ACCURATEin

This weekend there was an autoX event held in Charlotte, and Bearcat94 had PMed me some info about the event. I decided to show up and see what kind of action was going on. I took some pics of him driving his TL-S around the course. For a FWD 5AT big body the car looked very impressive coming out of the hole and digging into the corners. He made a comment that some of the instructors were impressed with the power output from this Acura.

Enjoy the pics!

ACCURATEin

And here are a few shots of a WDP Trio!...

Bearcat94, Chill_dog, and ACCURATEin.

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

Damn very nice, Looks like Bear was ripping it up out there. Eric, why didnt you enter mang!

Ryans04PrlTL

whers my tl fit in the trio i got get rims b4 the 12th now

Ryans04PrlTL

chill-dog must be the other other WDP i see everday on my way to work i noticed its you now that i see close up pics

bigBLACKTL

nice shots, looks like bear had a good run, accuratien u should have done the course aswell!

HONgDA

iTrader: (1)

how many cones did he knock down? lol.

now that you pushed it to its limits, what mods do you feel you need to improve on?

elkayem

lol
awww
I'm loving WDP TL-S's more the more I see it. =[

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

Get it together damnit! haha

enigmaos

iTrader: (4)

it looks like you guys had some fun especially bearcat. good pics!

Bearcat94

Eric this is a really nice pic. Might have to make my desktop for a couple of weeks.

Really, really nice for you and Chill_Dog to come out to watch. It was GREAT to have some AZ friends at the finish line giving me a . Thanks.

And thanks for the pics & post.




Today was newbie day - some classroom, some practice. The actual competitive event is tomorrow. Eric could still make the show.

I did "rip it up" a little. Left a lot of Michelin rubber behind and bounced it off the rev limiter a couple of times.




Yeah, I took out a couple of cones. But I didn't take any home with me. .

The car did VERY well. The course was fairly short and tight (keeping speeds down for the newbies) and the TL-S had pretty much as much "oomph" as it needed.

RSB and Spings made a BIG difference I am sure. Turning-wise the car was very composed and responsive. All of the problems I had (primarily understeer and to a lesser extent acceleration and braking) were related to TRACTION - I didn't have *nearly* enough.

As Eric mentioned a couple of the instructor's commented very favorably on the power and handling - they were surpised.

Biggest improvement needed (other than the driver) is TIRES!! Still running (or should I say "ruining") the stock MXM4's. Other than that, a little more low end torque would be nice. Shocks might offer some improvement, but not nearly as much as TIRES!!

I'm going to fool with air pressures some to "fool" the car into a little more over-steer. We'll see how that goes tomorrow.


I've read comments in the past about thinking you're a good driver, then finding out for sure once you get on a track or AutoX course. Well, those comments are right. If I could improve my brake/turn/acceleration points and inputs better, I'd cut another a second or two without changing anything else. And I *am* a "good" driver.

Had a blast. Started out with runs ~34 sec then a couple of 33's in the 1st session (with VSA on :idiot: ). Second session got into the low 32's and one run at 31.9. Beat a newer Vette (he was running 33's and mid/high 32's), but the driver was . Best drivers (instructors) were running 28s - 30s.



Some really nice cars: Lots of Subi's, a Lancer or two, a newer M-series Coupe, and an awesome current gen "Bullitt" Mustang.

Oh, and 1 3G WDP Acura TL-S.

pokin

Trio...
Good, badd and wicked.

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

Damn Bear...that picture is going as my new background:-D

Black_dc2

Nice shots. Bet that was fun. Should of hit me up.

Aman

If you're looking for new tires, I hear Falken FK452s are really good, and this would be a good chance to get rims if you want.

BAT3STL

nice pictures, all three cars looking good.

TrevorT

iTrader: (2)

That's awesome guys, good stuff.

We used to hit them up when they did them at the Eastland Mall parking lots.

Back then I had a 1999 and 2001 Prelude both with 18's, coilovers, sway bars, tie bars, etc.. I raced motorcycles and can figure out lines and apex's fairly quickly. However just like you said when you get in the car and play on the cone corses its a whole different ball game. I remember trying to "muscle" my cars through the slalom with heavy multi piece 18" rims, wow what a nightmare that was!

