Cal Club Autocross Forums

A major part of it is the car isn't up to the potential of BSP, so you get hit with an bad index. Probably several seconds there. And most of us improved 10 seconds or so in driving skill from absolute beginners to grizzled national level veterans. Take 5 seconds off for car and 10 seconds off for driving experience/skill and see where you would have been. I spent a lot of years running a Dodge Dakota club cab luxo version on 300 tread wear M&S rated tires. Or a Dodge Intrepid ES on all season tires. Never saw any of the top half of pax with those cars.

Just looked. 15 seconds off of your 66.1 would have placed you 3rd in overall pax ahead of some of the most feared drivers in the whole country in the best prepped cars possible. So, you're probably doing far far better than the average freshly addicted noob.

Steve Ekstrand wrote:A major part of it is the car isn't up to the potential of BSP, so you get hit with an bad index. Probably several seconds there. And most of us improved 10 seconds or so in driving skill from absolute beginners to grizzled national level veterans. Take 5 seconds off for car and 10 seconds off for driving experience/skill and see where you would have been. I spent a lot of years running a Dodge Dakota club cab luxo version on 300 tread wear M&S rated tires. Or a Dodge Intrepid ES on all season tires. Never saw any of the top half of pax with those cars.

Just looked. 15 seconds off of your 66.1 would have placed you 3rd in overall pax ahead of some of the most feared drivers in the whole country in the best prepped cars possible. So, you're probably doing far far better than the average freshly addicted noob.

thanks for kind words. i see a ray of hope now
Are you going to any events this month or next month?

Kris Cho wrote:thanks steve and QV.
man...i placed 124 out of 132 in PAX thing. umbarrasment :unimpressed: i never ran this bad when i was in track n field, 100m sprint, in high school lol
Gotta work harder

Hey, at least you beat my 8-year-old daughter....barely. }:)

This is a great mental sport and once the hook is set and you start to see more and more improvement, you'll shoot right up the ranks. And by making the driver faster, you'll make every car you ever own faster. Welcome!

Will Kalman wrote:This is a great mental sport and once the hook is set and you start to see more and more improvement, you'll shoot right up the ranks. And by making the driver faster, you'll make every car you ever own faster. Welcome!

And what's really cool is you have all these milestones to measure yourself against. I remember how excited I was the first time I was in the top half of the field, how jazzed I was the first time I PAXED in the top 50, then the top 20... and finally in the top 10. I've had a couple #1 PAXes now, and those honestly aren't as rewarding as the other notches in the belt.

This is something you can do for 10+ years and still feel like you're learning something new at every event.

Will is right. It's a *completely* mental sport. The fact that it gets your adrenaline pumping like nothing else on earth is just an added benefit.

Welcome Kris!

Mike

Steve Ekstrand wrote:A major part of it is the car isn't up to the potential of BSP, so you get hit with an bad index. Probably several seconds there. And most of us improved 10 seconds or so in driving skill from absolute beginners to grizzled national level veterans. Take 5 seconds off for car and 10 seconds off for driving experience/skill and see where you would have been. I spent a lot of years running a Dodge Dakota club cab luxo version on 300 tread wear M&S rated tires. Or a Dodge Intrepid ES on all season tires. Never saw any of the top half of pax with those cars.

Just looked. 15 seconds off of your 66.1 would have placed you 3rd in overall pax ahead of some of the most feared drivers in the whole country in the best prepped cars possible. So, you're probably doing far far better than the average freshly addicted noob.

Just curious to know what tires you were running?
A fresh set of A6s or V710s will cover a multitude of sins as well as shave two seconds off your time.
(when compared to street tires)

Will is right. It's a *completely* mental sport. The fact that it gets your adrenaline pumping like nothing else on earth is just an added benefit.

I think the average fighter pilot would say his 60 seconds are more intersting than ours, just saying since I am surrounded by so many of them. But I would agree its about as much fun as you can have without a 5 figure fuel bill.

Ron Tsumura wrote:

Steve Ekstrand wrote:A major part of it is the car isn't up to the potential of BSP, so you get hit with an bad index. Probably several seconds there. And most of us improved 10 seconds or so in driving skill from absolute beginners to grizzled national level veterans. Take 5 seconds off for car and 10 seconds off for driving experience/skill and see where you would have been. I spent a lot of years running a Dodge Dakota club cab luxo version on 300 tread wear M&S rated tires. Or a Dodge Intrepid ES on all season tires. Never saw any of the top half of pax with those cars.

Just looked. 15 seconds off of your 66.1 would have placed you 3rd in overall pax ahead of some of the most feared drivers in the whole country in the best prepped cars possible. So, you're probably doing far far better than the average freshly addicted noob.

Just curious to know what tires you were running?
A fresh set of A6s or V710s will cover a multitude of sins as well as shave two seconds off your time.
(when compared to street tires)

my tires? i run Dunlop what ever came from factory. 225/45/18 with both inner and outer tire wear. Rear, i got Nitto invo 245/45/18
i found a real good deal on Continental contiextreme 255/40/18. But one tire is almost brand new one other tire has camber wear and used for about year. (seller says the car was used weekly)
Should i get them? i don't wanna see decrease in performance because of using tires that have two different tread life on them.

