stripethree

I only managed 3rd in Street Tire this event, after coning away my first three competition runs. Disappointing. I also dipped down into the 52 second range in TOs (again, with a cone), once again leaving time to be had during the runs that counted.

Comps: 54.722 (+1), 53.587 (+1), 54.025 (+1), 54.120
Street Tire: 3rd of 11
Overall: 22nd of 47 fastest time, 23rd PAX time
TOs: 53.195, 53.236 (+1), 53.478 (+1), 52.674 (+1)

That leaves me 18 points out of 1st for the series but I’m also only up 7 points on 3rd. Looks like I have some work to do December 13…

The third of four events in the Fall series. The course was short, and flew by even faster than the times would indicate. I coned away my best competition run, but still managed to hang on to the top spot in Street Tire 2.

Comps: 33.537, 33.509, 33.593 (+1), 33.172 (+3)
Street Tire 2: 1st of 12 by .511, 1000 points
Overall: 27th fastest time of 81, 30th PAX time
Time Only: 33.428, 33.001, 33.104, 33.155 (+2), 32.995

With the 1000 points in class, I have wrapped up the win in the series (2955 points total). The series is best three out of 4, but there’s no one in the category that can qualify (at least three events) and beat that total. That’s all well and good, but it’s sort of like being the big fish in a small pond; I’m still behind other drivers in my class by a good margin. I also recall getting whooped just last month by my own car with another driver so I will not be letting up for the December event, that’s for sure. I think I have started to figure more out about what is optimal for the car’s new setup. Playing with tire pressures – specifically, running a pretty big difference front to rear – finally got back some of the rotation I was looking for in the back end of the car. Now I just have to keep building on the relative success.

Autocross with the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) returned to Arizona last weekend and did so with a bang on the FIR East track. This was easily the fastest (in terms of top speed) autocross I have ever participated in, with multiple sections well, well into 3rd gear.

NASA-X classing is quite different than SCCA classing, working on a points system. Every 20 points you accumulate bumps you up a class. The R32 started in NXD and I counted up 19 points for modifications, so in NXD it stayed. The first four runs counted for competition and I ran 81.647 (+1), 77.021, 77.026, 76.684, and 76.040 DNF. First run I took really easy, last run I had a lapse in concentration and blew right by a gate. I had trouble nailing my shift points since it was also the most shifting I’ve ever had to do at an event. Third gear in three places, and three downshifts. Good times and good practice.

I came in 4th out of 11 in NXD, less than a tenth out of 3rd but nearly 2.7 out of first. People that hate on Miata’s have never seen them at an autox or on the track, they’ll surprise you. They had the top two places in NXD despite having way less power than the cars that followed them. This event was a lot of fun and hopefully NASA will be running more events in the future.

NASA also had a set of scales out at the event, so I finally got to see how much the R32 actually weighs, and I was quite surprised.

Driver Front: 1025
Passenger Front: 992
Front Total: 2017
Driver Rear: 554
Passenger Rear: 613
Rear Total: 1167

Total: 3184 (63.3% / 37.7% split)

Even without me sitting in the driver’s seat, and carrying only about 3 gallons of gas, I was surprised at the number; I thought for sure it would be higher. The car is listed at 3409, and the two biggest cuts on that weight were the exhaust (57lbs down to 15) and the wheels (28lbs per corner to 18.5). Assuming the 3409 is with a full tank of gas, minus the weight loss from wheels and exhaust, then taking away weight for things like the spare tire tools and foam, floor mats, and other loose items… that still doesn’t get the car down to 3184. I’m going to try and find time to weigh everything else I’ve swapped and see how much other weight has been saved. Either way, my excuse of the car being an extremely fat pig seems to have been lost.

The name of the game was braking points. Brake late and your were toast. Come into corners hot on this course and you were done. The R was still pushing like a pig, but I threw it around well enough. I skipped Time Only runs to get back home and work on odds and ends for the GTI.

