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Crazy. I tried ProSolo a few times and couldn't figure out which side of the cones to be one. There wasn't enough time for me to figure out before I got to each turn
So I moved to Fort Worth, TX for a new job which is a bonus for me as there's more racing and way closer than when I was down in Temple. Went to a Texas SCCA event and came in 2nd to a 460whp STi on sticky tires. I got pissed and decided it's finally time to install my new injectors and buy some 285/30 A7s. Went over to Evolution Dynamics today to get a dyno tune for 93 & E85 and am happy with the results. 372 whp / 325 torque on 93 @ 25.5 psi and 434 whp / 394 torque on E85 @ 30 psi. We dialed it back to 29 psi which netted 430. Feels good to finally know some numbers after all these years of me tuning it.
Yeah, I needed some motivation and competition. I'm happy to say that in yesterday's auto-x with TexasSCCA I was able to beat them by .3 seconds, on 255 RE71Rs. It was a battle though with the lead changing back and forth every run. The best driver didn't show up, so I'm wondering how close we would have been if he had. Unfortunately I didn't use my GoPro so there is no video to watch. The car is definitely handling the best it ever has and the extra power is great. I can effortlessly use throttle to steer the car and it rips on the straights. I had a few people ride with me and all of them ended the runs laughing and swearing about how stupid fun the car is. All that's left now is fender rolling and ordering the HoHo's. Next event is Sept. 23rd and the one after that is on the infield road course of Texas Motor Speedway.
Had another auto-x with TexasSCCA and the best competitor showed up; it was wet and drizzling so he was on street tires this time (Azenis RT615k+). The course was super tight in three 180 turnarounds so I figured the course would favor the gearing of the STi but figured I'd give em hell anyway. First run I lifted mid-corner exit and got back on which produced a delightful spinout. After that I was a little more hesitant with conditions but still pushed the car for all it was worth. My girlfriend actually got scared with all the sliding and ended up going shopping at the outlets across the street. In the end I managed to win and gapped 2nd place by 2.7 seconds on a 60 second course. My competitors even asked me how I was finding time out there and I told them they were probably screwing up the 180s as the cones were placed to create pinch points at exit and most people were driving that way instead of braking later and using a constant radius corner. Other than that I have no idea why I would have grip and they did not other than maybe tire selection. Next auto-x is the infield course at Texas Motor Speedway so stay tuned for recap and video from that event. Videos of this event below:
Well the infield course auto-x wasn't as big as other road course auto-x events I've done but it was still fun. Managed to take 1st by 1.4 seconds even with coning away my fastest run. My car really feels the best it ever has and my confidence is way up there in its predictability. I'm pretty sure I'm hurting some feelings beating the guys on R-comps while still on street tires. I really can't wait to buy a new set of Hoosiers for next year and see how much more that gets me. Hopefully I'll be able to attend nationals for the first time as well.
I went to the first event of the season with Texas SCCA today. It was a chilly 34-36 degrees, rain in the morning, 20mph wind, and was absolutely the worst auto-x experience I've ever had to due to the miserable cold. But, we still had 120 crazies out there throwing their cars around so that was encouraging. I ended up running in the last heat and was 1 second ahead of another Evo and about 2.5 seconds in front of my normal competition. The course was a challenging and slippery surface but the Evo found that grip! I ended up 2nd fastest raw time and 1st in SM; not a bad start for the year.
I also had a decent conversation with the regional head of SCCA Time Trials today and I think I'm going to start trying to do those events as well. I already have an email in to Rick @ Ciro regarding his dual element wing design and whether or not I can convert it between a single and dual depending on which event I'm running. Not sure if anyone knows the answer to that one or not but I've been waiting a handful of days with no response as of yet.
Could you get enough heat in the tires to make them useful?
Some of my favorite AutoX memories are rainy days where only the most die-hard autocrossers are willing to stick around. Working course in the rain is miserable, but putting the Evo AWD to use against all of my 2WD friends makes it all worthwhile.
Could you get enough heat in the tires to make them useful?
Some of my favorite AutoX memories are rainy days where only the most die-hard autocrossers are willing to stick around. Working course in the rain is miserable, but putting the Evo AWD to use against all of my 2WD friends makes it all worthwhile.
The tires got luke warm at most but they still worked pretty damn well considering. I do not mind the rain at all as I have full wet gear. I was dressed for the temperature today but not the wind sucking the heat out of my body. All the people I know here are AWD but I get what you're saying about gapping friends.
I haven't updated in a while because other than another event and another class win there hasn't been much. After a couple months of waiting for all the components to arrive I was finally able to install a Ciro Design Racing wing on my car. I bought the dual element wing but also bought single element end plates so I can convert between AX and track wings as needed. I will say that it's not fun to have to drill into your own brand new wing but after the first hole I felt a lot better. I really didn't know what to expect when drilling the CF. I'm going to paint the end plates silver to match the car and might end up doing the struts too depending on color balance after the end plates are painted. I still also need to install the supports for the upper element but I had to at least grab some pictures once I could mount everything together. On to pictures and video of the last auto-x event with TexasSCCA. Next race isn't until the end of June so we'll see what other parts I can get ordered and installed prior to that.
Yeah, I had no idea that I would get the pleasure of drilling my own mount holes. I think I measured everything like 20 times before making my first hole. $2100 for the wing and I got the opportunity to ruin it before it ever got on the car!
June's race happened on Sunday and I was able to bring home another class win by 2.6 seconds. I was hesitant to show up with the wing and no Hoosiers but I decided that downforce is downforce no matter what tire you're on and I might as well see how it affects the car's balance. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't a night vs. day difference. The car felt a little less tail happy in the slaloms but I was still able to make the tail dance around cones. Without testing the course back to back I don't know what the wing really netted me. I finally got the last of my parts from Ciro Racing so I can switch between single and dual. Here's a picture of the car cleaned up before the event and the video from the event.
After the last auto-x I noticed that my steering wheel wasn't straight on the ride home. I remember thinking, how TF does that happen at an auto-x where nothing happened. As I was prepping for this event I found what it was. It turns out my drivers side rear wheel was toed in a metric **** tonne. I tried to tighten the bolt and, to my non-surprise, the bolt was stripped. I have always struggled with these bolts. Other than a turbo stud this is the only bolt that's ever stripped on my car, and they strip every time I do an alignment regardless of torque specs. I literally have been running with this alignment for over a year and suddenly it gave up and moved? Luckily I keep these on my spare parts shelf as I know that they are weak and give me problems.
I also picked up a set of Ohlins Flags from GriceIV. They're recently rebuilt and valved for where I need to be, I just need to put some TLC into them before I slap them on.
Finally, I ran an event with TexasSCCA today that was a large course that equally rewarded the HP cars and the momentum cars. I was crossed up and between gears a couple different times but in talking to other regulars they were struggling as well. I won my class by a second over an FRS but that was a little too close for comfort. I was happy with the day until I watched my videos and I was consistently 1-2 feet off the cones. Not sure why I was playing it so safe and not pushing it but it pissed me off. Video of the day is below.
Aug 16, 2018, 01:20 PM
