First Autocross of 2012

sytyguy

sytyguy

Moderated User
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We had our first autocross of the year this weekend in the Buccaneer Region (it was 70 deg out and clear). I took the Syclone out and since we had a pretty small field, I was able to get 16 runs total. Dominated CP (;)) and managed to put together a string of really solid runs that woulda PAX'd nicely. This event was really more of a "knock-the-dust-off" event, so it was really laid back and nice. I'll have some video up tomorrow hopefully. It was quite an adventure even getting it track-worthy, as it has been a garage queen for 1.5 years and hadn't been fired during that time until Tuesday. Did tune-up, fluid changes, put a new propshaft in, put a new IC system in (still A2W), and did some light tuning all on Thursday. Tuned the truck while driving 20 min to the track and did tuning throughout the day whilst running. All in all a very busy week, rewarded with good runs on the weekend.

Feels good to be in the truck since I haven't autocrossed it in over 2 years (codrove in a Pro class with a buddy in his track car in the meantime), but Lord knows I don't miss the stock brakes (soon to be remedied). And, not to let the cat out of the bag completely, but I need to get a few runs in it's current condition to chronicle everything since my truck will be the Official SyTySolo Autocross Truck. :tup: The goal is to blog about each race and slowly mod the truck throughout the year whilst competing in CP (unless I can class for SM2), so that beginners can see (through my experience) what works and what can be omitted. Anyhow, more on that later. Also, the Buccaneer Region staff told me this weekend that they cannot wait until November to put our autocross together for the Shindig, and they praised everyone for their driving skills and professionalism back at the 2010 Shindig. So kudos to you guys. :tup:

PS - The truck is getting resprayed in a few weeks with a custom SyTySolo paint job, so that's why I didn't bother to wash/wax the truck before racing.
 
fronzoos

fronzoos

New member
Re: First Autocross of 2012

Awesome! I have to wait a few months up here for some auto x action. (Thanks snow.) But we do have Ice Crossing, Just not going to be doing that with the Ty, cladding would be eaten off. lol 16 runs is pretty kick ass, what time did you guys start? A lot of cars in CP? Need some more pics as well!!! :tup:

edit: BTW what tires did you run?
 
SYO237

SYO237

SyTy Registry
Re: First Autocross of 2012

I was pretty amped up when you sent me the text. Beating out a Shelby Cobra and 08 vette is impressive. :tup:

Central FL region has an event on Feb 26th which I should be attending with the Sy to start doing my shakedowns and seeing how far I can push my truck. Along with Hood, I'll be blogging about my progress and experience throughout the season.
 
sytyguy

sytyguy

Moderated User
Re: First Autocross of 2012

For the morning session, the track was broken into two courses, an East & West course. Here are my first runs of both courses. Both very slow compared to what I did later in the day, and the truck still had an AE issue that I was slowly tuning out. After lunch they combined the courses into one long 45-50 second course. That's where I really started to put down some decent runs.

Sadly, the GoPro battery died at 12:30 pm.

First run on the East Course (first run of the day).


First run on the West course (and proof that hitting a cone won't make cladding explode :lol:).
 
MRKING

MRKING

New Parts for Old Trucks
Re: First Autocross of 2012

Way to go Hood !

I watched those videos a couple of times and can't wait to see the new paint job . Any renderings you can share ?
 
P

peteraq1

New member
Re: First Autocross of 2012

Nice video's guy's, can't wait to get my Sy out there in 2013. Better brakes humm.... isn't that ESP, If I remember correctly.
 
sytyguy

sytyguy

Moderated User
Re: First Autocross of 2012

MRKING said:
Way to go Hood !

I watched those videos a couple of times and can't wait to see the new paint job . Any renderings you can share ?
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I hope to have some soon. But I can tell you that the paint will look like this (or at least we're gonna try to make it look like this):

23900d1274189468-vinyl-black-gtr-4027.jpg
 
sytyguy

sytyguy

Moderated User
Re: First Autocross of 2012

sycho said:
i never auto crossed, looks fun...
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You gotta get out and try it. You will quickly learn 3 things:

1) It's fun!
2) Things happen much slower when driving vs video. It's not nearly as hard as it seems.
3) You aren't as good at driving as you thought....but you can be.

I have gotten so much better at driving awareness and accident avoidance from autocrossing. Things that made me lockup the brakes and close my eyes when I was a teen are now reacted to by muscle memory from autocrossing. It's a strange but very cool thing to add to your driving toolbelt.
 
qbnkiller

qbnkiller

Conflaguration Specialist
Re: First Autocross of 2012

This is silly....you'd go faster with the egr Hood. Just sayin'!
 
C

crusader8

Running Ty Club
Re: First Autocross of 2012

I was never a fan of trying to go fast AND turn. But a few years ago I took out a 3.2V6 Audi A4 on Atlanta Motor Speedway. We did the course through the in-field with half the oval...What a blast. Nothing like coming into a turn @ 130mph. Would love to try it out in the typhoon.
 
SYO237

SYO237

SyTy Registry
Re: First Autocross of 2012

crusader8 said:
I was never a fan of trying to go fast AND turn. But a few years ago I took out a 3.2V6 Audi A4 on Atlanta Motor Speedway. We did the course through the in-field with half the oval...What a blast. Nothing like coming into a turn @ 130mph. Would love to try it out in the typhoon.
Click to expand...

Dont try 130mph and turning in a Typhoon please...you'll roll it :myclone:

Like Hood said, autoX is really fun and most of the seasoned racers who watch the SyTys go at it seem to be pretty surprised on just how well we do.

The nice part about autoX is that you dont have to go in at 100%. You can take it easy, learn your truck and see where your driving skill is at. Once you get comfortable, you can then start pushing harder to further improve your times and adjust your lines to better your skill in driving the course smooth and fast.

Seems that every time we have an event with autoX involved, those who have never tried it become hooked. It's still new for SyTy, so the more who get into it, the more we can share about the experience and what works / doesnt work.
 
rentedmule

rentedmule

wanna-be
Re: First Autocross of 2012

Cool, looking forward to seeing more updates through the season! What gear do you put the tranny in when you run?

I think you'd be more likely to roll any rig in an auto-X than road racing. Even though the speeds are lower the transitions can be much quicker and more violent.
 
sytyguy

sytyguy

Moderated User
Re: First Autocross of 2012

rentedmule said:
Cool, looking forward to seeing more updates through the season! What gear do you put the tranny in when you run?

I think you'd be more likely to roll any rig in an auto-X than road racing. Even though the speeds are lower the transitions can be much quicker and more violent.
Click to expand...
D just like when drag racing. The speeds are never (usually) high enough to ever shift into 3rd gear, so it really doesn't matter if you put it in OD or D. I just prefer the line pressure and downshift confirmation.
 
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