so basically i can either drive like a man on a mission or the laughing stock of the autoX event ? :) well when phrased that way :P ..... :P

Since this is not a subaru only event, do they get canceled out if its raining? (i would think/ HOPE TO GOD subaru drivers would be excited to autoX in the rain, while like corvette drivers would not be ) :) (so wishing for a rainny autox , could be a bad idea)

Let me just put it this way:



That was from the '04 Test-n-Tune.

CorrectedWe've also run in some thunderstorms, sort of, but for the most part, we have been really lucky with weather except at our schools. I think it's been two or three years in a row they have been miserable.

Yeeeeeehaaaaaaw :) That's awesome I'm so stoked for april. (except the whole income tax being due part ) :P "this is gonna be cool"

Why isn't Matt's sig: "Hey Y'all watch this!"

That is classic. I think I remeber seeing the diagrams with Matt's explanation sans the quote.

I'm going to do my best to make this as well so A1337STI you won't be the only newb out there. Of course I have the advantage that these guys have seen me drive at RFR and already got there laughs out!

Theo was crazy! (Where's he been lately?) But for that matter, Matt and MikeK and Sperry are crazy too.
omg, some of those cones were like half a mile away. Then what would happen is, Matt would clip a cone, I run out & set it back up, then Scott comes along & clips the same cone. Ahggg! Can't breathe!

Hahaha....Good times. My explanation:
1. The E-brake u-turn at Lovelock was VERY well excecuted and I think I would have made up time around that turn. I screwed up by overpowering the exit, and spinning all four wheels and sliding off the course. I was having too much fun to lift :lol: Honestly though, as quick as the car rotated, I think that may be the only instance where the drift might make up time.

2. Debbie, I'm sorry...hahaha. I got crazy at that right hander because there was so much dust in the car from #1 (see above) that I could not see properly. I should have just stopped.

3. Nick, the MSpaint illustration you are referring to was not this event, instead, it was to explain the Solo Trials crash I had (also at Lovelock) where I went off into the desert sideways at the top of 4th gear :eek: This is also known as the origin of my motto..."I got this bitch!"

Here's a writeup that popped up on NASIOC today Not bad, gets the point across.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=951026

great thread ;) thanks for the post

Quite the fortuitous discovery, there. Wow, pix and everything! :lol:

I feel a good .05 seconds faster already ;) which should lower my time to about 5 minutes. you said the average is about 1 minute ? :P

I'm gonna be picking up a Bell SR-Pro helmet (SA2000, because it's about $100 less than the SA2005) and a Schroth Rallye 3 harness from soloracer.com.

Does anyone have any alternate suggestions before I make the purchase?

Or a lightly used Rallye 3 harness they'd like to sell for cheap? ;)

I fully endorse your picks. Great helmet, and great harnesses. And the $100 discount sounds worth it, since you'll be able to use that helmet for like 10 years at autocross, and on the track for the next 5.

I've got a set of those harnesses (as do like 10 other SECCS people) and love them. People will argue that they're not as safe as the factory 2-point belts in a rollover, but that's a decision you'll have to make for yourself. Personally, I run the schroths during both autocross and track days, as long as they're legal within the organization that's running the event (SCCA doesn't allow aftermarket belts on track w/o a rollbar, no matter what, at least that was the rule last season). I'd be happy to sell you my harnesses as soon as I get a cage, but the cage is being delayed a while, and my driver's belt does have signs of wear, so once I get a cage I will likely just toss them out, or sell the buckles/hardware as spare parts.

Good choice on the helmet, but I think you'll have a hard time finding the SA2000 version. Soloracer only has smalls left on their clearance shelf. :(

I use my harnesses on the track as well. I figure the increased risk of injury in a rollover is more than balanced by the better feel and control I have of the car with harnesses on. I have a 4-point g-Force harness in my miata that will be a full 6 point harness once I put in the race bucket. And in a collision, I would much prefer to be wearing my harness than the stock belts, since in my case, the lapbelt is much higher than my hips for some reason. If I hit something head-on I'm gonna have some internal injuries with the OEM belt on. :-|

Small is exacly the size that I need. :)

And with as relatively rare as rollovers seem to be in autox, I'll definitely use a harness. The stock belt blows fuzzy goats - I don't want to have to brace against the steering wheel to hold myself in place anymore.

