Northeast Divisional SCCA - Warminster

[1QWIKBIRD]

This weekend was the divisional event for the SCCA Northeast Division. So I threw my hat into the Street Modified ring. Its a two day event (sat. and sun) and basically you the same course, but on sunday you run it backwards with a few small changes. There were 10 cars in my class and I had high hopes of finishing in the top half of the field. Those hopes were quickly dashes as some heavy hitters in the SM class from the DC area showed up and kicked butt. I finished 7 out of 10.:cry:

On Saturday we got 4 runs and I didn't do so great

Run 1 59.something with 4 cones.......ouch
Run 2 58.3something..........clean
Run 3 58.1something..........clean
Run 4 57.9somehting with 1 cone....ooops (dropped tire pressure from 35 to 33) car felt better was starting to dance a bit.

The guys in front of me were in the 51 second to 54 second range and the guys behind me were 2 or more seconds behind. Part of my problem was me (duhh) and part of it was car prep. My car is no where near fully prepped for the class. The fastest car was a little honda and I'm sure I was anywhere from 250-275 horsepower up on him, but I was also a full 1600 lbs heavier than him????? You had to have your car scaled after your runs and my 'bird weighs 3602 with a full tank of gas and no driver. His car 2049lbs.:shock:

How to fix that, I'm not sure? More spring, rim and tire combined with lots of practice? Less late night stops at the drive thru?

So I was kinda bummed at the end of the day Saturday. Sunday morning rolls around and the course is the same for the most part, we will run it backwards with a few mods at the start and finish lines. After an early morning course walk, the course looks much more HP friendly today. Fewer slow turning segements and more sweepers and big power sections. Why? I don't know, it really was the same course for 80%. Then I ran into a fellow f-body guy named Ron who runs F-stock in a 1997 1LE car and is a national level driver and Evolution Driving School Instructor. We walked the course together and it was like a light bulb turned on!:nod: It was one of those times where you just shut your mouth and listen and absorb. Don't talk, just listen.

So I run 2nd heat, but today only 3 runs. The pressure is on and I have new found confidence. Stiffened rear shocks one full turn to help the ass of the car rotate a bit (thanks 198esp)

Run 1 54.something with one cone....but I am looking ahead more for the key cones and as a result the course feels slower. Gotta get a clean run though.

Run 2 54.3something with one cone (same one)....course feels better and its the car feels good. I can feel the car moving around abit, but its a good thing, not crazy out of controll.

Run 3 53.34 :lol: with one cone...dammit:| (different cone at least).....This run felt fast and the car was starting to really move, slide, but in good ways. If it wasn't for the one cone.....oh well......this run I started to put it all together.....

Each cone is a 2 second penalty.

So while sunday wasn't so great because I didn't get a clean run on the board, it was flipping awesome in every other aspect.

I got some in-car video of one run sunday. Not the best video because the camera angle is too low so don't see enough course and too much dash, but you get the idea. Most of the course I was in second gear and probably came through the like at like 5500 rpm or so....with the cutout open(ooohhh yeeaaahhh)

if you want to see the vid.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6veHHR6rCE


Thanks to vegaken for being a one man pitcrew and suffering in the heat all weekend.

[NJSPEEDER]

thats not a bad finish at all. your car is not anywhere near as prepped to the class rules as many of the cars you are competeing against, so don't read too much into how the times compare.
i always thought a 3rd gen camaro hardtop with an LS1+power glide could be a class killer in SM :) you can easily drag 500+ hp out of the LS1, you can fit 275's in front and 315's out back easily in a thrid gen, and with the weight loss of the tiny trans and all aluminum engine you could easily get a non-ground effect car under 3000lbs and be well with in the limitations of the class rules. :)

[1QWIKBIRD]

thats not a bad finish at all. your car is not anywhere near as prepped to the class rules as many of the cars you are competeing against, so don't read too much into how the times compare.
i always thought a 3rd gen camaro hardtop with an LS1+power glide could be a class killer in SM :) you can easily drag 500+ hp out of the LS1, you can fit 275's in front and 315's out back easily in a thrid gen, and with the weight loss of the tiny trans and all aluminum engine you could easily get a non-ground effect car under 3000lbs and be well with in the limitations of the class rules. :)

I am guilty of not even knowing the rules of my class, what my car weight can be and such. I do know with some more aggressive springs, some more tire and more practice I think I could hang the guys on a regional level. On a divisional level, nope. For example the guy in the philly region that is the class of the field is in a EVO and usually has the class covered by at least 3 seconds. This weekend he finished fifth a full 6 plus seconds off the pace, so everyone ate some humble pie...hahahaah

Next up, Boeing on the 29th.....Might do NNJR Englishtown this saturday, we'll see.

It is a blast though.

Chris

[vegaken]

It was a good time despite the heat. Even though I did not get a chance to drive it was a learning experience, as you said Ron is the man to talk to on driving a course. I just might have to buy his car to have some fun and go left and right. Just remember I won the bet on when 198esp would call after the races.:rofl:
Ken

[NJSPEEDER]

if there is an evo dominating SM? those things understeer like a city bus at the limit. must have a lot of suspension work.
when i was running my 91 RS in SM years ago the fast cars were a motor swap older civic hatch and a turbo+AWD eclipse. i could time about a second behind those guys when i had a few bolt on suspension goodies.
ended up spending a season behind the wheel of the eclipse the last year i got to compete regularly, fun car. understeered horribly on throttle and was twitchy as hell on the brakes. lol
if there are any events on sundays i would love to join you guys and see who is still around from the "old days". maybe i can help you out with your driving a bit too, f-bodies have a lot of front and rear over hang space, it takes a little different driving style to get it done.

[1QWIKBIRD]

if there is an evo dominating SM? those things understeer like a city bus at the limit. must have a lot of suspension work.
when i was running my 91 RS in SM years ago the fast cars were a motor swap older civic hatch and a turbo+AWD eclipse. i could time about a second behind those guys when i had a few bolt on suspension goodies.
ended up spending a season behind the wheel of the eclipse the last year i got to compete regularly, fun car. understeered horribly on throttle and was twitchy as hell on the brakes. lol
if there are any events on sundays i would love to join you guys and see who is still around from the "old days". maybe i can help you out with your driving a bit too, f-bodies have a lot of front and rear over hang space, it takes a little different driving style to get it done.


The EVO has suspension work done to it, no doubt. The number two and three guys are usually an eclipse/talon awd thing and a Nissan 240 I think. Philly region is usually a sunday thing, next event is at Boeing on the 29th. Here's a link to the schedule http://www.phillyscca.com/solo2/index.html.

Chris

[NJSPEEDER]

pleae remind me the next time they have a sunday event planned. i will have to make the trip down and see if i can beg a non-comp run or two off of people.
the best thing in the world is to try to cone marshall in a spot that is hard for you and stand there with a stop watch, see who is fast and who isn't and take note of how they get through there. that was always my trick in that little boeng lot to figure out the best way through the middle where they always had criss crosses and loops. hehe