mavisky
DSM Wiseman
- 5,387
- 43
- Sep 13, 2002
-
Atlanta,
Georgia
For those who have followed my endeavors this year you'll know that I've been struggling with some oil consumption issues for a majority of the year. While having conflicting events (shootout vs. test and tune) and lack of events in my region (no events in July or September) it's been awhile since I've been able to put any hard miles on the car. (Read June 3rd)
Sunday - 6am
Rise and shine time, earliest I've been awake in a while, but it always feels good when its race day. Any other time I may easily fly into a fit of rage over being up this early, but knowing I get to strap up and put the pedal to the floor makes it all worthwhile. A quick check of the weather shows that we're going to be dealing with unseasonably warm weather (70 degrees F in NE Indiana in October
) and plenty of sunshine. This is welcome news as its been raining cats, dogs, and every other 4 legged hairy animal all week leading up to the event. Perhaps God's shining down on me since my birthday's on the 3rd.
A quick check over of the car, a last minute assemblance of any possible tool I may need and it's off to find some gas for the car. After installing a new cylinder head just weeks prior I'd been having serious driveability issues which I hadn't corrected until late Friday night with the help of Andy Moraitis. At the time I'd been switching out everything from mass air sensors, cas's, fpr's, and just about anything else I could get my hands on to figure out why the car would idle fine but made no torque at all with extremely hot egt's (1600 by 5psi). A quick brainstorming session made us realize I'd never re-set the timing so I went back home and advanced it by ear until it sounded right and poof, she's running fine. In all this commotion I'd never had a chance to top her off though with all the work hours I'd been putting in so this meant a last minute dash to the few gas stations in Auburn since we were racing at our title sponsor's lot, Kruse Auction Park.
Of course being a small town who's Shell station just closed and who's Sunoco station never opened (grumble grumble), I was left with only one station selling 93, but of course I didn't find them until pulling up to about 3 other stations first. Having finally gased up and cleaned some of the early morning dew off of the car I headed out for my arduous 5 minute drive from the station to the Auction Park. It's good to live in the hometown of 2 of our autox's
.
8am- check in and setup
Judging by the large amount of cars and long line for registration I knew this would be a tough event on the competitor side. A quick walk of the grounds revealed that Kruse had double booked the site for both our race and a tractor trailer/cement mixer auction. This meant we'd not get to use the larger of the lots for the course, but the dustier and much smaller side lot. Of course with a high powered fwd on street tires this isn't what I was hoping to see.
Upon walking the course all of my fears of this event had been confirmed. Ideally I was looking for a fast sweeping course with a few high speed transitions and multiple sweepers like the normal events we run here. What I got was one of the tightest and most technical courses I've ever run with FWSCCA, not the ideal place to stage one's return after 4 months of broken parts and lack of events. But I've got to make the best of it so I begin walking the course trying to figure out where I'll lose time to the awd's and where I'll lose alot of time to them.
9am - Course layout and walk.
The course is pretty much a simple down and back design. Starting off you look headlong into a Chicago box that requires some serious lateral movement to cover. We're talking 2025mph max through here on street tires. The box goes left, then back to the right and upon exiting you find yourself staring down a non-optional slalom that want's you to start on the left of the first cone which isn't very far out. This makes the exit to the chicago box critical for a good time in the first sector. From here it's a nice 4 cone 40 or so mph slalom. After passing the 4th cone the 5th cone of the slalom sends you back to your left and into the beginning of an increasing radius right hand sweeper. These are the kinds of corners my car likes, except for when they cap the end of the sweeper off with a 1st gear 90 degree turn back to the right. This is where you'll see my car dissappear on video.
Once you've cleared that 90 degree bend you've actually got a short straigthaway to a set of offset cones setting you up for a 180 degree off camber sweeper to the left to start the return trip back to timing and scoring. Now this in and of itself is another easy corner except for the fact that there's another non-optional slalom built into the end of this. Now the slalom is pretty open and can essentially be turned into part of the sweeper, but once again it ends in another 90 degree corner, this time heading back to your right. This is where you'll see the car pop back on screen as I finish the sweeper and setup for the right hand 90. Another 90 back to your left after that and you approach another set of switchbacks which will take you from about 25-40mph and back down again. Once you clear the last cone you enter the reasonably spaced 3 cone mandatory slalom back into the finish line.
