======FEBRUARY 2004======

[In alpha order] Arioch, Arioch's wife, and DaKineMINI: All of us meeting in Kapolei was hilarious!! Too much fun

Also, very good seeing (in alpha order again ... I got that time on my third run, knew your best time, knew that I was just a smidge behind you, then headed back to stage for my final run smelling... blood

_________________

#23 STS & erik808

 

erik,

Thanks for posting the results. Wow! Congrats everyone! Kohu, looks like erik808 is knocking on your door!

 

Great job everyone. LOOK out though as I might, ok I will, be there next month to get some glory of my own.

 

arioch:

you might want to keep it stock if you are gonna run. the MCS and MC strength's are in stock class and all about carrying speed like a miata. the only time a MCS would make sense to leave stock class is when a BIG mod is done like a pulley upgrade.

of course people start off by saying i am just gonna try to run and don't care about results. well, ask erik and mini-t how they feel now about "just running" they are out for the kill now!!!! i didn't mention randy as he already is a killer. also, i am not sure about angel, but i know she is having fun and hooked. so anyways, plan ahead and save the mods for later.

b

 

baronius has good advice. As you have just purchased your car, you should get to know its stock capabilities first. Once you get that wired, you can make changes to engine, suspension and brakes. All in all, most people will never reach 90% of their stock car's capability. You may think you have your car wired, but if you put someone like Curtis Lee behind the wheel, you would be surprised what your stock car can do. Then if you put a pro driver behind the wheel, you'll see more of what your car can do.

_________________



Despite what others may think, I'm here to help.

 

or put baronious behind the wheel and see what he can do :smile:

 

>>kohu'ulaMINI - i was exactly 1.000 seconds behind you and even less for erik808....watch out boys, i'm catching up :smile:

===>*mini-t: You have a come such a long way in such a short period of time (I have 6 under my belt where as you have 4)... AWESOME!! Yes, indeed, I was also inspired by your best time as well -- thanks, t

Come March --> God speed (that was Arioch's parting words to me before I left the skid pad for my staging ...thanks, John!! Got an encouraging handshake from DaKineMINI ...thanks, Dirk!!)

 

*MINIangelD: Many congrats on your runner-up finish!! Always good to see you as you're such a cool person

 

***************Some purely fun autocross facts********************

*In September of '03, I beat mini-t by: 4.705 sec. :smile:

*In December of '03, I beat mini-t by: 3.257 sec.

*Yesterday, I beat mini-t by: 0.896 sec. MINI-T !!

 

Baronius, Beast:
Right now the ONLY mod I am thinking about is new wheels and tires. Believe me I want to stay in the G stock class till I figure out if it is for me or not. But I will be getting the helmet soon in preparation for March's event.

BTW what is the date for that?

Also that may be a good event to get folks together and BBQ some will drift in and out for cone duty or racing, however if a lot of people come out we can have a ad-hoc 808 BBQ there. Just a thought.

 

Hey, Arioch... GS is really cool . You can modify your exhaust (it'll sound great), mod your shocks, add a drop-in foam filter, and run on R Compound tires. Plus, you'll give Bill T. a hard time defending his crown month after month after month after month after month... Oh yeah, it'll be on the 7th of March. You're gonna do great !!

 

Thanks Erik808 for posting the results! I would have liked to hang around and gab with you during the afternoon, but I was getting overheated and very dehydated and had to get home and take a nap to recover from all the excitement. I was very glad to see your excellent showing, and everyone else's too. And it was great to meet Arioch and his lovely wife, and to see DaKine and Minihune again. Minihune ... it's been said many times before, but I'll say it again ... your car rocks!

Baronious - I keep trying to tell myself I'm racing just for the fun of it ... but it sure feels nice to place well! I wish we had an autocross school here to help hone the skills. I have a lot more enthusiasm than skill now.

