spool_sample
04-21-2008, 07:49 PM
Since everyone seems to be making these threads, here's how my first (points) event played out.
I didn't really feel like driving 2.5 hours to Columbus to run with OVR in my own car, so I took up a co-drive in my buddy's 2.5RS, which, being in SM, is easily the most outclassed car ever. It's N/A and pretty much full weight, but the suspension is OK (Tein Flex with Cusco sway bars)... but it's pigeonholed into SM because it has an aluminum STI hood. Tires of choice: 11-year-old BFG R1s, 225s. Also keep in mind that the alignment was out of wack and got worse as the day went on (think positive camber).
It also happened to be our luck that the reigning SM champ of that region - who has a 400+whp STI, BTW - set up the course. Fantastic. That meant the course was pretty much straightaways followed by hairpins, with some sweepers and Chicago boxes thrown in for good measure. To give you an idea of how the course was, the little RS pounded its rev limiter three times per run, on a 60-second course.
The odds were stacked against us, and then it just got worse. The alignment was so screwed up by our second runs that we had to make an emergency jack run back to the paddock, jack the car up, and just run the camber plates at full negative. Then we just cranked the rear shocks up to full stiff. The car was refusing to rotate, so we tried everything we could and hoped for the best.
On the next run, I pulled out all the stops and put down a time about 2 seconds faster than my next best, despite the handling setbacks... good enough for 4th in class in SM, which had the aforementioned STI on Hankooks, a 3000GT on Hoosiers, an early-90s 3-series with an E36 motor on Hoosiers, and quite a lot of other cars with far more power, more grip, and less weight than us. Overall, I was really pleased with the result.
Results:
http://www.ovr-scca.org/_autocross/results2008/class.asp?season=2008&rid=5
Pics:
http://richard.safier.com/OVR/ovr1-2008/images/dsc_0021.jpg
http://richard.safier.com/OVR/ovr1-2008/images/dsc_0024.jpg
http://richard.safier.com/OVR/ovr1-2008/images/dsc_0350.jpg
http://richard.safier.com/OVR/ovr1-2008/images/dsc_0352.jpg
I didn't really feel like driving 2.5 hours to Columbus to run with OVR in my own car, so I took up a co-drive in my buddy's 2.5RS, which, being in SM, is easily the most outclassed car ever. It's N/A and pretty much full weight, but the suspension is OK (Tein Flex with Cusco sway bars)... but it's pigeonholed into SM because it has an aluminum STI hood. Tires of choice: 11-year-old BFG R1s, 225s. Also keep in mind that the alignment was out of wack and got worse as the day went on (think positive camber).
It also happened to be our luck that the reigning SM champ of that region - who has a 400+whp STI, BTW - set up the course. Fantastic. That meant the course was pretty much straightaways followed by hairpins, with some sweepers and Chicago boxes thrown in for good measure. To give you an idea of how the course was, the little RS pounded its rev limiter three times per run, on a 60-second course.
The odds were stacked against us, and then it just got worse. The alignment was so screwed up by our second runs that we had to make an emergency jack run back to the paddock, jack the car up, and just run the camber plates at full negative. Then we just cranked the rear shocks up to full stiff. The car was refusing to rotate, so we tried everything we could and hoped for the best.
On the next run, I pulled out all the stops and put down a time about 2 seconds faster than my next best, despite the handling setbacks... good enough for 4th in class in SM, which had the aforementioned STI on Hankooks, a 3000GT on Hoosiers, an early-90s 3-series with an E36 motor on Hoosiers, and quite a lot of other cars with far more power, more grip, and less weight than us. Overall, I was really pleased with the result.
Results:
http://www.ovr-scca.org/_autocross/results2008/class.asp?season=2008&rid=5
Pics:
http://richard.safier.com/OVR/ovr1-2008/images/dsc_0021.jpg
http://richard.safier.com/OVR/ovr1-2008/images/dsc_0024.jpg
http://richard.safier.com/OVR/ovr1-2008/images/dsc_0350.jpg
http://richard.safier.com/OVR/ovr1-2008/images/dsc_0352.jpg