Ol'Beastly 2005 Season



24th Autocross WNE(3/20/2005, FedEx Field):
SETUP(same as 10/10/2004 Except):
  • New street tires & wheels: 17" x 9" - 4.5BS
    Marsh Racing Steel truck wheels (cheap but heavy),
    with 275 40 17 Toyo RA-1s
  • Tire Pressure: 28 Psi Front / 27 Psi Rear.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 55.981
Me: 59.859 (5th in CP... ARGHU!
FTD (F125): 50.037
Cold moist day (ran in the first heat).
Technical but fast (for the conditions)
course, lots of fun. Had trouble setting
the pressure on the right front tire as
the valve stem was too close to the wheel
center for my gauge to get on the vavle,
managed to borrow a more svelt gauge for
my forth run and dropped the right front
from 36 Psi to 28 (MUCH better!).
See the course map here!



25th Autocross WNE(4/17/2005, FedEx Field):

SETUP(same as 3/20/2005 Except):
  • Moved Panhard bar up 1".
  • 23.5"x11.5" Hoosier Slicks on 16" x 10" - 5"BS
    Circle Racing Steel Wheels (run these with
    0.75" F/0.5" R wheel spacers.
  • Tire Pressure: 29.5 Psi Front / 30 Psi Rear.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 50.534
Me: 53.990 (7th in CP... ARGHU!)
FTD (F125): 44.230
Fast but technical course that I
had trouble solving. This was partly
due to a lack of grip from slicks that
appear to have gone "off" over the winter
(that's my story and I'm sticking to it).
Overall feel was fairly balnaced, but
there just didn't seem to be enough grip
available for me to be competitive. I
could tell it was balanced because
when itr drifted wide during my forth
run, it (Ok "I") ran straight aver a
whole cone wall that was parallel to the
course at that point (set a personal
"Best" for single run conage, 9!).


Also one of the photos taken by Event
Photo Now
(see above) shows the car hiking
the inside rear wheel up off the ground. My
analysis is that the outside axle is riding on
the bump stop (there's only about 1.5" of
travel available before hard contact with
the pollyurathain bump stop). This causes
the inside shock to top out and start lifting
the inside wheel a bit. Another issue MAY
be the need for more front spring rate, but
freeing up a little more rear wheel travel
by trimming out some obstructions (the factory
bump stop bracket) and installing a (MUCH)
shorter rubber bump stop (pulled the bump stops
off the '66 Barracuda parts car I have in the
the back yard. Netted another 2" of free
travel at ride hight (total available now
is about 3.5".

Oh! I also have a set of 25"x12" Goodyear
slicks getting mounted up on the 16"x12"
Simmons wheels Frank Stagnaro was kind enought
to sell me.



26th Autocross WNE(5/07/2005, FedEx Field):
SETUP(same as 4/17/2005 Except):
  • Left spare & jack in the trunk.
  • 25"x12" (FRESH!!!) Goodyear slicks
    on 16" x 12" 5.25" BS front (with 1"
    spacer) / 4.5" BS rear (with 0.5"
    spacer) Simmons 3 peace Alloy wheels
    (thanks Frank!).
  • Tire Pressure: 28 Psi Front / 28.5 Psi Rear.
  • Modified rear pump stops to allow 2" more
    ofbump travle for better articulation.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 58.907
Me: 58.963 (2nd in CP... YEEHAA!!!)
FTD (F125): 50.522
LONG FAST but technical course that I
had SOME trouble solving. All 2nd
gear with some really hairy "trust the
car and hang on" sections. Had real
trouble selecting braking points and
getting the Line right through a final
tight kink at the finish. BUT the results
were pretty good (I gained 3.41 seconds
and 5 places to finish 2nd just 0.056 sec
back)! WOW!!! What at difference bigger
FRESH slicks on Wider wheels make! Balance
was still a little to the under steer
side, so I'll mess with that a bit before
June 12th!



