Carlisle Performance & Style Autox - 5/7/2010

[snowborder714]

This was the first autox of the season I was able to attend. It's not an SCCA-sanctioned event, but it was still fun. The autox has been organized and ran by the NICO Club for the past few years.

There is a paved section on the Carlisle Fairgrounds that is used for the event, which is combined with drifting (every hour or so they switch off). The area is actually host to a few SCCA-sanctioned events at other times.

There have been some changes since my last autox 2 years ago, but the major change was the Evo wheels with 245/40 Star Spec tires. Previously I was running my 18" wheels with 225/40 Kumho Ecsta SPT's. I noticed a huge improvement in handling when I tested this new combination a week or two ago and was eager to put them to the test at the event.

I got the car teched on Friday without any issues. Arrived Saturday morning and started off by shagging cones since it had rained a bit before I arrived and wanted the track to dry out a bit before running. I also got to watch other cars run and use it to analyze the layout and a good line to take.

My first run was slower so I could get used to the course, line, braking/gas points, etc. It was a pretty straight forward course since it was layed out on an oval of pavement. There were two 'boxes' of pavement that went on the inside of the oval that we were directed into by cones, but nothing hard.

After the first run I started laying down some decent times. Here's the times that I have written down - some from my brother's phone and others from the guy with the stopwatch.

1. ? (maybe around a 1:08?)
2. 1:04
3. 1:05 (hit one cone)
4. 1:03.5
5. 1:05
6. 1:03
7. ? (my brother wasn't there)
8. ? (my brother wasn't there)
9. 1:02 (from guy with stopwatch)


I was also messing with tire pressure trying to figure out what was the best. I started with 30/35 (front/rear) which wasn't too bad, but the front was pushing a bit (understeer - common for our cars, especially the GST). So we dropped it down slowly and I ended up stopping at 25 in the front. Then I noticed there was a bit of oversteer so I dropped the rear slowly and ended up stopping at 31 in the rear. At that point the car felt somewhat neutral, but was really hard to focus on with the transmission issues. I think that I'd like to start higher next time and go down as 25/31 just seems pretty low - it might not be though. Throughout the weekend though, the car felt much more neutral as compared to running on the 18" wheels with 225/40 tires.

I was also experiencing what I believe was a bit of power steering cut. There were a few certain corners, specifically parts of the box areas, that the power steering would just go out for a second or two. I'd go to turn the car and feel a good bit of resistance before it finally kicked in. Now, I've read that this shouldn't be an issue for 2g's and is more of a 1g problem, but I have no idea what I could have been doing driving wise to cause this. It's another thing I'll have to look into. Maybe I'll try the pump mod out and see what happens.

Overall I was very happy with how I was doing. I was being very consistent with times, working on getting very close to cones, kept telling myself to look further ahead, and worked on late, hard braking (what little I could do on the small course).

One tip for those who don't have a harness (which I don't) is a way to keep your seat belt tight. Pull it across you, grab the buckle, and twist it all the way around to create a twist in the belts. Then buckle it and pull the belt tight (have to be done right at the buckle). The lap portion will get as tight as you pull it and won't really loosen up, which helps a bit.

Now, the car on the other hand was being a pain. I have had issues in the past with it randomly popping out of 2nd gear, but I thought nothing of it as it wasn't consistent and didn't happen very often. But those two days at the track ended that. It was rare to have a run without it popping out of 2nd (the course was a 2nd gear setup). Some runs it happened more than 6 times!!

Needless to say, this didn't make me happy at all. But I dealt with it and pushed on the best I could. Overall it was a fun time and I can't wait to get back out on the track

Here is the 'track' that we were running on. Sorry I wasn't able to get one from above with the cones in place. The run started from the bottom left corner and went clockwise around 2 times and then ended at the end of the lower straight away. The two 'boxes' I mentioned earlier are in the center of the top straight and the right side of the bottom straight, both of which we were directed in to on each lap. On the other parts of the straight aways they had some slalom sections.

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And some pictures!

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These two were taken by drews99rs from Mitsu-Media (not sure of his user name on here). The first one almost show me lifting the rear wheel, which supposedly was pretty darn high off the ground a few times!

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[knochgoon24]

So the Star Specs were good? Nice to hear.

I haven't made it out yet due to a blown turbo and bills piling up. Hopefully, I'll be good to go in a month or so.

25/31 does seem a bit low. Then again, I'm used to the 215/50/17 all seasons I had where I had to run 40/45 to keep the sidewalls from completely rolling over.

Any rubbing?

Those wheels are pure s3x with the blue Eclipse.

 

[LiquidX]

You did pretty damn good for your first few times running this style event. You kept right there and ended up beating your buddy with the Evo (sorry for the loss of the name) for over all time.

It wasn't until towards the end of the day that your rear corner was staying down. Did you get the shocks adjusted or just take the first corner differently from the rest?

 

[Scott McIntyre]

Sounds like you had fun!

I had the same gear popping issue last year. I had posted a thread about it on DSMLink, there might be some relevant info in there for you: ECMTuning User Support Forums

 

[snowborder714]

So the Star Specs were good? Nice to hear.

