I agree it sounds like a tire balance issue.

However I would check for a bent wheel.

The car looks Awesome.

After reviewing some video from todays autocross and taking Mark (Lateral Dynamics), Jon (Best of Show), and David Pozzi for some quick spins, I think that there might be an issue with the rear end... sigh

It's going to take a bit more sorting out but I was pleased with my times on the autocross course so it's not 'terminal' at this point - more like teething pains.

Was that the thumping
 

I heard on the video? Are you running a locker in the rear?

James Congrats on the Muscle Car Finalist award. You deserve it. Your car is totally amazing, The fit and finish and details never end and the fact you have and will continue to use it for what it is for. You and the car were really progressing in the Autocross this weekend. I had a great time hangin out last week and Your welcome to come back to wrench on your ride any time. I guess when you get back to Calgary, I will see you on Iracing since the camaro will be vacationing in Sunny Southern California.

Congrats and drive safe.

Rodger

And so the fun continues...

There is some really cool stuff coming up for the Camaro over the next month so I thought I should probably bring this post up to date with our 'progress' since Costa Mesa...

We resolved a couple of problems and found a couple of new issues at the autocross in Costa Mesa...

The good news is that the transmission problem seems to be resolved - both the clutch and the TOB are behaving themselves.

Unresolved... the brakes are better than they were at Spring Mountain but they are still less than 100%.

The bad news is that the car has developed an irregular miss. It's popping through the exhaust every once and a while... seems like a plug issue but I don't think it's major.

Really new... and really bad... was an exciting new sound that rally bstood out in some of the on car videos from the event... a fairly regular but inconsistent "whack whack whack" noise from under the car... which turned out to be

http://www.onelapcamaro.com/california/shop%20060.jpg

There was some significant deflection (one thing or a combination? the jury is out) in the front corners. Although there is lots of static clearance it seems that under dynamic conditions the bolt attaching the tie rod end to the steering arm is grazing (to put it mildly) the inside lip of the wheel.

HRE wound up rehooping the fronts and giving some additional clearance on the inside. In the future some ZR1 hubs may be the order of the day)

***
When I got to Best of Show in San Marcos I found that three plug wires had hit the exhaust and were intermittently shorting out. Three bad plugs - three bad wires. I was able to piece together some replacement wires with a small block ford set that Steve had brought for D!ck and reusing the LSx colil ends from the old wires. A bit of a bandaid but it should be functional for now.

WOW!!
It never ends huh James??
Bad ass car.:thumbsup: :cheers:

Thanks to the help of everybody at Best of Show Coachworks we were able to get the car to the Goodguys show in Del Mar where we were fortunate to be able to split our time between the OPTIMA Batteries display and the autocross course...

http://www.onelapcamaro.com/californ...%20mar%201.jpg

http://www.onelapcamaro.com/californ...%20mar%202.jpg

I had the chance to get a lot of time on the Autocross course on Friday and Saturday...

Taken by Hotchkis who were are behind the Autocross 110%... and a great bunch of guys to boot
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...NotPenny01.jpg

Taken by the guys at RideTech (www.ridetech.com)
http://www.ridetech.com/more/wp-cont...2009%20037.jpg

And, not unexpectedly, a couple more issues came to light...

On Friday we found that the front end was too tight to the wheel - the ride height settled a bit over time (or so it would appear) - and the front tire got cut up by a fender bolt. Nothing disasterous and we were able to raise the ride height.

On Saturday we found that one of the valve stems worked loose over two days of abuse (it was new following the rehoop earlier that week). Luckily the tire went flat at the end of my last run... close call but again nothing disasterous.

The best news... no more whack whack whack.

The car is at an undisclosed location in Norther California getting an adjustable rear bar fabbed up from a stock Hotchkis peice as well as some select other improvements at Pozzi Racing.

Spring rates are going up... ride height is going up... bump steer is being fixed up... some new safety and communications gear is being installed... and some other, undisclosed, improvements are coming.

Next up... the Streets of Willow and a couple of open track days.

And then... ?

that's great James, getting it all sorted is part of the process. You'll end up with a completely dialed in car, much more so than most guys who don't push and use their cars as hard as you do.

Congrats!

Jody

And Then, And Then, and Then...... NO More "and then" Just tell everyone you will be going back to the indoor show car seen.....

Looking forward to seeing the Camaro at Willow Springs very soon.

Rodger

Thanks Jody, it gets better every time we take it out and I am sure that it will be twice the car that it was two weeks ago with the new bar, springs, alignment, and ride height. Willow Springs should be a great test next weekend.

Dude... that hurts... especially coming from the guy who is going to a "detailing course" Saturday while we're out on the road course...