Comps: 62.507, 62.001, 61.705, 60.960, 62.243 (+1)

Run #4 was good for 10th best fast time and 10th best PAX time – both of out 34 entrants – and put me at the top of a field of seven in Street Tire by half a second with 937 points. I’m dueling it out with another board member driving an A Stock turbo Saturn Sky who is 3 points ahead of me halfway through the series. There’s also a C Stock Toyota MR2 who took the category last month lurking 16 points behind me.

I was actually a bit surprised at the results since I really wasn’t thrilled with what I was able to do with the car. The car was under steering a lot and even when the LSD was kicking power to the outside tire, I was still struggling for traction up front. There were a lot of tricky features on this course, some of which bit me.

I’m going to cut to the chase on this one, you’ll see why.

Comps: 41.734, 41.679, 41.260 (+1), 41.097
TOs: 40.981, 40.868, 40.854 (+1)
Street Tire 2: 2nd, 955
Overall: 38th fast time, 40th PAX time out of 105

So I finished second in Street Tire 2, which you would think I would be pretty happy about. I would, except that there are two important facts about that 2nd place that really frustrated me:
1. The gap between first and second was over 1.8 seconds
2. The first place car was the same car I was driving, my R32

Yup, beaten handily by my own car. I threw my keys to another driver – ok not just any other driver but the ’08 DSP National Champion – after his BMW refused to start and stay running because of a bad battery. I was working out on course and could only watch as Doug kicked my ass with my own damn car running 39.822, 39.082, 39.507 (+1), and 39.236.

Ouch.

In some consolation, I did get some good feedback on the car and some adjustments to investigate in addition to fixing the loose nut behind the wheel. It really makes me think hard about doing Evolution School again, but I’m not sure that’s in the cards. I think part of my problem is that I am not pushing the car hard enough, and that I’m too worried about the next thing to break. Race drivers (and no, I’m not claiming to be one but you’ll get the point) are supposed to look ahead to the next corner, not dwell on the last one. I need a good dose of that, because I know I’ve slowed down, not just by Doug’s times, but by others drivers gaining ground on and/or catching me. I need to stop talking/writing/pondering these things and do something about them.

Photo courtesy of Rob Rockefeller

Almost forgot to post this since I had to run off to DC the day after for work.

The first event of the Fall series in Tucson where I am now competing in DSP, Street Tire. The event went well and I was especially busy: registration, safety steward, and driver. I wasn’t overly thrilled with my driving. Lots of cones and lots of time left out there during competition runs. Oh well. The car feels pretty good and (knock on wood) everything stayed together.

Comps: 51.734, 50.867 (+1), 50.781, 49.521 (+2)
TOs: 50.565 (+1), 49.665, 49.729 (+1), 49.351 (+1)

Third of 8 in Street Tire, 18th raw, 21st PAX, 902. My points and ranks will certainly take a hit being on street tires with a more difficult PAX, but I was only .5 behind the leader in the category. I need to make some adjustments to my driving and the car based on the updated setup. We’ll see how that goes…

Starting the trip to Chandler for the first autocross in the R32 since June, my iPod decides the first song on shuffle will be Aerosmith’s Back in the Saddle (Again). I grinned and shook my head, thinking that this was either a great indicator of an excellent event to come or that I wouldn’t make it to the end of the block without something on the car catastrophically failing.

Fortunately, the latter of those things did not happen. The car survived the 100 mile drive up, four ~70 second runs on the west track at FIR, and the trip home mostly unscathed. There’s one stubborn suspension bolt that refuses to stay where it’s supposed to, but that can and will be dealt with.

Rolling the car up to the start line for my first shot at this course was a bit rougher than usual on the nerves, again wondering and worrying about what may go wrong. Nothing did. First run was slow, and dirty, but it got better from there. Ok, it got faster from there.

