^ great, thanks lol. sadly that was my second attempt at getting closer to them in that video - i'll keep working on that though

 

We got the provisional results for this weekend's BMW club event. There are some things which are wrong with these: http://home.comcast.net/~mgarage/Aut...nalResults.htm

These aren't our best results. We're in the B class, we're listed as 8th and 13th of 21. We'll be bumped up a place when the guy listed as first is moved to the right place. (He was driving a Cayman, so shouldn't get scored.) I'm about 1.5s back from first place, not our finest showing.

I'd be 26th and Cathy 37th out of 63 on index.

 

decent results today - 12th in pax, about 1.3s behind from the #1 paxing driver. difficult course, very tight. car understeered a little more than I was used to, in part due to me not slowing down enough, and another part due to me racing with a full tank of gas lol

 

Wow. I'm autocrossed out. PCA last weekend for 12 runs. BMWCCA yesterday for 12 runs. SCCA today for 4 runs.

6 events worth of SCCA runs in two weekends!

I'm driving well, but I have an issue with the car. I have no power anymore...it 's been in limp mode since the last 3 runs of the PCA event. I get to 4000 RPM and the car runs out of pull. So, I have to shift to 3rd gear to get anything at all. I'll be taking it in this week to see what the deal is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD5Q...ature=youtu.be



As you can see, I've decided to invest in some data acquisition software/hardware.

After doing some research, here's what I landed on:

Harry's Lap Timer (iOS Version)
Dual XGPS 160 (10 mhz) GPS device
Go Pro Hero 3 Silver +
Simvalley ELM327 WIFI OBD2 Scanner.

I'm still waiting on the OBD2 Scanner, but I've now done 2 events with Harry's Lap Timer. It's quite remarkable. It instantly integrated with the GPS unit and the Go Pro.

Here's my setup:



ps...how do you get Youtube videos to embed in this forum?

 

Philly #3, 7th and 9th in pax. STX was flying again, also a perfect FM course. Ran the Rivals (trying to preserve the z2s a bit), sunny and 80s. It was really a fun day and a fun course, and it was nice to beat my co-driver at a local for once.

http://phillyscca.com/results/2014/event3_fin.htm

Ryan:

Me: (Watch how much harder I attack the Chicago boxes. I'm not usually one to brag but I nailed those last 2 elements!)

 

Figured I would post up a video from last event. Our site has quite a few constraints with space and course options. This was my fastest timed run and my fastest run with a cone. 4th overall in PAX and the car is still not setup for STF. Its not even completely setup for stock class yet. Im waiting on coilovers, which should be here next week, or earlier the week after.

Dont mind the slight outburst after hitting the last cone on course on a run that would have put me a tenth off top PAX! Quite upset about that, but I knew as soon as I started to make the move I was doing it too early. However it was too late to do anything else.

Enjoy!

 

Howdy racers.

Here's a tale from the Devens Match Tour.

Too much fun...

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Nice write up. Question.... for the people who were in the top 8 in your heat on Saturday. What time did they finish on Saturday and what time did they start running on Sunday?

 

Three heats on Saturday, and all went smoothly (unlike last year) so the top 8 from each heat were all relaxing by mid-afternoon.

On Sunday we started with two more runs from each heat for the folks that were NOT in the top 8, and the Super Challenge began at about 1:30 pm.

It's an interesting format, and I was grateful for the flowchart provided by the National Staff (and by the way Brian Harmer and his two colleagues worked their butts off and achieved a smooth and glitch free result).

Cheers,

Charlie

 

So another 24 hours between runs! At least it wasnt 28 like it was in Wilmington!

Brian works his tail off, I know that. I know him personaly and have driven with him. However I still cant figure out why the format is setup like that

 

I was at the Crow's Landing Pro this weekend. Me and Cathy didn't do so well, but Alex (BAMini) came third, only 0.08s behind second.

http://www.scca.com/events/results.cfm?eid=6982

 

The PAX results are out: http://home.comcast.net/~paxrtp/resu...owsLanding.pdf

Alex was 45th, I was 158th and Cathy 178th out of 204. Our main rival ("Fast") Mark was 4th in his Focus ST.

