Author Topic: PCACHS Autocross, Sykesville, MD 9/19/09 (Read 15020 times)

Uranium-238 · « **Reply #25 on:** September 18, 2009, 08:05:31 AM »

Rub it in...

Critterman · « **Reply #26 on:** September 18, 2009, 11:25:31 AM »

I'm going to Sykesville, not ready to run with the big dogs.

lil goat · « **Reply #27 on:** September 18, 2009, 11:50:50 AM »

I am not either but I want to see them run and it's real purdy out there, the drive home will be fantastic through the mountains. I need to get away, work has been a bit taxing this week. I am ready to kill something!

Critter remember the exhaust rattle I had at the dyno, I found it, the tips of the bolts of my exhaust band clamp (this one time at band clamp) were hitting the backbone when I started the car and other times too. Car is much quieter now.

Ben L · « **Reply #28 on:** September 18, 2009, 12:01:53 PM »

Don't get the wrong idea. Cumberland is a blast for all levels of seat time. The best part is how friendly and irreverent and down to earth everyone is. Of course all of you are more than ready, but it is a hike, granted. It is a great weekend of motorsports fun, and wonderful getaway, especially in the Fall.

But I like Sykesville too. Best of luck to you guys, and make sure and give us a report.

Uranium-238 · « **Reply #29 on:** September 18, 2009, 12:14:01 PM »

I think critter is the only one going there. Kinda hard to autocross with a car with only three functional wheels...

Ben L · « **Reply #30 on:** September 18, 2009, 12:17:24 PM »

OK, you "guy" then.

I won't rub it in and lament the fact that there will be a decently set up GXP Sol with all four wheels sitting forlorn and alone in my driveway all weekend.

That would be mean. . . .

Uranium-238 · « **Reply #31 on:** September 18, 2009, 12:24:21 PM »

Critterman · « **Reply #32 on:** September 18, 2009, 01:12:02 PM »

Well Ben, if you didn't want to be mean you could always...................

Uranium-238 · « **Reply #33 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:10:53 PM »

Nah, with everything that happened there is no way I'd drive another person's Kappa. I'll wait and get mine sorted out.

Also, I did revisit where I spun. The cops were right, there was a good bit of gravel on the road. Also, there was plenty of it stuck to the tires of my car. So, it looks like I was in the gravel. They're doing construction there, and the road is full of it.

I'm thinking that weight transfer going over the hill, gravel, plus too much throttle for these conditions is what did me in.

Critterman · « **Reply #34 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:16:49 PM »

Hard way to learn, but I bet you will be more aware of road conditions in the future.

Uranium-238 · « **Reply #35 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:50:24 PM »

Yeah. I'm still wondering what this will do to my insurance rates. The estimate wasn't pretty.

2kwk4u · « **Reply #36 on:** September 18, 2009, 04:00:35 PM »

So how do I know my number for Cumberland tomorrow? I checked the registration page, but it doesn't have a number for me. I did notice, though, that I botched when I entered my info. Looks like I'm campaigning a '20 Pontiac Solstice... as in 1920. Maybe they won't notice that it's not as old as I claim. I hope they don't check the VIN

Treeman · « **Reply #37 on:** September 18, 2009, 05:50:10 PM »

This one?

2kwk4u · « **Reply #38 on:** September 18, 2009, 05:58:23 PM »

If I take out my contacts, squint, and punch myself square in the nose, that looks JUST LIKE my GXP, Treeman!

Critterman · « **Reply #39 on:** September 19, 2009, 05:11:14 PM »

Okay, so I was the only one to show at Sykesville, got there at 7:10 and the gates were locked. Great! Called Joe and he checked, yeap it is today. 7:30 guy shows up and opens up. I get to help clear the track of cones and set up the track. We went backwards starting on the left long run with a 4 cone slalom into a right hander followed by a hard right at the other end back through the middle and a double left starting a figure 8 back to the original hard left except this time it is a softer left and then a 3 slalom followed by a left right and you are in the box. Easy peasy!

Results:
1st run - sideways under throttle out of the hard left then missed a gate in the figure 8 - off course
2nd run - did better on the hard left, but came out of the start of the figure 8 and went the wrong way - off course.
3rd run - Stayed on the proper course and ended up with a 51 and change
4th run - Stayed on course and had a blistering 46 and change but came into the box sideways and took a couple of cones in the box (ala Ben) - DNF
5th run - On course and my best run it was either a 47.45 or a 48.45

Fastest time during the 1st heat was in the 43's.

worked the second heat and didn't hear any of the times, will see where I ended up when everything is adjusted. Car was very tail happy on the cold asphalt. tires never heated up, in fact after 5 runs I only built one pound of air to 34. Chalked the tires and they did not roll at all, never took any chack off the sidewall. I think I can run a lot less pressure especially on a cold track.

Treeman · « **Reply #40 on:** September 19, 2009, 07:41:03 PM »

I think I heard the supercharger whine more this time! Sounds like you were driving it hard! Decent times too.

Wish I were there.

Uranium-238 · « **Reply #41 on:** September 19, 2009, 08:11:52 PM »

Wow, if the FTD was a 43 then that 46 was really good.

Wish I had been there!

Critterman · « **Reply #42 on:** September 19, 2009, 08:58:51 PM »

That was during the first heat, all the big boys run during the second heat. I'm sure it went down from that. I expect 39 or so.

