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First Autocross (11/6/2005, Ripken Stadium):
SETUP (Mods since it left Oregon):
- 10,000 RPM Inc Dual Disk Clutch & Flywheel.
- Optima Battery.
- 6 blade mechanical fan off of a dead '66 Barracuda.
- 16"x8"-5" Backspace Cragar Soft Eight wheels,
including a spare with a USED 245 45 16 BFG
mounted on it in the trunk. - 245 45 16 Toyo RA-1 tires.
- Harbor Freight aluminum racing jack bolted to
the trunk floor. - 4.5"x14" K&N air filter, 273 Commando/Charger Valve
covers with extended & baffled fill/vent tubes. - Firm Feel 0.75" Adjustable Rear Swaybar.
Set up with the sliders 0.25" in from the very ends
of the bar. - Removed hood latch support, front bumper trim panel,
and the bulk of the hood support structure (no more
sitting on the center of the hood). - Shocks set 6 clicks out from full firm.
- Tire Pressure: 29 Psi Front/28 Psi Rear.
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 43.937 |
| Me: | 46.626 |
| FTD (BSP): | 39.648 |
| D Mod (Cat' 7): | 40.295 |
| The course was fun but technical with a very tight slalom into the finish, but overall it flowed very nicely. My first run I did in first gear to feel out the car and course, the next two runs I used second gear and they turned into exercises in cone killing, then I went back to using first gear on my final and fastest run (need to work on the loose nut behind the wheel a bit). Balance and transitions were pretty good, but all the extra weight out back (jack & spare) may have been making it a little tail happy, Next time I'll play with shock settings and run without the spare & jack. The class winner was driven by an autocross novice who has been improving all season. His Fox chassis Mustang has also graduated to 16"x12" wheels and 25"x13" R240 Goodyear slicks. Anyway, the Zebra managed to get within about 2.6 seconds of him on its spindly 16"x8" with 245 45 16 Toyo RA-1s which was good enough to take second place away from s Griggs suspended SN95 Mustang Cobra convertible. Overall it was a good day. Nothing broke, leaked, or fell off. | |
Second Autocross (03/26/2006, SCCA Test-n-Tune FedEx Field):
SETUP:
- Removed Spare and Jack from trunk.
- Installed correct V8 Steering center link.
- Installed correct 1966 273 engine mount
isolators, lowering the engine 3/8" in car. - Installed a Schumacher Creative Services
torque strap. - Installed heat riser block-off plates between
the cylinder heads and intake manifold. - INITIAL ALIGNMENT:
Left Right CASTER: +2.9° +2.2° CAMBER: -2.9° -2.5° TOE: 0.00" RIDE HEIGHT: 1.5" below factory spec - Tires: Toyo RA-1 245 45 16 on 16"x8" Wheels
- Shocks set 6 clicks out from full firm.
- Tire Pressures: 28 Psi Front / 27 Psi Rear (balance: loose)
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 58.573 |
| CP 2nd Place: | 60.908 |
| Me (3rd Place): | 61.283 |
| FTD (F125): | 48.826 |
| Typically fast but technical WDCR-SCCA course layout was fun to drive but upsetting the Dart's suspension. Still, lots of tail wagging fun was had as I found the Dart just a LITTLE loose on the slick FedEx Field surface, on a course that had this snappy little 318 in its happy place in 2nd gear. Only one clean run, but it was a fairly fast one. I'm pretty sure I left 1-2 seconds out on the course, but overall I'm very satisfied with the car's initial performance. BUT we DID use up the clutch... | |
Third Autocross (04/23/2006, FedEx Field):
SETUP:
- Installed 1.09" Torsion Bars.
- Installed New Hurst Competition Plus Shifter
and "T" handle. - Tires: 23.5"x10.5" 240 compound Goodyear Slicks
on 16"x8" wheels. - Shocks set 2 clicks out from full firm front / 3
clicks out rear. - Tire Pressures: 30 Psi Front / 32 Psi Rear.
