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That is an image I don't really want to think of. Actually I was fine after each run. Yes I felt like I had worked out some but I was never tired. Manual steering on a Miata is not very bad and you don't have that pesky problem of outrunning the power steering pump on courses like this past weekend.

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2010 Honda Fit Sport
Couple of bicycles

I hope not. I don't think autocrossing has to be as slow as some people think. Dale Earnhardt's statement about kerosene rags tied around ankles comes to my mind.

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Rubbin' is Racin'

i seem to remember a speed trap and some speeds in the 80mph range.

In my mind you can call it a successful autocross course when the battle for FTD is between Miatas, Vettes, Minis, Camaros, etc. and the winner is the one who drove his vehicle the best and cleanest. While this is difficult to achieve, there are people whose experience and skill in course design allow it. (Heaven knows I don't possess that ability), so I don't think AX particularly favors low over high hp cars.

Interesting, I've been considering doing this for my car and it didn't occur to me that that would be a problem, but it does make sense. Too bad the stuff is so dangedably expensive, or you could just make it disposable. It really bugs me that this stuff is so expensive, it really shouldn't be, I think they're just gouging us.

The Soli seems to have some kind of sealant or something in/on the paint. Cone marks just wash right off like washing chalk off a blackboard, far different than any other car's finish I've had experience with. I have to research it tho to find out before I have the lightstand ding fixed.
We installed the clear bra ourselves, but afterwards I decided that whatever an installer wants for the job pay it. It took an entire day, and would have been near impossible for a single person to do by themself.

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SPIN or WIN!
there's no glory for going slow.

yeah, the actual clear bra material is cheap, you can get a kit off ebay for next to nothing, its the install work that is expensive, and worth it, if they are actually good at it. My wife has it on her mini, and it is awesome, I wish I had it on my car, instead, I have rock chips galore

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2012 MX-5 Sport SUV

I disagree completely. A good autocross course can most assuredly be fun for all types of cars, don't get me wrong. I didn't see the course, but I have no doubts that Jim would have been a good bit faster raw in a well prepped car on stickies than he was in his STS2 car. Maybe not in a big wide CP car, but definitely in an S2000, for example.

There is absolutely no way a course design *should* even out all cars. If it does, you're just going to have at least half your competitors somewhat unhappy. A good course should give every class a reasonable shot at the PAX win, though.


--Donnie

Heck, you will always have at least half the competitors unhappy - they didn't win. I wasn't there either, so I can't comment on the course one way or the other, but within reason I don't think there should be big discrepencies in time so that it is slow and painful for one type of car, or so open that brakes and throttle management are not needed. Since we all know that PAX is unfair what is the use of trying for the PAX win if you don't have one of the cheater cars.

Maybe it can't be exactly even, but my goal would be to have most people walk away enjoying the course - not hating it. Even the national course results are reasonably close for AS and CS winners.

I just don't think that courses should inherently put one type of car at a big disadvantage or you will have a bunch of people unhappy. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

All good points. A good course should have a variety of features, speeds, and spacing so as to increase the probability of having a balanced course that is generally fair to all the classes. That's never an easy task and is one of many reasons why is so darned hard to design a course that makes 3/4+ of the people happy.

Sincerely,
Ball Joint-less in Hillsborough

My only complaint about the course would be the two boxes in the first part of the course. They seemed to have been designed by someone who didn't consider how much turning an F-body would have to do to actually get through the exit, and hadn't allowed enough width on entry to make that turning anything but evil.

A course should never make me wonder "Can my car fit through that?" on the walkthrough.

I do autocross an F-body because I like the challenge of having to turn more, of having to muscle a heavy beast through it, of making the most of the power and torque while coping with the weight. I'll never criticize a course for being tight. I like tight, perversely it emphasizes everything I like about autocrossing an F-body.

Of course my car did fit through it, but I shouldn't have to think about it on the course walk. It should never cross my mind. There's a big difference between "do I have a mandatory cone here?" and "my goodness this is tight!" and it's sometimes a fine line. What makes this unusual is I've never seen that line crossed before at an autocross. This event crossed it for me.

Make the entry width another two feet wide, or add another two feet to the exit, and there wouldn't have been an issue. And my complaint applies only to those two boxes and nothing else.

(I know that was a lot of text. I virtually never complain about a course, so I wanted to be clear exactly what and why I saw a problem.)

Other than that, I have nothing but praise for a very interesting course. In fact, some of the elements I "would have done differently" turned into really interesting parts as the day progressed -- the optional slalom, for example. It was actually fun not to have the usual sweepers (and I'm not just saying that while driving on all-season tyres). It was (excuse the pun) a nice change of pace.

And yes. I said it. I autocross an F-body and prefer the really tight courses to the power and speed of an open one. Make of that what you will.

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Martyn Wheeler
AXing Kit's '05 Mazda 3, #29 HStock
(when The Gonzo Symphonic allows)

Not to go too far off topic but I've been removing cone marks off the Type R for 3+ years with this stuff. It rules...

Brasso works really well too.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Dang, it _sounds_ like you're saying my car isn't well prepped. I mean, come on! You drive it, what, 10 feet backwards one time and declare it a POS from then on? Harsh! OK, so the new motor is smoking and sputtering, the old tranny grinds 2nd gear almost all the time now and my left rear shock is leaking but at least I fixed the clutch! And I think I'm going to upgrade my shift knob this weekend!

Seriously though, there were plenty of people that went faster than me that day but they just didn't do it cleanly. I got lucky and it is highly unlikely we will see that again anytime soon. The course definitely favored small cars that could transition well but it was not inconceivable that a bigger car could do well out there. With that said, Donnie, I think your spider would have been flat-out unbeatable on that course!

Jim

A new shift knob is good for at least 1/2 hp

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'92 Prelude
'76 Celica