2010 Solo Nationals @ Lincoln, NE

[AceInHole]

Time to threadblog!

First on the agenda:
Getting ready to head to Nationals this afternoon. I'm hoping to make it to Chicago by lunch tomorrow and hang around there till my co-driver's flight comes in. Is anyone here right outside or near Chicago/ O'Hare? I was hoping to eat with some family in Chicago but parking in the city probably wouldn't work. Hoping someone knows of a safe place to stash a racecar for a few hours.

Next:
Just about ready to leave. Splitter was damaged by a cone base a few events ago, so just built a new one using hardened 1/4" plywood. Has a much nicer finish to it, although on the next one I'll probably turn it into a fiberglass kite for weight and weather-ability. I'll post up pics later if I can remember.

That's about it for now I guess. I'll just post as my long, boring trip goes on.

[LigouriRd]

I assume that you are trailering the car and you need to stash both the tow vehicle and trailer. I don't know if you could use and pay for two parking spaces at the rosemont L-station (not too far from o'hare). That would allow you to get downtown and back and that parking lot is pretty visible so there would be little likelyhood of someone messing with the car.
My $.02

[orion]

Good luck on the journey, and at Nats!

Keep us updated.

- Brian

[AceInHole]

The drive out was somewhat uneventful:
14 hrs of driving
3 hrs of sleep
2 cans of Redbull
1 Starbucks Caramel Frap
Lots of granola bars

Ended up leaving the truck and trailer at my uncle's house in the 'burbs while my cousin drove me around. Sweet deal. 5 Guys for lunch, hibachi for dinner, and got to play with my other cousin's 1 yr old. So far I'm on track to get to Lincoln early enough for a good pit spot.

[eye-5]

I'm in the area but wedding this weekend and crazy project deadline at work kept me working until the power went out at 9:30. Good luck at Nats! If you run into the Polish E stock miata mafia say hey for me.

[AceInHole]

Day 1 of competition done and we might as well be dead last. The car, however, is running better than ever. The scratch times are there to put us into the 2nd and 3rd spot, but cones and red-lights are killing us.

In no order of importance:
1. We're running 17 psi and it's more than enough power it seems. More power is useable in places, but it's already difficult to modulate when necessary.
2. Dave got screwed by tires cooling off when he had to wait in the staging error for a timing issue to be resolved. In that amount of time the tires dropped 3 psi and he was hosed for that run. We'll have to do a better job of cooling the tires FULLY and refilling with air in the 5 minutes between drivers. The other option is to just NASCAR it and do a tire change along with the driver change.
4. Not as much traction as I remember. It's pretty sandy till a rubber line gets grooved in.


Anyways, we'll be here all week. Looking forward to redeeming ourselves tomorrow, and then a small break before going for the Big Show.

[Matt93SE]

If you run into David Hedderick from Houston, punch him in the d!ck for me. :)

[AceInHole]

I drove pretty horribly. Cone and DNF for the first 2 runs, followed by a couple marginal runs that didn't do me any good. Dave once again shows what the car can do, going from dead last to 2nd place, only 0.078 behind the leader. It's enough to get him into the Super Challenge, where he was knocked out in the 3rd round. Beating the current SM National Champion by a good margin sets a pretty good precedent for Nationals on Thursday and Friday.

Lessons learned:
1. Tire temp and pressure management is super important. We put in the extra effort to keep the tires cool/ warm and it paid off 10-fold. Iced water and towels did the trick, along with making sure to replace air pressure bled off during the runs for the next driver.

2. The brake booster check valve doesn't like brake stands. My first run coming out of the burnout box led to manual braking into the first corner. I need to fix that.

3. Koni on-site rocks. Going to have my 8611's refreshed and matched on the dyno. I've heard it's labor free for competitors (pay for parts). I mentioned how we're looking to beat a guy on AST's and they got a good laugh.

4. It's always in the car. Driver just has to find it. I need to stop driving like I'm not that good.

[Ruff Ryder 6]

2. The brake booster check valve doesn't like brake stands. My first run coming out of the burnout box led to manual braking into the first corner. I need to fix that.


I had that exact thing happen to me except i killed a booster doing it

[AceInHole]

Got to watch the shocks on the dyno. Excellent repeatability and zero crosstalk. Almost forgot why I went with these shocks in the first place. One of the fronts was 2 clicks low on compression, and the Koni guy thinks its a bent shim. It'll be fixed today, ready with plenty of time to reinstall.

Going golfing this afternoon. Some R&R before the "Big Show". I've got tons of pics to upload, so I'll Ty and get those up after the party tonight.

Also, I need a less gassy co-driver.

[logr]

Had one of my friends in CSP blow his engine today at the test and tune. He hasn't admitted it yet but I'm thinking he shifted to 1st instead of 3rd. His wife did that last year and the car has had a tick since. There are 4 drivers there now with no car, bummer. It is the 08 Nat Champ car too.

PJ, Don't do the above!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Actually I don't think you could if you tried. My car wouldn't let me.

I have lot's of Rolaids.

