Sunday's Autox

[ImolaFem]

Just wanted to post to RMDSM about this weekend's autox. Its the first one
I've been at in 5 months....so I was a bit nervous about my performance.
But, in the end, there was nothing to be worried about....

Let me list my mods first on my 1995 Eagle Talon TSI AWD:

Go Fast:
FP Big28 (hits 22 psi but falls off to 16 psi by the shift)
Big Greddy FMIC
RRE Lower and Upper IC piping
2.5 Bushur downpipe
2.5 test pipe
3 inch Thermal catback
550 cc injectors
DSMlink
Walboro 255 lph fuel pump

Suspension:
Ground Control coilovers -- 550 lb front, 450 lb rear
Tokico Illuminas -- "2" on the front, "4" on the rear
RM Swaybars
RRE Strut tower bars
rx7 rims -- 16x8
Kumho Victoracer V700 Tires "R compound" 245x45x16

Stopping power:
Stock calipers front and rear
Stock MC
Powerslotted rotors in the front
Metal Master pads in the front
Stock (original) rotors and pads in the rear

OK, so I think that's all that's necessary to tell you how much I LOVE my
setup. With this setup I had almost no lag coming out of the turns (will go
completely away when I LFB). Plus the car hauled @SS! My "autox groupies"
(Big thanks to EVERYONE that came out to support me!) said it looked as fast
as the Z06s coming out of the turns and down the straights. Much better
response than the Big 16G I had. So even if the turbo refuses to hold
boost, I still love it =)

The car rotated so well with those spring rates and shock
settings....definitely very neutral, almost an oversteer setup. Much, much
better than the 400/325 spring setup I had for last season. My first run my
tire pressures were too high, but the car was happy at 41 psi in the front
and 38 psi in the rear that I set on the 2nd run. I had a pressure sprayer
out there for cooling off the tires and the radiator after each run (the
Intercooler sure didn't need it =) 92 degree weather too.

In the end, my best run ended up being a 49.961....exactly the same as
Jake's (who placed first in SM). So I woulda tied for first if I didn't race in SML. =)

I'm looking forward to some bigger brakes for next year....I had the pedal
all the way to the floor and the car barely stopped sometimes....bigger
brakes and brake coolers!

Oh, and I must say that 5000 rpm stutterbox launches are the $H!T for autox
too!

Now I have to decide between the DSM meet Saturday and the AutoX
Sunday....cuz I move into my new house this weekend =)

Mandy
Psyched about her car and autox again!

[DlandryTSI]

Hehe if I had a clutch left I would have gone :(.

--Dave

[ImolaFem]

Definitely. Its such a blast....and you learn how to drive your car so much better too. It has saved me a lot on the street from stupid drivers.

[tekky]

Aye, sounds like fun, I'll have to come out and watch once I hit the roads again :rolleyes: Too bad I dun have AWD, would be fun, hell maybe once I get it all together I'd be willing to go FWD just for the hell of it... no different then country roads (gravel at 70+mph) heh. Yes my car was abused when it was younger :P

Good luck and congratz TalonGrrl

[hoffman]

actually there were alot of FWDs running that day. alot of neons running. pretty quick too.

[DlandryTSI]

The neons are pretty impressive for SCCA stuff. I took mine out to the SCCA event at bandimere. Hehe killed the last of my tires but i was kicking some ass :).

--Dave

[DSMxTSi]

I don't know about the newer Neons, but the first generation had an optional model built specifically for auto-x type events. It was the Neon ACR and had Koni shocks/struts, larger sway bars, no wing or fog/driving lights, don't think it even had A/C. A friend back in Iowa had one and it was definately a great handling car.

Cody