[trackbird]

One of my buddies suggested that all three of us misfits drag our cars out to an SCCA autocross event to play. This would be Bill and Billy (Racerdad916) and me. We have a rather odd assortment of cars. Bill has a very nicely built 1992 Mustang. This is a full track car with a 331 stroker, flared carbon fiber fenders, etc (it's the car he was autocrossing when we met in 2000, it's actually how we met). We've been breaking stuff together ever since. Racerdad has a 3rd gen that was a bare stripped shell that we collected many years ago. It has a full cage and a particularly nasty small block (Jesel shaft rockers and all) with a T56 that we picked up in pieces in Kentucky one morning. (There were actually four misfits, Billy's neighbor brought out a supercharged Mustang that makes about 480 RWHP, he swapped tires and went to play in CAM and left us behind in CP).

The obvious choice was to go play in CP. Their cars were more CP car than mine (by far), but we knew it was a class we couldn't get protested out of.... Of course a real CP car showed up to play as well. The more the merrier. I took the heaviest car with the least HP and I fully expected to have a good time. And, we did.

I haven't driven an autocross event in 12 years. I'm really RUSTY. Rusty as in, I kept forgetting to look ahead and I logged a couple DNF's from blasting through a section of the course and forgetting to keep looking at the next part. My reflexes aren't what they used to be, but I still had some moments of solid mediocrity as a driver.

The real national level CP car ran 36.809. My friend Bill in his gutted track car Mustang (it's a built 331 stroker, etc) ran a 38.677. I clipped a single cone on a 39.141 (it was a cone I shouldn't have hit and the car certainly would have done that clean). Racerdad916 ran a 41.215 on some ancient Toyo Proxes that are likely old enough to drink in a bar.

Overall, it appears that I might still sorta remember how to drive....sorta.... The car was brilliant. It was well balanced and it did everything well. The UMI coilovers are amazing and I couldn't have been happier with the complete setup. I actually was amazed that the tires did as well as they did. They were 4 year old Hoosier "wet" competition tires on a nearly 90 degree day with no water in sight. I'm not sure they loved the weather, but they made good grip and didn't get particularly greasy.

So, I signed up for another event this Sunday....

[GCrites80s]

Got the new tires on today! Went with Conti ECS since I will need to drive in the rain; no getting around it here. And oh boy was it hairy getting there to have them put on. Torrential rains overnight that lingered into the morning then the car wouldn't start due to an amp draw that I didn't know about (checked the easy stuff tonight, more to check). So I'm on these horribly worn NT05s that are 7 years old trying to just get to the shop where I had the new tires shipped. Left 1.5 hours late and had to use city streets instead of the freeway due to the old tires and still-falling rain. Giant puddles everywhere until I get downtown where the roads are good. Peeling out all the time and vague steering. Getting tailgated. Nobody wants to acknowledge that the weather is horrible until forced to. "It's just rain!" Yeah 4 inches in 6 hours. They back off if you get sideways in front of them, though! Then they would hit some huge pool of water that I dodged and lose all their momentum. Ah, now the new ones are on and I got more toe-out to boot!

[GCrites80s]

Awesome to hear that you're back at it. Coming to UMI next month?

I've been registered the last two years and didn't make it for one reason or another (last year I found the battery hold down was broken a few days before I was scheduled to leave to come to the event and I couldn't get parts in time). This year, I have the time off, but I didn't register to come. Now I have a fresh helmet, some semi appropriate tires (though I think UMI does 200 treadwear limits) and all that....and I'm not set to come. I'm even on vacation that week....

Bummer! It's worth coming to hang out; it's a fantastic event and amazing people all around.

I agree. I LOVE team UMI and the people. I've had a chance to become friends with the UMI crew and I always say they are the best bunch of gearheads and genuinely awesome people that you'll ever meet.

I'd love to get to come to the event. I am all setup and ready to go...if I only registered this year. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

If the UMI guys and Strano are at Columbus Goodguys again this year like they were last time we were there that will be cool. It was nice meeting them at the 2017 event.

[trackbird]

Got the new tires on today! Went with Conti ECS since I will need to drive in the rain; no getting around it here.

New tires are always good!!!

[trackbird]

I drove the car yesterday. Put 135 miles or so on it. Fed it fresh fuel (it's still knocking at wide open, though I put 10 gallons of fresh 93 octane in it). We went down towards Hocking Hills to look for the place where my camper tire exploded and try to find some missing parts/brackets. We checked several places near where I changed the tire and came up with nothing. It was still a good day to drive the car. I put more mileage on it yesterday than I have in the last two (likely three) years combined. That car is a riot to drive and it runs well. I just put new water pump gaskets in it (because LS1 water pump gaskets seem to be a long term issue, this is the third set I've swapped in two different cars) and fresh brake fluid and coolant. I figured I should actually drive it. I'm getting the itch to put a roll bar in it and maybe upgrade the stereo. I keep pricing tubing benders and I would like to buy one someday soon.