On that note, I wanted to ask everyone's general opinion about which gear(s) to race in. I got my best time yesterday by keeping the car in first gear for the whole course. Is that just a band-aid approach to make up for my lack of skill, or is that a decent strategy, and will it stress out Lucy's transmission too much? Please advise. I feel like I don't have time to upshift/downshift while driving the course because there are just so many curves and I don't want to take my hands off the wheel. I believe I redlined the rpm's but the engine didn't cut out.

Arioch ... a BBQ sounds cool, preferably with a tent set up as well for some much needed shade, for those folks who will be there all day.

Yesterday was a great day ... thanks everyone!

MINIangelD

 

>>of course people start off by saying i am just gonna try to run and don't care about results. well, ask erik and mini-t how they feel now about "just running" they are out for the kill now!!!!

===>By the way, I'm stoked the entire time I'm there at the track, have made quite a number of new autocross friends in the past several months, am happy for EVERYONE who accomplishes what they set out to do but... baronious' take above is dead-on )...

 

Oops ... shoulda checked my PM first! This from Minihune, advice on shifting:

"I looked up the shift points for the MCS. If you are in first gear, the highest speed you want to shift to 2nd is 42 mph (6600 rpm) while redline comes a bit after 45 mph. Sorry I told you a number way too high. For 2nd gear the shift point is 64 mph (6400 rpm) while max speed approaches 70.

Given this, it is likely that for an MCS it would be reasonable to use 1st and 2nd gears during the autocross. Probably 2nd gear most of the time and stay off your brake, just use the throttle to adjust your speed."

Thanks Minihune. I like the "stay off the brake" advice, that fits my (desired) driving style pretty well.

Mahalo,

MINIangelD

 

>>Thanks Erik808 for posting the results!

===>You earned it, Angel !!

Regarding shifting, I have not a clue

 

Angel - Use whatever gear feel right for you. If it is a slow course, 1st is what you'll need. If it is a faster, larger course, you may have to shift to 2nd. Anyway, most autoxs are low speed events where you shouldn't go faster than 45 or 50.

 

bbq sounds like a great idea but we just need to figure out how to keep all the sand/dirt and bugs away. i swear, i had sand/dirt all over my face and flies were trapped in my car. gross

 

How big a tent? I have 10x10 and 10x20.

 

the larger, the better....no, get your mind out of the gutter.

erik808 -- i noticed you had something plastered on your windshield but i never got a close up of it....WHAT DID IT SAY?! "Go owls?"

_________________
when life hands you lemons, make lemon-aid.
Email hawaii808motoring@yahoo.com to join our yahoo group!

 

The 10x20 weighs @ 100 lbs. THe 10x10 is much lighter.

 

>>The 10x20 weighs @ 100 lbs. THe 10x10 is much lighter.

doesn't matter how large or heavy it is b/c beastie is big enough to hold large items...or at least more than a mini can carry

 

The big tent is too cumbersome to carry in a car. We usually use a minivan for transporting the tents and stuff.

 

>>erik808 -- i noticed you had something plastered on your windshield but i never got a close up of it....WHAT DID IT SAY?! "Go owls?"

===>Hi, mini-t :smile:. Oh, it reads:

"THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THAT MINI-T'S GONNA BEAT ME"

 

thanks for the stats, erik808. as baronious says, we gotta race against the whole pack, not just our respective classes, and shoot for top overall (screw pax). as much as i love panos and his killer driving and his cute miata with huge tires, i'll soon be leaving csp for gs :smile:


>>***************Some purely fun autocross facts********************
>>
>>*In September of '03, I beat mini-t by: 4.705 sec. :smile:
>>
>>*In December of '03, I beat mini-t by: 3.257 sec.
>>
>>*Yesterday, I beat mini-t by: 0.896 sec. MINI-T !!

 

>>The big tent is too cumbersome to carry in a car. We usually use a minivan for transporting the tents and stuff.

ok, then we need to find someone with a minivan. hmmm, i know at least 3 people who have a mini & a mini-van! and they're all odysseys. maybe we can convince one of them.