2kwk4u · « **Reply #43 on:** September 20, 2009, 08:49:14 AM »

Cumberland results/impressions:

First of all, Cumberland and the NRA autocross guys rock! Even though I was very much a "little dog" there - both in equipment and skill - I had a great time. The only unfortunate thing is that they don't allow ride-alongs, so I couldn't get a passenger lap with Ben, or any of the several OTHER cobra guys out there.

There was some awesome hardware to be drooled over. As mentioned, there were close to a dozen cobra replicas, an MGB GT, and several Lotus Super 7 clones. One I found near and dear to my heart had an L67 mill - that's the factory supercharged 3.8L 90-degree V6 from a GTP Grand Prix (among other cars). To top it all off, the evening picnic was out at a place that holds probably the largest privately-held Corvette collection anywhere. Definitely cool.

Goat and BenL made a weekend out of it, because there's another autocross out there today. Next time, I'd like to do the same...

FTD yesterday was somewhere in the 45.xxx range. The best I could muster was a 55.220. Goat had a bad day. He's still learning how to recognize the course at speed and closer to the ground. It's easy to follow courses on the walk through when you're going 2 MPH and your eyes are 5ft+ above ground. It's a whole lot different 4+ hours later when you have to remember it FAST. The one run Goat ran clean, they had a problem with the timing lights

He turned his car over to the course designer - either for his last run, or AFTER the heat. The course designer ran a 53.xxx. That makes me feel a little better about my 55.xxx, especially considering the differences between my car and Goat's. I'm sure had the designer been more familiar with Goat's car, he could have hit a 50.xxx or better...

Treeman · « **Reply #44 on:** September 20, 2009, 09:35:15 PM »

Did you think it was a much higher speed course than CDC?

Ben L · « **Reply #45 on:** September 21, 2009, 07:20:22 AM »

Cumberland was very fast and open both days. It is an airport taxiway so the available space is not comparable to CDC events. 2kwk did very well. I watched his runs and heard the tires squealing in every turn; a signal that he was pushing the street meats to their limits. That's the music we like to hear.

Because the distances are so long and Mark Boggs likes to put a lot of cones out on his courses, then tend to have a flattened "sea of cones" effect from the cockpit, which makes it hard to discern the driving line at speed, and I think this trick caught Goat.

He gamely kept at it, but got hosed by a timing error, and did not get a recorded time on his on course pass, as 2kwk said. Mark did indeed drive Goat's car for a run. He usually drives a Porsche, but for the Harvest Moon was driving a 900 pound Lotus Seven "Low Cost" clone with a Suzuki motorcycle engine. Mark later remarked that when he got to 3300 rpms he realized "this thing has a turbo!" as it came on like a ton of bricks. Goat should not feel too bad, as Mark missed a gate on his own course.

Boggs opened an already fast course up even more on Sunday. We expected to see Goat, but he did not post. He has still not reported in. I hope everything is OK.

I too am a small fish up there. Finished 27th Sunday out of 82 and 25th Sunday out of 85, and mid-class in XP. But there a ton of fast cars and fast drivers at Cumberland, and the racing is so close that sometimes two or three tenths means five or six class positions. The main thing is that you can really wring your car out there, even to the point of losing it, and I think that is a whole lot of fun, and very beneficial to learning what you and your ride can do at the limits.

Speaking of losing it, Here's some in-car of me losing it in the showcase "kink" in the middle of the course Saturday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05wi-I9RFJM

And my best run Sunday, a 47.7.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFWAjl1GXfY

lil goat · « **Reply #46 on:** September 21, 2009, 07:51:30 AM »

I did indeed have a bad day, I had an issue with the car which had no effect on the performance of the car but was annoying as hell, a bolt had backed out and eventually fell out on the exhaust hanger that comes off the block, it allowed the exhaust to rub against the skid plate under the tranny, as the weekend went on it got worse and worse. I think on the way to the picnic it finally backed all the way out. The noise at high revs was extremely annoying so I decided to head home and try and figure out what it was, it was a simple fix and just annoying, but I did not know what it was until I got home. I will go back to Cumberland for the last event this year, the great pumpkin carving. I hope to make them all next year, this is just a great bunch of people. It is more like a party with some auto X thrown in for fun. It was great to hang out with a bunch of "car guys" even if I did have to put up with all of the Cobra Crew! I look forward to the next event, learned a lot from the ride along like what my car can really do, Mark was impressive. He told me my driving was fine as I was getting the tail loose but just could not seem to find the course.

Casey Designs · « **Reply #47 on:** September 21, 2009, 07:39:00 PM »

It was nice meeting 2kwk4u and Lll goat. Hope that's right. Mark your calendar for the next event

Cumberland is awesome. It's always laid back and the group is just out right fun. This weekends autocross was very fast with just enough technical stuff to give the lower powered vehicles a chance.

Here is another point of view for Sunday's race.

lil goat · « **Reply #48 on:** September 21, 2009, 07:49:58 PM »

Nice run Larry! I had a blast! I just got home from the eye Dr. he said my contacts were way off, that may have knocked a bit off of my times, not that I would have been fast but I might have had a better chance of at least finding the course! I will be back to embarrass myself again.

Uranium-238 · « **Reply #49 on:** September 21, 2009, 09:23:22 PM »

Look at it this way Goat, at least you got to race. Some of us were dumb enough to wreck our cars, forgoing any chance of autocrossing in the near future.

News:

Welcome Guest!!!

Author Topic: PCACHS Autocross, Sykesville, MD 9/19/09 (Read 15020 times)

lil goat

Ben L

Ben L

Ben L

lil goat

lil goat