I already posted it in the other thread but I am incredibly happy to have finished 33 in sts, meaning I exceded my own expectations and didn't come in dfl.
I already posted it in the other thread but I am incredibly happy to have finished 33 in sts, meaning I exceded my own expectations and didn't come in dfl.
Per Schroeder wrote: Finished third! Went faster on my last run--but it was pretty dirty. All-in-all, I felt like both the car and the driver were in the ballpark--but need more time in the seat. This was my fourth autocross in over a year..and that BMod car requires a little more familiarity than that. that said--great competition and I've got a to-do list a few pages long. Now for the 24 hour drive home
Great result, Per!
How about getting your Dad to comment on his experience in driving the same car he raced a long time ago? That has to have been a great moment for him (and you) as well.
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Brianne just dipped into the 57s.
I got to see her run at the Colorado Tour event. She's stoopid fast.
Per Schroeder wrote: Finished third! Went faster on my last run--but it was pretty dirty. All-in-all, I felt like both the car and the driver were in the ballpark--but need more time in the seat. This was my fourth autocross in over a year..and that BMod car requires a little more familiarity than that.
That's really impressive! Man, if I don't run pretty regularly I loose what little ability I have pretty quick. And that's in an E Stock car. No question that seat time would move you up - that's awesome! Great job.
Capt Slow wrote: I already posted it in the other thread but I am incredibly happy to have finished 33 in sts, meaning I exceded my own expectations and didn't come in dfl.
That's my hope for next year. Get Tom Celica in condition enough to run and drive it well enough to come in not last.
Mtn and josh win. Autocross really isn't my bag anymore, but if you're going to take a week off work, trailer your E36 M3e thousands of miles, etc., wouldn't you do whatever you need to to grab a win? If not, I'm guessing you suck at life.
Classing is a funny thing, isn't it? My friends were 11th and 15th in BSP -- but looking at the overall times it appears they could have been 1st and 2nd in SM. There but for the grace of god . . .
Actually, what the event really underscored for me was how different course times can be over a series of four days. You can't really compare times from heat to heat with any accuracy, which may make the comment about finishing order in SM a moot point.
The event was fabulous -- and it is about far more than the six plus minutes of seat time. Remember, every single one of the 1200 plus competitors has a personal, human interest story. Too bad we couldn't hear more of them. As an aside, GRM's coverage of the challenge does a good job of showcasing more than just the winners.
Rob
I drove Dave O'Maley's ST Civic in STX and finished 15th of 43. I have an STS CRX, but all these cars are just different enough to mess with your head. I did really trust the car on day 1 and sat in 20th. Drove with a lot more confidence on Friday and had 7th best time in the class to move up to 15th. I'm pretty thrilled with Friday, but disappointed that I blew a real good opportunity to get my first trophy.
Anyway, some of you guys are really missing the boat on this one. This was my 5th trip and my first time with a finish in the top half of the field. Three of those 5 trips have been to compete in a car that I've never driven before. Always a fantastic time regardless.
There is the excitement and anticipation. Pulling into the site is like being a little kid on Christmas morning. You don't even know where to start. I don't have an aspect in my daily grind that gives me that feeling.
The cars. Pretty much every autocross car that you've oogled over online is there in person. Sure there are the boring stock class cars and the lemming ST cars, but every row has its FSP BMW, or Prepared monster, or Modified monster, or oddball relic car (one of my favorites was the FSP Pinto from 2 years ago). ...and the rows go as far as you can see.
The competition. Not only do you get to see where you stack up against the best people bringing the best game that they can, it is the only autocross that I find fun to watch. Sitting up close in beautiful weather watching the end of STR was better than anything I've watched on television in the last year... and I really like watching television.
