1/30 FAST Classic - Post Event

[aw614]

Wow Heather, I hope you were able to make it home on those tires! If you continue to autocross as much as you have been, a wise investment would be a custom performance alignment with more negative camber. Not only will you have more grip, but you'll get less of that extreme wear on the outside edge.

Hi Ben, thanks for the tip! Any recommendations on where to get a 'custom performance alignment'?

The shops Ben and Soroya mentioned you probably can't go wrong. I've gone to Speed Syndicate and Advanced Performance and recommend them both. I havent been to Vortex.

I wonder if your 435i is like other BMW and Mini Coopers where you can get a bit more negative camber by loosening the shock tower mount bolts and pushing them inward. Could slightly help a bit.

[Loren]

Earlier bimmers (mid-late 2000's) had a little screw in the top of the upper shock mount that locked the camber into its stock position. You can remove that screw and have a little adjustment in the top. Push the top inboard for more negative camber. Probably only half a degree or so, but anything would help.

If you're not familiar with all of these alignment terms yet, read this:
http://drivefast.org/novice-tips/alignment-tips/

[Helydoma]

Thanks all for the suggestions! I have passed the information on to my mechanic (hubs) and he will look into when I get my ride back. I'm stuck with a dealer loaner 328i for the weekend.

[Jamie]

I am very picky about finding ppl who know their stuff and seldom do "endorsements" but I can recommend Advance Performance Wheels and Tires (4011 West Linebaugh Ave.) without reservations.

+1 -- I've been using them for alignments and tire mounting for several years. Guillermo lets me sit in the car to ballast it (might not make much difference for waifs like Floh and Heather, but I'm worth a half degree of camber...). And I'm one of the few people Jen's dog likes.

Thanks all for the suggestions! I have passed the information on to my mechanic (hubs) and he will look into when I get my ride back. I'm stuck with a dealer loaner 328i for the weekend.

Wait...you're letting a Mustang guy work on your BMW? Isn't that sort of like letting a blacksmith repair your watch?

[Rpwolf]

I also call that Randy isn't allowed to get tires either.

so does that mean i can co-drive the soap bar?

I was chasing your time and you got me again by a couple tenths! I can't imagine how you'll do with real grip!

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im not trying to sound like a cocky showoff, but my only clean run was the first one.

[ImpostorDan]

I also call that Randy isn't allowed to get tires either.

so does that mean i can co-drive the soap bar?

I was chasing your time and you got me again by a couple tenths! I can't imagine how you'll do with real grip!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

im not trying to sound like a cocky showoff, but my only clean run was the first one.

I think everyone was a bit dirty at the end of the day but timing said you left all the cones standing for at least a few runs!

[Loren]

I hit no cones in 8 runs. I'm slightly disappointed by that. Makes me wonder if I'm not getting close enough.

[BigBlue]

I hit no cones in 8 runs. I'm slightly disappointed by that. Makes me wonder if I'm not getting close enough.

How do you think I feel? I have a reputation to uphold, you know.

[Loren]

Maybe the course design was just too simple?

[ImpostorDan]

Maybe the course design was just too simple?

Course was clearly too safe...

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[Blue_Heron]

Course was clearly too safe...

Except for maybe the short deceleration lane after the finish. It was hard not to lock the tires in the space we had to stop. Probably not the case with all the cars, but it was with mine. Tyler took out 4 cones after the finish light on his first run. I managed to skid straight on mine. We need to get a little better feel for the limits of traction when braking hard, I guess.

[Loren]

Yeah, we're still learning the site.

And we need to do more "difficult" stop boxes to get y'all to be more able to stop!

To put things into perspective: I paced it off, there was about 180 feet from the finish to the cone wall, and another 75 feet from there to where the start line was. Nobody (maybe Drew, maybe a couple cars in the top 5) was going over 50 mph through that finish. Which means that even if you take 20 feet as "reaction time", you're saying it's difficult for your car to stop from 50 mph in 160 feet? And you didn't even have to stop, just had to get down to 15-20ish to make the turn.

Hitting 4 cones after the finish light has nothing to do with how long the finish chute is, btw.

But, no, we won't cut it that close in the future. We might give you a challenging stop box, but there will be more runoff after it in case you blow it. You know, it's not unheard of to have a finish that requires you to brake BEFORE the lights. Not sure we've ever done it (intentionally), but we could!

In short: Being able to use the middle pedal effectively without losing control of your car is a skill that we should all have, no? I think a lot of people just over-thought the situation and got panicky about it because we told them they would DNF if they hit a red cone.

[Native]

I'll add that, in general, at any site, I routinely see folks stay on the gas well past the finish lights, which does effectively shorten the finish chute. But that's on the driver, not the course design. Otherwise, what Loren said.

[AScoda]

It wasn't so much the length of the chute, but the fact that it was gravely and downhill. I have no ABS and anywhere else, I can smash the brakes and they won't lock as long as I am going straight. That was not the case there.
There were a lot of cars locking brakes that were no where near in danger of reaching the end of the chute.
I, on the other hand, scared some peeps.

[Native]

Freakin' scary Drew?

No sir, I don't like it.