- Adjusted rear swaybar stiffer by shortening the
arms by 1". - NEW ALIGNMENT:
Left Right CASTER: +3.2° +2.8° CAMBER: -1.9° -2.0° TOE: 0.000" RIDE HEIGHT: 1.5" below FSM spec for a
standard '66 Valiant
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 75.115 |
| Me: | 77.634 |
| FTD (F125): | 63.875 |
| A vary long and technical course (basically a continuous slalom with a couple of sweepers thrown in). The day started out moist and cool, but by the time I ran in the 6th run group (at 5:00 PM!) the sun had been out for 4 hours and the course was warm and dry. How'd it work? Over-all, pretty good. The one issue I can directly address is that a 23.5"x10.5" slick on a 16"x8" wheel needs more than 0.75" clearance to the spring (no there's no room to space the tires back out more than 0.25", not enough). I started with 26 Psi in the rear and spent my entire first run listening to the rear tires rubbing on the springs, went to 30 Psi for my 2nd run and heard less, but even with the 32 Psi I went to for my final two runs it was still rubbing just a bit. The end result was I never pushed quite as hard as I normally would, and the rear slicks are now DOA with cord showing all the way around on the inner side walls. The final results haven't been posted yet, but I looks like I picked up about 3/10 on 1st in CP going from 2.7 back to about 2.4. Next event I'll be back on the 245 45 16 Toyos. The 1.09" T-bars are a big improvement, and the alignment change seems to work pretty well too. My times were 80.789+1, 79.648, 77.634, and 77.832. My fastest run can on my 3rd, which I ran in 1st gear. The course was just between first and 2nd for me, as I ran out of revs in 1st, but lost some acceleration in 2nd. | |
Forth Autocross (05/13/2006, FedEx Field):
SETUP:
- Tires: Toyo 245 45 16 RA-1s on 16"x8" wheels.
- Shocks set 2 clicks out from full firm front / 2
clicks out rear. - Tire Pressures: 28 Psi Front / 28 Psi Rear.
- Adjusted rear swaybar back to full soft.
- Adjusted slapper bars from just brushing the front
spring eyes with the snubbers to 0.25" clearance. - Lowered front one turn on the T-Bar adjusters.
- Replaced the mechanical 6 blade fan with an electric
fan.
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 54.463 |
| Me: | 57.300 |
| FTD (F125): | 45.503 |
| Lovely Sunny morning at FedEx. The Course lay-out was technical but fun. I made all my runs in 1st gear and only found myself running out of revs in two spots on the 45-65 second course. Got to the event late and only got to walk the course once before I ran it. I got a little lost on my first run and turned in a 68.889. On my second run I only had one small directional bobble and cut my time to 58.195. I my last two runs I demonstrated some consistency by running a 57.300 and a 57.301. I left before the karts ran but FTD was 45.503. I got home before 2:00 PM. The Dart was a total GAS to drive with just enough over- steer dialed in the make pointing the car with the throttle a fun and easy activity. Still, I fell back by about 3/10 compared the April, so either the field is getting faster or I slowed up a bit having to switch back from the slicks to the Toyos might have something to do with that. Ah-well, the target tire is a Hoosier 225 60 15 Street TD anyway. If I wanted to WIN with the Dart, I would have hogged out the wheel wells to accept the Mustang's 25" x 12" slicks. Still, the Dart seems a little tail happy and eager to dive under braking, so I'm ordering up some 1.140" Torsion bars, which will bump the front spring rate by another 19.6%. | |
Fifth Autocross (07/16/2006, FedEx Field):
SETUP:
- Tires: Hoosier 225 60 15 Street DTs on 15"x7" wheels.
- Tire Pressures: 27 Psi Front / 26 Psi Rear.
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 63.365 |
| Me: | 70.766 SIGH |
| FTD (F125): | 55.872 |
| Fast and fun course, there were a number of spots that were flat out if you drove the right line. I lost a lot of speed by switching to the Hoosiers, but I expected that. The Dart WAS a hoot to drive on these tall bias ply tires, very predicable and forgiving; they'd be great drifting tires! I likely could have broken into the 69s or 68s on my final run, but the right rear tire cut its-self on the spring, leaving me with a flat after my third run. I did score a 69 just throwing Steve Brown's Mustang around the course on my final run. Obviously 27/26 Psi tire pressure is insufficient once the tires warm up. The Next event is the Ron Katona Memorial on July 30. I plan to have a new right rear tire, 0.25" rear wheel spacers, and a starting tire pressure of 28.5 Psi Front / 27.5 Psi Rear. | |
Sixth Autocross, Ron Katona Memorial (07/30/2006, FedEx Field):
SETUP:
- Tires: Hoosier 225 60 15 Street DTs on 15"x7" wheels.
- 0.25" wheel spacers in the rear.
- Shocks set 1 click out from full firm front / 1
click out rear. - Lowered front one turn on the T-Bar adjusters.
- Tire Pressures: 30 Psi Front / 30 Psi Rear.
