AutoX test and tune day at Sears Point

[SLOroadster]

Wow, what a day. Leo brought his roadster and and flogged it all day long. Even with stock suspension and an open diff, it was surprisingly fast with a set of used race tires on it. I'll post some pics in a little bit. We had about 30 people attend and it was less than a 5 minute wait between runs, all day long. I think we found most if not all the gremlins in Leo's car, and got a few of them taken care of. Corey V and I did an impromptu carb tuning session while Leo was out working the course. The car was much faster and more crisp following that. (There was a threat of doing a valve adjustment, but it was decided that driving was more important.)

I'm kinda bummed that I didn't have the roadster out since there was another one there, and there was a Ford/Lotus Cortina running as well. Oh well, next time. Corey and I flogged my M3. I remembered that it has an on-board stopwatch and so we timed each other with it. It was a very close battle, and Corey was fast right out of the start gate. Impressively fast. He had some issues with a single cone, but aside from the one cone he gave me a run for my money every time.

All in all, a good day and a TON of driving.

Will

[ACote]

I wish I could have but I finally sold my Caddy today so I have a lot of parts to start ordering Monday. Would've swung by otherwise since it was so close. Too soon to ask when the next one is?

[SLOroadster]

Here are some shots from Saturday. These were taken by the organizer.



I've got a few more coming.

Will

[SLOroadster]

I got my pics done. Enjoy,













A perfect display of why I can't stand black wheels on a car.



Some of the other cars running.







It was a good day and I hope other roadster owners will come out and have fun with us in future events.

Will

[seabiscuit]

I was able to attend this event thanks to Will starting this thread weeks ago.

He's right, tons of seat time and a great chance to run your rig through the wringer in a safe, controlled place. If you get a chance and they run this event next year, try to make it out. You will learn a bunch about your car of what it wants and doesn't want to do in a very short amount of time.

Thanks again Will for letting me use your race tires for the event. Super generous offer I'm glad I took you up on. I also got a chance to see what panasports look like on the car and I thought it was a slick match. Great feedback too from Will between runs to help the learning curve.

For those of you keeping score at home, the wheels were Panasport 14x7, 0 offset with 205-60-14 Hoosier Street TDs (correct me if i'm wrong Will) on a stock 69 2000. No clearance issues and no rubbing on all of the runs. However, I gave Cory V a ride on the course and we had a slight rub on the rear right fender with the added weight (just a tiny bit on a couple dips).

Thanks to my impromptu pit crew of Will and Cory for going through my carbs on the spot and smoothing a few things out that needed attention. It's great having knowledgeable folks around who know roadsters in and out to get you on the right track! You guys are awesome.

And much thanks again to Dave the Car Guy who happened to be out at the track for a track day in his Porsche Cayman S. Not only did he let me use his floor jack so i didn't have to lug up one in the Datsun, but I got a kick ass E-ticket ride on the big track at race speed in that beast. Nice driving Dave, second time I've been in that car and second time I've thought to myself "I want one!"

Oh, and the parade laps on the big track was pretty cool even though we cruised at max speed of 40 mph (under order of the track stewards). If you've never been on the track, it is a nice opportunity to feel it instead of just see it on tv.

All this for $75! And a continental breakfast!

PS: Nice photos Will. Next time i'll bring a life jacket for that boat I'm skippering!

[notoptoy]

Fantastic photos Will!
Sounds like really great time, bummer we East Coasters can only participate electronically.

[Dave_Car_Guy]

Unfortunately, I didn't get a video of Will running his M3 through the autocross at warp speed, but I did capture a small video of Leo (Seabisquit) running the Roadster through the back section... Nice!

[youtube][/youtube]

[SLOroadster]

Unfortunately, I didn't get a video of Will running his M3 through the autocross at warp speed, but I did capture a small video of Leo (Seabisquit) running the Roadster through the back section... Nice!

[youtube][/youtube]

At the end of the day it could have been either Corey or myself roosting through the cones in the M3. He was only about 1 second slower than I was, pretty impressive if you ask me.

We will be doing another school/test and tune likely in the spring.

Will