6/12/05 AutoX @ FedEx

[thundering02]

114. 18/EP JEFF PUTNAM 71 DATS 510 (0.858) 38.017
115. 42/STS MATT PERKINS, NOV 04 FORD FOCUS (0.799) 38.050
116. 86/STX STEVEN STINEHART, NOV 92 SUBU SVX (0.802) 38.341
117. 19/SM JAMES BELLM 69 MERC COUGAR (0.842) 38.597
if you want to see the rest go here... http://www.stlsolo.org/Default.aspx?tabid=299o out of 138 nov=novice
-Steve

[thundering02]

Originally Posted by Earthworm

I can't afford to race/abuse my daily driver for points.

Once I have a house and new daily driver (thinking about a Smart) then maybe I'll consider competing in the SVX.

Yeah I know how that goes ... its just that I need an outlet for my speed and its either that or the highway

[Earthworm]

Here's a vid:

Video Link 16.5MB 53sec

P.S. ignore the other car who doesn't know where he's going

[SVXRide]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pockets

That's great, but he shouldn't be in stock, then. If I was in his class I'd be pissed. The struts are okay for stock, but the springs and bar are not.

Of course, it's all relative. I don't get mad at somebody running in my class illegally unless they're beating me. And even then, I've got to feel pretty confident in how I drove that day. So far I still have a lot to learn. In most cases I tell myself that I should have beaten the guy even if he was cheating.

It is definitely all relative...we're talking regional racing here, not National level (FYI - there was a case at last year's National Campionship event in which a driver had his run DQ'ed because one of the other drivers in his class pointed out that he had flipped his stock front struts, thus allowing for more camber adjustment). If we want to be technical about it, the SVX won't ever be able to compete at the National level anyway due to its low production numbers. The "stock" aspect here for my car is basically a running joke among Ben, Tom, Chike, Mychailo and myself...I'm just trying to realize the previously untapped potential of the car and then work on my driving ability. G-Stock is probably the most competitive class in the WDCA region of SCCA - the top 4 drivers all compete at the National level - Mr. Garfield normally winning or coming in second at the National events he participates in (he is actually sponsored by a MINI dealership). The MINI is basically a BMW in Cooper's clothing
I continue to drive in GS because it has the best collection of drivers and I want to learn from the best and they provide the best "bar" to measure my driving ability against. I'm too much of a realist to think that I'll ever win a trophy running a SVX in GS in the WDCA region - but that doesn't mean I can't have a blast driving it to its limits!
Finally, if I wanted to play "totally by the books" (cheating being breaking the rules when you're playing for keeps) I'd run in E Prepared like Ben does and win a trophy every month - check the web site - http://solo.wdcr-scca.org/ - there is only one car running in E Prepared and I'm consistently beating him by 9-10 seconds!! .

-Bill
p.s. believe it or not, if Chike tried to run his really stock SVX in GS he'd be thrown out because his RX-7 rims are .25 inches too wide (they're okay on offset, as they're only 5 mm off of the stock SVX rims....) and he's removed his primary cats. David's SVX would be in STX (?) due to his Coil-overs. Harry is the only true GS SVX I know of (and he's the one who got me started in this craziness! )

[SVXRide]

Originally Posted by Earthworm

Here's a vid:

Video Link 16.5MB 53sec

P.S. ignore the other car who doesn't know where he's going

David,
Looks like fun! You're going to have to work on them to get you a bigger course with some off-camber sections!
-Bill

[mbtoloczko]

Originally Posted by SVXRide

Mychailo,
...
p.s. okay, enough with the posting my own pics within your posts! How did you do it??

:-) Open up the page with the picture, copy the link, and then insert it between: [lMG] [/lMG]

[SVXRide]

I can see! I'm healed!
Thanks, Mychailo!!

p.s. I think everyone can start to see the true size of the FedEx course from this picture...you're probably seeing maybe a 1/3 of the course in this shot...check out all of the camber change

-Bill

[Hocrest]

Originally Posted by SVXRide

p.s. I think everyone can start to see the true size of the FedEx course from this picture...you're probably seeing maybe a 1/3 of the course in this shot...check out all of the camber change

-Bill

That does look like a fun course

We'll have to make it down for one of them...

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally Posted by SVXRide

It is definitely all relative...

I guess what we're looking at here is a difference between group dynamincs and personal goals.

