Mar 11th - Slalomapalooza

[twistedwankel]

Like Loren said prior to this event: "If you cannot do it in 3 runs...."

Well I did it in 3 and 4 and 5 runs hit no cones all day with the fat ass. Had we stopped at 3 or 4 runs I would have finished 2nd. Bob Teasley finally got some heat in his stones on his 5th run and beat me by a whole second. Go Bob. I was somewhat amazed at my consistency the last 3 runs. Within .1 sec all. Not good enough.

I realized after the dust cleared that the timer for my runs was set by Ron in the wrong direction adding a whole second to my runs. Damn Ron what am I bribing you for? I see what you did you put the extra second of daylight savings on your fastest run and took that class. Grrrrrrrr.

Then there was Loren who has now excavated a giant ditch around the wall of shame. 43.8 are you serious. I now fully understand why they do not allow go carts at these events I could kick everyone's butt with a 25HP gocart:) Well maybe most of you?

I put down some smooth and clean and consistent runs which hopefully helped a couple of my young passengers prevail in their cars.

I did learn today that if you first put a heavy generator in the trunk of a Vette you cannot shut the trunk and cannot put the top up due to interlock....I forgot. So thanks to the gent for helping me put it in the first time, the MR2 chap for helping me lift it back out to put the top up and Elliot for helping me lift it back in. I won't be doing that again EVER. When I got home I had to lift that 1000lb (seemed like it the 3rd time) hunk of iron over the lip of the vette by myself. Shit. Wife threatened to help me.....no no. Anyhow it's back in the garage and I put a new spark plug in for the 1st time ever. I found the bill of sale for yamaha 1/28/80 for $548. A lot of money in 1980 for a new '79 generator but worth every cent. When that thing dies I'll probably closely follow.

Anyhow thanks to the folks who helped me learn this course again and drive it more smoothly and accurately. And thanks for giving us that 5th run (I think?). Too bad I couldn't take it in Philip's car since he had the key in his pocket somewhere taking photos of all you. My loss. Your gain.

**Oh, and another congrats to Nate Foxbody who drove like a pro and beat me soundly for the first time in my fastest car. Go Nate.

Now what am i going to do with this extra hour? Oh....that's where a happy hour came from.

[JasonS]

First off, sorry to the workers in the first heat that had to clean up my mess (5 cones).

Today was a blast. Gave some rides, got some rides. Hung out with a lot of cool peeps. Kinda sad I fell back into getting slower with each run.

Philip. Wow. Can't wait to see that run.

Here's my best of the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNOcv2b ... e=youtu.be

[JasonS]

Oops. Looks like i hijacked Doug's post.

[twistedwankel]

Oops. Looks like i hijacked Doug's post.

No you didn't we just posted at the same time and you had a better title PLUS a video. Kind of like bidding on Ebay. Send

Mighty nice run BTW. I can only dream of such a run anymore. At least our cars are the same colour. Your's is fast grey tho'.

[SlowMiataDrew]

Had a lot of fun today, got my first taste of tires that aren't the cheapest all seasons I could find thanks to Dave. Really is eye opening what a difference tires make! Took me four runs in my car in the afternoon to reel everything back in for a clean run. Glad to be able to see what I could do if I had better tires. Not switching over yet though, still a lot of learning left to do with these all seasons. Looking forward to the classic at the end of the month!

[CaptainSquirts]

Fun course. Nice first place finish Ron, and nice 2nd place Dan. That 0.006 difference between you and Ron triggered you I bet . Less than 0.08 difference for top 3 in M1... Slaloms aren't my best so I'm happy with the results.

Here's my run.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0XV3APG-qY

[Loren]

Great event all around. Thanks to everyone for being a part of it!

Results are up on the website, of course.

Then there was Loren who has now excavated a giant ditch around the wall of shame. 43.8 are you serious.

I think I'm gonna build a wall next.

