So I was yapping with Matt on the phone Saturday night and he asked if I wanted to join him at Fontana for the Hotchkis NMCA AutoX. There's so much to do on the car before I start running on the track I turned him down and hung up a few minutes later.
I thought about that for about two minutes and dialed him back and said I'll seeya there! What could go wrong?
We met up at about 8:am and set up. The PS steering assist was still very erratic, along with being notchy and slow to respond so we jacked up the car, unbolted the cooler and pulled a bunch of parts out of the way to get it to lay sideways and zip tied it to the core support and sub. We then yanked out 5 degrees of steering stops and called it good.
Sidebar - Fontana was rocking today. Exotic cars in one section, sports cars running the big track, karts on another and drag racing plus our AutoX. Pure awesome. The NMCA racer crowd is loaded with very cool people and the Hotchkis hosts couldn't be more accommodating.
Anyway, we finished wrenching about the time the drivers meeting started. Then they launched the run groups. Matt was a co-driver for a few sessions in a different run group and we tried to tune as we went.
The course was pretty technical for the first 3/4 with a slalom and chicago box right before the finish line. I found the car to be very touchy on the throttle and real tight. I had spoken to Ron Sutton the night before and he gave me a few tips and a shock tuning guide. Then right after lunch Ron gave me a call for some refinement tips. Thanks Ron, you're the man!
As far as results, I learned a bunch today. First, AutoX is a tough sport, Second, I suck at it (four DNFs?). Third, Matt is very good! Matt's third run in both my and his car put him in third place for most if not the whole day (two diff classes). Matt sacrificed his track improvement runs to help with my car. If I didn't say it enough, thanks again Matt! Also, the car and driver have a long way to go but it'll get there. I ended up taking about four seconds off my time during the day and about two seconds behind Matt (35.8 vs, 37.6), which is a mile in AutoX. Oh, and I see the merits of a quicker rack and 15" steering wheel.
All in all a great day. Probably the second most fun thing you can do in your car!
THANKS TO: A&M Machine and Fabrication, CCTek (http://www.candctek.com), Hermance Design(www.hermancedesign.com), Paradise Road Rod & Custom, Harry Opfer Welding, Wegner Automotive Research, Clayton Machine Works
Answer the question.... did the zip ties help with the notchy steering issue...
Sort of. Notchy did not go away. It made the steering more PS assisted, but it still would fluctuate which is very frustrating, and on a big track not safe.
The way I'd describe it is you'd go into a turn, it was heavy than light or vice-versa. Then the car would be slow to turn, all the while moving forward/more tuning notes below, then it would react and sometimes SNAP and then I was left over correcting. It was very frustrating, but it's fresh and needs major sorting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GregWeld
Did you find the car pushing or oversteering? And were you able to dial it differently?
Plowed like a MF'r. Snap over steer above and springs were too light in the rear so it squatted with little throttle input and lifted front wheel weight bias. Early in the day it just skating all over the place. We made three shock adjustments before lunch (maybe went the wrong way once) and disconnected the rear bar. One adjustment after which made the car steer better; by that I mean we dialed out traction in the rear so the front could do its job. Then the problem was it plowed to the point that the tire was rolling over on itself and really not steering. There was no trail braking on this course or with this set up.
Honestly, we could armchair quarterback the day for hours but really the car (and then my driving) needs sorting. Most new builds do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GregWeld
Matt changes or rebuilds his motors after every autoX - will you get more than one weekend out of yours?
Well, at least the motor survived. That was the strongest thing going yesterday.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cosmo meant it
Ron,
Not exactly the kill story we've been led to believe would be forthcoming, but all in all it was a good first test 'for us'.
...the Rontourage got a little too 'involved'.
Quick story: there were lots of SCCA people there yesterday. One gal was named Rita. Rita has a C5, maroon paint and factory chrome wheels. She looks like your great aunt that's 15 years past retirement. She asked me to adjust her tire pressure between runs. I check her pressure and they're spot on for where she wanted them to be and she goes and busts out a 33.9. Next she has me take out 5lbs fr and 4 lbs rr. She pulls off a 33.4. Turns out she's been running SCCA for 40 years! (I could be wrong on the years, someone mentioned it)
I remember when BBalls was fresh and Mary drove it @ RTTC. It had a major push and they disconnected the rear bar, only to have mediocre results for the day.
Matt's been AutoX'ing his car for almost five years and gets almost as much seat time as anyone (almost). You look at all the top dogs and they're what, 10, 20 or 40 (Rita) years into it. That's a lot of seat and car set up time.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
Short clips: Goodguys Pleasanton autocross and pit videos
Also, the car and driver have a long way to go but it'll get there. I ended up taking about four seconds off my time during the day and about two seconds behind Matt (35.8 vs, 37.6), which is a mile in AutoX. Oh, and I see the merits of a quicker rack and 15" steering wheel. 
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