For me, I don't understand signing up for a class I'm not really legal for or even competitive in. What does it matter what class you're in? Your times won't change just because the letters on the sides of the car are different. You could still compare yourself with the GS guys.

I take it pretty seriously, I guess. I will try to take full advantage of the rules, but I will also abide by them. If I wanted to move to a more modified class, I wouldn't bother until I could do everything that class allowed. That's why I don't get these people who get bumped up to SP just because they put in urethane bushings. Why'd you bother?

You know what else is really competitive in GS, but seems to be sort of forgotten? The Isuszu Impulse RS. A friend of mine autocrossed his last year and he was really, really fast with it. I drove it a couple times and was very surprised how great that car felt. It was literally made to autocross.

I don't want to give the impression that my group is anything but very casual. We're pretty lax in our classing, but some of us are very serious and will complain if we see something that's not right. We do let people run in classes other than what they're really legal for, but those people are usually like you - they want to run with a certain group, even if they're not really competitive.

[Earthworm]

Originally Posted by SVXRide

David,
Looks like fun! You're going to have to work on them to get you a bigger course with some off-camber sections!
-Bill

We actually have 2 locations. This location only has 2 events. All the other events are at the other location.

[SVXRide]

Originally Posted by Mr. Pockets

I guess what we're looking at here is a difference between group dynamincs and personal goals.

For me, I don't understand signing up for a class I'm not really legal for or even competitive in. What does it matter what class you're in? Your times won't change just because the letters on the sides of the car are different. You could still compare yourself with the GS guys.

Ah, but you don't get to talk with the GS drivers while you're on Grid - before and after each run - so you miss being able to pick their brains on how to drive the course. This is a major reason why I continue to run GS.

I take it pretty seriously, I guess. I will try to take full advantage of the rules, but I will also abide by them. If I wanted to move to a more modified class, I wouldn't bother until I could do everything that class allowed. That's why I don't get these people who get bumped up to SP just because they put in urethane bushings. Why'd you bother?

I'm with you here - I wouldn't have invested the time and money working on the car if I wasn't serious about the sport. It's just that I also really, really enjoy driving the SVX on the street and none of the mods I've done have made the car uncomfortable on the street -- exactly the opposite, as I believe my car now handles/rides like a "sports handling" package that Subaru should have offered (okay, so I don't run the Hoosiers on the street ). I'm already looking at following in the footsteps of Ben and Dave for next year - totally gut a L model and go E Prepared (with a little drag racing on the side )

You know what else is really competitive in GS, but seems to be sort of forgotten? The Isuszu Impulse RS. A friend of mine autocrossed his last year and he was really, really fast with it. I drove it a couple times and was very surprised how great that car felt. It was literally made to autocross.

Before or after they shrunk the car and put Geo Metro front suspension pieces in it? I actually owned a factory turbocharged version of the original Impulse and really enjoyed the engine/5 speed. The stock tires didn't have much grip (tail happy). Haven't seen anyone driving one (original or shrunk version) at the regional or National level (at least according to the write ups in the National SCCA magazine)

I don't want to give the impression that my group is anything but very casual. We're pretty lax in our classing, but some of us are very serious and will complain if we see something that's not right. We do let people run in classes other than what they're really legal for, but those people are usually like you - they want to run with a certain group, even if they're not really competitive.

Competitive is all about perspective...As I said in my other post, there is no way the SVX - in pure stock form w/R-compounds - will ever be competitive in GS. It just has too much working against it -- mushy springs, serious understeer, heavy, long, slow steering, automatic trans, no rear camber adjustment, limited front camber adjustment (maxes out at around -1.6 deg), soft brakes - after repeated high speed runs - that are prone to warping the stock rotors. As my wife and son will attest to, I'm extremely competitive - autoX in a SVX is just my way to turn my competitive nature inward. What other sport do you know of where you actually have to work on going slower (aka smoother) to go faster?
Keep at it with your MR2!

10987654321

[Subafreak]

<---wants to go fast and turn someday.



I did have a blast at the one rally cross I went to. you totaly forget about the $50 you pay to play in a snowy field with a bunch of way faster cars once you get out there. I've decided to build my Turbo Legacy into my rally car, there are alot of rally events around me to have fun with.

as for my very capable SVX, I'm hoping the new racing complex being built nere my work will include a road coures for weekend warriors. I may finnaly get to see what I'm not capable of.