first pro solo of the 2011 season... WIN!

[shrddr]

this past weekend was the first pro solo of the SCCA pro solo series... in mineral wells, TX.

the car overheated and i was only able to complete the first session (4 runs) and missed the next 2 sessions (8 runs), but my times ended up being good enough to win by a combined 2.3 seconds

looking forward to another (even more) successful year of autocross/prosolo!

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PvIMFeX7iq8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

v

 

[ATERPAK]

I cut my teeth in 1994 Autocrossing in the Sacramento area for around 6 years. I raced in ASP and had a 1st, 3rd,3rd and 2nd during my time in the NSX. I had to go against high powered Corvettes which had tons more torque and the biggest tires and brakes on any car in that class. Hell the size of their front tires were bigger than our rears. I then started doing some tracking and left the autocross circuit which I still love and think it's a great way for someone to learn how to drive their car and build great instinctive skills for car control. Since we've lost our autocross venues in our area, it's not longer fun to do these events here. I salute your level of enthusiasm and wish you the best in your competition. Also please let us know how you've set up your car to be competitive. I would like to see how much different it is today than when I did it back in 94-2000. Take care,

Al

 

[docjohn]

kudos to you,you must have good hands but more importantly great spacial memory to learn new courses after just a couple walk throughs.What cars are currently in your class?

 

[shrddr]

al,

i have been autocrossing for 6.5 years now. first 3 were at a local level in my RSX type-s, experienced my first taste of national competition co-driving a friend's STU-prepped wrx sti in 2008, co-drove all year in a C-stock 2007 miata/mx5 in 2009 (2nd place in the pro solo series, and 5th place at national championships), and campaigned the NSX in 2010 (won the blytheville pro solo, the SW divisional, but drove poorly at nationals).

the B-stock top dog is the s2000. the C4 vette, older 911s, boxters, base cayman, etc... and the NSX are able to compete, but it is a bit of an uphill battle. winning at the local level is fun, but going up against the best in national competition is what excites me!

given that i compete in the stock class, there is very little i can do to set up the car. my "build" is detailed in my blog (linked below).

v

 

[ATERPAK]

Please inform me about some of the rules for stock. I'm more interested in the suspension options allowed. If I remember correctly you must mount any suspension in it's original mounting points, you cannot change the type of shock units to something else, like struts to springs/shocks and so on. What does it really say about the shock types. I'm wondering if you can lower the car using different springs, such as Eibach or H&R or better yet using the coil over units such as KW V3's. Since these coil overs allow you to lower the car just like springs, and they don't really change the type of shock setup from stock maybe they would be legal. I do know the car is more planted and you have much greater control of the bound and rebound settings with shocks like that. You could also corner weight the car and this goes a long way in improving the cars response in cornering. Let me know.

Al

 

[shrddr]

Please inform me about some of the rules for stock. I'm more interested in the suspension options allowed. If I remember correctly you must mount any suspension in it's original mounting points, you cannot change the type of shock units to something else, like struts to springs/shocks and so on. What does it really say about the shock types. I'm wondering if you can lower the car using different springs, such as Eibach or H&R or better yet using the coil over units such as KW V3's. Since these coil overs allow you to lower the car just like springs, and they don't really change the type of shock setup from stock maybe they would be legal. I do know the car is more planted and you have much greater control of the bound and rebound settings with shocks like that. You could also corner weight the car and this goes a long way in improving the cars response in cornering. Let me know.

Al

can't do any of that

i have to be at stock ride height, on stock springs. i can use an aftermarket shock if it is of the same type (as you mentioned), so i use koni single adjustables.

 

[shrddr]

video added to the first post

 

[Sylvan]

Congrats, that's awesome. I do local autocrosses once a month with my stock 5-speed car. I struggle to hang with the S2000s who are running on similar tires as me. I suspect that my 2nd gear is way too long for the small, tight tracks that we usually run. Such is life. I enjoy it though and it's a fun, safe way to probe the limits of my car.

 

[shrddr]

Congrats, that's awesome. I do local autocrosses once a month with my stock 5-speed car. I struggle to hang with the S2000s who are running on similar tires as me. I suspect that my 2nd gear is way too long for the small, tight tracks that we usually run. Such is life. I enjoy it though and it's a fun, safe way to probe the limits of my car.

yeah, the 5-speed is a bit too tall for autocross. still though, i'm always very glad to hear people are competing in their cars! go out to some of the bigger/divisional/national autocross events in the CA area. you may get your ass kicked... but i promise... it is a LOT of fun!

 

[Oldguy]

I just checked out the Mineral Wells results on the SCCA website. Vivek's win in B Stock is even more impressive as his times also beat all of the Corvettes in Super Stock. Great driving!

 

[NA1/2-R GT]

al,

i have been autocrossing for 6.5 years now. first 3 were at a local level in my RSX type-s, experienced my first taste of national competition co-driving a friend's STU-prepped wrx sti in 2008, co-drove all year in a C-stock 2007 miata/mx5 in 2009 (2nd place in the pro solo series, and 5th place at national championships), and campaigned the NSX in 2010 (won the blytheville pro solo, the SW divisional, but drove poorly at nationals).

the B-stock top dog is the s2000. the C4 vette, older 911s, boxters, base cayman, etc... and the NSX are able to compete, but it is a bit of an uphill battle. winning at the local level is fun, but going up against the best in national competition is what excites me!

given that i compete in the stock class, there is very little i can do to set up the car. my "build" is detailed in my blog (linked below).

v

Very nice driving V.
Have you thought about using NA2 NSX-R suspension? technically they are OEM suspension. They are very capable on the road course:wink:

 

[ATERPAK]

That's just great. The SS Vette's are extremely strong and always well driven. I've probably modified my car out of any class I could run now but it would be fun just to try it again. Great runs. Your video is great. From the angle of the camera it looks like you're wearing a Darth Vader helmet. Also the courses you're running are so much longer and wide open than ours used to be out in the Sacramento area. We had smaller venues and thus ours were more technical. I often was switching from 2nd back to first and back up again with some very hard braking for 90 degree hairpins due to the venue restrictions we had. Still your video brought back some good memories and I'm hoping in the near future to bring back autocrossing to Sacramento with some help from a few friends.

Al

 

[shrddr]

Very nice driving V.
Have you thought about using NA2 NSX-R suspension? technically they are OEM suspension. They are very capable on the road course:wink:

i cant do that, as the type-r was never sold in the USA through normal dealerships.

 

[shrddr]

I just checked out the Mineral Wells results on the SCCA website. Vivek's win in B Stock is even more impressive as his times also beat all of the Corvettes in Super Stock. Great driving!

thanks

 

[docjohn]

i cant do that, as the type-r was never sold in the USA through normal dealerships.

ahhhhh but the zanardi was and its sup. is available as a plug-n-play......might be a bit better than your koni stock spring combo,but the shock is not adjustable

 

[shrddr]

ahhhhh but the zanardi was and its sup. is available as a plug-n-play......might be a bit better than your koni stock spring combo,but the shock is not adjustable

can't do that either. since the zanardi was only sold in 1999, i would only be able to use the zanardi suspension if i owned a 1999 coupe. you cannot mix/match parts from different years. trust me, apart from getting super high dollar uber fancy shocks, i have done all i am allowed to

 

[redbird92]

Nice driving, I have built a national winning CSP honda and love autox , just finished building a CSP miata. I f you need any help in any way PM me !~