Warrtalon

iTrader: (6)

Now that I have my car well-prepped for SM, I decided to run X class locally, since that is where all the best drivers compete in an indexed fashion to help prepare for Nats. We normally get 4 runs in our events, but in X class, only the first 3 runs counts, which is how it works at Nats, so it's good mental preparation. I ran in X class over the winter series, but that series is for practice, so we didn't have most of the top drivers out there, and all of our runs counted. Therefore, this was the first REAL event for me in X, and I was a little nervous because of it.

This is how it went down. I walked the course and thought right up front that it was going to be pretty difficult for the Evo. The start had an immediate 90-degree bend (no launch), and the finish had a very sharp 100*+ turn, so there would be no hauling *** across the finish line. This combined with 4 different slaloms told me it would be a difficult thing to master in 3 runs. Well, here is my first run, and as the description of the vid says, t his is _NOT_ how you autocross. Take a look:

SCCA-RM 2007 Event #1 Run #1

Not only did I lose the rear around that early sweeper due to the tires being cold, but I hit about 4 cones, screwed up the slaloms, and ran hot into two features causing bad understeer (that's the driver, not the car). To top it off, I exceeded the decibel limit of 93, so the whole run was DNF'd anyway. That meant I really only had 2 runs to figure out what I was doing. Because of this pressure, I decided to leave the camera in the grid area so that I could focus on driving with no distractions. My 2nd run's raw time was pretty good and would have been good enough for 10th in X (10th overall), but I hit _5_ cones. I was all over the place and nicking cones on the inside (strange) quite a bit. My 3rd run, I decided to pull back a little and actually drive smoothly and in control. The result was it was a very easy run with no lack of control, but it wasn't fast. I ran .1s slower than the previous run, which still would have been good enough for 10th overall, but I somehow hit 1 cone somewhere without even knowing it. This chapped my hide, because I drove like a puss and still hit a cone unknowingly. That extra 2 seconds dropped me from a 10th place 950+ pt finish to 18th in X and only 921 points, which was less points than almost every event last year.

Ok, so then I got my 4th run, which didn't count, and I decided to just go back to driving hard like I normally do. I hit no cones and dropped a full second off my fastest raw time. This was effectively a 3-sec improvement, but it didn't matter in terms of X class. Compared to the rest of SM, it gave me a 1.6-sec win over an E36 BMW with 285F/385R Hoosiers, so that was still an accomplishment. It also would have given me 5th in X with 972 points. 972 is not great normally, but everyone got hammered in points due to Kevin Wenzel (2006 Solo Driver of the Year) bringing out his new FSP killer car (BMW 2002) and absolutely destroying everyone. Even his co-driver and car owner got 2nd overall with ease despite finishing way behind Kevin. 3rd and 4th were 1 and 2 tenths ahead of me, respectively, and they finished 2nd and 3rd overall in the RM region last year in the points standings, so I feel I am keeping good company now. Of course, to reiterate, that 4th run didn't count, so my final standings suck donkey nuts, but I consider it a learning experience, and by the time Nats rolls around, I'll have done this 8 times or so and might be able to nail it down on my first 3 runs by then.

Here's some pics, too. I was surprised by the amount of body roll I still have...

Most X class cars have national-level experience - you can see my car looks out of place, hah


Gotta quiet that exhaust

JRB_EVO

iTrader: (6)

Wow, that thing was crazy. Seemed like a very challenging course, good thing is that your driving improved as the day went on. So i guess you must start tinkering with the suspension to find the best setup for each type of event you compete in.

BTW: Nice picture showing one of the rear paws up in the air, haha!!!

SOLO2M3

iTrader: (3)

Perrin rear sway bar end links will keep that inside rear tire on the ground.

I used to do the same before I installed them.

Warrtalon

iTrader: (6)

I have Perrin end links - they are part of the Vishnu/Gerrard kit.

kekek

iTrader: (22)

How? Do they stretch under load? I fail to see how endlinks will cure that issue.

Some 800lb/in fronts will go alot further IMO.

v8k1ller

iTrader: (1)

looks like somebody is over driving their car..... i'll be running my M3 in the nationals this year in SM so look out!

