jwtodd60

Nothing to really brag about from an Evo perspective, but in the interest of full disclosure:

6/27, Rosecroft Raceway: http://www.autocrossers.com/BMW_2004.html

I finished 2d out of 11 in AS after thinking I had 1st and FSTD locked up. Oh well. jbrennen finished 2d in SM, losing by a whole .012. He also missed FTD by a mere .141. I think we both have the same excuse for not doing just that little bit better -- we were both on Toyo RA1s and we both ran first heat when the course was still relatively dirty. At least we were out of there well before lunch . Daniel Ra was 3rd in SM.

7/11, FedEx Field: http://solo.wdcr-scca.org/results/p20040711.php

I finished 3rd out of 12 in AS, missing 2d by .043. Ignoring Burak (STi), who took the class by 1.32, the competition was quite close, with 2d - 6th being covered by .754. This was a replica of the Saturday course from the DC Tour and was a blast to drive. The only other Evo was RichJ running his new RS in AS. We'll blame his 8th place on getting aquainted with the new car and the fact that he was running Toyos and not Hoosiers. Pictures of the event can be seen at http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/...event=04DE002Z.

JW

jbrennen

iTrader: (1)

That doesn't explain why my first run was my fastest -- my tires were cold and the course was dirty. Heck, I think I get faster on that lot when I lose grip...


Seriously, I was on full tread RA1s that had been on the car for less than three days; they are not exactly the best dry weather autoX tires. If I had been on my Hoosiers, I'm sure I would have had FTD and #1 PAX. But hey, that's just bench racing -- and I like to save the Hoosiers for the important events, you know???


A few little tips on the RA1s. At an autoX school the next week, I got in many many runs on the RA1s with only short breaks between runs. I found that the tires like to be hot -- very hot. It was basically impossible for me to overheat the tires; I was getting brake fade due to hot brakes, and yet still times kept dropping as the tires heated up. Also, the tires like less air pressure than the Hoosiers. I started the Toyos at 48 psi cold, about where I run the Hoosiers, and I picked up about 0.5 seconds (on a 30 second course) when I lowered the pressures to 44 psi (hot). I think I'll stick with 38 psi cold as a baseline pressure.

RichJ

I definitely agree with you on the Toyo pressures based on my first event on them. The pressures on my runs went about 42 cold, 45 hot, 48 hot and 42 hot. The first and last runs were noticeably better than the middle two (less tire noise and more grip). As far as my mediocre finish, I expect to be mid-pack for at least 4-5 events (probably lower than that at the Divisional) and then hopefully I'll start working my way up. Looking at those photos the car really leans in corners! It doesn't feel that bad inside the car, but I guess the suspension is softer than it seems. Anyhow, it's fun to have a completely new car to get acquainted with on course after autocrossing the same car for 7 years.