The biggest issue with this course was a large amount of dust off the racing line and literally every corner was linked to the one before it so tightly that if you screwed up the entry or exit to one corner, you were off rhythym and off-pace for the next 4-5 turns. Not surprisingly the low hp or high tractioned cars ruled the day.
11am - first car off
For the first time this season I was going to be running last heat and working the first heat. Lately they've been having me work the grid to keep everyone in order (which I like because I only chase after lazy driver's not cones) but I also get a chance to see the lines everyone else it taking to start the day.
4pm - Up to bat
Finally time for the first run for me. It's been almost 9 hours since I've walked the course so I'm doing my best to remember what I've seen and what I walked before. I think this is where all those hours of playing Gran Turismo pay off as I can completely picture the course ahead in my mind and it helps me to never dnf or hit a cone the entire day.
First run, this is more of a feeler run. As I've said I haven't pushed this car hard for almost 4 months since I won the Winged Warrior II event. I literally am re-learning the car. I go out and immediately problems arise in the Chicago box. As I make the first left turn the car's power steering goes out, then comes back, then as I go to make the final turns to exit the chicago box it goes out again and comes back. I've never had power steering cut once before in this car so I take it easy on the rest of the lap and note that while in 2nd for the rest of the course I didn't experience any more trouble. A time of 48.993 shows how bad the run really was.
Second run, I decide to give first another try as the corners are just too slow for first. This is the first video taped run you'll see. As I enter the chicago box the steering cuts out again and I overshoot the entrance. I stay clean though and on my way out it cuts out again, but this time I'm expecting it and compensate enough to get a clean exit and start my dance through the slalom. I get a little close on my right hand side on the 3rd cone, but it stays up and I continue my run. The car's starting to feel decent and I make a clean run the rest of the way. The car's just simply not biting into the tarmac out here though and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe these Falken's are just done for after 2 years of heat cycling and abuse. I finish the run with a much improved 46.788.
Third run. At this point I've made the decision that holding first through the opening stages is just too hit and miss and I'm better off to try and stay smooth and put it in second gear before even entering the Chicago box. This new rpm level and speed push me too wide on the exit and mess up the entrance to the first slalom costing me dearly. Like a fool I try to make it up and end up overcooking the entrance to the first sweeper as well. This is the run I also realize I could carry a little more speed into the last slalom as well. With all the mistakes it turns up a 47.086 run. Clean conewise, but ugly skill wise.
My fourth run I end up with a much better start and actually exit the chicago box slightly on line. This lets me carry good speed into and through the slalom. I take the entrance to the sweeper too tightly though and get off the clean line into some gravel and wash out, this forces me to tap the brakes to get the front end back under me and continue on, probably costing me some valuable time. I'm still too slow into the final slalom and I pop out with a best of 46.353 on that run.
On the final run of the day I've already seen the results from most of the other drivers as my high number puts me towards the back of the run group. Guys who never beat me are up to a second ahead and those who are never close are breathing down my back. I tear off into the course hell bent on beating these guys and I end up letting my frustration get the better of me and the entire run is filled with mistakes. I cross the line with a 46.825. Clean of cones, but a frustrating way to end the day.
In the end I have noone to blame but my self and the preparation of my equipment though for my 7th place in class finish. Something will be done about the ps pup issue and I'll probably switch off of these old as hell Falken's and move the car back into SM with my wider used 225/50-16 Khumo v700's. This is probably the class I'll be running in next year so it'll be good to get some expereince running against this certain group of guys. I've got a couple solid competitors in this class, but nothing so fast that I won't be able to reasonably make a run for class championship at the end of the season.
