SCCA Event #1 Results
 

Following hot on the heels of Ben and Hocrest, my results from the first "for points" SCCA event of the season at FedEx's parking lot:

1T 26 Shurie, Ronald 2002 Toyota Celica Black 53.954 51.973 51.861 51.571 51.571 -
2T 7 Leier, Brad 2002 Ford Focus SVT Silver 60.108+OFF 55.032 52.832 52.304 52.304 0.733
3T 33 Sorensen, Kenny 2003 Toyota Celica GT Blue 66.309 52.404 51.397+OFF 51.470+1 52.404 0.100
4 16 Owens, Lee 2003 Mini Cooper S Yellow 57.078 55.565 53.626 53.290 53.290 0.886
5 39 Evans, Paul 2002 MINI Cooper S Blue/White 56.006+1 53.781+1 53.403 53.242+2 53.403 0.113
6 47 Kulbaski, James 2004 Mini Cooper S White 55.934 54.051 54.392+1 55.027+2 54.051 0.648
7 64 Newcomb, Craig 2005 Mini Cooper S Purple 58.823 55.747 54.904 54.400 54.400 0.349
8 97 Supik, Frank 1994 Ford Probe GT Silver 57.742 55.321+1 55.588 54.992 54.992 0.592
9 34 Lemoine, Gene 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R Gray 56.141 55.496 55.214 54.590+2 55.214 0.222
10 144 Griffith, Peter 2004 VW GTI silver 61.018 57.126 57.696 55.827 55.827 0.613
11 19 Cutlip, William 1992 Subaru SVX black 65.001 56.150 59.566+OFF 59.634 56.150 0.323
12 15 Campion, Adam 2002 MINI Cooper S Dark Silver 58.275 57.625 56.642 55.750+OFF 56.642 0.492
13 32 Balch, Derek 2003 Mini Cooper S Green 62.165 60.604 58.264 56.676 56.676 0.034
14 13 Styer, Kurt 1994 Ford Probe GT Black 63.640 59.852 58.404 58.404 1.728
15 10 Abrams, Seth 2003 Nissan Maxima Blue 65.023 62.705 60.808 61.160 60.808 2.404
16 44 Griffith, Collin 2004 VW GTI silver 66.309 63.253+1 61.526+OFF 60.918 60.918 0.110

Things to mention:
1. I didn't get to walk the course before running due to a certain 13 year old son who didn't want to get out of bed (ah, the joys of fatherhood!) which resulted in getting to FedEx just in time to get the tires changed before Tech closed :mad:
2. It was a perfect day for autocrossing! Temps in the high 40s - low 50s
3. The course was fast, yet had several 90 degree turns that would eat your lunch if you came in too hot
4. Try to push things too hard and "off course" can happen -- there was a 90 degree turn right at the end that I came in just a liiiitle too hot into...
5. Last run was just being paranoid about being OC on the 3rd run
and finally
The car is a totally different animal now with the Konis and Hoosiers and other engineering changes I've made (all, stock, of course....). My guess is that it will take another event or two before I get totally "dialed in"
-Bill

Keep at it!

What do you think of the ride, both on the track and on the street?

The car is a totally different animal now with the Konis and Hoosiers and other engineering changes I've made (all, stock, of course....). My guess is that it will take another event or two before I get totally "dialed in"
-Bill
Or, you could drive it on the beltway during rush hour!!!!
That would more practice than most people could handle! :D


Nice job, BTW.

Nice going... Within 2-3 seconds of those damn Minis' is good :) Is that just the GS results? That must be a huge event :D

btw... since when are Hoosiers stock?? ;)

Great job. I hope the r-comps and the shocks make a big difference because the SVX is a pretty heavy car with a strong tendancy to understeer. Very impressed that you ran so well.

BTW, Kuhmo started making the V710 in 225/50/16. Very awesome tires. Better than the Hoosier S04 in my opinion. Haven't driven on the S05 yet though.