The car felt really good today. I'm still not sure what I did right on my first run to get that 43.8. Closest I could get to it on subsequent runs was 44.0. I'll review my video and post it if it's worthwhile.

[twistedwankel]

Philip. Wow. Can't wait to see that run.

To clarify. That $10 run Philip took was the run I was going to take in the Deuce Coupe for my 5th (bonus) run because he offered me $10 if I beat him in his car. A "key" issue ensued. (I forgot how to hotwire a Miata.) So when you watch that glory run it was actually my 5th run.

[Carracer]

Philip. Wow. Can't wait to see that run.

To clarify. That $10 run Philip took was the run I was going to take in the Deuce Coupe for my 5th (bonus) run because he offered me $10 if I beat him in his car. A "key" issue ensued. (I forgot how to hotwire a Miata.) So when you watch that glory run it was actually my 5th run.

Sorry, forgot to leave the key in it, will try again next time!

Best run I have on video:

https://youtu.be/I-JczZfOOQ8

My 42.074 was done in Sally's car ( thanks again! ). I keep forgetting the B in NB stands for "Better" and my car just isn't fast. Still very happy with my last 2 runs. The 42.595 felt like I got a lot of out of car.

[twistedwankel]

Sorry, forgot to leave the key in it, will try again next time!

I should have just shoved a screwdriver in it. Like you do Philip fast pants. Time to go look at the ProSolo Saroya results.

[ImpostorDan]

That 0.006 difference between you and Ron triggered you I bet.

Nah, a touch bitter sweet since Ron cleaned up just after my run, but I was elated with knowing and actually finding the time.

Now, I do kick myself for leaving the house with a full tank of gas... Dooh!

And, getting clipped Philip kinda got me triggered...

[Loren]

Okay, here's my best video. Not my best run, as I forgot to record that one.

Best was 43.858. This one is 44.092. Now that I've seen the video, I think I lost time right before the finish on this run. Got a little off-line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuPIWT1HxrE

[twistedwankel]

Watching these videos I have learned I lost all my time in the turn around.....as usual.

[Native]

Well that turned out to be a heckuvalotta fun! The weather forecast got less and less dismal, and actually turned out pretty darned good! The whole event ran smoothly from start to finish. The courseworkers, as far as I saw, did a great job, and we managed 5 runs on a solid 45 second course. Nice. Thank you, everyone!

I was pretty surprised by my own driving, given the DST blues. A little "push harder" would've helped my times, along with not coning away my best. I hope that's not starting again... I thought Bill was gonna get me again, but not this time!

And Bill, that additional camber up front was another improvement. Better grip, and effectively loosened the back just a little, which on this course anyway made a good "middle ground" between the packed and unpacked rear bumpstops.

Hey Ben, thanks for the morning run in the Little Green Monster. What a fun car that is!



SAFETY RANT:
So while I was sitting in grid waiting my turns to run, ready, with my helmet on, seatbelt fastened, etc., I was watching cars roll by me up to the start line. Here's what I saw, as cars MOVED PAST:
x) driver's head down toward lap, likely messing with cell phone
x) driver donning helmet (repeatedly)
x) driver turned completely backwards messing with camera (repeatedly)

Each of them rolled at least 50 feet (2 squares) through the grid, not looking. And that's just what I saw in the few minutes I was sitting there. Nevermind that all of those things should be done ahead of time to be "ready" like we ask at the drivers' meeting, but they should be done while sitting still. For shame - you should all know better. And thank goodness none of you hit anyone/anything.
And from here on, I'll be pointing it out to you when I can, and hopefully everyone else will too.
[/safety rant]

[Lava Speed 05]

SAFETY RANT:
So while I was sitting in grid waiting my turns to run, ready, with my helmet on, seatbelt fastened, etc., I was watching cars roll by me up to the start line. Here's what I saw, as cars MOVED PAST:
x) driver's head down toward lap, likely messing with cell phone
x) driver donning helmet (repeatedly)
x) driver turned completely backwards messing with camera (repeatedly)

