SCCA Sacramento Region Enduro Auto-X Nov. 15/16

[AtomicLabMonkey]

The Enduro is on like Donkey Kong for the weekend of November 15/16th. This is about as close as you get to a track weekend while still staying in an auto-x setting.

http://www.sfrscca.org/solo2/Sacramento/Enduro2003.htm

[dknv]

this is tempting ...
I still have race rubber ...

hmmm, do the banquet sat. nite & drive down sun. morning .... hmmmm...

[AtomicLabMonkey]

For those who haven't been to an Enduro before, the format is three, 2-continuous-lap runs on Saturday, then one 5-continuous-lap run on Sunday. Trophies are awarded to the top three finishers in each class on Sunday.

[ArthurS]

I wont be running, but thats after my test date. I would want to go watch!

[sperry]

Hey Austin, how'd the enduro go!?

[AtomicLabMonkey]

It was pretty good; I don't like the fairgrounds site in Stockton as well as the (former) Sacramento sites like McClellan/Cal Expo/Mather though. It's smaller and a lot bumpier. I only went out on Sunday since it was raining on Saturday... I didn't really feel like driving out to slog around in the rain. I met up with another Mustang owner in SM who had in-car video of Saturday's runs and there was standing water all over the course, everyone was sliding around and taking out cones right & left.

Even on Sunday it was dry but still a little hairy out there... there was loose stuff all over the course just slightly off-line, so if you missed the line by a foot at most there was no grip to be had. It was fairly cool too, in the 50s or 60s, and the race tires didn't have any grip when cold. I gave the car maybe half-throttle off the starting line and just sat there spinning the tires. Let way off and finally got it to hook up, wound it up to the top of first gear, grabbed second gear & let it out, and whoaaaaa-baby... I almost went for a serious ride off-course, cause the back end slid out at probably a 45* yaw angle... it almost got away from me. I'm sure it was very entertaining to watch for the spectators standing along the front stretch. After some serious counter-steering and cramming my heart back down out of my throat, it was somewhat back under control and off to the races. The whole first lap it was really sliding around since the tires were cold... 2nd lap I could get on it a little better... 3rd lap, now I can tell the tires are warm, it's sticking pretty well... 4th & 5th lap they're hot and the car is planted to the ground. It's pretty crazy how much the tire temps affect the overall grip level with the Kumhos.

I finished 4th out of 8 in SM (dammit... only missed a 3rd place trophy by a second!). I think the top three spots were all BMW M3's (rich bastards ).

Once the tires warmed up the car felt pretty good, no major handling issues... I think to compete with the M3's the car just needs more tire, more power & less weight. And me not almost spinning coming out of the starting gates.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

I think to compete with the M3's the car just needs more tire, more power & less weight. And me not almost spinning coming out of the starting gates.

That's funny, that's all I need to race in F1; if my Subaru had giant Michelens, 1000hp and only weighed 1200 lbs, I'm pretty sure I could compete!

Seriously, it sounds like a cool event! I should have gone down for the rain on Saturday, that's the Subaru advantage! I didn't go, but last season's race at Winemucca was wet, and the WRX's were spanking the C5 Vettes!

[AtomicLabMonkey]

Originally Posted by sperry

That's funny, that's all I need to race in F1; if my Subaru had giant Michelens, 1000hp and only weighed 1200 lbs, I'm pretty sure I could compete!

Well not really.. at those speeds your car would be an aerodynamic brick.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

Well not really.. at those speeds your car would be an aerodynamic brick.

Doesn't matter; enough power, wide enough tires and light enough weight will counter all other issues. That was the point of my comment.

If my WRX weighed 200 lbs, had 3000hp, and 3 foot wide tires... it'd be faster than any car in any race league. Granted I'm breaking the laws of physics with the materials that we currently have, but with those specs, I could drag a parachute and still beat a top fuel dragster if I wanted.

Hell, you could even toss weight out of the equation. Fundamentally, it's all about thrust-to-weight and grip. If I can out accelerate and out top speed all the other cars, as well as hold more cornering force then my car is by definition faster. So even a 3000lb WRX brick could beat an F1 car if it had say 10,000 hp and enough grip to make use of it and corner at like 2 G's. 'Course I'm not sure what a 10,000hp WRX with 3' wide tires would look like... some sort of jet-powered world rally steam-roller.