Next time you go let me know and I'll grab one of the old motorcycle helmets and head out to meet up!

Bearcat94

Sounds good.

Paypal bearcat94@needsmoney.com

Thanks for your donation. :wink: lol.

elkayem

LOL
Sorry I smacked myself awake.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

I want to do some auto x'ing also but don't really have the time.. did find a road course not too far from home might look into it once I get settled in... possibly even make my car competition ready and see what it can do against big ballers like the lotus and mugen s2ks

for the record... do cones scratch the paint...? and to be running 2-3 seconds behind the pros... on the mistakelins not bad at all... I'd say a combination of better tires and later breaking with understeer control would get you 30 flat

jeowen

thats awesome, what a great time!

Ramrodthrusterpuppy

Looks like loads of fun!

That one pic looks like the top of that front tire is kissing the inner fenderwell....

darksom1

Bear: I'm proud of you mannggg!! Way to represent the TL amongst the pros!! BTW...does your insurance cover cones? Just asking...

Chill_dog: Awww...her still have her wittle booties on!! Isn't that so tweet! Hercules, Hercules (like Eddie Murphy's "Nutty Professor - Klumps")!!!!

Eric: Why is your car "accidentally" sticking out further than the other two cars in all of the shots??

mamitaxchula

iTrader: (1)

Nice pics! AutoX looks like loads of fun...

01tl4tl

Track days at road race courses should be on every ziners schedule this year. IMO.
Prices vary, but 200-250 dollars per day- your car- with a pro driver riding shotgun to give instant corrections...you learn car control skills that directly transfer to the street. Speeds are usually in 2nd and 3rd gear- 40-90 mph, maybe 110 tops at most courses, and 1st timers all run in a group of slower cars together.
More experienced drivers with track experience get faster run groups and can do lead and follow with instuctor in another car and/or drive alone.

AutoX events- like SCCA hosted, are usually 25-35 dollars entry for 1 day event.
More for a 2 day school like the one pictured
The skills developement comes at you fast! Speeds may only be 25-35, but with full throttle and max braking between each turn, thats 30 seconds of full on concentrated driving on a course tighter than a go-kart track...in a TL!!!!

Cones dont hurt the car- well nothing some polish wont remove in most cases.
You are supposed to get right at the edge of the cone- not run over it!!!
Todays driver feedback should be an interesting read.

NOTE: at most places- Helmets must be SNELL approved and 10 years old or less.
Motorcycle Snell M or race car designed Snell SA helmets with a sticker of 2000 would be the current acceptable standard.
Loaner or rental helmets are available at events- advise them ahead to make sure.
Hope everyone goes and learns how to excel at skills ~

Aman

more pics!

Bearcat94

"That'll buff right out". You'd never even notice it on NBP.

See the pics below.




Naw. Not rubbing. You can still see a gap on the upper back side. I think it's just the angle that makes it look that way on the very front and back edge. No worries.



"That's right, Mr. Insurance Adjuster, I was driving through a parking lot last weekend and ran over something. I tried to avoid it, but couldn't. I didn't go back to retrieve it and didn't realize how much damage there was until I got home."





Totally agree. Anybody will learn from this PLUS it's SAFE and LEGAL.


$35 for the AutoX; $60 for the school. Total of ~15 runs.



You got that right. It's not as easy as it looks. I got up to ~ 40 - 42 MPH; Some coures you'll get up around 60.

Precision car control and precise brake/throttle inputs are the key. Jerking a 3,900 pound car though a slalom is hard work.




As you know, if you don't clip a cone or two from time-to-time, you're not close enough. OTOH, if you run it down and drag it home, you F'd up somewhere.



A "good" cone impact (just missed the mark by a few inches):




F'd up and hit this one Head On (dead center, baby) and drug it half-way around the course




Don't worry, I'll have 'em buffed out in no time (just like yesterday )



I'll do one better. Will be getting a video compilation of my runs, including some in-car. As soon as I get it on the interweb, I'll revive the thread and post a link.