Keep us posted on the results. We all want to see "Subaru SVX" on the trophy at the end of the year. :D

I would love to see an SVX at an autocross event. If anyone in Norcal wants to get into an autocross, let me know. You can come as my guest. :)

-Matt

Mychailo,

Borderline too firm on rough roads -- I really wish I could adjust the rear Konis down about 360 degrees on non-race days

As far as on the track -- wow! The 56 second run felt really, really good. Looking at the tires when I switched back to my street tires at the end of the session, it looks like I'll be able to drop the tire pressure front and back. I was measuring the tire surface temperature across each tire and the end of each run and the alignment looks to be right on (even temps across the faces). The front tires do run hotter than the back (no surprise).
I'm only going to adjust tire pressure next month and see how things go. I've still got the second adjustment hole on the larger OEM rear bar to try :rolleyes:
-Bill

Dave,
Yep, that's just GS!! PAX-wise, I ended up #121 out of 243 total participants. My season goal is consistent top 10 in GS (the driver just has to get faster :D )
-Bill
p.s. the Hoosiers are actually allowed in GS -- just have to keep the same size as the stock tires. They do have a different "feel" from the VictoRacers... :cool:

Matt,
Yeah, I noticed that the V710 was now in the 225 size. Unfortunately, I'm an "Ebay" tire guy -- $200 for a new tire is waaaay too rich for my blood.
Trophy? I'd love to say this is a possibility, except GS at FedEx has 3 guys that compete at the National level and at least 6 guys that have been at it for 10+ years (and they're running Celicas and Minis!! :eek: )
That said, only time will tell :D
-Bill

Stock my a$$ :D. Get much closer to those mini's I'm sure someone will be looking over your back putting the tires on. You'll need to enclosed trailer it in and only let it out to run. :D ;) . So does the rear bar now allow your rear to break a little more? I'm actually thinking about ditching our front bar to see what that does.

Ben,
I'll be happy if I can get to within 2 seconds (consistently) of the Minis -- Brian Garfield has a "sponsored" '05 Mini and usually runs away with the class - he just happened to be down at the National event in Atlanta this weekend, so Ron and Kenny stepped up in their Celicas (they passed on Atlanta). I'm still not sure why the SCCA allowed the '05 Mini to stay in GS with the new addition of its LSD...
Yeah, the rear bar does add a little flexibility to attacking the course :rolleyes: Right now, it feels like the Konis are making the most difference (seeing as how I previously only had one working stock strut :mad: ). Given how wimpy the stock front bar is, I don't think I'd even bother trying to take it off - better to just up the front tire pressure (go about 10psi higher than the back tires - say, upwards of 48 psi).
-Bill

I don't think we had any working struts this past weekend. We now have one (the wrong side on a rear as that was the first one I came to today while putting the cut springs in). I'm thinking the opposite. Higher rear pressure lower front. We started our runs with 36 and 33 this past weekend with very little problem except for one turn where I always kept turning the wheel too much. We want the rear to come around a bit and the higher the pressure in my understanding the quicker that will happen as you don't have as much tread on the ground. Am I missing something? T.P. and suspension have always been my downfall. Put me in a car and I'll go faster than most others in it but the set up is not my strongest suit yet. That's why of course I figured I could build a sort a prepared car.
:D

As for the front bar. Of course it does something. Adds weight to an already heavy front end!!! :D

Ben,
Okay, are you running AWD now or just rear wheel. The higher front pressure will reduce the amount of understeer. A larger rear bar will help the back end come around faster, as will stiffer rear springs and/or shocks.
-Bill
p.s. check out the attached WORD document for some general rules of thumb

Hey Subaru didn't give me that OEM rear bar on my SVX...no fair! :p

Great runs btw! Sorry Austin-the-navigator had a little sleep-in, but all in all you did an excellent job given the circumstances.

-Chike

Great going guys!!
Bill, try 50 lbs in the front and 40 lbs in the rear and see how that does. I have run those pressures (although I am thinking of experimenting with a bit lower pressures ;) since I am "stock" :D ;) .

Ben, Bill is correct about the need for higher pressure in the front - even is you are only rear wheel drive at this point. However, if you are AWD, the car will handle just like a FWD, meaning that in the middle of a turn you break or come off the gas, the rear end will come around nicely with you. And when the car is aimed in the proper direction, back on the gas (very smoothly, of course) and the car just "pulls" right through the turn. Beautiful feeling when done correctly! And it "looks" good too :D .

You guys are doing soooo well - and the big thing? You are having fun!!!!

Harry

Harry,
Thanks for the kind words! So, here's the deal...I'll come out and race at Winchester if you'll come out and race at FedEx :D I really want you to take a turn or two behind the wheel of my car so you can give me your impressions of how it's handling.
-Bill