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 64.333 |
| Me: | 64.333 GRIN |
| CP 2nd Place: | 65.828 |
| SM Class Winner: | 58.245 |
| FTD (F125): | 50.405 |
| Wow! What a great event! The course was the same layout as the July 16th WDCR points event run in the opposite direction. Fast but technical, it really rewarded an approach that combined precision and controlled aggression and punished over driving severely. The conditions were... HOT, with ambient temps in the 90°s F and surface temps north of 130°. Since this was a charity event rather than a part of regular WDCR-SCCA points series, most of the regular CP crowd made other plans for the weekend leaving a field consisting of myself, a 1995 SVT Cobra on street tires, and a REAL 1966 Shelby GT350 on 225 50 15 Toyo RA-1s. The results for last place were predictable. Its been my experience that almost any decent race rubber (including the Toyos) is worth about 5 seconds on a given car versus typical performance street tires. Given that, the Cobra would have been right in the hunt with a best of about 70 seconds on his street tires, had he been on race rubber. The Shelby ran quite well, and likely would have kicked my backside, if he'd had sufficient negative camber. But, as a 20°+F gradient across the front tires indicated, there was a need for an alignment before the beutiful GT350 would be fully up to its potential Me? My first run went VERY well as I felt out the car and minor set-up changes with a 66.387. The next two runs however, were object lessons in over driving, as I fish tailed my way to a 66.663 and a very dirty 67.273 plus 3 cones. On my final run I took a couple of deep breaths and concentrated on going slower to be faster. This allowed me to click off a smooth 64.333, snagging the win and what is very likely to be my only winning trophy in CP with the Dart (MUST RESIST TEMPTATION TO HOG-OUT WHEEL WELLS AND INSTALL 25"x12" SLICKS!!). | |
Seventh Autocross, (08/13/2006, FedEx Field):
SETUP, same as 07/30/2006 except:
- Tires: Hoosier 225 60 15 Street DTs on 15"x7" wheels.
- 0.5" wheel spacers in the rear.
- Shocks set 1/2 "clicks" out from full firm front / 3
clicks out rear. - Tire Pressures: 31 Psi Front / 30 Psi Rear.
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 55.980 |
| Me: | 62.485 |
| SM 1st Place: | 53.965 |
| FTD (F125): | 48.965 |
| Well THIS was a fun event! Yours Truly suffered a case of brain fade that had me throwing away my last two runs to off course runs (but my line was better. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it). The course, designed by local Karting ace Julian Garfield (age 8), was both fast and technical, The Dart was best in second gear for the first time at FedEx Field (even if the driver wasn't). | |
Eighth Autocross, (09/03/2006, FedEx Field):
SETUP, same as 08/13/2006 except:
- Tire Pressure: 31.5 Psi Front / 31 Psi Rear
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 64.944 |
| Me: | 69.460 |
| SM 1st Place: | 61.806 |
| FTD (F125): | 55.505 |
| Very technical but fun course, designed by Sam Strano, that drove much more smoothly than it walked. I badly over drove the course on my last runs, and probably left 1.5-2 seconds out on the course somewhere. | |
Ninth Autocross, (10/08/2006, FedEx Field):
SETUP, same as 09/03/2006 except:
- Fabricated an interconnected and raised engine
breather assembly based on Vintage TransAm engines
I've seen in person and in photos
- Installed Rear Spax shocks adjusted 8 clicks out
from full firm - Adjusted slapper bars to 0.5" snubber clearance
- Moved rear swaybar frame mounts 2" further forward
on the frame rails - Ran on the 245 45 16 Toyo RA-1 "street" tires on
steel 16"x8" Cragar Soft Eights - Tire Pressure: 28 Psi Front / 28 Psi Rear
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 49.274 |
| Me: | 52.431 |
| Co-Driver (Justin Huffman): | 52.357 GRUMBLE |
| SM 1st Place: | 45.812 |
| FTD (F125): | 41.417 |
| Sunny day in the 70s F. The course layout was serpentine and fast for me first gear was faster, for Justin second gear worked better. Really fun course to drive with a long left-hand sweeper that put the new breather set-up to the test; no more smoke from oil up the PCV valve. | |
Tenth Autocross, (11/05/2006, Ripken Field):
SETUP, same as 10/08/2006 except:
- Installed Font Spax shocks
- Adjusted shocks 4 clicks out from full firm front/6 clicks out
from full firm rear - Installed trimmed, 1.125" tall, tapered front lower control arm
eurathane bumpers. - Ran on the 245 45 16 Toyo RA-1 "street" tires on
steel 16"x8" Cragar Soft Eights - Tire Pressure: 28 Psi Front / 28 Psi Rear
RESULT:
| DRIVER | TIME |
| CP Class Winner: | 47.098 |
| Me: | 47.098 GRIN |
| CP 2nd Place ('00 Camaro): | 49.665 |
| SM 1st Place: | 46.097 |
| FTD (ASP M3): | 42.648 |
| Sunny but breezy day, may have made it into the 50s F. The course layout was fairly open but for me first gear was faster than 2nd. Really fun course to drive with another long left-hand sweeper that further demonstrated my wisdom in building the breather assembly. I was not driving very well but managed the clean 47.0 on my second run. I also had a 46.727 on my last run, but collected a STUPID cone at the apex of the last turn into the finish lights. The Spax shocks seem to be a notable improvement over the HAL shocks providing better ride, balance, and control. |
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