Mike Simanyi wrote:

Will Kalman wrote:This is a great mental sport and once the hook is set and you start to see more and more improvement, you'll shoot right up the ranks. And by making the driver faster, you'll make every car you ever own faster. Welcome!

And what's really cool is you have all these milestones to measure yourself against. I remember how excited I was the first time I was in the top half of the field, how jazzed I was the first time I PAXED in the top 50, then the top 20... and finally in the top 10. I've had a couple #1 PAXes now, and those honestly aren't as rewarding as the other notches in the belt.

This is something you can do for 10+ years and still feel like you're learning something new at every event.

Will is right. It's a *completely* mental sport. The fact that it gets your adrenaline pumping like nothing else on earth is just an added benefit.

Welcome Kris!

Mike

i've played golf, and was in track & field, although i was average player . So i think i can handle mental sports lol i actually sometimes love my heart pumping so hard because of nervousness...only when i''m not around people where they can see nervousness in my face lol

Kris Cho wrote: ...

...

What is up with the cracks in the rubber on that tire... looks old... possibly dead too...

the seller did notice the cracks too. He's not sure but saying it might be from sitting in the garage for too long. These tires came with the used wheels he bought, so not sure how many milege. My dunlop tires show similar cracks like that after autox..but not this bad

Put those tires on your car and you may not pass tech. More importantly those tires are shot and you won't get good grip.

Have you checked out link to Tire Rack. Yeah there a sponsor but the prices are good. Take a look at a new set. We can argue all day about which tire, I like my Kumho XS but there are plenty of others.

Bottom line, you can have the hotest engine in the world, the trickest suspension, but the only touching the ground and making the car go and turn are the tires, If you cheap out there you've lost.

The biggest single upgrade you can make to a car is the tires.

by Kurt Rahn on 19 Jan 2011 09:00
The biggest single upgrade you can make to a car is the tires.

Or, as in my case, a driver changeout.

Kurt Rahn wrote:The biggest single upgrade you can make to a car is the tires.

You mean the biggest 4 upgrades, hee hee.

Steve Towers wrote:

by Kurt Rahn on 19 Jan 2011 09:00
The biggest single upgrade you can make to a car is the tires.

Or, as in my case, a driver changeout.

I feel your pain Steve!

Kurt Rahn wrote:The biggest single upgrade you can make to a car is the tires.

But they should be quality tires. I assume Kris knows how to look at a tire and determine it's build date. That one tire is really badly cracked.

Kris, I would search out Leanard Baptiste at the next event. He has the best 350z on street tires in our region. I'm sure he could give you some good advice.

Max Hayter wrote:Kris, I would search out Leanard Baptiste at the next event. He has the best 350z on street tires in our region. I'm sure he could give you some good advice.

Is he a member here?
I saw a 07 or 08 silverstone 350z at the last meet in the grid at like 1:30 pm

Arthur Grant wrote:

Kurt Rahn wrote:The biggest single upgrade you can make to a car is the tires.

But they should be quality tires. I assume Kris knows how to look at a tire and determine it's build date. That one tire is really badly cracked.

don't assume lol i don't know how to read the date. I just look at tire treads and the surface of the treads and when the seller purchased them.
I'm debating whether i should get a used pair of tires or used 17" rims with tires. They cost similar if i luck out. i was planning to get 17" extra rims for drifting so...yh....and the tires are cheaper on 17" .

Kris Cho wrote: Is he a member here?
I saw a 07 or 08 silverstone 350z at the last meet in the grid at like 1:30 pm

Yes, and that's him.

Kris Cho wrote:I'm debating whether i should get a used pair of tires or used 17" rims with tires.

What size do you need? Personally, I'd save for a new set. Hankook RS3s are pretty good and last all year if you're not drifting....

KJ Christopher wrote:

Kris Cho wrote:I'm debating whether i should get a used pair of tires or used 17" rims with tires.

What size do you need? Personally, I'd save for a new set. Hankook RS3s are pretty good and last all year if you're not drifting....

For the rims, i'm looking for 17x 9 or higher with any tires slapped on. i found a set of 17" rims with tires for like $120 couple weeks ago but they are gone.. should've bought them.
If i decided to just get a pair of used tires, then 235/45/18 or 245/45/18

Used tires are going to suck.

New RS3 or Dunlop SS Z1's if you actually want to go fast.

does any of you have a 9/16" drill bit with drill or 9/16" drill bit for a rotary tool or stepless drill bit that i can use??
Im making a camera mount for in car footage. I gotta make 2 holes on 1/16" thick aluminum bar.
Thanks.

Kris Cho wrote:does any of you have a 9/16" drill bit with drill or 9/16" drill bit for a rotary tool or stepless drill bit that i can use??
Im making a camera mount for in car footage. I gotta make 2 holes on 1/16" thick aluminum bar.
Thanks.

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsea ... step+drill" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Work great, well worth the money.