Jan 24-25 Practice Event Thread

[David Crozier]

Thanks Jason for putting on a great event. Sunday was so much fun! The course was challenging, lots or tight turns and a straight long enough for me to bounce off the rev limiter.
The parade lap was a blast also, I didn't think it would be as cool or as much fun as it turned out to be.

[Mako Koiwai]

Go to the page link below ... click on Get Original Uploaded Photo ... then click on that photo ... to see a large scrollable panorama of the course:

http://public.fotki.com/makofoto/2009-a ... o2sml.html



Manual exposure, but the sun kept skirting a cloud.

[Michael Wood]

Have you guys run much on that infield location? While I liked what was done with the space/course design and had a blast, I can best describe the surface as "Golden Gate Fields-South"...we had, basically, zero forward bite on acceleration and the large, exposed aggregate and gravel build up off line were also GGF-like. The Mustang is usually a very easy car to drive, but it was a serious handful on Saturday. Also, like GGF, tires didn't seem to really matter, as I felt just as much grip driving Jason's RX8 on street Michelins as I did driving either the Mustang or BMW on the BFG R1's. Maybe some soft Hoosier A6's would have conformed enough to the aggregate to work?

Regardless, cool place to have an event and a good time

[Mako Koiwai]

It's a composite photo, so of course the car at the start line would not have been released until the red Evo had finished coming through the loop!

[Mako Koiwai]

Mike ... have you run on our usual Green Lot (ex Lot 12)? That's were almost all of our events are ... if we're not running at El Toro.

Green Lot is awesome, in size ... with a nice bit of elevation change ... but a little on the low grip side. We are blessed with that lot!

Speed Ventures does occasional AX's on that small infield lot ... but it was the first time I've run there in my five years of local AX'ing.

[Mako Koiwai]

Renee was in good spirits on Sunday ... nice to see:

[Mako Koiwai]

Chad's Exige and it's new Kumho XS's have tons of grip!

Just ask Ron ...

[Michael Wood]

Mike ... have you run on our usual Green Lot (ex Lot 12)? That's were almost all of our events are ... if we're not running at El Toro.

Green Lot is awesome, in size ... with a nice bit of elevation change ... but a little on the low grip side. We are blessed with that lot!

Speed Ventures does occasional AX's on that small infield lot ... but it was the first time I've run there in my five years of local AX'ing.

I've never run on the big lot (Green Lot), but I've heard it is huge and the course design options pretty much wide open. Of course, El Toro is an amazing place to autocross.

I just was curious to know if others had as much problem with the surface Saturday as we seemed to have...it just seemed to be breaking up and never took on any rubber, leading to a lot of arms and elbows in the Mustang! The BMW was much easier to drive given the course/surface situation, for sure, and Jason's RX8 was typical RX8... ....JK!!

[Mako Koiwai]

btw. I believe Chad was only about a second and a half behind Steve Abbott on Sunday ... R's Vs. the XS's ... not bad for Chad's first outing with the Exige. I believe Steve was back on stock shocks ... while Chad hadn't stiffened up his coilover settings.

Chad also suffered over $500 in damage to his splitter and one of the side air intakes. I think some of our cones are too heavy and stiff, especially when it's cold. I think we should start looking at lighter weight cones ... like the ones that Team Blew bought. OK ... might be a problem when it's windy.

[Mako Koiwai]

On Sunday we sweetened the course by moving the first corner cones that pinched off the entry on the 2nd go around after the Loop ... by two cone widths. (The Loop forced one to take the first slalom in the opposite direction.)

Moved the Loop outer wall exit cones two widths.

We softened the entry into the Wallum.

Added a cone to the last slalom, but removed the lane change before the Finish ... while lengthening the Finish Chute.

Sunday's course was about 2 seconds faster.

[Jayson Woodruff]

Steve Stavely (CalClub's Regional Executive) in the background by the way.

Jay W

Renee was in good spirits on Sunday ... nice to see:

[Jayson Woodruff]

I've driven GGF, Fontana isn't anything like that, inside or out. It can get a little gravely due to the style of asphault and all the dust that blows around the city (it's getting somewhat close to the desert). Lot 12 (green lot) is big, but not really much different in acorage than San Diego.

Jay W

Have you guys run much on that infield location? While I liked what was done with the space/course design and had a blast, I can best describe the surface as "Golden Gate Fields-South"...we had, basically, zero forward bite on acceleration and the large, exposed aggregate and gravel build up off line were also GGF-like. The Mustang is usually a very easy car to drive, but it was a serious handful on Saturday. Also, like GGF, tires didn't seem to really matter, as I felt just as much grip driving Jason's RX8 on street Michelins as I did driving either the Mustang or BMW on the BFG R1's. Maybe some soft Hoosier A6's would have conformed enough to the aggregate to work?

Regardless, cool place to have an event and a good time

[Michael Wood]

Maybe the GGF analogy was a little extreme, I was just surprised that the surface was the way it was, I was thinking it was going to be grippier and less gravelly...it is very true that it is not old and degrading like GGF. Is the outside lot better?

