Scott McIntyre
DSM Wiseman
- 309
- 44
- Mar 15, 2002
-
Halifax,
NS, Canada
Ah, the last event of the season. And it was a doozie. An autoslalom on a road race circuit! With so much tarmac and a limited number of cones, it can only mean one thing… a FAST course. 
This was a regional event which means the top competitors of the Atlantic Region were in attendance. Competition was tough and the weather conditions made it even tougher. It was dry, but quite cold so tires offered very little grip.
As we’ve all learned by now, I cannot attend an event without some form of drama. This time it started with the realization that I had forgotten my lug nuts for my race wheels at home. Without them I’d have to run my street tires, which would really suck. And it would take me 1.5 hours to run back home to pick them up.
Luckily, one of the other competitors (and one-time co-driver of mine) had a spare set that fit my car. So he saved the day. Phew!
Then when I started the car to warm it up before the first set of runs, the car would not idle. It just kept stalling. A quick look under the hood revealed that one of the plug wires had popped off the coil pack. Ah-ha! I popped it back on, but the car still would not idle. D'oh! So then I hastily swapped in my spare set of spark plugs which helped a little, but the idle was still oscillating between 500 – 1000 RPM just barely running. Not sure what’s going on there, but it seemed to settle down after the engine warmed up.
No time to ponder…. On with the show!
Run #1: Others who had run before me had warned that the track was very slippery, so I went into my first run expecting no traction. It didn’t disappoint as my stutterbox launch resulted in nothing but wheel spin. Bystanders were amused to see an AWD with huge race slicks spin both front & rear wheels all the way to the first gate.
Grip improved slightly towards the end of the run, but it was still pretty bad. And my brakes were worse. The brake pedal went right to the floor in the stop box, and pillars of brake smoke loomed from my front wheels. Not good!
Run #2: Given the brake issues encountered on the previous run, I skipped this run and headed straight to the pits to bleed my brakes. Turns out there was some air trapped in the driver’s front caliper, so that was part of my problem. With the help of a fellow competitor, I managed to complete the task in time to line up for what should have been my 3rd run.
Run #3: Again the tires were cold, especially after missing my 2nd run. The brakes were better but not quite 100%. I underestimated them leading into a heavy braking section from 150 kph (95 mph) and spun on the track taking out a wall of cones. Ugh. Only one run left…
Run #4: I had to make this one count. By this time the tires had warmed up a little bit and were providing some grip. But I could not afford to risk any cones so I took a somewhat conservative run. I came in clean with a 1:36.7xx, enough to capture 1st in my class of 4 ESP competitors, and 4th overall.
In the end I was fairly content with my result. Had I not had brake issues and been able to run all 4 runs, I think I could have challenged for the top time overall. Which each run, the tires would get warmer & warmer and provide more & more grip. Having completely missed one run meant that I lost out on the grip advantage others were getting by their 4th run.
One thing I learned from this event is that my Willwood BP10 street pads are not up to the task of a high speed autoslalom. After the event I had people coming up to me saying they saw sparks flying out from my front brakes, and even saw flames at one point! So the next time I run at such an event, I’ll definitely pop in the track pads.
Here's some onboard videos of my three runs:
Enjoy!
This was a regional event which means the top competitors of the Atlantic Region were in attendance. Competition was tough and the weather conditions made it even tougher. It was dry, but quite cold so tires offered very little grip.
As we’ve all learned by now, I cannot attend an event without some form of drama. This time it started with the realization that I had forgotten my lug nuts for my race wheels at home. Without them I’d have to run my street tires, which would really suck. And it would take me 1.5 hours to run back home to pick them up.
Luckily, one of the other competitors (and one-time co-driver of mine) had a spare set that fit my car. So he saved the day. Phew!
Then when I started the car to warm it up before the first set of runs, the car would not idle. It just kept stalling. A quick look under the hood revealed that one of the plug wires had popped off the coil pack. Ah-ha! I popped it back on, but the car still would not idle. D'oh! So then I hastily swapped in my spare set of spark plugs which helped a little, but the idle was still oscillating between 500 – 1000 RPM just barely running. Not sure what’s going on there, but it seemed to settle down after the engine warmed up.
No time to ponder…. On with the show!
Run #1: Others who had run before me had warned that the track was very slippery, so I went into my first run expecting no traction. It didn’t disappoint as my stutterbox launch resulted in nothing but wheel spin. Bystanders were amused to see an AWD with huge race slicks spin both front & rear wheels all the way to the first gate.
Grip improved slightly towards the end of the run, but it was still pretty bad. And my brakes were worse. The brake pedal went right to the floor in the stop box, and pillars of brake smoke loomed from my front wheels. Not good!Run #2: Given the brake issues encountered on the previous run, I skipped this run and headed straight to the pits to bleed my brakes. Turns out there was some air trapped in the driver’s front caliper, so that was part of my problem. With the help of a fellow competitor, I managed to complete the task in time to line up for what should have been my 3rd run.
Run #3: Again the tires were cold, especially after missing my 2nd run. The brakes were better but not quite 100%. I underestimated them leading into a heavy braking section from 150 kph (95 mph) and spun on the track taking out a wall of cones. Ugh. Only one run left…
Run #4: I had to make this one count. By this time the tires had warmed up a little bit and were providing some grip. But I could not afford to risk any cones so I took a somewhat conservative run. I came in clean with a 1:36.7xx, enough to capture 1st in my class of 4 ESP competitors, and 4th overall.
In the end I was fairly content with my result. Had I not had brake issues and been able to run all 4 runs, I think I could have challenged for the top time overall. Which each run, the tires would get warmer & warmer and provide more & more grip. Having completely missed one run meant that I lost out on the grip advantage others were getting by their 4th run.
One thing I learned from this event is that my Willwood BP10 street pads are not up to the task of a high speed autoslalom. After the event I had people coming up to me saying they saw sparks flying out from my front brakes, and even saw flames at one point! So the next time I run at such an event, I’ll definitely pop in the track pads.
Here's some onboard videos of my three runs:
First Run: Cold tires + failing brakes = slow time 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kKm6xYj-U0
Third Run: Missed second run while bleeding brakes. Cold tires + spin = no time
Note the brake smoke at the stop box. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeHLTcEhOgI
Fourth Run: Warmer tires + last ditch effort = class win & 4th overall!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t4XWftZArI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kKm6xYj-U0
Third Run: Missed second run while bleeding brakes. Cold tires + spin = no time
Note the brake smoke at the stop box. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeHLTcEhOgI
Fourth Run: Warmer tires + last ditch effort = class win & 4th overall!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t4XWftZArI
Enjoy!