27th Autocross WNE(5/29/2005, Ripken Stadium):




SETUP(same as 5/07/2005 Except):
  • Removed spare & jack from the trunk.
  • 23.5"x11.5" Hoosier Slicks on 16" x 10" - 5"BS
    Circle Racing Steel Wheels (run these with
    1" F/0.5" R wheel spacers.
  • Tire Pressure: 29.5 Psi Front / 30 Psi Rear.
  • Changed from 1.5 spring rubbers to 2 in the
    front springs.
  • Trimmed about 1/6 of a coil (3" of wire) off
    of each front spring.
  • Adjusted the front swaybar to its softest
    setting.
  • Installed an ABS front spoiler I've had in the
    garage for about 6 years.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 43.588
Me: 45.393
FTD (BM Fritzler): 38.114
Fun but technical course that ran over some bumps
that really upset Ol'Beastly's chasis and blurred
the driver's vision (caused an O/C on my first run).
Also had major issues with rear wheel hop under
braking. I suspect I need to get the shocks revalved
for more rebound damping, so the car will act less
like a 350 HP pogo stick over pavement rippels. Also
may need to dial out some rear brake. Really nice
weather, just sprinkling a bit during the 4th run
group. The changes I made seem to have helped the
balance of the car without spoiling its transient
response. The points event at FedEx on June 12th
should be very interesting!

Event Photo Now was there and got some great
action shots of Ol'Beastly (see above).



28th Autocross WNE(6/12/2005, FedEx Field):
SETUP(same as 5/29/2005 Except):
  • 25"x12" (FRESH!!!) Goodyear slicks
    on 16" x 12" 5.25" BS front (with 1"
    spacer) / 4.5" BS rear (with 0.5"
    spacer) Simmons 3 peace Alloy wheels
    (thanks Frank!).
  • Tire Pressure: 28 Psi Front / 27.5 Psi Rear.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 57.573
Me: 57.573 GRINN
CP 2nd Place: 59.292
FTD (F125): 49.471
LOOoong, FAST, TECHNICAL course!
A Hot and Humid day meant loads of tire warming
heat in the FedEx surface which really helped
get the slicks up to temp'. This was my first
event win with the Mustang against competition.

The set-up changes I tested a Ripken seem to
have helped the balance by planting the front tires
better while also letting the rear hook up. Turn-
in, braking, accelleration, and balance all improved
with a small loss in transitional response.

Next on the list is getting the shocks revalved
for more rebound damping.



29th Autocross WNE(7/10/2005, FedEx Field):




SETUP(same as 6/12/2005 Except):
  • Added torque strap between the engine and left inner
    fender.
  • Tire Pressure: 25 Psi Front / 24 Psi Rear.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 58.555
Me: 58.617 SIGH
CP 2nd Place: 58.617
FTD (F125): 50.489
LOOoong, FAST, very TECHNICAL course!
A Hot and Humid day meant loads of tire warming
heat in the FedEx surface which really helped
get the slicks up to temp'. This event I experimented
with lower tire pressures to good effect but got
got out driven dispite running very well relative
to the very fast local SM2 cars. My times in order
were 61.025, 60.485 (+1 cone), 59.696 (+1 cone),
and the 58.617 that came up 0.063 too long to win.




30th Autocross WNE(7/29/2005-7/31/2005, FedEx Field)
SCCA North East Division Solo II Championship:
Poto by Jason Willett URL: http://www.jasondidit.com/

SETUP 7/29/05 Practice(same as 7/10/2005 Except):
  • Spax shocks/Maxed out damping (Penskes out for revalving)..
  • Rain dictated using the "street" 275 40 17 Toyo RA-1s.
  • Tire Pressure: 28 Psi Front / 28 Psi Rear.
  • Spare & jack in the trunk.
  • Set front sway bar on stiffer setting.
  • Moved Panhard rod up 1".

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
ME: 25.9...
LOOoong, tight, but fun course for a practice
event.


SETUP 7/30/05 Competition Day 1(same as 7/10/2005 Except):
  • Set front sway bar on stiffer setting.
  • Moved Panhard rod up 1".
  • Spax shocks/Maxed out damping.
  • Tire Pressure: 25 Psi Front / 24 Psi Rear (same).
  • Weighed in at 2,938 Pounds.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 61.099
Me: 62.030SIGH
FTD (AM): 52.863
LOOoong, FAST, somewhat technical course! A warm
day and a Co-driver meant loads of tire warming
heat in the FedEx surface and Goodyear slicks which really
helped get the slicks up to temp'. This event I had
Justin Huffman Co-driving and got beat by my own car. So, while I didn't
while I didn't win CP, my car did (HOW RUDE!!).