(and most important) The people. You get to see all kinds of friends and acquaintances and make new ones. The more you go to these, the bigger the list gets. You get to share the triumphs and failures with your friends. I never imagined how exciting it would be to see friends win that national championship or that first trophy that they've sought for years. ...or to be there with them when it goes the other way. Also, you have people going to great lengths to help each other out. Marko Horn's newly put together EP CRX sprung a rear main seal leak. Dave Hardy and Dave O'Maley replaced it in about an hour and a half. Not only did Marko get his runs the next day, but he trophied. ...and that hasn't even began to touch on huge cookouts at night and other purely social aspects.
If you can't get past this SRS BSNS stuff, you are doing yourself an injustice. It is barely a part of the national autocross experience for most of us.
SRS BSNS... ?????
help me out here Steve 
In reply to wbjones:
SRS BSNS = Serious Business
Commonly applied to autocrossers who take things to higher levels, for better or worse.
Serious Business. All the talk of stupid protests, the need to swap tires each run, etc. It seems to me that a lot of that sort of reputation comes from folks who sit at home and say, "I don't go to national events because...."
It is annoying. I don't know why people do that. They don't have the resources or motivation or talent, so they try to tear down the people that outwork them.
The lemming talk annoys me too. I think most people on here say they build their cars for themselves, no one else. Yet, they are criticial of the people that do exactly the same. Why should I build something to appease you when I really like Civics and they fit my budget and my needs/desires?
It is worth noting that the Nationals are a blast, even if the term SRS BSNS doesn't apply to you. We were outgunned, badly, in SSM. The car owner shared his build plans for next year to be more competitive in that tough class. They sound awesome. He then revealed that he had the EXACT same conversation the year before with his previous co-driver
Life gets in the way. SRS BSNS takes time, money, and effort. Having fun at the Nationals takes time, money, and effort. But once there, no matter how competitive or non-competitive your car is, you will have a blast. Sometimes the race to not be "DFL" is as intense as to trophy.
In reply to steverife and ZOO:
Glad you had a good time.
steverife wrote: The lemming talk annoys me too. I think most people on here say they build their cars for themselves, no one else. Yet, they are criticial of the people that do exactly the same. Why should I build something to appease you when I really like Civics and they fit my budget and my needs/desires?
The "lemming" talk is annoying when it's applied thru ignorance or it's an attempt to denigrate competitors.
For example, ST and CSP are dominated by single models because people have discovered (on paper and on track) that there is currently one "best answer". That answer is always evolving as newer and better cars are introduced to markets. It wasn't that long ago that Miata's were definitely NOT the "answer" in CSP. ST is dominated by '89-'91 Civic Si's because there isn't another car out there that offers similar light weight and handling characteristics; hence the proposed future re-structuring of the class.
If/when the "new" ST is adopted there will be plenty of new cars on the grid. But, give it a few years of development and another dominant car will appear, just like it did when ST was first introduced.
I'm all for people building the car that they want, whether it's because that's what they had in the garage or if it's for personal preference; that's part of the fun of it. I'm less sympathetic when those same people complain when they are beaten by those who went in a different (and faster) direction.
oldsaw wrote: In reply to wbjones: SRS BSNS = Serious Business Commonly applied to autocrossers who take things to higher levels, for better or worse.
thanks... hate to show off my interweb language ignorance but sometimes I can't help it 
oldsaw wrote:steverife wrote: The lemming talk annoys me too. I think most people on here say they build their cars for themselves, no one else. Yet, they are criticial of the people that do exactly the same. Why should I build something to appease you when I really like Civics and they fit my budget and my needs/desires?The "lemming" talk is annoying when it's applied thru ignorance or it's an attempt to denigrate competitors. For example, ST and CSP are dominated by single models because people have discovered (on paper and on track) that there is currently one "best answer". That answer is always evolving as newer and better cars are introduced to markets. It wasn't that long ago that Miata's were definitely NOT the "answer" in CSP. ST is dominated by '89-'91 Civic Si's because there isn't another car out there that offers similar light weight and handling characteristics; hence the proposed future re-structuring of the class. If/when the "new" ST is adopted there will be plenty of new cars on the grid. But, give it a few years of development and another dominant car will appear, just like it did when ST was first introduced. I'm all for people building the car that they want, whether it's because that's what they had in the garage or if it's for personal preference; that's part of the fun of it. I'm less sympathetic when those same people complain when they are beaten by those who went in a different (and faster) direction.
