Slow time of the day...

... almost. 

This was my second autocross. I was in the middle of the novice group last month, with blown out shocks, no bump stops, and no fuel pressure in the turns. 

Fixed the fuel problem and replaced the shocks and bumpstops. I'm still on 400 TW tires, and this surface was super slick. The lack of skill has also carried over from last month.

This time I was third from last. I was only a bit faster than a Grand Cherokee, and about six seconds faster than an 89 year old in a 30 year old Thunderbird!

  Best part Is that I had a great time, so I met my goals! 

A Grand Cherokee? Autocrossing? Wat.

In reply to NickD :

Different but similar:

Some guy showed up to local drags in a grand cherokee with a v8. Didn't sound fancy, didn't have slicks. 

What he did have was a 250 shot and was running 11s. Caught more than a few off guard. 

The Grand Cherokee might have been an SRT although I didn't get close enough to see. It sure sounded like one (in a good way).

They are quick in a straight line, but this was a tight course on a really slick surface. The asphalt is at least 30 years old and gets used by more than one autocross Club, plus the Sheriff's Department. It's worn right down.

Floating Doc said:

  Best part Is that I had a great time, so I met my goals! 

You win, your last line says it all. When I started out I knew I was not going to be competitive for awhile. Once I was able to hang with the people in my class I started getting all worked up that I didn't  beat "xxx" this event. Soon after I realized I started this hobby to have fun with my car and my friends.  Now a successful weekend is having fun,  learning something new and bringing the car home in mostly the same shape as it left the house. As long as you are having a good time you are doing it right, hope it takes days to wipe the smile off your face.

You had fun, and didn't get an STD. Sounds like a successful day outside to me!  

In reply to imgon :

Yeah, can't wait for the next event! A close family friend asked me when did I first want to get into this. I told her, when I was about 12.  I'm  62.

I'm going to stay on these tires and the stock suspension for the rest of the year.

I figure that the learning curve might be better if it's more challenging to drive, and I don't want a set of sticky tires to cover up the lack of skill. I'm not ever going to be a challenge to any other serious competitors anyhow, but the fun is built in.

Floating Doc said:

In reply to imgon :

I'm going to stay on these tires and the stock suspension for the rest of the year.

I figure that the learning curve might be better if it's more challenging to drive, and I don't want a set of sticky tires to cover up the lack of skill. 

I did my first three years on Cooper Cobras, while improving the 275,000 mile chassis/suspension, and working on the driver. By the time I decided to try Kumho 710s, I was 1.5 seconds back from the other guy in my class. It took him a season to figure out what to do about it. :)

In reply to Floating Doc :

If you can get better on 400tw tires, You'll be crazy fast on 200tw tires, I promised!