Of course I've got to say thanks to those people who helped get the car on track. Dave Johnson at Dejon Powerhouse for one of the strangest and most effective intercooler setups most people have ever seen, Tom Straessle of Signs and Wonders for turning my boring street car into the amazing looking machine before your eyes, Andy and Melissa Moraitis of ImagineGrafix.net for their support and wonderful photographs, of course or own Ludachris from DSMTuners for believing in my driving skills, and last but not least all those of you from this site and others who've lent a hand or a kind word to help me either keep the car on the road or keep making her faster. I've got one more event this year and anyone who wants to make it up to watch it's October 22nd, Kruse Auction Park right off of I-69 in Auburn, IN. Bring a Snell M95 or better helmet and come along for a ride if you'd like
Sunday - 6am
Rise and shine time, earliest I've been awake in a while, but it always feels good when its race day. Any other time I may easily fly into a fit of rage over being up this early, but knowing I get to strap up and put the pedal to the floor makes it all worthwhile. A quick check of the weather shows that we're going to be dealing with unseasonably warm weather (70 degrees F in NE Indiana in October
) and plenty of sunshine. This is welcome news as its been raining cats, dogs, and every other 4 legged hairy animal all week leading up to the event. Perhaps God's shining down on me since my birthday's on the 3rd.A quick check over of the car, a last minute assemblance of any possible tool I may need and it's off to find some gas for the car. After installing a new cylinder head just weeks prior I'd been having serious driveability issues which I hadn't corrected until late Friday night with the help of Andy Moraitis. At the time I'd been switching out everything from mass air sensors, cas's, fpr's, and just about anything else I could get my hands on to figure out why the car would idle fine but made no torque at all with extremely hot egt's (1600 by 5psi). A quick brainstorming session made us realize I'd never re-set the timing so I went back home and advanced it by ear until it sounded right and poof, she's running fine. In all this commotion I'd never had a chance to top her off though with all the work hours I'd been putting in so this meant a last minute dash to the few gas stations in Auburn since we were racing at our title sponsor's lot, Kruse Auction Park.
Of course being a small town who's Shell station just closed and who's Sunoco station never opened (grumble grumble), I was left with only one station selling 93, but of course I didn't find them until pulling up to about 3 other stations first. Having finally gased up and cleaned some of the early morning dew off of the car I headed out for my arduous 5 minute drive from the station to the Auction Park. It's good to live in the hometown of 2 of our autox's
.8am- check in and setup
Judging by the large amount of cars and long line for registration I knew this would be a tough event on the competitor side. A quick walk of the grounds revealed that Kruse had double booked the site for both our race and a tractor trailer/cement mixer auction
. This meant we'd not get to use the larger of the lots for the course, but the dustier and much smaller side lot. Of course with a high powered fwd on street tires this isn't what I was hoping to see. Upon walking the course all of my fears of this event had been confirmed. Ideally I was looking for a fast sweeping course with a few high speed transitions and multiple sweepers like the normal events we run here. What I got was one of the tightest and most technical courses I've ever run with FWSCCA, not the ideal place to stage one's return after 4 months of broken parts and lack of events. But I've got to make the best of it so I begin walking the course trying to figure out where I'll lose time to the awd's and where I'll lose alot of time to them.
9am - Course layout and walk.
The course is pretty much a simple down and back design. Starting off you look headlong into a Chicago box that requires some serious lateral movement to cover. We're talking 2025mph max through here on street tires. The box goes left, then back to the right and upon exiting you find yourself staring down a non-optional slalom that want's you to start on the left of the first cone which isn't very far out. This makes the exit to the chicago box critical for a good time in the first sector. From here it's a nice 4 cone 40 or so mph slalom. After passing the 4th cone the 5th cone of the slalom sends you back to your left and into the beginning of an increasing radius right hand sweeper. These are the kinds of corners my car likes, except for when they cap the end of the sweeper off with a 1st gear 90 degree turn back to the right. This is where you'll see my car dissappear on video.
Once you've cleared that 90 degree bend you've actually got a short straigthaway to a set of offset cones setting you up for a 180 degree off camber sweeper to the left to start the return trip back to timing and scoring. Now this in and of itself is another easy corner except for the fact that there's another non-optional slalom built into the end of this. Now the slalom is pretty open and can essentially be turned into part of the sweeper, but once again it ends in another 90 degree corner, this time heading back to your right. This is where you'll see the car pop back on screen as I finish the sweeper and setup for the right hand 90. Another 90 back to your left after that and you approach another set of switchbacks which will take you from about 25-40mph and back down again. Once you clear the last cone you enter the reasonably spaced 3 cone mandatory slalom back into the finish line.
The biggest issue with this course was a large amount of dust off the racing line and literally every corner was linked to the one before it so tightly that if you screwed up the entry or exit to one corner, you were off rhythym and off-pace for the next 4-5 turns. Not surprisingly the low hp or high tractioned cars ruled the day.
11am - first car off
For the first time this season I was going to be running last heat and working the first heat. Lately they've been having me work the grid to keep everyone in order (which I like because I only chase after lazy driver's not cones) but I also get a chance to see the lines everyone else it taking to start the day.