I really need to get out to the UMI event one of these days. Just because it's a great time. It's still on my list.

[CrashTestDummy]

Nice! I need to get our 3rd Gen B4C out and drive it. It, too, is a real pleasure to drive, even with its issues (dead AC and fallen headliner). It's such a PITA to shuffle vehicles around in and out of the shop to get to it though. That, and it's been raining for 40 days and 40 nights here. Now that the rain clouds have parted, it's back to rain-forest-hot, which really disincentivizes one to get outside.

We ARE registered for the next regional event, though, which is this weekend. Hopefully, the air is a little less thick then.

[trackbird]

I drove it to work today (after dropping the truck at GM) and then up to work on the camper. It's still a good time to drive on the road. I almost forgot how much fun these cars are to drive. And while it's not fast by today's standards, it's still plenty fast and fun on the street and likely a good way to add to my ticket collection. Sadly, I have a bent wheel and I need to figure out a plan for that. Sadly, I have 250 miles on a set of new Comp TA all season tires on this car and I'd move to 18's if I buy wheels. So, that's not ideal.

[GCrites80s]

Ya you spend too much time driving appliances and you forget why people care about cars. After you get back in an engaging one everything in your mind lights up.

This post has been edited by GCrites80s: Jul 30 2024, 03:01 PM

[trackbird]

Ya you spend too much time driving appliances and you forget why people care about cars. After you get back in an engaging one everything in your mind lights up.

Right. All the computer controls have made driving dynamics extremely civilized and removed all the soul from cars at the same time. My truck makes big power and it's absolutely docile to drive. This car (by comparison) feels like it's actively trying to kill you and if you do something dumb with the controls, it will gladly let you. I love the throttle response and actual driving dynamics.

[GCrites80s]

My car makes so much torque right off the bottom that if I have to jump into traffic there are going to be burnout marks.

This post has been edited by GCrites80s: Aug 2 2024, 02:53 AM

[trackbird]

My car makes so much torque right off the bottom that if I have to jump into traffic there are going to be burnout marks.

This one isn't quite there. If you let the clutch out in first and floor it, about 3500 rpm it will start to haze the tires and the back will scribe a gentle arc as the torsen seems to let the right rear spin up slightly more than the left. It always goes to the right.

[GCrites80s]

Runner length and head design are the differences there. Frankly I can understand the desire by GM to move the torque curve up for the Gen 2 and Gen 3s.

[GCrites80s]

I might not have told you but I had a Mace Engineering differential installed in the fall of 2022. It no longer one-wheel peels on hard right turns from having a worn-out Auburn. This rear end really works and I now feel it is better than a 10-bolt in a couple ways: No C-clips and 1/8" to 1/4" larger ring gear depending on the year of the 10-bolt. New gear selection is limited to 3.70 only now though.

[trackbird]

Yea, the head flow numbers on the LSx motors are far better. The TPI couldn't use them anyway. My motor in my Corvette had splayed caps and Trick Flow heads that flowed about the same as stock LS1 heads. Adding the TPIS miniram turned it into a torque monster that made power to 7k rpm. It was really fun to drive.

I haven't seen their rear end. Is it a whole axle or a conversion?

[GCrites80s]

Just a differential replacement: https://www.ebay.com/itm/401464098393?hash=...NcAAOSwGuVaLeFE They updated the listing so an e-mail confirmation that it's the same one would be prudent.

[trackbird]

If this car ever gets a rear end, it's likely going to be an 8.8. That's assuming you can fit one without the torque arm smashing holes in the trans tunnel.

[GCrites80s]

I definitely was considering an 8.8.

[trackbird]

I'm about to fill the car up again. I don't want to put it away with a full tank. I used to, but it just turns into more bad gas to burn through when I get it back out. So, I like to park it around 1/4 tank. That way I can run it around the block and burn off enough fuel to fill it with premium and be "good". So, I either need to put 5 gallons in it and drive it a bit or I need to fill it and drive it after the truck comes back.

I tried to bed the front brakes today, but I didn't get them hot enough. It feels like a warped rotor. I can't understand how I can bed brakes and park a car and when I get it back out, the brakes are no longer "bedded". I don't know how sitting in my garage allows them to quit working, but it happens every year. I need to go put some real heat in them (the last time I think a stop from 120 mph was a good start on getting them rebedded, I did some warm up first....). I can't get enough heat in these stoptech brakes on the street without doing some "heroic" stunts.

[GCrites80s]

Your old brakes aren't doing that on my car.

[trackbird]

The truck wouldn't finish the "self test" today, so he's going to run it tomorrow and I should get it back then. I have to put a little gas in the car because it's almost on E (the low fuel light hasn't come on). So, I think I'm going to go throw 3 gallons in it so I can drive it tomorrow and put it away mostly empty.

[GCrites80s]

I think diesel (non-commercial) is going to go away before gas vehicles do, at least in the U.S. Everything is so "clamp-down" on diesel that they can't keep all those add-ons working long enough.