74.537 (+1), 71.359, 71.611 (+4), 71.536 (+1)

So between the car changes and some category changes, who I’m competing against and how I can compare to other drivers is a little different. I’m now in a Street Prepared class (DSP), which has a PAX factor that assumes race tires, unlike my old class (STX) which was all street tires. Locally however, there are categories that lump together people with cars that fall into a ‘race tire’ class but who are running on street tires. So, I’m running against other Street Prepared and Modified cars, and also, Phoenix is calculating PAX points relative to category rather than he entire field. It breaks down like this:

Street Tire 2 category – 1st (of 15) raw times, 1st PAX, 1000 points
Overall – 23rd (of 97) raw times, 23rd PAX

The next closest ST2 car was 1.6 seconds behind, but there was at least one competitor absent that will certainly eliminate that gap next month. The new limited slip diff worked wonders, as did the all the other new bits that have been added to the car. Some suspensions adjustments need to be made, including making that bolt stay where it should, and things should hopefully get even better.

I also took photos of the two heats I was not running or working, and they are posted here and here. The new battery grip was perfect.

I did not want to sit out the third event of the Summer Series after doing so in June, so it was a game of ‘find a ride’ for this Tucson event. My first option ran into a power steering problem, and my second ran into a not-having-enough-tire issue, so knowing I’d be there anyway, I simply registered and figured I would find a ride on site. I got to drive an STU-prepped ’04 Subaru STI owned by one of our other board members and had a blast. The car has a good deal more power than the R32 but can certainly be a bit more of a handful. The biggest difference I noticed was that even with the feedback from the tires on the STI, which are the same Dunlops on the R32, I found it more difficult to figure out exactly how much grip the car had. The all wheel drive system is different and for autox, arguably better than the Haldex system on the R32 but it will bite you. Coming out of the U-turn on my second run I hit the thottle a big too hard a bit too early and after some theatrics from the rear end of the car, I ended up running right over the next two cones in the process. Needless to say that wasn’t my fastest run.

I ran quite well though; 47.925, 47.644 (+2), 47.028, 46.677; which was good enough for 10th raw, 7th in category, and 9th overall PAX with a 959. Seventh through ninth overall PAX were separated by less than four hundredths of a second! The owner of the STI finished a few spots ahead of me with a time of 45.917 and a PAX score of 974. In TOs I took a couple shots with the Subaru WRX that ended up with the top PAX time of the day. It was very different than the STI and required much more adjustment. The car is setup to be loose and I was not quite ready for it – I narrowly avoided taking out the timing lights while going through the finish nearly sideways on one run.

Hopefully I will be able to finish out the Summer Series next month in my own car.

Iiiiiiiiit’s baaaaaack.

Finally, the R32 was back in one piece, including the third motor mount, and ready to be thrown around the SIR gravel pit again. I drove the car to work all week and took time on Saturday to make sure everything that was unbolted and replaced or reattached was still securely fastened to the car. It all was. The third motor mount finally arrived on Thursday (after two months! never ordering from that company again…), and I installed it on Saturday as well.

The car felt fantastic. Maybe it was because I’d be driving the much older, slower, and more worn GTI exclusively for two months, or maybe it was just that the whole front end of the car was very fresh and well buttoned together, but it was pretty sweet. There’s no slop in the motor and transmission anymore thanks to the new motor mounts, the steering feel is improved thanks to the new control arm bushings, and transitions were much, much better handled thanks to the new, larger front sway bar. The best part was almost the drive to the event, which was the first highway experience since the repairs. Given that highway speeds and loads were where all the ill effects were previously experience, I was slightly nervous, but no bad vibes were to be found. So it appears that the drive shaft coupling that was replaced was the big problem, and that has now been solved, thankfully. All the other things that got done as a result were just added bonuses. Hey, if I’m was going to go through the hassle and expense ($40 for one time use bolts. Bolts!) to drop the subframe, might as well fix or replace other things. Break one thing, upgrade 3, right?