 

had a very good codriver run his last two runs in my car instead of his mazda3 - and put a thorough beating on me. below:

me:
R56 HS - Chi Solo 3 - YouTube

codriver:
R56HS - Chi Solo 3 Codriver - YouTube

Any tips on what I can do? I didn't find anything "egregious" in my run (others may), but it just seems like every corner is just a liiiittle bit faster, carrying a liiittle bit more speed, and just really adds up by the end. A couple errors on my end exacerbated things, but still...

 

You had 3 or 4 spots that looked like you lost a bunch of speed but nothing terrible. All those little mistakes add up. Its autocross...otherwise known as the pursuit of perfection. Also, sometimes people who are unfamiliar with the car will go faster than the car owner because they don't have preconceived notions about what the car can and can't do. They're constantly pushing to find the limit where a car owner will get used to an certain level of speed. If that makes any sense...

Also...
Step Juan: buy data acquisition
Dos: learn to use data acquisition
Tree: ???
Final: go faster!

Sent from my Nexus 10 using NAMotoring

 

^ makes sense, thanks for the advice. he's a very good driver. I've got data acquisition, working on the using it part.. hasn't been working all that consistently for me

 

I second the data motion. I was picking up 2 and 3 seconds at the tour this weekend by looking at Alex's data.

We didn't do too well at the tour, too many cones: http://scca.cdn.racersites.com/prod/...%20Results.pdf

Pax results: http://home.comcast.net/~paxrtp/resu...owsLanding.pdf

 

I ran the National Tour at Crow's Landing this past weekend in DS. Saturday's course was technical with a lot of transition, so I performed well, leading DS after Saturday. Sunday's course opened up a bit, allowing the eventual class-winning WRX to overtake me with some exceptional driving (by quite a bit).

Also, Sunday, I had an issue with a few wheel lugs on the left front, which caused all kinds of ABS issues. I could not keep them torqued, so I had a major vibration. Sunday was lost. Fortunately, I was able to hang on to 2nd place in DS for a trophy. I was pleased with that. PAX # wasn't great, but I felt pretty good about my first national tour visit. I'll add some video later on.

Btwxy - It was nice to meet you

 

My compliments sir.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

Not the best day for me. I couldn't figure out the track and then once I did learn some it was already over. I'll just leave my video here. All 5 runs. Timestamps are in the video description on Youtube.

http://youtu.be/WLkhW6lcdPE

 

sorry we missed the chance to ride-along again! your last run looked really good, got me by about 0.8s there. didn't see any major errors etc. probably could have carried a little more speed through some of the corners, but that's really about it. check my and my codriver's runs above for a comparison. I think you're driving better than I am though - I'm far off the cones and pushing way too hard in certain sections.

 

Looking at your videos I can see where I could have attacked harder. I was braking too early on those slow corners and that final slow corner I should have took it farther to the outside on the exit to allow myself to carry more speed. Your videos are definitely helpful. It's good to compare someone running on the same track as you.

I couldnt figure out the one turn that I fumbled on run 3. Never thought I'd use reverse in autocross.

I also hit my first cone in all 3 events so far this year. I don't know if that means I need to try harder.

I've been consistently 2-3 seconds or so behind the WRX's so I don't know if I can get anymore out of the car. I'd love to have someone co drive an event with me to see how they are able to perform in my car.

 

Over the years I've put other folks in my car, and it has always been wonderful. I've had several co-drivers of National caliber, and also a very talented lady with a few National Championships (in a Mini no less) showing me what my own car could do - I am hugely embarrassed not to recall her name, but I remember that Evo school very clearly!.

Bloody eye-opening!

It's sobering, and your experience will be different, but in my case I've been racing as an act of love and with all my attention (but only 12-14 events/year) for the last dozen years.