Each of them rolled at least 50 feet (2 squares) through the grid, not looking. And that's just what I saw in the few minutes I was sitting there. Nevermind that all of those things should be done ahead of time to be "ready" like we ask at the drivers' meeting, but they should be done while sitting still. For shame - you should all know better. And thank goodness none of you hit anyone/anything.
And from here on, I'll be pointing it out to you when I can, and hopefully everyone else will too.
[/safety rant]

https://goo.gl/images/pRvubo

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[mymomswagon]

thank you guys for another fun day!

the Line of Shame remains out of reach

special thanks to Steve for saving me from that old racing adage "whatever cheap hubcaps you bring to the track, be prepared to leave them at the track"

[280z-hab]

Good safety rant. I have been guilty of fiddling with my GoPro. I think I have a false sense of security at the events because here, as opposed to the open road, everyone is insured, licensed, and sober with a teched car.

That said, this event was fun. I didn’t think this course was going to be as fun as the last open event. And it wasn’t. But it was a hoot to drive and I liked the slalominess.

Grippy tires for Father’s Day!!!

[dbeng]

Another great day of autocross. Great weather, great company and great entertainment.
Although I seem to be stuck in a bit of a rut.
No cones today in any runs which is a good thing...or is it? Maybe I need a little more "Push harder"
Here's my fastest run of the day - I left the morning session feeling pretty good about it, until I saw the results and ended up 5th again. Best part of 2 seconds off the "podium" in S4 and almost 4 seconds behind Philip's crazy run.

https://youtu.be/egQw4VHrIVU

I think I was not pushing hard enough through the long slalom - almost no tire noise to be heard, followed by a ridiculous amount of inside wheelspin while digging out of all the tighter elements. I've never had so much trouble getting traction - I even thought the clutch might be going out the way the revs were spinning up so fast without picking up speed. Definitely not the clutch though as no issues during the launch on any of the runs. Maybe I've overdriven the tires into submission I need to see Carl to get them flipped soon so we'll see if that helps.

Anyhow - I would welcome any feedback on my run, I really need to up the game somehow- I definitely can't blame lack of power when the line of shame is a solid 2 seconds ahead with almost half the cubic capacity and 3/4 of the cylinder count Jeez.

Dan

[twistedwankel]

Anyhow - I would welcome any feedback on my run, I really need to up the game somehow- I definitely can't blame lack of power when the line of shame is a solid 2 seconds ahead with almost half the cubic capacity and 3/4 of the cylinder count Jeez.

So here you have a valuable opportunity to put your run side by side with Loren's "slow" run. Cheer up I only beat you by .9 sec with fat wheels and tires:) You made the same crappy turn around I perfected 5 times.

The 2 easy tests for a clutch are try to start out in 4-5th gear - engine should clunk stall now. Or if driving at speed in highest gears stomp on the gas and see if the tach goes up faster than steadily. Hard to notice a worn clutch in 1st or even 2nd in higher rpms. Also a hot clutch will slip until it cools down again. That is normal. Clutches can get glazed just like brakes from overheating.

[Loren]

Anyhow - I would welcome any feedback on my run...

My first thought was that aside from not hearing the tires in the slalom, you were entering it just slightly late, and following through with just slightly late inputs throughout. From there, I wasn't really seeing any errors. Perhaps you could have entered the turn-around a little more to the right, which would have let you take the far side a little less wide and get on the gas earlier.

I took Doug's suggestion and doubled the video:
http://youtubedoubler.com/n9Ct

That's pretty interesting. You're not really losing anything on the entire outgoing side. Backing up my thought on the turn-around above... I think I'm getting a better exit on the turn-around, getting on the gas earlier, and hitting those first couple apexes on the return side harder. If I'm looking at it right, it really looks like most of that 2-second difference is right there. We're pretty much even right up to the apex of the turn-around. But, by the first "in-and-out" maneuver on the return side, I'm nearly 2 seconds ahead. Pretty surprising that it all happens in such short space.