There's always "the seatbelt trick"... slide the seat all the way back, jerk the belt so it locks, slide the seat forward so the belt is locked against you. I use that trick at the track when the harnesses aren't allowed.

I teach it to almost all my students, and use it myself in 90% of my students cars that don't have harnesses, and it works great.

It takes practice to learn where to slide to to get it to work and end up in the right seating position.

Depending on the car, sometimes seat back tilt, or seat up and down or som combination work better, especially with power seats.

And it's free. ;)

Dean showed me the trick during the autocross school last year. It took me until the last couple events to get in down, so I could do it in about 10 seconds. It does help, but feels nowhere near as good as harnesses.

The side bolsters in the RS aren't anything fantastic, so I want something that'll hold me down by both shoulders. The benefits of having a harness over a stock belt were very apparent when I rode along with Dean last year. :lol:

^^ If your '05 seats are anywhere near as shitty as my '01 stockers, I fully understand your pain! My only benefit was that I'm taller than you, and used the tranny tunnel/driver's door to brace my self with my knees, depending on which direction I was turning. Ghey.

The '05 comes w/ the same seats as the WRX, doesn't it? 'Course, I don't think there have been factory seats more comfortable than the '02/'03 WRX seats (at least here in the US, since the US STI seats are too wide).

I can't wait to replace mine with racing shells so I've got a seat to build a GT4/PC cockpit with. :lol:

Someone will definatly have to show me this seatbelt trick :)

The provided link says that they often pair up the greenist Noob with the most advanced driver at the event. Hopefully that will be the case here :) pretty darn sure i'm gonna be the greenist Noob there :) i'm not sure who has the most experiance. and if it matters if the instructors knows your car model well, or if its more imporant they know autoX well (probably the later, but i dunno) . Do they always run a car behind you? If i know i'm going to drive the first run slow on purpose can the hold the next guy back , or is that not allowed ? :)

Oh, you won't be the only NOOB there! I've never dont this before either! I'm so f'ing excited! I can't wait!

Cars are spaced so no one will run up on the next car. And if there's a spin or something, the 2nd car gets red flagged and is given a re-run. There's almost never more than two cars on course at one time.

+1 :)

So you are you planning on doing the autocross school the weekend prior also Mimpreza ?
:)

I'll be there! Look for me! I'm hard to miss...

P.S. I have to give you shit for butchering my name! Don't worry, everybody does!

Wow, worst butchering of Mpreziv yet! :lol:

A1337STI for the win!

ooops , Sorry Mpreziv . Think i'm better at writing C than English. Cool I'll see you there. What color is your RS ? :)

It's Big Gay Al Purple. J/K, it's black with gold fleck in it I think.

^^ Actually, the older ones had red metal flake in the black. The GDA came with the gold flake.

It's black dude! Black rims, CF hood, and a BIG ass Prodrive wing on the back. Holla at 'ya boy!

And don't worry about the spelling! No biggie, just call me Cory. Or Black Cory! :lol:

I'm so stoked about auto-x! There's even a handful of people here at Nissan who are planning on attending! Ed will be there in his G-35, and he's trying to get his brother to come with his VW R-32. (turbo, awd, should be fun!) Even one of our parts guys with a Grand Prix GTP wants to have a go! Auto trans and all!

I'm doing all I can to develop some interest around here! No salesmen though. :D

Is the Whiteline ALK, ESP legal? Is the "comfort" version going to add much NVH?

