Nov 18th. Does it get any better?

[JasonS]

What a fantastic day it was. The weather was perfect. The course was hugely entertaining and FAST. The competition was tight. The morning session was probably the smoothest I have seen.

My car felt great today, really liking the new R-S4's so far. I know my car had a mid 41 in it if I could have put all the elements together. The cross course sweeper before the turnaround: I have driven that corner in 3 events and I think it is the most entertaining corner in existence. There is something magical about ringing out 3rd gear on the very limit of traction with the pedal to the floor. Holy **** was that fun.

I wish I could have seen Philips fast run. I am constantly impressed with what he can make that Miata, with it's clapped out suspension, do. And Randy, I was working timing for his runs. I thought we screwed something up when we saw his 40.004 come across the screen. Many thanks to FAST for making Saturdays great again

[Loren]

No, I don't think it gets any better. (I may be slightly biased)

Results are up, of course.

What an absolutely perfect day for an autocross! Great weather, great people, great course, great competition!

All that, plus the usual people pitching in to help with EVERYTHING! Huge thanks to everyone.

You may recall my write-up of "how to drive this course" from the pre-event thread. (it's here) I think I'm going to stand by it. Except maybe the Chicago box. Getting set up and taking the right line into it was important... doing that, you didn't have to slow down anywhere near as much as I expected.

Of course, everything is different depending on what you're driving. But, the only thing I'll add to that is that there were two CRITICAL things on this course. "Philosophies", if you will. And it really all boils down to an old autocross axiom: "Go slow in the slow parts, fast in the fast parts."

1. There was plenty of time to be LOST in the slow parts. Overcooking the tight stuff could cost you dearly.

But...

2. There was even more time to be GAINED in the fast parts. In particular, carrying speed acceleration into and through the cross-course, 3rd gear (for most people) sweeper was HUGE. It was the single fastest part of the course, and the faster you could make your "fast" there, the better your time would be. The other one, I think, was the Chicago box. A LOT of speed could be carried through there, as well. You may or may not have needed to brake for it, depending on how fast your car was. I bet Philip didn't slow down for it at all. We should all strive to be more like Philip.

[puncturina]

Are all the participants still out partying? It's after 9 pm and only one post!

Well Jason, I needed to be in third gear, but being chickensh*t, just stayed in second. Definitely left some time out there.

Thanks to all for another well-run event.

[Carracer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRhBpIAc-k0
My best run. I made a couple mistakes setting up for that last slalom. Just needed to turn in sooner. I think a low 41 was in the cards.

Wish I could have stayed to the end. I had a blast picking everyone's minds to figure out this course. It was fast and fun.

[Native]

Nice drive there, Philip!

And thanks to all for making the event go so nicely, too - just like the weather! We had plenty of workers, plenty of volunteer help, too, and that adds up quite, well, nicely. I saw some incredible driving today - which the course demanded from all of us. I think we all ponied-up, too!

Bill, I really like what you've done to your car ( viewtopic.php?f=3&p=52950#p52950 ) . You've now got a fwd car that's almost as loose as a stock S2000, and that's great - for autocrossing anyway. My first run to figure it out, I almost spun. My second run was much quicker. My third run, you got out of the car, and between less weight and "push harder," I almost spun it again, and in so doing DNF'd in the final slalom. My last run was the best. Your suspension setup forces you to anticipate - much the same way it did when it was just pushy-slidey - except now you had to anticipate when you'd want to reduce speed to make sure you didn't get spinny. Don't lift in that turn - adios. You were saying it felt underdamped...well, in corrections it could snap pretty quickly the other way. If that's a result of excess spring motion from weak damping, then yep, time to turn up those back shocks a little. If not, stiffer shocks'll just make it looser.

Nate - thanks for letting me ride along - anyone driving an old Mustang fast is really pretty impressive! Did you read Loren's write-up for this course that he noted above? I swear I wasn't plagiarizing - it's just the right way to do it. I was also thinking - we talked a lot about your approach and style. But, if the suspension/shocks you've got are adjustable, softening the rear a bit will help tame some of that oversteer and allow you to make more of that power productive. If not, maybe fooling with rear tire pressures (up or down) to gain rear traction?

OH, and Soroya - only 2 seconds, this time...

[Loren]

Did somebody say points?

FAST Season Points updated for this month.

Thanks to Philip for his work on developing the system to generate the points output.

[Rpwolf]

awesome course, so glad I got to the airport early enough to stiffen up the front sway bar. I knew I left a few tenths out there but to be .005 seconds from 39's was disappointing. Can't be upset though, I met all of my other goals and the car is feeling really good.

big thanks to everyone working and setting up at these events. the event went by smoothly and makes for a great experience. can't wait for the next one.

[Jamie]

My best run. I made a couple mistakes setting up for that last slalom. Just needed to turn in sooner. I think a low 41 was in the cards.

We're all just as happy that you didn't embarrass us further.

I got an incredible amount of wheelspin on the starts...in a Miata! At the last event, I put it down to the TGT pavement, but today was just strange. And of course, missing a shift on my fastest clean run didn't help...if I'd done it right, I'd be two places less embarrassed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys9Lwcx ... e=youtu.be

[nathanwilliams617]

Let's do this course again next month lol (that's how fun it was)

Mike M, dude, 42s in a S3 car? You should be bumped to mods due to talent! (M1 obviously) Great driving as usual.