SETUP 7/31/05 Competition Day 2(same as 7/10/2005 Except):
  • Set front sway bar on stiffer setting.
  • Moved Panhard rod up 1".
  • Spax shocks/Maxed out damping.
  • Tire Pressure: 25 Psi Front / 24 Psi Rear.
  • Weighed in at 2,93o Pounds.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 58.839
Me: 60.391SIGH
FTD (F125): 51.883
LOOoonger, even FASTER, somewhat technical course! A warm
day and a Co-driver meant loads of tire warming
heat in the FedEx surface and Goodyear slicks which really
helped get the slicks up to temp'. This event I had
Justin Huffman Co-driving and got beat by my own car. So,
while I didn't win CP, my car did (HOW RUDE!!again!!).
I dont feel too bad as Justin often does more than
2.483 seconds damage to car owners at one day events.

I finished 2nd with over 6 seconds on 3rd in CP for the
weekend. We took a few tire temps over the course of the
two days and the consensus was that the set-up and tire
pressures were VERY close to optimal with fairly even temps
across the tires and side to side. Interestingly, Justin
was coming in with the rear tires 30° warmer than the
fronts, while my front/rear gradiant was close to zero (guess
I need to work on using the LOUD peddel better). Of Course
on my final run of the weekend I tried that and DID have a
GREAT "SAVE" during a set of 60+MPH tank slappers (
at least I'm good at catching the car, if not the competition).
Justin and I agree that we would both have been 2 seconds
quicker each day with the Penske shocks in place as the
Spax are just a BIT limp for the 160 LB/In rear and (Roughly)
988 Lb/In front spring rates I'm currently running.




31st Autocross WNE(8/14/2005, FedEx Field):
SETUP(same as 7/31/2005 Except):
  • Changed Oil.
  • Replaced blown Power Valve in the 650 Holley.
  • Tire Pressure: 25 Psi Front / 24.5 Psi Rear.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 73.943
Me: 73.943 GRINN
CP 2nd Place: 75.216
FTD (F125): 65.029
LOOoong, FAST, VERY TECHNICAL course!
This was the most involvingly technical course I've
ever driven. Yet it was also all second gear and
thus quite fast. Hot and Humid day meant loads of
tire warming heat in the FedEx surface which really
helped get the slicks up to temp', YET my best run
was my first one as I just relaxed and drove through
the course in an unhurried and smooth manner. On
the next two runs I tried to push things too hard and
ran a 74 and a 76+1. On my final run I pulled
back and concentrated on being smooth and had a
really good run going when I rolled into the throttle
for the longst straight section of the course and
heard "GRANCH CHCH CHCH!!!" D'Oh!! I'd stripped
out 2nd gear and had to cost through the rest of the
run to a 79 (proof that I had a REALLY good run going
when the tranny let go).

Another issue I experienced durring this event was
the steering binding up in hard right hand turns,
indicating to me that chassis flex was side loading
the steering shaft and causing binding in the steering
box and a large increase in steering effort.

Sooo... the car has to go into the shop out at
Maryland Perfornce Center (MPC) to get its chasis reinforced
and its transmission repared. As"While We're at Its"
MPC is also installing a brake delay valve on the rear
brake line to help calm the rear wheel hop under braking
and re-working the exhaust, replacing the 2.5" H-Pipe
with a 3" in/2.5" out "X"-Pipe. The object of the
exhaust changes is to get a little more area under
the engines torque curve and (also) to quite the exhaust
a little.