The autocross results were good; 67.830 (+1), 67.858, 70.896 (+4); minus the cones I wiped out from a nasty miscue at the end of my last run. The clean run was good for 5th of of 44th overall in both raw and PAX times, and 5th out of 11 in the PAX class with a score of 982/1000. Not bad for the first event back in the car after two months. Time only runs were excellent; they can’t be compared directly to the competition runs since the course was altered, making it faster, but my times got better with each run – 66.759, 65.276, 64.676 – were all clean, and my best of those 3 was the 3rd fastest PAX times of 39 time only entrants.

The car felt great from the first launch of the first run. No excess engine movement on takeoff, the 1-2 shift, or when getting off the gas. The car felt especially planted which made me more confident in the results of my driving inputs. Turn in is sharper and the car has a good deal less body roll in transitional elements. I didn’t notice much, if any, additional understeer, which can sometimes occur with a larger from sway bar, but the course layout might not have exposed those effects, and the bar was set at the softer of two settings. The only down side of the day was finding out what the next weak link is, as the front sway bar end links are making plenty of noise to indicate they have had enough. At least the nasty clunking they are making was easy to identify and was not any part of the car trying to dislodge itself from the mother ship to completely ruin my day.

Now that the R32 is running again and all appears well (knock every piece of wood in sight), I have found out that I am not allowed to have 2 simultaneously running Volkswagens. The GTI would not crank when I went to drive it to work Monday morning and since it will start with a jump from it’s younger sibling, it is hopefully the battery and not the alternator. I’ve yet to investigate it further. I got it back on concrete and will just keep driving the R32; perhaps having the GTI sitting will add even more fuel to the motivational fire of getting parts that are awaiting install actually bolted to the car. The brakes are ready to go, I have new stainless lines, new wheel bearings are pressed into the front spindles, the rear calipers have been rebuilt with new boots, and all I need to do is put the brakes together and bolt them on the car. Soon, very soon…

The motor is still at my friends house, and I have not yet gotten injectors and a fueling setup yet. Part of that is researching what will pass emissions and get me the performance I’d like and the other part is tuners not being all that great at responding to messages. Hey, guys, ah, I’m trying to buy stuff from you, answer your messages!

I do not know where April went but it’s gone, passed me right by.

The R32 still isn’t running mainly because upon going to replace the two motor mounts I have, something more fun was discovered, a drive shaft joint that was coming apart. Oh joy. Hopefully this will all be fixed tomorrow and even without the motor mount that I have been waiting on for 4 weeks now, the car can drive again. That’s a good thing, because the GTI is going to be getting some big things in the coming month(s).

I ran my friend Jana’s Mini in Tucson at the end of April again and couldn’t keep off the cones.

Comps: 53.778 (+1), 54.699 (+2), 55.032 (+1, CD), 53.802 (+1)
TOs: 54.270, 54.957, 54.405, 54.392 (+1)

At the Sierra Vista airport the weekend after (last weekend) I drove a CSP Miata on huge race tires. I finished at the bottom of the PAX class, but I beat the car owner, so we’ll see if I’m ever invited drive the car again. It was fun, completely different than the R32 or the Mini; I’d never driven a Miata and never driven on race rubber which made for a fun experience. I can see why people like Miatas (no power, but they certainly can handle!) and why race tires can be an expensive addiction.

I also went house hunting on Monday with a real estate agent, though this trip was more to figure out what I really want in a house than to find the house to buy. The whole process still seems complicated and daunting and I don’t know yet if I’m fully ready for it. It was good to look around at various houses and I figured out that there are many, many more things to think about than I had on my list. We saw about a dozen houses, most of which were vacant, some foreclosures or bank repos. Granted, there could have been things we couldn’t see, but I was surprised at the condition of these houses, I figured they’d be wreck. Probably the worst house needed carpet everywhere and drywall patched in one area of one bedroom. One other house had all the appliances missing, and by all I mean someone made off with the garage door opener and the water heater.

Softball is still going on and we are still looking for win number 1. Most of us are still having a good time even though we’ve only managed to not lose via the mercy rule twice. The season goes through the end of the month, so we don’t have many more chances to get into the win column.