4pm - Up to bat
Finally time for the first run for me. It's been almost 9 hours since I've walked the course so I'm doing my best to remember what I've seen and what I walked before. I think this is where all those hours of playing Gran Turismo pay off as I can completely picture the course ahead in my mind and it helps me to never dnf or hit a cone the entire day.
First run, this is more of a feeler run. As I've said I haven't pushed this car hard for almost 4 months since I won the Winged Warrior II event. I literally am re-learning the car. I go out and immediately problems arise in the Chicago box. As I make the first left turn the car's power steering goes out, then comes back, then as I go to make the final turns to exit the chicago box it goes out again and comes back. I've never had power steering cut once before in this car so I take it easy on the rest of the lap and note that while in 2nd for the rest of the course I didn't experience any more trouble. A time of 48.993 shows how bad the run really was.
Second run, I decide to give first another try as the corners are just too slow for first. This is the first video taped run you'll see. As I enter the chicago box the steering cuts out again and I overshoot the entrance. I stay clean though and on my way out it cuts out again, but this time I'm expecting it and compensate enough to get a clean exit and start my dance through the slalom. I get a little close on my right hand side on the 3rd cone, but it stays up and I continue my run. The car's starting to feel decent and I make a clean run the rest of the way. The car's just simply not biting into the tarmac out here though and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe these Falken's are just done for after 2 years of heat cycling and abuse. I finish the run with a much improved 46.788.
Third run. At this point I've made the decision that holding first through the opening stages is just too hit and miss and I'm better off to try and stay smooth and put it in second gear before even entering the Chicago box. This new rpm level and speed push me too wide on the exit and mess up the entrance to the first slalom costing me dearly. Like a fool I try to make it up and end up overcooking the entrance to the first sweeper as well. This is the run I also realize I could carry a little more speed into the last slalom as well. With all the mistakes it turns up a 47.086 run. Clean conewise, but ugly skill wise.
My fourth run I end up with a much better start and actually exit the chicago box slightly on line. This lets me carry good speed into and through the slalom. I take the entrance to the sweeper too tightly though and get off the clean line into some gravel and wash out, this forces me to tap the brakes to get the front end back under me and continue on, probably costing me some valuable time. I'm still too slow into the final slalom and I pop out with a best of 46.353 on that run.
On the final run of the day I've already seen the results from most of the other drivers as my high number puts me towards the back of the run group. Guys who never beat me are up to a second ahead and those who are never close are breathing down my back. I tear off into the course hell bent on beating these guys and I end up letting my frustration get the better of me and the entire run is filled with mistakes. I cross the line with a 46.825. Clean of cones, but a frustrating way to end the day.
In the end I have noone to blame but my self and the preparation of my equipment though for my 7th place in class finish. Something will be done about the ps pup issue and I'll probably switch off of these old as hell Falken's and move the car back into SM with my wider used 225/50-16 Khumo v700's. This is probably the class I'll be running in next year so it'll be good to get some expereince running against this certain group of guys. I've got a couple solid competitors in this class, but nothing so fast that I won't be able to reasonably make a run for class championship at the end of the season.
Of course I've got to say thanks to those people who helped get the car on track. Dave Johnson at Dejon Powerhouse for one of the strangest and most effective intercooler setups most people have ever seen, Tom Straessle of Signs and Wonders for turning my boring street car into the amazing looking machine before your eyes, Andy and Melissa Moraitis of ImagineGrafix.net for their support and wonderful photographs, of course or own Ludachris from DSMTuners for believing in my driving skills, and last but not least all those of you from this site and others who've lent a hand or a kind word to help me either keep the car on the road or keep making her faster. I've got one more event this year and anyone who wants to make it up to watch it's October 22nd, Kruse Auction Park right off of I-69 in Auburn, IN. Bring a Snell M95 or better helmet and come along for a ride if you'd like
Go straight as fast as you can HAHA.
) I got 1 DNF and a MONSTER spin (the kind that makes you want a Kaaz up front). Thus, I PAX'd horribly, but towards the end I was able to pull off some crazy surprising times, even beat an SM2 FD RX7. So even if I didn't do too well I took some solace in taking SSM that day.
That's the only thing I miss about FL - Year-round events.
. Good luck on your next run at Kruse Auction Park!!!