Definitely! I'd like to get some more time on them, do an actual autox and a HPDE event before I give them a solid yes, but from this event I'd highly recommend them. It's crazy how much of an improvement it was just going from a 225 to a 245. I used to hear my tires squeal around most corners and I don't think I even got these to chirp!

25/31 does seem a bit low. Then again, I'm used to the 215/50/17 all seasons I had where I had to run 40/45 to keep the sidewalls from completely rolling over.

I agree, so next time I'm going to try and start higher and see what happens. But then again I was running high pressure on my 225/40/18 Kumho's (high 30's to mid 40's I think).

Any rubbing?

Not that I was aware of. The inside of the rear tires looks a slight bit more worn than the outside, but nothing I'm too worried about. Wear looked pretty even other than that.

Those wheels are pure s3x with the blue Eclipse.

I agree

You did pretty damn good for your first few times running this style event. You kept right there and ended up beating your buddy with the Evo (sorry for the loss of the name) for over all time.

It wasn't until towards the end of the day that your rear corner was staying down. Did you get the shocks adjusted or just take the first corner differently from the rest?

I believe Tyler (guy with the Evo) put down a faster time than me Sunday morning before I got there, but I'll wait for the fastest times to be posted on the NICO forum to see what went down for everyone. The AE86 was killing us though!

The only thing I touched the whole weekend was tire pressure. My tire didn't lift on that corner from the start probably because I didn't have the momentum and speed I did on the 2nd lap. As for taking the corners different each run, I may have as that was one spot 2nd liked to pop out

Sounds like you had fun!

I had the same gear popping issue last year. I had posted a thread about it on DSMLink, there might be some relevant info in there for you: ECMTuning User Support Forums

Thanks for the link Scott. I had actually sent Tim Zimmer a PM Saturday night just to get a heads up and see if I'd really ruin anything by going back on Sunday. By his description it didn't seem life threatening for my transmission, but after it happened over 6 times in a run on Sunday, I wasn't going to continue beating on it.

Having to rebuild the transmission is not something I was anticipating in the near future. But I have been thinking more and more about installing an LSD, so it kind of plays out well.

Now I just need to figure out if I'll have the balls to try this myself (it's something I'd love to be able to do) or send it out. And do I go with another FWD transmission or get an AWD and adapt it.

 

[housegsx]

Do you think going down in pressure on you front tires gave you more grip? I would have opted to increase front pressure so they wouldn't roll under as much. Who knows, it's a lot of trial and error. Either way, it always seems easiest to start high and just let out air thoughout your runs as you see fit. I think I was usually around 36-38F/30R.

Sucks about the trans. I remember when mine started popping out, I think it was 1st gear though. Shortly after the entire trans was done(input bearing gone and cracked center diff housing). It's probably worth it to send it to an expert, I think there's a lot more that the shops do than just replace parts.

 

[kraig milton]

This looks like alot of fun to me! I just moved back to the tri state area and am anxious to get my car put together so I can attend events like this! I am new to the forums but I have won trophy's at Carlisle for the all truck nationals and love going there for all the events!

 

[92AWDHX40]

I heard of that place, it sounded like you had fun.

 

[snowborder714]

Do you think going down in pressure on you front tires gave you more grip? I would have opted to increase front pressure so they wouldn't roll under as much. Who knows, it's a lot of trial and error. Either way, it always seems easiest to start high and just let out air thoughout your runs as you see fit. I think I was usually around 36-38F/30R.

Sucks about the trans. I remember when mine started popping out, I think it was 1st gear though. Shortly after the entire trans was done(input bearing gone and cracked center diff housing). It's probably worth it to send it to an expert, I think there's a lot more that the shops do than just replace parts.

I was adjusting the tire pressure more for under/oversteer than grip. If you want the front to push more, increase the front pressure. If you want the back to come around more, increase the rear pressure. And vice versa.

I'd probably buy the parts from a shop so that I get gear detailing and shot peening done, but other than that, I'm not sure what they do that I couldn't/wouldn't. I'll have to talk to a few people and see, depending on what I decide.

 

[snowborder714]

Added a bit of info about what I believe was power steering cut.

 

[Scott McIntyre]

Power steering cut can happen in 2G's, it's just more prevalent in 1G's.

If you are revving close to red-line and trying to turn the wheel (typically in 1st gear) you'll get cut-out. When I experience this, I take it as a sign that I'm simply in the wrong gear at that section. So I use a higher gear the next time around. Problem solved, and usually faster.

 

[snowborder714]

I was in 2nd gear every time this happened and not close to red-line.

I forgot to add - maybe it was because I was a bit lower on fluid than normal? It was reading a bit above the Min line on the dipstick.

 

[Scott McIntyre]

You may have air in your system then. I'd suggest bleeding your power steering: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/50445866-post39.html

 

[19TSI95AWD]

Here are 2 pictures a friend of mine got of ya.

Carlisle on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Carlisle on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[VTEC_THIS]

Looks like a lot of fun Brian.

 

[VETTE_50_TH]

Could be better. . Good job brian.