and ST (C) or what ever the new designation is will still be a spec Civic class with all the cars that the Civic has been beating up on still getting beat up... don't get me wrong, the Civic class is fine with me... I am after all a Honda guy... STS CRX .... not quite the car to have anymore but still it fulfills my needs ( and when I bought it, it was A: available, B: the brand I knew best and C: affordable .... ) + it had the chance ( with better driving skills ) to at least be competitive which the Integra was never going to be
Because Spec-Civic:
Alan and I are home from the Crusades---24 hours of driving, lots of caffeine and a rash of seriously unfunny poop jokes later, we're back in FL.
My laundry list of things to work on for next year is quite short--and focuses mostly on shock and suspension development. Seriously--the car was absolutely blazing fast to drive and we finished around the top 1 percent of everyone there. It rocked--but we can make it better. I think.
fast_eddie_72 wrote: Meh. The guys who make the rules really try to do their jobs well. Never going to make everyone happy, but I know they really take it seriously and try to do what's fair. Can't ask for more.
Thank you.
Per Schroeder wrote: My laundry list of things to work on for next year is quite short--and focuses mostly on shock and suspension development.
Right there with you. I was absolutely stunned at the difference a set of pimp shocks made on my car, even with zero tuning.
Per Schroeder wrote: Alan and I are home from the Crusades---24 hours of driving, lots of caffeine and a rash of seriously unfunny poop jokes later, we're back in FL. My laundry list of things to work on for next year is quite short--and focuses mostly on shock and suspension development. Seriously--the car was absolutely blazing fast to drive and we finished around the top 1 percent of everyone there. It rocked--but we can make it better. I think.
Racecar Engineering. Most recent 3 issues. You'll find some interesting small articles about sports racer aerodynamics. It was for a hill climber, but close enough info for your car.
I can make copies, if you can't find the issues.
Don't mean to add too much more to your plate.
I want to go to Nationals one day even as a spectator. The pinnacle race of any motorsport is a great place to learn things. These guys take the "rule maximization" to a whole new level.
Then again, it would be epic to road trip the Javelin there and be the "fastest AMC" Easy to do when you're the only one!
Read those--some was helpful, other stuff not so practical for us. Specifically, dive planes don't last long if you happen to hit a cone at 70mph.
In reply to Per Schroeder:
The most recent one about the front fender venting, I thought, was interesting.
And if that rear aero info helped.
Actually, the ideas that helped balance the downforce was pretty cool- some that you could do at a test and tune day. Say if you had removeable fender venting, you could use 2-3 different versions to see if they changed how the car drove.
Anyway, you have it, and enough projects to do. So.
Eric
oldsaw wrote: For example, ST and CSP are dominated by single models because people have discovered (on paper and on track) that there is currently one "best answer".
I'm still pretty n00b with this stuff, but it may not even be "best answer". It may just be the answer that is easiest to get to and at a reasonable price. There may well be other cars that would do just as well, but if there's no after-market support, you have to fabricate a lot of stuff or figure out another way to do it. That may take much more time and much more money. So makes sense to go with the one you can get to more easily unless you're really trying to do something different.
I intentionally decided to do something different. The old Celicas are not popular for this kind of thing so there's not much support. But I realized that I could use a lot of suspension bits from the AE86 Corollas. Then I realized the 22RE has all kinds of support from the truck guys. There are things that are taking longer than they would with another car, but there's enough support out there to make it happen. So I'll have something different that may still be competitive. We'll see. SP doesn't leave a lot of room for engine mods. The header, flywheel, under-drive set and fan are making more power. But not sure if it will make the old truck motor into an autocross star or not.
Thinking about making up some "Under-powered by Toyota" stickers.
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