Automotive/AX frustration

viper_racer wrote: save money and buy your toyo r888's and hoosier a6 or r6 racing tires used from www.johnbtires.com

I wouldn't go 888s, everything I've heard is that they don't provide any more grip than RA1s but last half as long.

And a6/r6? No thank you, I won't run a tire I can't drive on to the event.

This post seems very much like it's paddling in a big yellow canoe.

ReverendDexter wrote: What do you guys do when you're hitting that point where it's borderline fun or not? ... Obviously I'd have more fun if I felt I was competitive.

I'm the opposite. I stop having fun when I'm competitive.

Oddly enough, when I throw in the towel and forget about being competitive and just have fun, I end up posting better times.

Im kind of getting frustrated too. I'm just sick of having a slow car lol. I just have to keep it in my head that I cant really do anything until I'm out of school.

I've never been competitive in anything I have ever done. But autocross is the only thing I've actually wanted to be competitive in. Being competitive in SM with a Honda is laughable unless you pour tons of money into it. And then in the end you still have a car thats wrong wheel drive.

I've been using R888's for a while now (bought used) and like them quite a bit... haven't had a chance to try RA1's, A6's ,or R6's... they're coming sometime in the future

ReverendDexter wrote: And a6/r6? No thank you, I won't run a tire I can't drive on to the event.

To be honest, if you're going to have that sort of attitude, then you should move back to a 140TW class.

Or, just drive A6's to the event... it's been done.

I'm in a similar situation. My solution: Sell car. Step back. Do other things for awhile.

OK, now that everyone else has told you how to make the the car more competitive, I'm gonna take a different angle...

...park the car.

You obviously have a love for the car, and it is important for it to remain part of the family. But you don't sound married to the sport enough to get really good at it, and you appear to have other priorities.

That's OK.

It took a long time for me to put aside my competitive side and accept the fact that I wasn't the world's best driver. AutoXing was more work than it should be, and the bottom line was that it wasn't gonna happen.

That's about the time I parked my faster cars and bought the Yugo from Hell.

I have a blast in that car. I will NEVER win any class, and certainly not any event. But just showing up to an event in that darned little car is a complete party, and everyone has a great time.

I now autocross infrequently, spend the time I want to with my wife and kids, and make no apologies for my "lack of commitment" to the sport. I show up now and then, have a lot more fun than most of the guys working much harder at it than I am, and really enjoy myself. I don't even have to have a car to have fun- I enjoy watching others too.

Give yourself a break. Park the 'Stang in honor of you Dad, buy something fun but a bit non-competitive, and enjoy those outings with your wife. It's OK.

Once you find the fun again, the competitive edge will redevelop. You just can't force it.

Along the same lines as Svrex... except, don't park it.

Take it to an HPDE. You are not allowed to compete so there is no pressure and you get a solid 2Hrs of behind the wheel time per day to just enjoy driving the snot out of your car. It ruined auto-x for me forever in '98 when I did my 1st one at Watkins Glen. 2hrs driving on a real race track vs a combined 150 seconds in an 8hr day. C

You said something about karting... do more of it. Its a blast. Its wheel-to-wheel and its exciting as hell. Its tons cheaper than trying to keep a mod car in tires. It also has the advantage of hanging on a wall when not in use.

Just more info (or noise) for ya.....

I heartily recommend a driver's school like Evolution. You will get a lot out of the car and you get a chance to have someone "in industry" drive your car and watch you drive your car -- both of these will definitely help you be a better driver and get more out of the car.

Everyone says the best money spent is on adjusting the nut behind the wheel. Keep the mods to a minimum for now and just drive. If you change anything, change your tire pressures and shock settings.

Get a co driver.

Keep the R compounds. I immediately started having more fun once I switched and never thought about switching back.

Get a race seat AND a 5 pt harness. Once you are firmly belted in you'll be amazed at how much more you'll be focused on just driving.

I did all of the above except for the co-driver and it helped me get the most out of a Cavalier Z-24 that I was running in ESP around 20 years ago. Car wasn't competitive because of class (there was no FSP at the time), but it was very enjoyable to drive on course.

hth....

RA-1's will definitely hurt your time. Last event I did in my Miata (on RA-1s) the format was 1 warm-up run, and 2 seperately timed runs. My times were always faster in my second run, even if I felt I'd driven more cleanly in the first one. Clearly, it took that much time to get the tires up to temp.

Would you have fun if you changed your focus at events? Maybe start becoming a regular instructor. Get your satisfaction from watching other people learn and get hooked. You can still drive and have fun, but rather than basing your "success" on how fast you went, you can bas it on how much your students improve.

If you don't want to use the A6's, then go to a street tire class.

Also - You need a BF front bar.