[AceInHole]

That sucks about the CSP car. For some reason they seem more finicky than any other SP car.

At least I don't have to worry about 3rd gear shifts. The 315's bump my 2nd gear limit to slightly over 72mph. Looks like I might still be hitting the rev limiter on the East course, though. Your car would be sweet for the West course though, lots of places where a narrow car is going to win out.

Car is back on the ground with the rebuilt shocks. Turns out the upper seal was spinning and letting air in the shock. Rebuilt at no cost with labor-free service at Nationals :) Lee mentioned it generally happens from extreme side-loading (binding/ crashes) or using an impact wrench on the top nut. Just have to double check the alignment and pick up some race fuel. I've got a feeling we're gonna be pushing the engine pretty hard in a couple days :P

Lots of work to do because the past couple nights have been spent pretty laid back:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4969980254_585f8299a3_z_d.jpg

Yes, that's my splitter. Sitting on 4 old (40 run) Hoosiers that we just took off. Someone come buy them so I don't have to haul them home?


My co-driver just dutch ovened himself. He's disgusting.

[josh18_2k]

you have a camera? id love to see some incar footage

[AceInHole]

I've got some bumpy in-car from the ProSolo, but I've gotta edit it into 4 individual runs before uploading. I'll have video from the Nationals courses but we don't run till tomorrow.

[logr]

I'm kicking myself for not biting the bullet and going. Oh well, have fun and kick a$$. I will do my best on the hill climb.
Told MikeyV you might stop by to say hi. They are set up near registration with a big motor home, black C5, WRX, Miata, black C4 with big wing and FM.

edit; The F Mod just lost a cyl. It is a new "car" too.

[AceInHole]

I'm in 2nd, 0.3 behind the leader. Dave (my co-driver) is in 3rd sitting on his partial rain, partially oiled/ speedy dried course run. He's 0.2 behind me, so we're both in arm's reach of a win. Tomorrow's course is sweepy and fast, so we'll have to set up the car accordingly tonight.

The car handled the very transitional course extremely well. It was super predictable turning on throttle, so we were able to accelerate through slaloms pretty easily. I don't think we'll have to change much for the sweeper course, since it looks as though the sweepers exit into some pretty long straights. A bit more confidence on the throttle mid corner might help, though. A sure thing next year is we'll be back with more power. The car is getting too easy to drive :P

Randall Wilcox is in 2nd in XP in the Bennet 240sx, so 2 240's are in trophies here at Nats. Wish it was 3 (*cough* logr *cough)!!

I've got video from our runs and some from the Bennett XP car as well. I'll try and get those up tonight.

[McCoy]

Congrats on the good driving today, and for a good performance (knock on wood) tomorrow out of both you!

[logr]

WOW, You guys are doing AWESOME. You are 1 tenth ahead of Duke in SSM and he is fast. I beat him for the first time a few weeks ago and he coned his fastest run that would have beat me.

Keep it up. I am adding mo powr for next year. You have me scared.

I recieved 3 dirty texts for not being there, today.

MikeyV in 10th in SS.

[eye-5]

Nice work! I was checking the results and saw you were second so I figured I'd check this thread. Good luck tomorrow!

[e1_griego]

**** yeah!!

---------------------------------------------------------
T 1 154 Christopher Mayf 2006 Mitsubishi Evoluti N/A
61.172(1) 58.788 62.301(1) 120.689
67.289 65.848 61.901
---------------------------------------------------------
T 2 197 Mike Simanyi 1995 BMW M3 Wht Hoosier
59.509(1) 58.078 58.649 121.629
68.657 68.694 63.551(1) (0.940)
---------------------------------------------------------
T 3 199 David White 1995 Nissan 240SX Blk Hoosier
61.744(2) 59.333 58.618 121.960
69.925 75.216(4) 63.342(1) (0.331)
---------------------------------------------------------
T 4 99 PJ Corrales 1995 Nissan 240sx Wht Hoosier
70.639(5) 61.135(1) 58.420 122.485
75.008(1) DNF 64.065 (0.525)
---------------------------------------------------------
T 5 178 Jarrod Hoops 2006 Mitsubishi EVO IX Hoosier
59.502 62.060(1) 59.812 122.881
72.717 70.236 63.379 (0.396)
---------------------------------------------------------

[veilside180sx]

Way to go guys.

[SM240]

yes very way to go

[AceInHole]

Thanks guys!

In all honesty, I feel semi-jipped. We ran in the rain, and our rain tires are past their prime (hence my DNF). We got semi-lucky in that an FM car Gulf Disastered the course, forcing a shutdown until they could speedi-dry and airport sweep/vacuum it. 2 hours of on and off misting rain left the course mostly dry, so we had a 1 shot deal for 3rd runs. On super cold tires, I was forced to play it safe (uploading the video now). The result was the top finish for a non-2nd driver (I held the lead for a short while because of it). Dave got his run in slightly drier conditions, as the course was drying out by the run. He also had preheated tires from my run. Unfortunately, he coned away the fastest run in the class, a run that would've earned him his National Championship.