32nd Autocross WNE(9/4/2005, FedEx Field):


SETUP(same as 8/14/2005 Except):
  • Replaced the 2.5" "H"-Pipe with a 3" in/2.5" out "X"-Pipe.
  • Rejetted Carb' 3 steps richer on both primary and
    secondary sides (now 72/81).
  • Added full length, 1.5"round tubing, subframe connectors
    (SFC), stitched to the old SFCs and subframes and tied into
    the rear spring boxes and the front subframe just behind
    the lower control arms (LCA).
  • Added a tube from each shock tower to the fire wall
  • Added some other barcing around the LCA mounts.
  • Got 2nd gear fixed.
  • Extended the front spoiler another 2" downward.
  • Tire Pressure: 24 Psi Front / 24 Psi Rear.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 62.127
Me: 62.466 Sigh
CP 2nd Place: 62.390 Ack! Beaten by a Chevy!!
FTD (F125): 53.593
LOOoong, FAST, VERY TECHNICAL course!
This course was, if anything, more involvingly technical
than the August 14th course. While it was fast, requireing
second gear, it was very dificult to figure out. Over night tempuatures in th low 60s or high 50s meant that first heat
drivers faced a surface with only a minimal amount of warmth.
Not an Ideal situatuation for a car running R430 compound
Goodyears. While the tires seemed to be up to temp' by
my 3rd run, there was a longish delay before the final
run that caused me to basically have to stand on my third
run because of low grip (Killed 3 cones and slowed up).

Based on the third run, only one where I had any real grip,
I need to tie the shock towers into the roll cage, as I was
still feeling a little bind in the steering on that run.




33rd Autocross WNE(10/9/2005, FedEx Field):
SETUP(same as 8/14/2005 Except):
  • Installed revalved Penske shocks. Slightly stiffer
    rebound damping on the front with different pistons
    that allow more more preload on the valve stack and
    slightly thicker shock oil. A full step stiffer
    rebound valve was installed in the rear. The rebound
    adjusters were set at one turn out from fully seated
    in the front and three turns out in the rear.
  • Adjusted front wheel bearing preload.
  • Adjusted the steering box preload.
  • Moved the Panhard rod down 1".
  • Replaced the 4.5 power valve with a 6.5
  • Installed Jet extensions in the carb's secondary
    metering block.
  • Tire pressure: 24 Psi Front/23.5 Psi Rear.

RESULT:
DRIVERTIME
CP Class Winner: 60.867
Me: 60.867 GRIN!
CP 2nd Place: 61.177
FTD (F125): 53.161
Only 7 drivers showed up for CP so I just had to
run one clean lap to win the season championship.
However I sort of feel that even 2nd place is just
1st place looser, so I wanted to win the event too.
The high temp for the day was maybe 65F with
an overcast sky, so the weather conditions were
not really in my R430 compound shod pony's favor.

The course layout used most of the larger lot A. It
was fast but had some technical sections that could
catch you out if you got too happy with the loud
peddel. I started my first run with 22.5 Psi Front,
22 Psi Rear in the 25"x12" Goodyears to try to help
them build a little heat. This seemed to work as I
came in from My first run with just over 25 Psi all
around. Shoe polish indicated no excesive roll-over
so I droped it back to 23/22.5 for my second run and
it came up to 26/25, then I lucked out and got a re-
run, so I repeated the 23/22.5 to 26/25 transition. My
last two runs were started at 24/23.5 and there was
no significant pressure gain between the 4th & 5th
run. The tires never really got up to tempurature
(that takes a sunny 85F+ day) but they were grippier
than I really expected. What were the times?

John Kernan (the main threat to win) started first
and ran a 64.986, I ran 63.015.

John went 61.874, I got red flagged then I went
61.429 on my re-run.

John ran 61.687 on his third run, and I respnded
with a 61.193.

Then John ripped a 61.177, Sooo I came back with
a 60.867 for the win!

My season played out like this 7th with the previous
season's Hoosiers, then 2nd on the new goodyears, 1st,
2nd, 1st, 3rd, and 1st. Two other drivers had 2 wins
and there were 4 drivers with 1 or more wins in a 7
event season. 12 drivers scored points and seven ran
5 or more of the 7 events.

I haven't had a chance to really analyze the revalved
Penske shock's performance. It seemed a little loose
but not excesively. I think I can back off the rears
another 1-1.5 turns and be right in the ball park (I
ran 1 turn out front/3 turns out rear). It definatly
rides better and is MUCH better controlled in transitions.
The re-install of the Penskes happened just in time as
one of the front Spax had just started to seep a bit of
oil when I was changing them out on Saturday.




        

Last Updated: 06/05/2007
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