What a freaking blast. It was great to see so many Subaru's out there! The course was fun and, initially, seemed tight, but the good line had a few straights, more on that later. I ran in STU in the AM with Meredith as my passenger and then co-drove with Meredith in my car in the afternoon TO2 session. In the AM, I improved each run and, for once, I finally DNF'ed a run and took out a cone on another. Oh well, it happens. I had some problems with the turn-around after the slalom - aka I plowed like a mo-fo. I managed to squeek out a best 55.719 in class for the AM. The afternoon was when things really got fun. I had a course walk with Meredith and she showed me all the "straights" in the course. I was absolutely blown away. I didn't see the straights at all in the AM, but rather, saw elements that I needed to steer around and added more steering input than I needed. It was crazy. Anyway, Meredith started driving in the TO session and I watched the master at work. She is so, so fast. When we crossed the finish, she asked if I had any questions. I said, teach me to drive like that. :rofl: Throughout the afternoon, I got better in the turn-around, but it still slowed me down. Mere kept saying we're getting you into the 53's. Um, ok, no pressure. Well, my last run I nailed a 53.09 while still slightly plowing in the turn-around, so there was still some time to pick up. But whatever, I was beyond ecstatic with my time and overall improvement throughout the day. I had an opportunity to ride in Brian's CRX...it may only make 98 whp, but the car grips amazingly well. What a blast! I can't thank Mere enough for all the help. And, you didn't hear this from me, but a little birdie told me that someone might be building an STU car for next season. :coolugh:
it was a great track! the ending was the best. i pulled off a 52.214 running DS. i was called clean, but i think in the end it'll be with one cone. i'll have to wait for the official times to see. sucks, no one runs DS with me. i didn't get to watch but 2 subi's all day.
Great job Clay. I think the most time to be made was the two boxes at the beginning of the run before the first slalom. If you could drive that right (i.e. balls out) and manage to miss all the cones you could easily get 3 seconds knocked off. As for the turn around section, dial up some more negative camber on the front wheels and dial out some on the rear if you are still using the OE alignment. If you are already maxed out, I would go with a FSB or just drive slower through that section. It was actually beneficial to drive deeper into that corner because it sets you up for the finish box.
Thanks for the advice Tom. I was amazed at how I could practically drive straight through those boxes with very little steering input (thanks to Mere ). I think I also needed to brake a lot earlier in the turn-around. I almost had it my last run, but once I started getting back on the gas, I just plowed. A front bar is definitely on tap in the next couple of weeks, as well possibly some PDE plates for the front. I am maxed in the front according to SOG after my performance alignment. I need to double check my alignment sheet for the specs. Based on Meredith and Brian's recommendation, I will have GTE set up the plates after they're installed.
I definitely enjoyed the track. "Threading the needle" was something completely different for me and it was fun trying to navigate the quickest way through it, and realizing I didnt need to come off throttle as much as I thought. Once again I was thoroughly dissatisfied with the RCE springs. Maybe its me, maybe its the car, maybes it karma. Whatever you want to call it, the rear is still too low and the car is still rubbing. When I went out on course the car rubbed in the rear terribly. Okay I thought to myself, thats tolerable considering the weight in the back (2 pass. in the car); however, with the passengers gone it was still happening! This was my second event this season since my ankle healed. The previous event I had some rubbing issues but I wasnt as concerned b/c I was running a somewhat mystery alignment (hadnt had the car aligned since the recent spring install). Let me lay out the setup before anyone inquires. Wheels are 18 x 8 et48 Tires are 235 x 40 x 18 Fenders are unrolled & unpulled Rear alignment is -1.6 No, the springs are not reversed (ie front springs installed in rear) MY is 2004, upgraded to 2005 hubs/knuckles So I ask you, whats the deal here? Am I asking too much of the springs on a near stock offset wheel running tires that are similar in size as well? Of course I want to roll the fenders, I simply have not gotten around to it--I hate justifying the need to roll the rears due to a set of springs though. This concerns me as I want to throw some 245s on the stockers for the rest of season.
From what it sounds like, the only problem is the conversion. I run 245's on weaker springs. Not to mention, you have more negative camber in the rears, which should push the tire closer to the strut, not the fender. My opinion is that the converstion somehow pushed you closer to the fender. Are you running a rear bar, or can you run a rear bar, this would help to keep your negative camber throughout the corner (dynamic camber)?
Clay, No problem man! I'll love to burn up other peoples tires . You have come along way for your first three autoxs! Actually now that I know that my car has been broken for the last few autoxs I feel alot of the frustration leaving me. Tommy Pulliam (the guy in the Pro AS S2k) was over 2 seconds faster than me; which really frustrated the crap out of me since I thought i had improved slightly. Well now I know I really had no functioning front sway bar it makes me feel alot better. If I hadn't driven your car I still might have thought it was just me not driving well (a 49.8 in a stock STi versus 49.3 in my car just didn't seem right).
It was a fun track for sure. I'ts good to see even more people in STU. It was a good course to test the new coilovers on. GTE will definantly be fixing the shit stock alignment. :ddirty:
From what I have been told, it shouldnt have moved. If I upgrade to the 05 lateral links then I pick up the extra 1/2". Ive often wondered if there is something fishy going on in there, but the fact of the matter remains the springs simply lowered the rear too much. I'll talk with tom and javid, and see what they have to say.
its the springs. mine rubbed as well. you'll need to roll the fender or get rid of the springs. The rates are great, but ride height is a bit too low.
man, mere, you crushed my ego. i was only 3 sec. off your time on street tires. i take it though. brian, loved watching you fly over the hip going into the slalom. i never even tried going inside at cone, thought about after each run but....
That was a fun course. I was able to beat my co-driver this time (he beat me by .03 sec last time), but get 2nd in class again. Kevin Boswell, who got 1st was really on target and put down an insanely fast 47.199 first run compared to my 48.286. Surprisingly, I was able to put down my fastest time on my last run with Clay in the car, a 47.984, but I hit a cone on course to make my 3rd run the fastest clean run. I think I need to get Clay to ride with me more often BTW Clay, my car has 96hp, not 98hp I am hoping to get a little over 100hp with my new engine in my silver crx. Hope to see you all again at the next event. Thanks to all that gave me rides in the morning. The pre-preliminary results are posted here: http://soloatlanta.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2845&pid=28863&st=0&#entry28863 Will have to get Meredith's car fixed for the next event, so that she can go back to beating my times at each event again and again... -- Brian