wow, what an awesome time. I'm still smiling 8 hours later! Even though a CL is totally not designed for this sport, I still had a blast learning pushing it to its limit.

The course was faster than what I expected... but i never once looked down at my speedo, so I have no clue what the max speed was. VTEC kicked in several times though, during 3 slaloms and 1 S-turn. The hairpin turn really showed up our school-bus like turning radius, had to almost come to a stop and lock the steering just to make the corner and that was at parking lot speed; any tighter and it would have been physically impossible to make the turn without hitting a cone.

Did 6 timed runs (went OC twice though ) and one fun run (which was my best time, go figure). Realized after run #1 that the CL is desperately in need of some firmer suspension. Mine had more body roll than Oprah at a free lobster buffet. Check out the wear on the sidewalls...lucky I didn't end up driving on the rims! Airing the tires up to 42 psi on the 3rd run helped mitigate that somewhat.

Oh, before anyone asks, I came in last.

 

hehe congrats, im still dreaming of the next time i get to go, specially now that i new tires better suited for it.

next time, increase your psi. by the end of my first day i had my fronts at 55psi, rears 50. i dont think ill have to go that high with my newer tires (falken azenis) cause they are a much stifffer tire then the stock crud that i had.

 

yeah, a day later and I'm already thinking how I can do better. Woke up with a nice bruise on my right knee/shin..must have hit the transmission housing and not realized it.

were you able to adjust the seat & wear the helmet? I ended up opening the sunroof and driving kinda lopsided so my head wasn't squished up against the roof. Gotta get a lower profile helmet.

You think >50psi is safe for the stock michelins? I'm just going by sidewall data that read max 40.

Just about everyone there brought tire/wheel for the race. Not specifically R compound, but a lot of guys just didn't want to wear out their stock tires. Seems like a good idea for my first mod, and it would still keep me in stock class. Let me know how much better you liked the falkens

 

the guys that complete in stock class can run almost any tires that fit on a rim of stock dimension... whats the class the typeS is put into? C-stock?

you can also change up to stiffer shocks, sways, and still be alowed to run street prepared. be forewarned tho, once you change the springs you are automatically bumped into Street touring which is an extremely competitive class. unfortuantely the CL doesnt do too good if youre looking for any points.

 

I'm not sure of the actaul class designation; I know I ran in stock. I was told that I could have 2 points added and still run stock. I think R-compound and shocks are 1 pt each.

But you hit a key point, I could dump $3-4,000 into suspension & tires, and still not be as quick as that $750 RX-7 beater. Auto-X for me & the CL-S will not be about competing against anyone but myself (unless another CL/TL shows up! ). With that in mind, I've set two related goals. The first is to learn to become a better driver, and auto-X seems to provide a venue to practice skills that can transferred to defensive driving. The second is to set up the CL so that I can get the most out of it handling-wise, even if that means being bumped up to a higher class and being repeatedly defeated.