steve40th

Well, due to the mods within my car I was put in BSP. Here are the results, I suck
http://www.sccahawaii.org/1-28-07.pdf
But the first two runs I had an instructor run with me as I am a novice. He said I did very well and he was impressed with the car control and throttle. He did say use more brake which in turn would have me use more throttle in the straighter areas.
So, on my second run I tried moo of both and we both realized my tires are a limiting factor. This is not to say I am not a limiting factor as I realized real quick I am not Mario Andretti !!! But I was very cautious.
But nevertheless I am in BSP and the cars in there are very quick and the drivers are very good.
So, now I have a new goal to work at, which is better my driving skills and enjoy this new found fun, SCCA auto-x.
Heres some pics in this other forum. I know my tape says ASP, but the instructor I drove with said I was really BSP. BTW, he has a C6 ZO6 as his car, which is ASP.
http://www.paradisecruisers.com/SMF/...p?topic=7092.0

Z06 Whisperer

Congratulations! And glad to see it looks like you've become addicted too!!

steve40th

And here is the video
http://media.putfile.com/SCCA-day-Oahu

Jason

And another one gets hooked.

VetteDrmr

Welcome to the party!

If you haven't already, read through the sticky on this forum; there's a ton of great info there.

And good call on getting an instructor with you; it really cuts down on the learning curve.

Now, go wear some tires out!

Have a good one,
Mike

steve40th

Just a bit more info, the parking lot we run at is the Aloha stadium where they run the NFL Pro Bowl at.

90Z51

What kind of tires are you using? Also, what are your alignment specs?

steve40th

I run 5 year old hard a** BFG KD's and VB&P advanced street alignment.

90Z51

Yeah, new tires would definately help. If you want a street tire that will keep you competitive look at the Falken Azenis RT-615. Also, if you get really serious about autocross you can go with a much more aggressive alignment. I spoke at length with my alignment tech when I had my alignment done (he works at a real performance shop, not some chain store) and we went with much more aggressive specs. The VB&P advanced street specs are within stock alignment tolerances except for the rear toe. You can go with considerably more camber all around if you really get into autocross.

steve40th

I think I will do tires next, as it was definitely not very grippy. The BFG Kd's were real good when new, but I never autocrossed. I will look into Falkens, as there were quite a few cars with them. Kumhos were real popular too.
My alignement can use more camber, and I have read a few posts on simple mods before lower control arm offset bushings type stuff.

90Z51

The August 2005 issue of Grassroots Motorsports did an autocross tire test and the Rt-615 came in first in the street tire category. The Kumho MX came in 4th. I don't remember the details of the test though. If you want more camber you should be able to get it without any fancy tricks. I ended up with -1.5 degrees all the way around. Just have your alignment tech get the most camber possible out of the front, and then match it in the back. You should end up with -1.3 to -1.5 degrees.

steve40th

Thanks again, I am going to do one more event and evaluate my alignment. My tires werent rolling over, so I may have not been pushing it hard enough. I may have an instrucotr drive it with me in then see what times he does, and see what he thinks after one run what he may recommend. The tires are bad. The tires I was looking at were R compunds, as I dont drive this that often anymore.
I was surprised no one had Nitto RII's there at all, but allot of Kumho 700/710's on big cars.

VetteDrmr

This is a really excellent idea. I might give your instructor 2 runs, but you'll be amazed at what your car can do.

Gives folks something to think about when mod fever sets in.

Have a good one,
Mike

Jason

Yeah, nothing saves me money like letting a real driver take my car for a lap.

KBRVETTE93

Your C4 will make a awesome roadrace car.

steve40th

hey what specs did you do on your alignment? I just got the go ahead to get new tires, and I am going to realign it right after word.
On the Vett B&P autocross one, I was concerned of the toe in the front, expecially for the street. Can I just run allot of camber, then keep the toe pretty straight?

VetteDrmr

Steve,

Here's where you start learning the meaning of the word "compromise". Yes, you can get a very aggressive alignment, but it *will* affect the way your street tires wear.

My personal experience has been that anything over -1.0 degrees camber will wear the inside edges of the tires.

You can combat this by having the tires "flipped" on the wheels, but you have to monitor your tire wear to not be surprised by steel belt pushing through one day.

Also, toe seems to affect tire wear at least as much, if not more, than camber.

The Vette is both my autox car *and* the fun car for my wife and me. She gets about 15K miles put on her a year, and my wife drives her occasionally, so I need to keep the street use happy. Aggressive alignment settings will make the car more responsive, which some can interpret (correctly) as less stable.

So, what do you want to do with your car? If it's mainly track use, then get the alignment setting for the track. If, like me, street manners are at least as important as track handling, then you need to keep that in mind.

HTH, and have a good one,
Mike

steve40th

Hey Mike, thanks for the input. The Vette gets barely driven here in Hawaii, mainly due to cost, and "where to go this weekend, left/right"?
What I noticed with the KD's on here now is they are rock hard and still have tread left, after 5 years. I dont really see the alignment getting the tires before mother nature does.
But, what if I just went to the autocross, pulled the shims on the upper control arm. Will that help?
I dont know how to check toe, or change it correctly. Yet

90Z51

Steve, Mike is right about the tire wear. When I had mine done I told that alignment tech that I didn't mind getting new tires every 18 months or so. My Vette is my daily driver. Mike's also right about toe being more important to tire wear than camber. If you don't drive much where you are I'd probably not worry too much about tire wear then.

My final specs are:
LF: -1.33 camber, +7.02 caster, .02 toe in
RF: -1.44 camber, +6.98 caster, .02 toe in
LR: -1.55 camber, .02 toe in
RR: -1.46 camber, .02 toe in

I really wish I could have gotten a little more camber on that LF wheel.

VetteDrmr

Steve,

Sounds like you're a candidate for the aggressive alignment club. Especially now, at the beginning, I would just get an alignment and keep that on the car full-time. Otherwise you get into spending more time in car prep that you could put to better use walking the track, asking folks questions, etc. R&R'ing shims, adjusting toe (which changes with camber adjustments), etc. will keep you pretty busy. Probably add at least a half hour each way to your prep.

Have a good one (and stick your head in the freezer for a while in sympathy for the rest of us),
Mike