Tom400CFI

I used to autox all the time. I started in the early 90's back in Mass (New England Region) with a Trans Am and had a blast with that car. Then I moved to UT and continued the fun out here with the T/A, then a Camaro.

I thought I reached my 'pinnacle" when I bought my C6, and took it to it's first autox. That was the last autox I did, until today. The C6 really wasn't any fun to autox. It didn't do well (for some reason). Then Miller Motorsports Park came on line and I turned my attention to track days. Got the C4, sold the C6, then moved to the middle of f'n nowhere (SW Colorado) and finally just moved back to UT this spring. Since I'm back in civilization, I'm taking advantage of it all, and autox is part of that. Today was my first back.

It was awesome. The car exceeded my expectations. Suspension is the "base", all original except for Koni shocks, C5 brakes, and we're on real, nothing special street tires (Bridgestone RE760). The course was around 1 minute long. Most of the "serious" cars (slicks, lowered, sponsors, etc) were running in the 53-56 seconds. There was a heavily modified BSP LT4 'Vette that was running 54. I ran a 55.9.

It was hot in SLC today (mid 90's) and we "dual drove" the car -my wife and I. Those of you familiar know that a dual driven car doesn't rest; you come in from a lap, park, switch drivers, stage and hit the gas for another lap. For all you cooling system folks, the original, stock radiator never let the temp go above 215 today. Car did GOOD.

I love this thing!!

mnstrlt1

Very impressive numbers man, especially if the "serious" cars ran in the 53-56 sec. range.

Looks like an LT1 car?

JrRifleCoach

Nice numbers. AS four seconds off FTD?.
Sounds like a good equalizer course.

Nice work

87bob

Now that's what I'm planning to try my hand at!!!!!!!!!!!

Tom400CFI

It was a fast course w/mostly sweepers and no 180* boxes (hairpins). So it was good course for me, and the car.

Matthew_EOD

Ive been wnting to autox mine, maybe we should get together sometime.

Tom400CFI

Do it. It's fun, it's virtually risk free. It's cheap.

I'm game to get together, any time.

I forget to post about a "story" from the day.
While working my work station, "Corner 5", I was watching a ~mid 2000's Sentra hustling toward my turn. About when he gets to the brake point, I hear this:
"Cha-*****! ba-bang, bam -bam-bam-bam!"
...and blue smokes and a stream of oil starts POURING from under the car. Car goes another 50' and then as the course turns, he goes straight to exit course, and BAM!! All hell breaks loose under that car, the remainder of the oil dumps instantly in one spot and this lands on the ground:




The wrist pin came out about 100' earlier -about where the first audible commotion (and oil leakage) started. There was a pretty good pile of engine parts strewn across about 200' of asphalt that we picked up. Mostly what looked like aluminum oil pan and maybe some of the block. For mechanical parts though, it was just the rod pictured above, and the wrist pin. Don't know why that happened. I've never seen an engine take a dump like that before...and certainly a stock or stockish engine! Crazy.

kimmer

You guys have it easy competing with the imports, our group is all vettes. Sometimes over a hundred a day.

ch@0s

Cool, I haven't been to one in about that long as well.

1984crossfirefuelie

How would a crossfire do? Probably 1:10

Tom400CFI

Well Nelson....you F'ed yet another perfectly good thread. How about you stick to keeping your stupid posts in the stupid threads that YOU start, and stay out of mine. K? Thanks,

93Rubie

Glad you had fun Tom. I know my 93 with its Z07 springs/bars/alignment/Dunlap ZII's in 255/40/17 can hold its own against MUCH newer machinery and some cars running R-comps. C4's are GREAT auto-x cars.

A properly setup C4 with a good driver is a auto-x weapon. Not too many folks running them these days so its fun to be different.

Mine is slowly becoming a BSP car. Someday I'll be one R-comps, but I need work on the car and driver first. Street tires don't mask the mistakes as much.

FAUEE

That's awesome.

I'm planning to pick up a C4 to autocross. Just need to find a cheap z51 car, would prefer stick but sometimes beggars can't be choosers. If I can't find one by/in winter I may have to go automatic.

How are you allowed to run C5 brakes in the stock class though? :P

1984crossfirefuelie

There is nothing stock about a stock class. Maybe he is cheating or nobody cares. I bet nobody cares.

kimmer

My car has slowly changed into an autox only car, didn't plan it but it happen. Btw once you run slicks you will never go back.

Tom400CFI

That is an interesting point you make, and you're right. Like I said, there was only one other C4 there -that heavily modded BSP. What is interesting is that there were quite a few people that day, who commented on the car and how they were glad to see a C4 represented there. I thought that was a curious thing for them to say, but now I better understand why they were saying it; not many there anymore.



Yep. Good call. No one cared. And b/c of the above, I doubt anyone there knows what C5 brakes are. The guy doing tech that owns an EVO certainly doesn't know. I mean...the caliper says "CORVETTE" on it...it must be stock! Anyway, I didn't say anything about it for the following reasons:
1. I'm knew that I wouldn't be setting any FTD's
2. I'm not going to be upsetting anyone's points
3. My wife and I were the only car in A Stock anyway.
4. Don't forget about the wheels! Rear's are 18" -Not stock. I think that alone would have put me into BSP. (?) Technically.

If I went enough to accumulate points that matter, I'd fess up about my wheels and brakes. And then if points matter, I'd have to of course, mod the car to maximize it's potential for BSP, which I don't want to do.

FAUEE

That's cool, I figured as much (from what I've read, stock class is on the honor system anyways).

When I was looking at the rules it seemed like there's no middle ground between stock and super friggin race prepared. It'd be nice if they have a class that was simple bolt-on type class. Stock size tires, intake, exhaust, tune, short shifter or automatic shift kit, upgraded brakes, upgraded swaybars and bushings, and maybe a certain amount of weight reduction allowed (like a few hundred pounds or so). Seems like if you don't run in stock you have to run against heavily modified cars in every other class - from the cars that are probably not really ok to drive on the road in SP to the cars that are really not ok for the road in ST.

l98tpi

If you have a C4 the class you are looking for is BSP in the SCCA and
2E in NCCC. Not sure what the class is in NASA. For a C5 or C6 the classes would be different. And as far as being honest on mods, nobody cares until you are competitive.

shakedown067

Right there with you! I still like driving to and from an event without having to change tires, so I'm still on street tread (although 315s). Plus it's fun to try to run down guys on slicks...even more so when you beat them! Not that it happens all that often.

93Rubie

The satisfaction from running down and beating guys on slicks with street tires........

I agree with you kimmer, I NEVER had any intentions to do this, if I had I would have done things differently when I bought the car.

@Tom, yeah, but as you noted the BSP C4, was still VERY FAST and capable of running with the Big Dogs of Super Stock and so forth.

@FAUEE, your describing BSP class more or less with your description.