THSCC Forums

Try getting into the seat of a Z06 and velcroing up your "Ford Racing" gloves. That'll attract some positive attention.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Or better yet, pull the z06 in the pit, bolt in your 4 pts and slap on a helmet that'll set off the liability alarm faster than a kid with a learner's permit.

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www.ncvw.org
1993 VW Corrado VR6 - DSP15 (RIP)
1986 MB 190E 2.3L 16v - STX (SOLD)
1997 BMW M3 3.2L - BS for now

Nice. Did you open the conversation with "Your momma's so. . . ."?

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Not spectacular just decent.
I'm not sure what I'm driving.
Maybe an ITR in DS.
Or half-assed STX prepped 330.

I am not sure if it is positive attention The combination of driving gloves and "Ford" seem to be pretty pansy to me.

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Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner

Well I went yesterday afternoon at 1pm. Spent most of the afternoon there. The place was actually dead. Worst line had 2 people in front of me. So I drove pretty much everything I wanted to. All in all I enjoyed it. Then again I'm a Chevy diehard so why wouldn't I.

Cars: The Goat. Most fun. Spunky car that pitches the rear end really easily. Wes, I disabled the traction control on my 2nd pass. That was entertaining. The Monte is just like our 2000. Doesn't feel like they changed anything. The SS version is of course, a joke. The Pony Vibe was actually not bad. The Saturn Ion did absolutley nothing for me. The Boneville GXP was a waste. You're right Wes that thing pushes like crazy. It's basically a nice highway cruiser.

Luxury Cars: No Caddy CTS or XLR to drive. Drove one of the other models. They had an auto and a stick. The stick was a waste in that Caddy. It is no sports car. Another nice highway cruiser. Saab 9-3. Didn't like the layout of this car at all. Not bad handling. Big old Crown Vic still an oversized piece of junk. Lexus, forgot the model, not impressed. Buick, yechhh. My favorite was actually a BMW 330i. Felt like it was built solid and tight. Handles pretty darn good. I may see a Bimmer in my future...

Trucks: Just for entertainment I drove a few trucks. Mainly so I could go drive the Hummer. The Hummer was fun. Wouldn't own one but they'd be fun to take off road.

Sports Cars: Ok that new SSR must be a nitch market in a big way. Yeah it'll peal the tires up and it's a cool retro look if you're into pickups. I didn't like it at all. I drove it first just to find the course and the layout. Now the Z06 on the other hand, me want one!!! Mainly to keep my 92 company in the garage... The guy would not let me turn the TC/AH off. The bastard. But he was pretty cool. He does open wheel racing. We talked while waiting for some people to get at least half way through the course. He hangs on to the ebrake and if he doesn't like what you're doing he'll stop you and you're done. He asked me if I had ever driven a Vette so we chatted about that and autoxing. So he was pretty cool and said then let's go rip it up and see how you like it compared to yours He was actually coaching me through the course and getting me to push it all the way. Great fun run. Got a little loose once but got it back real quick. He thought that was pretty good. After I got out of the car some smart-a** waiting in line looked at me and laughed and said, "Hey man you lost time, you hit a cone!" Apparently a few autox'rs were hanging around

You only get to drive the Vette once. You can pick from a ragtop, coupe or Z06. The Z06 is definetely the one to drive. Make sure you drive the SSR 1st so you can feel the course layout. It actually wouldn't make a half bad autox course.

Graham

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http://www.greywinds.com

... ugly they roll her face in dough to make gorilla cookies?

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

I got over to the RBC Center around 8 o'clock Sunday morning. I think it was the prefect time. I managed to get a lot of seat time in the GTO. That is one fun car for $33,000 The only issue was catching slower cars on the course. The fit and finish on the interior was impressive. The seat offered plenty of support and the layout was straightfoward, no frills. The 6-speed in the GTO had a lot better feel to it than the 6-speed in the Cadillac CTS.

They let me drive the Z06 3 times back-to-back. The young guy that roade along was pretty helpful. I think the Z06 is more refined than the Viper. The Viper impressed me with its brut power. I think the Z06 is a better match of power and suspension.

