So I raced...

[immortal_suby]

Thanks for the encouragement Harry. I started with a 49 on the first run, then dropped to 46, then 45, then 44. The svx felt very good in the wet, even with azenis which are pretty much worthless in standing water.
I had an instructor ride along on the first one to give me some tips, then solo'd the last 3. I was really comfortable in the car - even when the tail end came loose it was very manageable and I could drift through with some help from the throttle.

I ran the first one in 2nd but I found the best method to be leaving the gearbox in 1st to get as much use from engine braking as possible. I found it much easier to run through the slalom portions by using the engine braking rather than the brake pedal There were 2 places on the course where it would shift into 2nd (about 55mph or so?) and that was right before a sharp curve - which meant I had to brake instead of letting off the gas to slow down since it wanted to unlock when it hit 2nd - these were the corners where I ended up drifting through each time. I need more practice.

It was hard to judge what speed to come into a corner in the wet - as evidenced by many 360's throughout the event.

I wish I could have re-run it in the afternoon once it dried out - would have been interesting to see what time I could have got.

I'm hooked - now I see why you love auto-x so much and why you feel the svx is so well suited for it. Even with my car flipping 199k miles on the way to the event (and every one of those miles on the original struts and springs) I'd say we did pretty well for the first time out.

Next suby meet we need to find a large empty lot and some cones - I'm sure everyone would have a great time and learn alot about their cars.