Good luck! It's addicting

 

yup see you there. i'll be working registration, on the non-prereg side though. it may not rain, we'll see. 30% is pretty low. then again it may just be damp all day. idk about the gateway site but it's surprising sometimes how infrequently it rains when the forecast says its going to, for autox events.

 

Saturday's event for me was a good one...The course was very tight and didn't flow very well, but I managed to put together some good runs. I coned away a run that would have won PAX and class. Instead, I had to settle for second in DS (behind another JCW) and 3rd in Pax overall. The temps very very cold, so traction was a challenge. Back at it today..

 

Came out of the gates strong with a VERY underprepped car in DS today. Was my first race in the mini ( I've had it for a week) and it felt fantastic! I took the win from a group of very prepped cars.

 

welllll first home event in the books now - i did... okay. my fast run has a huge, huge mistake in the penultimate corner which really just screwed everything up. However, still took my class and got 20th* in pax, which I'm happy about though.

Full write up:
http://r56hs.com/2014/04/27/st-louis...1-home-opener/


Fastest counted run:

 

So I was there at the same event as kyoo and I had a blast! The adrenaline rush that I got when pulling up to the start line and making my way through the course is unforgettable. The forecast was for thunderstorms today but thankfully none showed up.

I too had a GoPro set up on my car and I made a short video of my first and last run of the day. I started out with a 64 something and then by the end of the day got it down to 55.454. The PR manager of the Stl area rode along with me for one of the runs and gave me really good pointers on how to improve. Another racer I befriended while working waivers also gave me a lot of tips after watching my runs. I was really glad that everybody was super friendly and helpful, I am definitely coming to the next event next weekend

 

nice job out there - your lines are better than mine! we'll work out the spacing better so you can ride along with me at the next event

 

Sounds like everyone had a good weekend! I had a much better day today...The course was opened up a bit so flowed much better... Took first in DS and 1st in PAX out of 80 drivers, so very happy with my day. The weather was pretty nasty again today, hoping for some warmer weather by the next round.

 

nice job! i'd love to see a vid if you've got any

 

No video from yesterday unfortunately. I'll have some next time though.

 

has anyone encountered an "ice mode" while autoxing? where everything kind of locks up and you just plow? heard it is a pretty common bmw thing

 

.

My husband auto crosses our BMW Z4 M and has never had this issue.

 

that's funny, i was just talking to a guy with a z4 (non-m) who does have the issue. seems odd.

i found wilcox's old thread which i commented on in the past about: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...any-ideas.html

seems it still exists. i haven't tried the throttle portion of it, but seeing how i lose brakes and steering, probably is the same thing.

i can't be the only HS mini that has encountered this - are you guys driving around it, or is there another solution?

 

I had the same car and setup as Wilcox and had no issues. I think it's just certain cars. Hopefully the new one doesnt do it. Haven't heard that Wilcox's new car does it

 

mine's a '13 and it does (i think). not sure ab wilcox's new car, plus he's got a mechanical lsd in there, so maybe no issues with edlc etc.

i think there are just certain conditions when i am driving poorly/hamfistedly where the car thinks i'm trying to avoid an accident, and instead of letting me turn, it makes the car plow for a front-on collision (safest collision possible). for autox, just makes errors hard to correct

 

I think the general consensus is being too "stabby" on the brakes can cause ABS to freak out and go into "ice mode". It's more common with people that run brake pads with a really strong initial bite like the Hawk HP+ pads. Go to something more linear like a Ferodo DS2500 and the issues go away.

 

sadly i'm on stock brakes, so i must just really, really stabby lol. will work on modulating brake

thanks for the input though to know at least it's much to do with driver error and not some really intrusive undefeatable thing

 

A guy I know who used to work on ABS systems commented on ice mode once, it went something like:

With too rapid application of the brakes, the rears lock up before the system can do anything about it. The EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) tries to move the brake bias forward. The only thing it can do is shut off the valve supplying fluid to the rear brakes. Now most of the brake lines are shut off, the pedal instantly feels a lot harder.

The pedal feel is what purturbs the driver, but the locked rear wheels is what causes the problems.

 

interesting info, thanks - again affirms that stabbing the brakes is the problem, which also explains why fast drivers that have driven my MINI haven't encountered this problem - they're probably better with squeezing the brakes.

 

Already ready for Event 2...haven't even taken off my numbers from Event 1! :p
I think people on the loop look at me funny when they see the numbers.

 

a little disappointing for me, 21st in pax yesterday, and 2nd in class - i had two runs on my fast laps but i kept coning - and i had one killer run that was over a second faster than my next fastest, but not sure exactly what changed..

event 2 report


fast lap + cones:

fastest counted:

any critiques are welcome - i guess i must have just backed way off.

 

Congrats to Craig Wilcox for another ProSolo win in STX in his mini! He had to stand on his first two runs all weekend!

I unfortunately had a less than stellar showing at the NJ Tour. Jeff Hurst is fast!

I think it's time for some local events to make myself feel better about my driving

 

It was a great first session for Craig. Great driving and a great event

 

NJ Tour

Pleased with my 4th place result given my prep level compared to that of the green MINI of "Quick Nick" Babin and his guest co-driver and the ex-Mark Chiles red MINI of Courtney Cormier and Scott Hoffman.

I fully believe the old saying that in autocrossing 90% is driver and 10% is car prep. This is usually something that can be overcome with good driving; but the caliber of drivers this weekend meant that being under-prepared (my car), even if it added up to a few hundredths here and there added up to a .5 second deficit compared to the trophy winners over a mile long (!), 70 second course.

http://sololive.scca.com/NJ/HS.html

 

what's your set up & what do you have left to do?