Warrtalon

iTrader: (6)

Kekek, I have 700lb/in up front, but not 800. I don't think I have this problem much anymore, but that particular turn was a long wide sweeper at high speed where I had to start braking during the high speed portion of the turn. I wasn't able to brake in a straight line, so I think that caused a lot of it.

v8k1ller, I often overdrive, especially on the 1st run. I don't know how else to find the limit without crossing it.

kekek

iTrader: (22)

hey it's alot easier to get someone to ratchet back a notch if they are overdriving than to force someone who is more timid to exceed the cars limits. This is also coming from someone who has a tendency to overdrive.

Dropping the rear some more tends to help with droop travel since more bump is eaten up with the extra lowering.

SOLO2M3

iTrader: (3)

Kekek,

I'm not sure how they cure the problem but they do. Even when I overdrive the car like we all do in competition.

I'm just a driver, maybe one of our engineer type forum members can answer the question.

Jim H.

Red '05 Evo

BSP 62

Matt2.8NJ

iTrader: (7)

It's a mindgame that's easier to win - less fear involved by slowing down than going faster.

I don't see you registered for Devens...are you going? I'm debating making the trip or not... I'll be coming back from the beach on the 8th... it's a long trip to make to MA.


How the heck does this work?

kekek

iTrader: (22)

Seriously though, all a swaybar does is react to a height differential between two sides of a car. If we take one solid link and replace it with another solid link then it seems we should be in the same situation. Of course you can make them longer or shorter than stock but that will only change the bar's position relative to the rest of the suspension, it will not affect its reaction.

The only way I can even think of that the adj end links may help is if your rear ride heights are not equal due to corner balancing or sloppy setup. If they aren't equal then there will always be a preload on the bar, this I could see creating more inside wheel lift. BUT this lift will be more in one direction than the other.

oh well...enough blabbering

kekek

iTrader: (22)

[quote=Matt2.8NJ;4233040]It's a mindgame that's easier to win - less fear involved by slowing down than going faster.

I don't see you registered for Devens...are you going? I'm debating making the trip or not... I'll be coming back from the beach on the 8th... it's a long trip to make to MA.

quote]

I'm going to Devens. Running there this sunday with BMWCCA for a warmup. I haven't registered for the NT since 1) it's usually slow to fill and 2) doesn't look like there will be any competition or contingency in BSP. Sorry for the OT.

Warrtalon

iTrader: (6)

Relative to the aforementioned mindgames, I do seem to have a problem with TRYING to drive smoothly. My fastest runs are always when I'm on the ragged edge and maybe even a little bit over the edge. That's not to say that I couldn't go even FASTER if I could bust out a John Ames and be right on the ragged edge (100.000%) without going over or under, but I don't have that skill level. Whenever I force myself to brake earlier, take things more smoothly, etc etc., I _always_ end up slower. I am only driving more smoothly, because I'm driving more slowly. I haven't learned how to actually drive smoothly without consciously slowing down.

I'm also a little concerned about my alignment, because I had it all setup perfectly by Paul Gerrard's crew, but then after some autox and road course time, everything was out of whack. My car was pulling hard right, my front toe out was significant even though I had it set to 0, and my rear toe was even more drastic but each rear wheel was toed in opposite directions (+.47 / -.25), which really was throwing things off. I won that NASA TT with the car like this apparently. I then took it to a place across the street to check and tweak the alignment, and they had trouble getting things where I wanted them. I got my toe back to 0 all around, but they got my rear camber looking weird (-1.1L/-.7R), and the tech said something about having trouble with my "aftermarket toe adjusters." I don't even know if such a thing exists, but I know I haven't bought any unless he was referring to my endlinks. I'm worried that he messed with some stuff that shouldn't have been messed with, which may have led to the surprising amount of body roll that I experienced during this autox. Anyway, Paul's two main guys are not available, so I'm not able to drive up and have them do it right. Sucky.

supersupra

iTrader: (8)

What do you use to reduce the noise level? Does it afect performance?

kekek

iTrader: (22)

Warrtalon,
What you are describing is what has led me to start doing my own alignments and learning more about setup. In the end I don't want to be held back by waiting for someone else's service. That and I have found some other peoples work in the past to be off kilter. Oh yeah, I'm kinda cheap too.

It does eat time, but is throughly satisfying once you have a system down. It allows you to evaluate alot more with the car. If you are interested I would start with something like Carroll Smith's "Tune to Win"