All in all, I guess we were lucky we had at least 1 dry run. We've also proven the car to be a contender, and it's only going to be faster next year. On the side, I sort of proved to myself that I do belong in the car (been having doubts with pretty lousy performances this season).

Anyways, here's my "play it safe" run from yesterday:
http://flic.kr/p/8zEaCK

[veilside180sx]

Obviously it didn't work out like you had hoped, but it's nothing to be ashamed of either.

[AceInHole]

Just got back from the awards banquet. Plaque is pretty cool.

Also uploaded the East course vid:
http://flic.kr/p/8zRUrR

Wow. Just realized flickr sucks and only does 1:30 vids. I'll crop and reupload later.

[AceInHole]

Dave's final run with the Championship costing cone:
2tgp0_821dY

[LanceS13]

Just wanted to say congrats to you and Dave on a great finish despite the rain and oil spills. Been following your build for years, glad to see it paying off. We were in FP on opposite courses, so I only got to watch from afar.

[hai1206vn]

from Finger Lakes region's photographer:
http://www.solopix.flr-scca.com/2010/galleries/janer_0.05941800_1284404374/IMG_9202.jpg
http://www.solopix.flr-scca.com/2010/galleries/janer_0.05941800_1284404374/IMG_9244.jpg

[SM240]

lol ......oh f*%k, that sux I know but great job out there you guys. You have proven that these cars can compete with the top runners and win. I have no dout that car is very very close to a national championship, congrats

[logr]

PJ, I have some pics of you guys in grid, all hot and busy getting ready for your only dry run of the day, if you want them. MikeyV didn't want to interrupt you so he just took some pics. First thing he said was"You know they are really young, don't you." Guess he doesn't think I am. Glad you guys did so well. I am planning on being there with you next year so forget those other big ticket items and plan on being there next year.

kinda oldr logr but I still drive young!

[AceInHole]

Grid pics would be cool. Got a link?

We're not THAT young, we just look it. I'm just about 30 and IIRC Dave is 37.

You've definitely gotta make it out to Nationals next year. You'd stand a good chance of trophying, I'd say. I think since last year, every 240sx at Nats has taken home at least 1 trophy (all 2 of them?).

[e1_griego]

What are the other 240s running for susp?

[AceInHole]

IIRC, the Bennett car is also on Deviant/NissanRoadRacing housings with Koni 86's.

[AceInHole]

Found the car in a random video, complete with a cone punt!

pTCvudqDqkc

[josh18_2k]

968 hardtop in STR? wtf? (1:00)

also 1:56 :):):)
why do bimmers do that? theyre the only RWD cars ive seen with serious air under their tires

[AceInHole]

968 hardtop in STR? wtf? (1:00)

also 1:56 :):):)
why do bimmers do that? theyre the only RWD cars ive seen with serious air under their tires

Most likely roll centers :P That's Mike Shields' old car, I think. Just limited droop and too much roll, but it's done that no matter what he did with the suspension.

[josh18_2k]

is the e36's roll couple that much worse than an s14? (and/or rx7 ;))
why are they still so capable? seems like bmw's should be a worse car in every way, other than maybe chassis rigidity (dunno), but they tend to kick ass. tunnell's car??

[djsilver]

The two cars I've see with the inside front tire highest in the air;
1. E36 BMW M3 in B-stock (then)
2. 1972 Porsched 911T in BSP

I've seen them both with the front inside tire more than 6" off the ground accelerating out of a turn on an autocross course. They were both insanely fast and both models have quite a history of success in motorsports so it can't be all bad!

[jdrop]

That is Mike Shields' old E36. Alex Shchipkov's DSP E30 has lifted tires so high at one particular event, we were on rollover watch.

[Matt93SE]

I was at MSR-Cresson a couple years ago and followed an older 911 (late 70s early 80s vintage) around the track. the inside front tire was in the air on every corner, and sometimes for 10-15 sec at a time going through twisty sections. the best part was I was on his butt the whole time and he couldn't get away... and he was on Hoosiers. :)

[Umai Kakudo]

Let us know what you find on the brake booster deal.

I do brake stand burnouts all the time to warm up tires for drifting and never had any issues on multiple (5) S13 and one S14 cars.

Granted, drifting doesn't really use the brakes so it might be an intensity of use threshold to it.

Good to hear about the 8611 rebuilding.

[logr]

http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss263/logrmyk/IMG00065-20100910-1109.jpg

http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss263/logrmyk/IMG00066-20100910-1110.jpg

http://i582.photobucket.com/albums/ss263/logrmyk/240xpIMG00060-20100908-09371.jpg

[josh18_2k]

that bennet car is fawking fast (according to results anyway). doesnt look like hes running a whole lotta tire... was it wet for XP this year?

[AceInHole]

It was wet for a lot of people that ran Thurs/ Friday :( I forgot if XP ran before or after us, but we ran through a good portion of the worst of it. Then again, we also had the longest heat EVAR due to the FM oil disaster.