Took the SC autocrossing again

Mercutio

SCCoA Member
Today was our first local autocross in a year and a half after losing our contract with our previous venue. Some guys opted to race in Knoxville or elsewhere, but I hadn't run since last March or April or so. I took the SC over my MR2 and Camaro so I could try the new tires and sway bar.

Our new venue is smaller than our last two, and the course was fairly tight. I wasn't sure what to expect out of the car's new setup, but I set the shocks to full stiff at all four corners and set each tire at 36 psi. My first run was a 71.324, which felt like a decent start given what I saw people running in the day's first run group. The car felt good, so I just made sure the tires were back at 36 for my next run, and I dropped my time to 69.203--but I also picked up a pair of cone penalties. My third run was a 69.528, but clean. At this point I felt I had enough of a grasp on the course to start changing my setup a bit, so I dropped the rear tires to 35 psi to try to add some rear grip. The car liked that--my next run was a 68.968, so I dropped the rear tires to 34 psi for my fifth run, and got down to 68.467. I decided to make a bigger change for my final run: I left the rear tires at 34 psi, but took one full turn out of the rear shocks. That change only got me .001 second, so that might have been all I had in me today. My entry into the last slalom wasn't especially good, so that might have cost me a couple tenths.

Results: I choose to run in our handicapped Pro class because I've been doing this a long time. The other pro drivers know what they're doing too, and today wasn't my day--4th of 4 behind a Focus ST, S2000 and Cobalt SS.

Had I chosen to run in the class the car is actually legal for* (Classic American Muscle Contemporary), I would have won the class by two seconds against an assortment of Mustangs and Camaros.

*Technically, the car isn't legal for any class due to my methanol injection, but I'm not sacrificing another engine to the gods of autocross. But it otherwise fits in CAM-C.

Anyway, here's a video of my best run:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uImZqaxUm94" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Stuff I learned:

-Bridgestone RE71Rs are fantastic street tires (they won 11/18 street tire classes at this year's SCCA nationals. The BFG Rival S won the other 7).
-My rear sway bar is probably too stiff. Next time I'll soften it up a bit and see if that helps.
-I need to flush the brake fluid something fierce. I bled them before the event, but the pedal was still softer than I would have liked.
-Time for some new power steering fluid, too. It never boiled over, but this was a pretty tight course, and the pump was whining after every run.
-2.73s aren't as good for autocrossing as 3.27s. Too many slow corners, but downshifting to first is almost never worth it. No plans to change rear gears again, though.
-The setup from my last run is probably what I'll use as my new baseline (though I'm not sure exactly how often I'll autocross this car. That's what my Camaro is for).
 
I missed you initially posting this somehow - very cool! It's not easy to Autocross an SC - believe me - I know!

Thanks for posting the video Will! And for having the scales available this weekend!
 
I missed you initially posting this somehow - very cool! It's not easy to Autocross an SC - believe me - I know!

Thanks for posting the video Will! And for having the scales available this weekend!

Crap i totally missed the scales! i did not realize you brought them!
 
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