Autocross School - Sunday 10/17

[and 1]

i thought there was a thread about this somewhere...

if not, allow me to beat everyone else to it:



ANWAYS

my car's over at BMW Peabody getting prepped for this weekend -- oil change and hopefully HPFP -- should be done tonight or tomorrow! they were also able to diagnose the slight clunking i was getting from my front left corner...sway bar link on its way out. WagnerFAIL for telling me they didn't find anything when they did my 30k service a few weeks ago

see you lucky 50 drivers out there!

[larryn]

I was able to secure 23 instructors, so I let 60 in.

If it's nice.. and it looks like it might be stellar (knock on wood), we just may have to have two timed courses, along with a few elements. Looking for dizzying amounts of seat time.

I want to have the 2nd timed course flow with the elements, so that the finish of one leads to the start of the next... and when you are done with the elements, you are back at the start of the 2nd timed course.

If there is any remote possibility of rain, we'll have 1 timed course and three stringed together elements sections. Still maximum seat time.

This is going to be a freaking blast!!!

[ML]

Good to hear you are running this thing, Larry! I'll try to get there by 6:30 to help with setup and will volunteer to watch the timing gear as a worker assignment.

[Bdh821]

I have close to no tread left on my front shoulders. This may get interesting

[larryn]

I think I'm taking the e36. Gonna try to fit the ARC8's on it.. Ought to be fun.

Thanks for the helping offer, Mike!

[and 1]

2 courses?? nice!

you should DEF bring the e36 out

and my car did end up coming back tonight. it seems the rough idle/cruise i was getting was due to a failing spark plug in cylinder 3, not the fuel pump like i thought. i'm interested to see if i still get the occasional long crank anymore, which they said they couldn't replicate after several stone cold starts....

[arrutled]

If BMW has red flags, I bet they red flagged your ass for a failed spark plug that early in life.

[and 1]

if they did, it was a silent flag

[larryn]

Originally Posted by and 1

2 courses?? nice!

you should DEF bring the e36 out.

I lied... we're having three courses. Greatly diverse. Two timed.

This is gonna rock!!!

Mike. Glad the car is straightened out. My brakes get delivered tomorrow. Gonna take the e36, but want to see if the ARC8's fit. Rear tires gonna be a challenge, I think. I have all kinds of spacers tho...

[and 1]

wicked fun event today! that ti looked nice out there

the 3 course thing came out awesome, with some great variety in the elements and flow. i really like the end of course 2 with that wide open double clam shell into the tight right pointer, as well as the wiggles on course 3 (that wide yellow inside pointer slalom)

the variety of cars was pretty good. i lucked out and got to drive the elise....turns out it was supercharged! that thing was a sweetheart to drive but you had to be nice to it. i couldn't just chuck it around like the 1. def more of a finesse car.

and something i heard about a 540 spinning off course and needing a push out of the grass....now twice in one season??

edit:
to the vette who knocked out the timing light

[larryn]

Originally Posted by and 1

wicked fun event today! that ti looked nice out there

**snip**

edit:
to the vette who knocked out the timing light

I had a blast too! I have to think that the average person got more than thirty AX runs in, by the end of the day. It has been years since the 'ti was out there. Damn that thing is chuckable. You hardly need a steering wheel. I was throttle steering all over the place.

at the timing light hit... That screwed everybody getting to see their improvements on that course, along with nullifying the hour it took, starting at 6:30am, to get that set second set of timing gear working...

[arrutled]

No one got their times when it did work anyways cause the radios didnt work half the time. People were also skipping the end timing gate. so we had to reset it like 4 times.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by arrutled

No one got their times when it did work anyways cause the radios didnt work half the time. People were also skipping the end timing gate. so we had to reset it like 4 times.

Hearing stuff like this pisses me off, badly. There's a bag with 25 radios in it 200 feet from where the tent was. If people were waiting for me to get them new radios... Grrrrr. We spent an hour getting that timing working, and if it didn't work because people nobody would get people radios? That's ridiculous.

Regardless, that timing light was hit in the 2nd run group anyway.

[arrutled]

LOL. Not even that. They had to send someone to get the spare radio you gave me for the tent person. I hear getting those suckers fixed is like an 8 month turnaround too.

[and 1]

Originally Posted by larryn

I had a blast too! I have to think that the average person got more than thirty AX runs in, by the end of the day. It has been years since the 'ti was out there. Damn that thing is chuckable. You hardly need a steering wheel. I was throttle steering all over the place.

now i see why everyone and their mother is driving an M3! after driving both an e36 and e46--at various angles--i loved how easily you could manipulate and adjust them. my 1 definitely has more grip, but it's only half as usable as those Ms

i wonder how much money i can save up over the winter

[ML]

Good times!

I talked to the guy that took the timing light out. He thought he was hitting it regardless of actions once he started to spin. However, he clearly made the choice to try to drive out of the spin. A little more checkout of that timing light may be needed. Everything looked like it should work once it was put back together (light had power, t-link showed a signal) but the finish wouldn't trip at the computer.

[ML]

Originally Posted by larryn

Hearing stuff like this pisses me off, badly. There's a bag with 25 radios in it 200 feet from where the tent was. If people were waiting for me to get them new radios... Grrrrr. We spent an hour getting that timing working, and if it didn't work because people nobody would get people radios? That's ridiculous.

The "working" radio needed batteries. We changed them just before the start of the second session and didn't have a problem. There was one radio there (blue) that would not transmit, though.

[ML]

Originally Posted by and 1

now i see why everyone and their mother is driving an M3! after driving both an e36 and e46--at various angles--i loved how easily you could manipulate and adjust them. my 1 definitely has more grip, but it's only half as usable as those Ms

i wonder how much money i can save up over the winter

If you are looking for a dedicated AX/track car, go e36. There is definitely an advantage to the lighter weight than that of the e46.

[and 1]

Originally Posted by ML

If you are looking for a dedicated AX/track car, go e36. There is definitely an advantage to the lighter weight than that of the e46.

i'm leaning that way too, if only because it'd take me too long to save up the e46 kind of money. we'll see how this comes along...i haven't been too successful in previous attempts!

[larryn]

Originally Posted by and 1

i'm leaning that way too, if only because it'd take me too long to save up the e46 kind of money. we'll see how this comes along...i haven't been too successful in previous attempts!

E36 is like my 'ti. Throttle steer city. DAYUM fun. Pivots were simple for me, just swing the ass around with some right foot pressure, lift for a split second as you unwind the wheel, and hammer down again.

It's totally different than driving the 1. LSD is fun, when taken in moderation.