As do we all, I started 4-6 seconds off the pace, and now even after having more than a few regional class titles under my belt I am STILL 2-3 seconds off a true Nationals pace. That's calibrated from last year at Lincoln and this year at the Devens Match Tour.

The difference between fast and the pace of the aliens is a gap I will probably never close. I will however have one devil of a good time attempting to do so, and once in a great while I'll have my good days.

All the best,

Charlie

 

Going to post my video. Not too happy with my results. Finished 6th in class. 60th in PAX out of 130+. Also a little rant.

I know that autocross is a lot about the driver and I definitely have many areas to improve as this is only my first season but I'm getting discouraged in this class. My MINI S is such a damn underdog compared to everyone else in my class.

2013 WRX - 265hp - 244lb-ft - 3208 lbs.
2013 Mazdaspeed 3 - 263hp - 280lb-ft -3281 lbs
2010 JCW Mini - 208hp - 192lb-ft - 2668 lbs
2007 Mini Cooper S - 172hp - 177lb-ft - 2668 lbs

I mean come on! Hell we even had a GP JCW MINI out there listed in D Street. That can't be right. I mean what chance do I have when I am that underpowered? That list doesn't even include any of the National winning Audi TT's.

Don't get me wrong. I'm having a blast out there. It would just be nice to be more competitive. If I took my stock car and bumped into STX I would have finished 2nd in that class. Worse in PAX though of course.

Class - http://scca-chicago.com/wp-content/u...vent-4-fin.htm
PAX - http://scca-chicago.com/wp-content/u...vent-4-pax.htm

I know there are things I can do such as getting the motivation to do the rear sway install and putting in new shocks but I wonder if its even worth it. I eventually want to do the rear sway but it doesn't look like a fun install.

Anyways here is the video. I had a rough time. Lots of late braking, over driving and heavy throttle. My cheap cam is producing a **** ton of wind noise. I'm going to try to find something to reduce it so I can hear the tires better. It's still processing so it may not be available yet.

 

The GP is definitely not legal in Street. Apart from anything else, it doesn't meet the 1000 car minimum from section 13.

The GPI is listed in DSP. There was a request a while back to class the GPII in DSP along with the GPI, but that was rejected with a wait and see answer. There's been no movement on classing it since.

The SCCA classing structure means there are always competitive and non competitive cars. The classing aim is to give you somewhere to compete, not necessarily somewhere to be competitive. Usually at the local level the driver is more important. The R53/R56 Cooper-S was plenty competitive for a number of years in GS, so it was moved to DS. The R56 Cooper is so competitive in HS its practically a spec class, lots of motions to move it to GS where it'd be a struggle (against the Focus ST, which might be moved to DS), but there's no objective reason to do that.

The only thing you can do about it is to get a more competitive car. Serious autocrossers buy their cars because they're the car to have in their class. Luckily for us, the car we wanted was the car to have.

Around here, STX is insanely competitive there's one guy who's done relatively well in a MINI, but has most often been about 5th.

You could try a different club, like the BMW club. Around here their classing makes more sense, and os probably pretty fair. The stiffest competition is with the SCCA though.

 

What tires are you running? 200TW tires are a must have and will make a huge difference if you are not already running them. Do you have an LSD? If so, that is one advantage you will have over a JCW since they are stuck on the electronic diff. I would choose an 07 MCS any day with a real LSD over a 2010+ JCW. Also, you can do the JCW tuning kit and JCW suspension mods as well since they were port installed.

Also, my stock class Mini's were in the mid to upper 2400 pound range in race form(lightweight exhaust, no sunroof, light wheels...). You will have an advantage over most of those other cars listed with proper tires and seat time.

With the above said, seat time is really important and you will definitely continue to move up the ranks with more seat time. Seat time is #1, good tires are #2 for sure. With crap tires, I'd never have a chance against my regions top drivers in PAX.