Scott McIntyre
DSM Wiseman
- 309
- 44
- Mar 15, 2002
-
Halifax,
NS, Canada
What a miserable weekend this event turned out to be..
Saturday morning I got up at 6:30am and hit the road in order to get to the venue for the opening of registration. It started to rain on the way there, and the forecast was calling for heavy rain in the afternoon. No problem, I just got some brand new Hankook RS2 tires, which combined with AWD, should give me a competitive edge over the other competitors in the wet! 8)
However it wasn’t meant to be. The event became a massive cluster-f#%k, plagued with timing equipment problems and chalk course markings which washed away in the heavy rain. The event was canceled before I even got a chance to run.
Given the circumstances, it was decided that the event would be postponed until Sunday, where two events would be run within one day. The weather forecast for Sunday was more promising, and it would give the guys some time to work out the timing system issues. So back home I went.
With two event occurring on Sunday, that meant an early start. I got out of bed at 4am in order to get to the venue in time to swap my wheels and walk the course. *yawn*
There was no rain, but it was mighty chilly out. I threw on the race wheels and adjusted the front toe to about 1/8†out.
Event 1
My first run I took off with a stutter box launch and NLTS’ed into second. As I was rounding the first 90º turn the car snap oversteered and I turned the wheel full opposite lock in an attempt to recover. Then I started hearing this strange flap-flap-flap-flap sound. So I stopped the car on course, got out and took a look to see what had happened.
At full steering lock, my tire had made contact with the inside lip of the fender and it sliced a big gash into it. @#$%%^^!!!! Over $300 in rubber destroyed in a matter of seconds. *&%$%$%!!!
So I limped the car back into the paddock, and swapped my street wheels back on the car in time for my second run.
It’s been a while since I’ve run an autoslalom on street tires, so it took me a few runs to get adjusted to the low grip. Had several spins and lots of upset cones. I ended up 9th overall out of 22 competitors, about 5% off FTD, but captured 1st in my class of 3.
Event 2
The second event was much better than the first. The temperatures had warmed up a bit, so there was more grip available. And the course was a little more open and better flowing. Plus I was starting to get a hang of the street tires.
First run I set a time that was only 1 second off provisional FTD. I was quite surprised, as were many others. Second run was a little sloppy and a touch slower. Third run I hit a cone and fourth I dropped my time another second. This event I ended up 5th overall out of 22 competitors, about 3% off FTD, and once again 1st in my class of 3.
There’s another event coming up in early October, but I’m done for the season. With the demise of my race tire, there’s not incentive for me to go as I won’t be able to compete for FTD.
So my focus is now on preparing the car for next season. I’ve got turbo / fuel / intercooler upgrades planned, as well as water / meth injection and a few suspension tweaks. After 6 years of running the stock T25, it’ll be nice to finally feel some power!
Saturday morning I got up at 6:30am and hit the road in order to get to the venue for the opening of registration. It started to rain on the way there, and the forecast was calling for heavy rain in the afternoon. No problem, I just got some brand new Hankook RS2 tires, which combined with AWD, should give me a competitive edge over the other competitors in the wet! 8)
However it wasn’t meant to be. The event became a massive cluster-f#%k, plagued with timing equipment problems and chalk course markings which washed away in the heavy rain. The event was canceled before I even got a chance to run.
Given the circumstances, it was decided that the event would be postponed until Sunday, where two events would be run within one day. The weather forecast for Sunday was more promising, and it would give the guys some time to work out the timing system issues. So back home I went.
With two event occurring on Sunday, that meant an early start. I got out of bed at 4am in order to get to the venue in time to swap my wheels and walk the course. *yawn*
There was no rain, but it was mighty chilly out. I threw on the race wheels and adjusted the front toe to about 1/8†out.
Event 1
My first run I took off with a stutter box launch and NLTS’ed into second. As I was rounding the first 90º turn the car snap oversteered and I turned the wheel full opposite lock in an attempt to recover. Then I started hearing this strange flap-flap-flap-flap sound. So I stopped the car on course, got out and took a look to see what had happened.
At full steering lock, my tire had made contact with the inside lip of the fender and it sliced a big gash into it. @#$%%^^!!!! Over $300 in rubber destroyed in a matter of seconds. *&%$%$%!!!
So I limped the car back into the paddock, and swapped my street wheels back on the car in time for my second run.
It’s been a while since I’ve run an autoslalom on street tires, so it took me a few runs to get adjusted to the low grip. Had several spins and lots of upset cones. I ended up 9th overall out of 22 competitors, about 5% off FTD, but captured 1st in my class of 3.
Event 2
The second event was much better than the first. The temperatures had warmed up a bit, so there was more grip available. And the course was a little more open and better flowing. Plus I was starting to get a hang of the street tires.
First run I set a time that was only 1 second off provisional FTD. I was quite surprised, as were many others. Second run was a little sloppy and a touch slower. Third run I hit a cone and fourth I dropped my time another second. This event I ended up 5th overall out of 22 competitors, about 3% off FTD, and once again 1st in my class of 3.
There’s another event coming up in early October, but I’m done for the season. With the demise of my race tire, there’s not incentive for me to go as I won’t be able to compete for FTD.
So my focus is now on preparing the car for next season. I’ve got turbo / fuel / intercooler upgrades planned, as well as water / meth injection and a few suspension tweaks. After 6 years of running the stock T25, it’ll be nice to finally feel some power!