I've driven GGF, Fontana isn't anything like that, inside or out. It can get a little gravely due to the style of asphault and all the dust that blows around the city (it's getting somewhat close to the desert). Lot 12 (green lot) is big, but not really much different in acorage than San Diego.

Jay W

Have you guys run much on that infield location? While I liked what was done with the space/course design and had a blast, I can best describe the surface as "Golden Gate Fields-South"...we had, basically, zero forward bite on acceleration and the large, exposed aggregate and gravel build up off line were also GGF-like. The Mustang is usually a very easy car to drive, but it was a serious handful on Saturday. Also, like GGF, tires didn't seem to really matter, as I felt just as much grip driving Jason's RX8 on street Michelins as I did driving either the Mustang or BMW on the BFG R1's. Maybe some soft Hoosier A6's would have conformed enough to the aggregate to work?

Regardless, cool place to have an event and a good time

[Johnson Mac]

Thanks for the great event, it was alot of fun!!! Wished my car could do more runs, I had to retire it early due to engine problems. I hoped I was helpful while working on the track! Got to meet alot of great people, the Z guys were awesome!

My motor needs a rebuild I'll be back once it's healthy!

[Jeff Ringer]

sorry about the engine and trans issues guys .. aaron your 914 looks amazing

favorite part of jasons course was the quick left hander after the straight.. i was actually grabbing third 1/2 the laps with a quick downshift to second for that corner then hit my on off switch and shoot thru

finish slalom was also tricky . didnt allow as much speed as it looked like it would

chad i think they let us on so we would crave coming back and buy a track day .. your car looked smooth and sounded amazing. same with steves vette cracking off the rev limiter when i was working the course
how bout the sound of porterfield's camaro with 40k engine hitting 175 on the roval

also nice to see roy in a clean white 240z.



yes zero forward grip and my car was amazingly pushy in the am with old flipped v710's on front...

i finally got my father in the car when he volunteered to do the parade lap with me.. wish i had my in car camera on my father when i got some space and started to corner flat out . after the first fast corner and coming up to the second corner i saw my father out of the corner of my eye reaching and missing the door handle about 3 times in a row. also gave him a sample of what the curbs feel like on the S corner before re entry to the front straight. dad also 'loved' the banking.

tom was behind us in the corvette specialties C6 ;) and my mother was in his car. thanks tom my parents thought you were a very rude person .. lol your the best love the energy you bring to the track! sorry if my dad hit you up for free rounds of golf ...

at lunch i softened my front bar for the first time in a while and it payed big dividends gained 1/2 sec and a lot of fun factor.... lucky for my father i didnt soften the bar before the roval laps , if i had he would have known what drifting at 60 + mph in a short midship felt like


top clean time on last or second to last run of the day 52.988

[Aaron McKinnon]

Thanks Jeff! Those are some very impressive times.

A couple more videos for the mix:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRjubQCs-50" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXfiW8Xu2rY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...be sure to select "high quality". Unfortunately these are only the first few runs we made as I forgot to clear the card. No way I'll make Sunday's event, but I'll be back someday.

[Aaron Goldsmith]

Maybe the GGF analogy was a little extreme, I was just surprised that the surface was the way it was, I was thinking it was going to be grippier and less gravelly...it is very true that it is not old and degrading like GGF. Is the outside lot better?

I'd classify the big Green lot as having more grip "feel" than San Diego or Topeka, maybe slightly more than packwood, slightly less than wendover, and less than El Toro. Though the Data Aq said we got pretty much the exact same max g's at each of those sites, the car just felt different. Never run the inside lot at Cal Speedway. I'd rate GGF as the slipperiest feeling out of those, but you don't have to account for the on and off camber nature of SD.

[Ian Stewart]

Yup, thanks to Jay and crew for putting the weekend together.

I got my dad and a coworker out there on the lunch laps, made their WEEK

Seeing a big smile on Renee's face made my week!!

oh and the the old formula heep made it through a hole event without braking!!

this event definately should become a tradition!!

[Bob Beamesderfer]

oh and the the old formula heep made it through a hole event without braking!!

Hey! It had brakes when I teched it! Oh, you meant not braking; OK I get it. Still, it passed more easily than a certain orange 2002 tii!

[Ian Stewart]

Based on my cone plowing activities I guess both spellings are valid }:)

Fat oportunity for Mako to insert pic...

[Mako Koiwai]

Come on guys ... you think I'm every were where you aren't breaking!? Give me a brake!!!

[Mako Koiwai]

After that first halting lap ... low fuel ?!?! ... looked like you had a really fun day!

Sorry I'm behind getting the photos posted ...

[Ian Stewart]

Nice pic Mako!! , you told me you had me dead to rights on that one, well you weren't kidding...


Don't know whether to thank you or curse you, :mrt: but it is definite proof of a "slight" understeer that needs to be addressed...

I had Cal Poly's hot shoe take a lap, and he agreed with the assessment, but still beat my time, so driver is still the weekest link in this system... car is still way faster than I am even with the lack of power. Guess this means more seat time, ohhh the HORROR

[Steve Ekstrand]

I think Ian needs that in Avatar size.

[Ian Stewart]

love the flying cones in my wake!!