CL Platano

looks good..I go every week to the AutoX and take pics of my boy in his G35TT going around the course. The next time you go just throw on some painters tape for those areas that can hit the pavement or cones.

Bearcat94

Course Changed. Essentially ran yesterday's course backwards and it was harder that way. Most of the Novice's lost time compared to yesterday.

Handicapped (PAX) times (Adjustment based on Car plus Modifications) Novice Class:



Handicapped, overall, I ran 72nd out of 108 entries. Top 10 times (adjusted) were 23.1 - 23.9.



Raw Times (unadjusted) Novice Class:



Unadjusted, overall, I ran 84th of 108 entries. Top 10 times were 25.2 - 28.6.


What I learned:

1. It's not the car as much as it's the driver.

2. If you're spinning your wheels you're losing time. Slow w/traction is better than Fast with no traction. The TL-S (with street tires anyhow) has too much power to go full throttle on a course this tight - you've got to be smooth and easy with the gas.

3. Tire pressure to minimize under-steer should be High in the rear and ~5 or more psi lower in the front. Since it was cold today and the course was short I set the rears to 44 psi (max for the MXM4) and 39 in the front. For the last 2 runs, I took a pound out of the front.

This makes the contact patch in the rear thin (front-to-back) which will allow/cause the rear to break free sooner. Wouldn't recommend pressures that high for the street though.

As far as under-steer, this ran better than yesterday which were set to 41 Front and 38 Rear (which is +5 psi over what I normally run day-to-day).




Todays Runs:

1. 36.071 DNF (got "lost" and missed a gate, then to add insult to injury, clipped a cone in the slalom )

2. 33.653 Clean

3. 32.646 Clean

4. 33.412 +1 Cone



Find an AutoX nearby and go. Lots of nice cars (and lots of FAST beaters too), lots of nice people and lots of fun. What more could you ask for 35 bucks?

ACCURATEin

...you gottum!...

ACCURATEin

Jim it was fun watching you rip it up yesterday on the course. I wish i could have gotten there a little earlier to see you run today.

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

Damn Bear, you did great for the first time. I want to autocross

jumbosizeme79

good numbers bear... very very impressed esp for a first timer...

Bearcat94

More pics. I PM'd you an email address to send me hi res versions.

I think I know where these are now.

Exit of a Right Hand sweeper at the bottom of the slalom:







Coming out of that right-hander ( ^^ ) you go into a 180* left hander to the finish. This looks like the run where I overshot the turn in and nearly took out a whole flock of cones (see how high rear end is - I am standing on the brakes) before I gathered it up and gunned it through the timing lights.

01tl4tl

I forgot to mention to you before the school- a set of $15-20 mechanics gloves or real racing gloves will give superior grip and control of the wheel in tight situations
Now practice your 2 foot driving and get some real tires~

aznbo187

iTrader: (1)

Ohh that looks like fun!! The next time you post up pictures Eric, I better see all THREE TL's on the course!! =D

chill_dog

After watching this Saturday, I want to do it, but I will wait until I have some good tires on my new wheels...doing this on my EL42's would be nothing but a waste of my time and money. I guess I could throw the 19's on to do it, but I don't see that happening.

Bearcat - you looked good out there. You were definitely one of the better drivers there.

Eric - great shots. Now post some of the pics of the other cars.

darksom - Yeah, yeah, yeah...tell one of these bishes to buy my wheels and we'll see what you have to say.

Bearcat94

^^

Yeah, Eric. Post up some the Subi's, Z's, etc.

I KNOW you took pics of them; it's in your blood, there's no way you could resist.

aznbo187

iTrader: (1)

Actually, you should try it out on your stockies. It's recommended to start out with less of performance tires so that way you can learn the cars ability first WITH crappy tires. And then get better tires. Performance tires should help you improve your time, not make up as a handicap for bad driving.

Bearcat94

Hard to do since it's counter-intuitive, but probably not a bad strategy.

I *know* I could run faster times on the MXM4's if I'd go easier/smoother on the accelerator. If I could learn to do that, then it'd be easier to be smooth with grippier tires.