The ALK puts you into modified. It's not even street mod legal, which is why I've got one in a bag in my garage (w/ the comfort bushings)... I'll sell it to ya for $100... since you're running in Novice you can get away w/ it for a season. :lol: It will also be legal in Time Trials. But once you move up to running a real Solo class, it's not legal. :(

They add NVH but not anymore than pillowball top mounts add.

Weak. But I can do stearing bushings right? I hate how sloppy my stearing feals. I think it's getting worse as teh car gets older.

The steering rack bushings are legal starting this season. Which reminds me, I need to order a set of those bastards.

BTW: Whiteline makes a legal version of the ALK that uses an offset bushing instead of and offset bracket. I don't think it's quite as good as the "real" ALK, but it will still firm up the front-end.

I wanted to get in on this this group buy.

Unbranded combo of ALK and SR for: $140 shipped.

I guess I'll just get the Steering Rack Bushings. :(

Oh by the way - http://www.autocrossforum.com/forums...showtopic=2674
Somebody here talk to this young man's dad at Washoe Med this weekend?

is AutoCross always Solo II ? do they do some higher speed events at fernley ? Solo I ? :mad: I want to solo II first, but i am definatly interested in also checking out a higher speed (street course? road course? track course? track? term?) :mad: figure get my feet wet in some varying event types :mad: thanks in advance for the info :mad:

Edit : all smileys are not angry faces , so Cody isn't freaked out

;) Better ?

You're freakin' me out with the smileys Alex.

Edit: Still freakin' me out. :P

Solo2=autocross. Think the Stead airport events, with a couple at Lovelock and Hawthorne thrown in. Speeds are supposed to stick to 65ish or below for genuine street cars, and always do at Stead. Virtually no risk.

Solo1 is a name no longer used. Club Trials (or Track Trials, if I lost track of which name it is this year again) are higher speed autocrosses that can be on a racetrack, but aren't always. They are run very similarly to Solo 2, but speeds are higher and more safety precautions are taken.

In between are what we generally refer to as "track days." That's just a day where a club or group has rented the track and lets 3 or 4 groups of cars, sorted by experience, out for a period of time to hot lap. For beginners there is little or no passing allowed, and always with the permission of the passee.

Actually "Solo2" is just "Solo" now.

So, in the SCCA, there's Solo (autocross), ProSolo (autocross w/ mirror image courses), Trials (w/ 4 levels: PDX, Club, Track, Hill Climb), and Road Race.

My order's away! :)

The Schroth harnesses seem like a piece of cake to install - am I right?

It takes some time to do it right, but it is not hard. Remember this is a safety device, so take your time, use the right tools/parts, and think things through before doing something.

The back seat has to come out. The fronts as well depending on how you attach the inside lap belt. The attachment pieces need to be properly bent to line up, minimize interfere with stock belts/fittings. The right longer bolts have to be used in the right holes...

I'd suggest doing it with one of our cars nearby as a reference.

Thoughts on the Schroth Rallye 4 Quick fit harness? It fits into the female rear seat belts. -THX

Looks to me like it needs to be bolted to the seatbelt anchors. For a sedan, I would recommend a Rallye 3 bolted to the LATCH anchor. Most of the Schroth crew here bolted them to the shoulder belt anchor though.

I think Schroth says the default point is the shoulder belt anchor.

I was looking at those Quick-fit harnesses as well, and here's what I got: I like the idea of having them use the stock female seatbelt points because of that airbag timing thingy, but the attachment point adapters on the outside ends still need to be bolted in. You're still doing the installation work, but the harness can be removed.

Ultimately, I'd say that they're not worth the extra $$$.

As a side note, I apparently got soloracer.com's LAST SA2000 rated Bell SR-Pro helmet - they've been taken off the site. :lol:

I know a number of people who have gone to the junk yard and gotten a spare belt end with belt attached, and threaded it through the normal Ralley3/4 adjuster to use in the same manner on the inside. You still end up with 1 permanent attachmnet point though, and a differnt grade belt in the mix, so I wouldn't do it.