fit - they rub. That's why we all move to 285/30s so that we get a huge contact patch but with a smaller diameter that won't rub the suspension. A 275-width limitation is bad for Evos. 285 is our perfect size.
Well, 275s just don't work well on the Evo. 275/40s are too tall to fit - they rub. That's why we all move to 285/30s so that we get a huge contact patch but with a smaller diameter that won't rub the suspension. A 275-width limitation is bad for Evos. 285 is our perfect size.
At the Redline Time Attack, we used 275 35 18 RA1s and experienced no fitment issues, but we have sooo many little improvements to make that I am really excited to think how much faster my car may be when we are all done. But, as you said, the problem is with the 40s, not the 35s.
Are you running the little helper spings in the rear? Do you have any issues getting the back end low enough without the lower perches rubbing on control arms?
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584whp/527wtq-Stock ECU-Tuning Tech Tuned & Built
Actually, when I said 275/40, I was talking about 17s. I haven't seen anyone else run that size, but that's probably because anyone who moves to 18s goes for as much rubber as they can get. We usually only mess with 275s if we're still on 17s. In your case, with an 18" rim already and being limited to 275s, that might work out nicely. You will just have to see how the NT01s fit compared to the RA-1s. Do the NT01s offer a 275/35-18? If so, that will be pwnage, because they are a little faster than RA-1s, I think.
Yes, I have the helper springs, but the guys never said anything about having trouble getting the back end low enough. I have no rubbing/polishing in the rear, so I guess it's fine, or maybe I just didn't go as low as you? I'm not really sure. A couple of weeks after installation, Robbie (lead tech after Joe moved to Chicago) came to my house and inspected everything. Another 2 months later, he came again to install a new rear camber bolt due to my stocker getting thrashed by a local alignment shop, and there was still no indication of suspension rubbing anywhere. The real test will come after I thrash the car on the road course. So far, it's only been auto-x...
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I just got the new decal designs finished up and posted. We'll have to get you some of those to replace the ones you have on their now. Much easier to read.
