So today we had an 'autoX' at Grattan Raceway, a local track that turns out to be an absolute blast to run at. Lot's of elevation changes, banking, blind corners, etc. Below is my write-up copy/pasted from another forum. Hoping you guys can help out with what I found on the rear tires after I was done.
First off, a little background on the car. I am running G-stock under SCCA rules. In a nutshell this means the car must remain complataely stock except for:
Front or rear sway, but not both. One can be replaced, removed, but only one.
Struts can be replaced, but not springs.
Exhaust from the cat back can be replaced.
Dot R-compound tires are allowed, however the stock size wheel must be used (diameter and width, offset may be changed +/- 0.25," spacers are allowed in that calculation).
So my car is a bone stock '87 325is, save for Koni SA's in the rear, snd basketweaves wrapped with 225/50/14 Hankook Ventus Z214 C71 (soft compound). I had done about 26 runs on these tires prior to today, and never noticed this type of wear at all. However today was a bit outside of your normal autoX...
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So long story short, Grattan is awesome!! The section we ran was very technical, so many twists, banks, crests, blind corners, it was an absolute blast. And not very often I cross the finish line of an 'autoX' at 85-90 mph! We got 4 runs total, my best being a 77.xxx. Got faster and more confident with each run, but there was definitely more time out there. Not gonna lie, there were a couple places I just didn't have the balls to keep the throttle pinned when I knew the car would hold it. But for my first time on a legit racetrack, I was very happy with how well I did, beat multiple Mustang/Camaro/Corvettes, an E36 M3, and was only 3 secs off a 1M. Car felt great, the Koni's in the rear definitely helped the car rotate on lift-off oversteer, which is exactly what I was hoping for. Scared me a bit with how much it did that at times lol, but I think with a little getting used to I won't have any issues with it. Austin also came out and got a ride with me, along with some pics of me in action :D Still working on getting him to do one of these with his car ;)
One thing that I really started to notice as the day went on, I think I need to do something to hold me in better if I am going to be doing more events like this. I was having a hard time shifting on multiple occasions because I couldn't brace myself while doing so. Maybe it's time for a harness? Anybody ever try a CG-Lock? That would be a much easier alternative.
Noticed this when changing the tires back, have no idea why/how this happened. The rear tires developed these ridges on the outside edge, anybody have any idea why?
Alright enough talk, here's some video.
Run 2
Run 3
Run 4
Run 1 is on Youtube if you want to watch it, but nothing spectacular. I still don't know the track all that well, very technical, but very fun because of that.
As we were crossing the track to leave, an idea occured to me. We are at a legit racetrack, why not have a little impromptu photo shoot?
(Austin has his professional shots already posted in the Off-Topic section)
First off, a little background on the car. I am running G-stock under SCCA rules. In a nutshell this means the car must remain complataely stock except for:
Front or rear sway, but not both. One can be replaced, removed, but only one.
Struts can be replaced, but not springs.
Exhaust from the cat back can be replaced.
Dot R-compound tires are allowed, however the stock size wheel must be used (diameter and width, offset may be changed +/- 0.25," spacers are allowed in that calculation).
So my car is a bone stock '87 325is, save for Koni SA's in the rear, snd basketweaves wrapped with 225/50/14 Hankook Ventus Z214 C71 (soft compound). I had done about 26 runs on these tires prior to today, and never noticed this type of wear at all. However today was a bit outside of your normal autoX...
************************************************** **
So long story short, Grattan is awesome!! The section we ran was very technical, so many twists, banks, crests, blind corners, it was an absolute blast. And not very often I cross the finish line of an 'autoX' at 85-90 mph! We got 4 runs total, my best being a 77.xxx. Got faster and more confident with each run, but there was definitely more time out there. Not gonna lie, there were a couple places I just didn't have the balls to keep the throttle pinned when I knew the car would hold it. But for my first time on a legit racetrack, I was very happy with how well I did, beat multiple Mustang/Camaro/Corvettes, an E36 M3, and was only 3 secs off a 1M. Car felt great, the Koni's in the rear definitely helped the car rotate on lift-off oversteer, which is exactly what I was hoping for. Scared me a bit with how much it did that at times lol, but I think with a little getting used to I won't have any issues with it. Austin also came out and got a ride with me, along with some pics of me in action :D Still working on getting him to do one of these with his car ;)
One thing that I really started to notice as the day went on, I think I need to do something to hold me in better if I am going to be doing more events like this. I was having a hard time shifting on multiple occasions because I couldn't brace myself while doing so. Maybe it's time for a harness? Anybody ever try a CG-Lock? That would be a much easier alternative.
Noticed this when changing the tires back, have no idea why/how this happened. The rear tires developed these ridges on the outside edge, anybody have any idea why?
Alright enough talk, here's some video.
Run 2
Run 3
Run 4
Run 1 is on Youtube if you want to watch it, but nothing spectacular. I still don't know the track all that well, very technical, but very fun because of that.
As we were crossing the track to leave, an idea occured to me. We are at a legit racetrack, why not have a little impromptu photo shoot?
(Austin has his professional shots already posted in the Off-Topic section)
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