While you guys were at the mall looking at Lambo’s we were out at New Era laying some rubber! Had a shitload of fun today! Brought a bunch of newcomers with me who will be coming back for more. Won my class by a good margin and was able to really lay into it on my last 2 runs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AukBS42df9M
That video is my last run a 37.326
Man your car looks really planted out there with hardly any body roll 
Spool valve shocks FTW!
Only 4 events left. The next 2 are at Seneca Army Depot, the last 2 are at New Era. I’m trying to bring another crew for the September 9th race at New Era.
Got my ass whooped today. Came in 5th out of 15. The course sucked for me. Way too tight, and I couldn’t get a handle on it. I was plowing all over the place. Picked up at least 60 cones today too.
You really should try the open lapping at TMP: Open Car Lapping schedule - TMP
If you find that you’re “outgrowing” the auto-x size track, give that a shot 
I’ll 2nd this. However, it’s a big step up cost wise if you’ve got a fast car and push it. WAY more wear on brakes and tires. There’s also a good chance it will forever ruin autocross for you because it’s hard to justify spending your entire Sunday for 5 minutes of seat time after spending a day at a track day doing 5 20 minute sessions on track. You don’t get the timed competition with other drivers at a track day though.
I haven’t outgrown autocross lol. When I say the track was tight, I mean it was setup around a Miata. The overall length was great. Hard to explain unless you’re behind the wheel of a bigger car like mine. The first 2 autocrosses I did I keep my hands at 10:00 and 2:00. The wheel is contoured like that. Probably a lot of cars are like that, I’d imagine. Rarely do I ever have to turn the wheel so sharp that my left hand swings over to the 3:00 position and my right hand is at the 8:00 position during a hard righthand turn and vice versa for a lefthand turn. This past Sunday there were roughly 10-15 times PER LAP that I would have to twist my arms all the way around 180 degrees. It was ridiculous. Slalom sections that I’d enter at a 45 degree angle that a Miata could hit at a 30 degree angle. Not to mention my car has an “AS” classification versus a Miata at an “ES” clasification. Basically I’d have to beat one by 1-1.5 seconds for my pax time to beat them. Obviously I need to get a lot better at the super tight stuff, but it’s just a bear to drive when you’re spinning the wheel so much. You should have seen the guy with the '65 Mustang with the factory steering box. Watching him go through the first slalom with a wheel that looked like it was 8 turns lock-to-lock. I felt bad for him. There were seasoned guys with 20+ years of experience that never made a clean run. I shagged at least 60 cones, no lie.I understand the need for parity in the course and you can’t please everyone, but there were only a few areas where my car could shine and then immediately followed by a “Chicago Box” which killed any momentum.
You know you’re at the wrong course when you see this lol.
I still had a lot of fun though. Anytime you get a chance to drive hard is fun for me!
I think Auto-X is great but this is why I stopped going and started doing open lapping days. My car is too big and heavy to wheel in the tighter layouts.
Sounds like a huge waste of the massive Seneca site on an overly technical course.
Maybe they were limited to the space that they could use?
I remember contacting them years ago to do a track style event and they told me automotive events didn’t fit with their “green and environmentally focused mission”. Just the fact that they’re running there again is awesome.
My car typically weighs ~4200 race weight. But muh excuses… it’s too heavy :rolleyes:
I’ve never had an issue with a WNY designed course. All the regular’s were out of town for a Pro event and FLR designed the course.
They couldn’t use the regular section because there is some damage that needs to be addressed. Some of the sealer used in the seams is coming up and they need to tackle it before it gets worse. They never use the whole layout anyway.
Don’t know if the weight thing was for me or Onyx. Are you talking with 1 passenger or 4? I don’t use weight as an excuse because my car probably has more rubber on the ground than most of the other cars there, and it has plenty of power for now.
I’m sure the WNY crew will layout a much different design in 2 weeks.
I have a few new faces already registered for the next New Era event as well. That race I’m going to have a famous nyspeeder as a co-pilot
Weight @ Onyx. Seriously the first time I loaded up with 3 novices I thought it was going to suck. Yeah it adds ~1.5 seconds or more to my time (probably less, if I didn’t talk and point), but fundamentally not much changes, sometimes I’ll end up a couple feet off of the line, but that’s not the course’s fault. I try to grab unloaded runs too.
3400 + 800 = 4200 ish, 235 square 2nd tier tires, -1.1* RF, -0.6* LF is all that can be dialed in, according to this I should be @ 155.6 whp (pink line):
http://oetuning.com/blog/bmw-e9x-na-in-line-6-comparison-325i-vs-328i-vs-330i/
Sure, there are definitely cars that are fundamentally “bad” at autocross no matter the weight, but the Z32 is not one of them.
I find track days and autocross equally boring, that’s why I took up instructing.
LOL… that one time I did some instructing at the novice school I won’t forget. Equal parts fun and “I’m gonna die in a Miata”.
Oh it’s not a matter of “bad” or “good”, but I just think one is more fun with my Z. And I blame it on the car being fat, lol. For me auto-x was practically all 2nd gear.
If I had a Miata I’d be there every weekend!
It’s all 2nd gear for most of the cars there.
I have a friend registered with a bad ass Z06, carbon brakes, big tires etc. For the next New Era event.
Went to my first ever National event. Not really an Autocross crowd as it was only domestics. Was held at the new UMI Motorsports Park facility in PA. You had to register back in February to get in. It sold out in 2 days. $125 per racer and included a guest. 2 days of Autocross an open house at their manufacturing facility, food/beverage area, car show, etc. Some of the cars were rockets and the course had them flying at the finish. I’m guessing 110+ mph. They kept announcing guys like Fitch and Strano who were the fastest. You could go to the tent and sign a waiver and you’d get in line to go for a full throttle run in their cars.
Next pic is my friend Rich, he’s on here as Scarfache or something. He was in 5th near the end but got bumped to 9th out of like 24.
Next pic is the Strano car. This car is unbelievably fast:
Teaser video to show how fast some of the guys were going through the finish line:
We are having a Test & Tune / novice school / a lot of repetitive runs not to be taken seriously on Saturday. LATE START.
"A chance to run a course with sample elements repeatedly in order to work on specific skills. Instructors will be available to help you go faster. Entry limit is 40, in order to provide as many runs as you and your car can handle.
Novice School / Test & Tune:
A chance to run a course with sample elements repeatedly in order to work on specific skills. Instructors will be available to help you go faster. Entry limit is 40, in order to provide as many runs as you and your car can handle.
* DISCLAIMER: We are not responsible for the cleaning bill if you get too many runs and you get sick in your car.
* Registration/Tech between 11-12
* Runs from 12-4ish
* Event Fees:
* Members: $20
* Non-Members: $30
*** NOTE: We are not accepting online payments at this time. Please pay at registration at the event. Cash or CC accepted. ***"
Because it is limited spots on register only if you are going, otherwise you block someone else from going.