Loren, man I'm having so much fun trying to beat that darn Mirage. Just when I think I clear it, you move the bar. Hahaha you drove that sewing machine.

Steve, thanks for all the tips on my fun runs those clarified alot. Concerning the rear suspension: the shocks are adjustable and I was thinking the very same thing before my last competion run. However I opted to not mess with the car but try to drive it better. Then I forgot about testing on the fun runs. Next event I'll try a click softer on the shocks and or a lb or two less in the tires...

[nathanwilliams617]

Oh and Eva, you did get me, dang it.

[jbrannon7]

The course was a blast. Weather does not get much better. I was much better in my new car with RE71s than on the old tires. RE71s are magic. I had to wait on the front end in all the tight spots and did not trust the car enough to go really fast in the fast spots. I will lower the car a little, not much, and add camber and see what rear toe is before the next event. Also need to stop running over cones with the right rear tire, that fault put me below the line of shame.

[friskyflea]

Beautiful day, phenomenal bunch of people and a type of course we don't get often = can I have another? Just watched my videos from yesterday, and I just need a bigger set... Line was fine but not enough guts, and that's all I'm saying.

[markzeronine]

Yesterday was a perfect day.

The real question is, has Philip driven a fast car yet? I've never seen anyone drive as hard and stay in bounds when I'm course working. It's very impressive, curious to see what he can do in a car that doesn't look like it's ready to bounce, spin and flip at any given moment lol

[mymomswagon]

Nice drive there, Philip!

Bill, I really like what you've done to your car ( viewtopic.php?f=3&p=52950#p52950 ) . You've now got a fwd car that's almost as loose as a stock S2000, and that's great - for autocrossing anyway. My first run to figure it out, I almost spun. My second run was much quicker. My third run, you got out of the car, and between less weight and "push harder," I almost spun it again, and in so doing DNF'd in the final slalom. My last run was the best. Your suspension setup forces you to anticipate - much the same way it did when it was just pushy-slidey - except now you had to anticipate when you'd want to reduce speed to make sure you didn't get spinny. Don't lift in that turn - adios. You were saying it felt underdamped...well, in corrections it could snap pretty quickly the other way. If that's a result of excess spring motion from weak damping, then yep, time to turn up those back shocks a little. If not, stiffer shocks'll just make it looser.

I had a great time, glad I chose double sessions. I think that's the fastest course the wagon has been on and one of the few times where proactively up-shifting made sense in it. Really was unsure if I could carry the speed through the crossover so I played it safe.

I need to learn that lift countersteer throttle thing (and some other things )

Those bump springs....just drove 4 hours to Jupiter today. I think they need un-packing or I need to keep Dramamine on hand

My calendar is clear for the Classic.

[Rpwolf]

Yesterday was a perfect day.

The real question is, has Philip driven a fast car yet? I've never seen anyone drive as hard and stay in bounds when I'm course working. It's very impressive, curious to see what he can do in a car that doesn't look like it's ready to bounce, spin and flip at any given moment lol

now that you mention it, I believe he drove a C5 at the last classic and the way it moved was intimidating.

I did offer Philip do drive my car sometime...

[Native]

Those bump springs....just drove 4 hours to Jupiter today. I think they need un-packing or I need to keep Dramamine on hand

You did say it was under damped...

[Jamie]

Yesterday was a perfect day.

The real question is, has Philip driven a fast car yet? I've never seen anyone drive as hard and stay in bounds when I'm course working. It's very impressive, curious to see what he can do in a car that doesn't look like it's ready to bounce, spin and flip at any given moment lol

He's driven Doug Adam's Vette and RX-8. Many of the S4 Miata drivers have let him have a go. He doesn't seem to get much faster in faster cars. I've let him drive my car in hopes of picking up some tips...he hasn't made it go any faster than I have. Maddening!

[markzeronine]

Yesterday was a perfect day.

The real question is, has Philip driven a fast car yet? I've never seen anyone drive as hard and stay in bounds when I'm course working. It's very impressive, curious to see what he can do in a car that doesn't look like it's ready to bounce, spin and flip at any given moment lol

He's driven Doug Adam's Vette and RX-8. Many of the S4 Miata drivers have let him have a go. He doesn't seem to get much faster in faster cars. I've let him drive my car in hopes of picking up some tips...he hasn't made it go any faster than I have. Maddening!

Gotcha, perhaps he just has a little more respect than to drive other cars as hard as he drives his own, I don't have that off switch personally lol. I think we can definitely agree that nobody is driving his own car faster than he can though!

[JasonS]

Gotcha, perhaps he just has a little more respect than to drive other cars as hard as he drives his own

Waiting for Doug to chime in here.

[AScoda]

He drove John Evans' car at one event and as I recall, posted a smashing time. John's car is kinda magical. Phillip might be a wizard.
Phillip let me co-drive with him at one event and I couldn't match his times. That car isn't particularly confidence inspiring. Phillip doesn't care. He rules it.