Third favorite on the list was the Silverado Turbo Diesel. The thing had a lot more spunk than I thought it would. The quadrasteer GMC truck was way cool. And it does work. On the tight turn around, you had to reverse the truck without it engaged. Engage the quadrasteer and no problem with the turn. I really felt it on the course too. You could toss that truck about quite nicely.

It was a good way to spend 3 hours. I hope they come back to Raleigh again.

Yes, driving the Z06 on the same lot we had so much fun on brought a huge grin. I miss that place.

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Jim Pastorius
2008 Silverado VortecMax
1992 Camaro CMC#92
2002 BMW R1150R

2009 3rd Place CMC Mid-Atlantic Championship
2009 CMC Hyperfest Winner

My dad, wife and I went on Friday but because of work we couldn't get there until 3:30. So we went straight to the passenger cars to qualify for the SSR/Z06 track. Then to the SUV's to qualify for the H2. Then the luxury cars for the duration. My impressions of the cars I drove follow:

Passenger cars

Pontiac GTO - Overall I like the car. Great sound and awesome power. My only problem with the car was the steering. I felt like it was overboosted. Seemed like I would turn the wheel and have to wait for the nose of the car to come around. I would say it would be a great everyday car but maybe not a great autox car.

Pontiac Grand Prix GTP - Nice driver also. Steering felt better than on the GTO. But the car is just too darn big for my taste. And the manumatic is a waste in my opinion.

SUVs

Cadillac SRX - First let me say that I HATE SUVs. Maybe it comes from driving Miatas for 6 years. They are just too damn big. But I like the SRX. It is more like a big station wagon than an SUV. Smooth, quiet, comfortable. Everything you would expect from a Caddy.

Hummer H2 - This thing feels HUGE!!!!! It is solidly built (expected) and comfortable (UNexpected) The big hill you drive over was an interesting experience. Not being able to see anything in front of you and all. Fun drive just wished it was longer.

Luxury Cars

Cadillac CTS Manual - I agree, the manual tranny on this car is wasted. If this were a CTS-V it would be a different story. I could see renting this car while on vacation. It is very comfortable and does have a good bit of pep.

Lexus ES300 - I have always loved Lexus. This one though, is just an expensive Camry. Not much fun on an autocross course.

Saab 9-5 Aero - Man, you can feel it when the turbo kicks in on this car!!!! Once it is on boost it has great power. Finding the key is a bit if an issue though. Saab feels it necessay to put the key within easy reach of the all passengers in the car. (must be a Swedish thing!)

BMW 325i - I LOVE THIS CAR!!!! Now I see why BMWs are called the Ultimate Driving Machine! I took my Dad with me on this one after driving the course a few times. When he sat down I said for him to hold on. I drove the course like there was a $2 plaque on the line. I think I scared him a little. It was fun.

Chevrolet SSR - This trucklet has alot of the elements right. Great engine, great sounds, great looks, drop top. The one thing it lacks is structural rigidity. Every time I would throw it into a turn, the thing would creek and moan like like Bob Hope getting out of bed in the morning! It would make a fun car for the Woodward Dream cruise.

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - WOW!!!!!!! This car is fun. My "instructor" is an British Forumla Ford driver from somewhere here in the states. He gives me the insurance/lawyer spiel about not spinning and stuff. It went in one ear and out the other. I had fun driving it and now I have to get one. Not really! When we get done with the run he turns to me and asks if I've done this before (keep in mind that I'm wearing my AutocrossForum.com shirt, he wasn't very observant). When I told him that I autox a Mustang, he said he could tell.

All in all I had a great time and hope they come back again, though I think it is unlikely. Talking to the people who were working the event, they said that they had long lines for all cars at all times when they were in Orlando a few weeks ago. But we can always hope!!

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza

if you like the 325i so much you should go test drive a 330i performance package.. =)

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'88 bmw 535is
'98 honda civic ex

I've heard that the 330i is the best of the 3 series (not including the M3 of course). I wish they would have had one of those instead of the ugly 5 series that they had. I didn't get to drive that one.

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Todd Breakey
STS 42 - 1992 Sunburst Miata
Dammit!
"You souldn't play leap frog with a porcupine. You might get hurt." - Eliza