[Surferjer]

Stan neglaected to mention that HE was the giant killer in SS last weekend. CONGRATS STAN!!! And he did it with AO48s!

I ran SS against these same Vette owners two weekends ago, and they had nothing to say then, although they were all over me about my times and "could I get more out of it" questions. I naively told them I was a rank amateur with street tires. doh!

If they protest and win, I'm not too concerned. I'm racing for experience, and have no delusions about winning this competition. Brian and Perry might have a different point of view. I'll tell you this-if they protest, I'm going to every school available and will invest in Hoosiers just to wipe the floor with them in the future. I can be a spiteful bastard. :evil:

 

[Randy Chase]

Jer, now you are getting the spirit!

The only thing one *may* be able to hang their hat on is this.

The Fastrack changes become effective as soon as they are published. Define publishing.

The Fastrack text was "published" on email and SCCAFORUMS by a member of the SEB (Ron Bauer). He did not qualify that as preliminary or unofficial at all. One can assume correctly that he was notifying all of us what the changes were.

How is that NOT publishing?

 

[Stan]

>>>If they protest and win, I'm not too concerned.<<<

I wonder if the alleged potential protestor is that ZO6 guy that had FORTY (40) runs at a recent local PA area autocross event. For practice and to set up his Vette while everyone else had the normal amount of runs and only in their run group and not whenever they felt like it.

The Elise has 'em scared folks! Gotta love it!

 

[Surferjer]

Stan-they are one in the same. The guys seemed nice enough, I guess as long as they're not threatened. Now it makes sense. 40 + runs to prepare for this weekend. Now I'm even more pissed. I may not be able to take them, but I'll be rooting for Perry and Brian.

I need to get better-fast. Maybe Perry and Brian can divulge some secrets.

 

[Steve W]

I ran again this weekend on saturday. By the end of the day I was 5 seconds off the best time of the day which was a Z06 on Khumos. (77.9 vs 72.9)

Bearing in mind I'm a novice driver and I'm running on the Neova (sp) tires, I think that the Z06's should be worried.

The best news of the weekend for me is that regionally they run a SK1 series, which is a handicapped class on street tires. I'll run in that next year, so I can have a year of fun without worrying about tires and suspension mods. That will get me used to competing and give me lots of seat time.

Only one question, to get in that class, you need tire wear rating of over 140. Does anyone know what the rating is on the Neovas?

Steve

 

[Randy Chase]

I am sure the Neovas are fine.

 

[Stan]

The Advan Neova AD07s on the touring suspended cars have a treadwear rating of 180.

 

[Steve W]

Thanks. That sounds perfect then.

Steve

 

[atyclb]

isn't it odd that treadwear ratings are a criterion when the ratings are subjective across different manufacturers?

 

[Randy Chase]

isn't it odd that treadwear ratings are a criterion when the ratings are subjective across different manufacturers?

Yes. It is a very flawed method. So far, it seems to work "okay" since there are only so many tires that get close. You have R tires that are 60, 40, or 0. And then street tires.

The Falken Azenis are I think 140 and are pretty sticky..perhaps close to the Yokohama A048s which are rated at 60.

 

[Stan]

>>>The Falken Azenis are I think 140 and are pretty sticky..perhaps close to the Yokohama A048s which are rated at 60<<<

The Falken Azenis is rated at 200!! So are G-Force KDs. To me it seems like the KD has comparable grip to the AO48 rated at 60. This is in the lower temps in the Northeast at the moment. I have KDs on my STX E30 M3. In the last event, my best time for the day in the 4 cylinder M3 on KDs was about 3 seconds slower than the best time in a well driven Hoosier shod Elise.

 

[Randy Chase]

200. LOL

You know they were thinking about SCCA's classing.

 

[Stan]

>>>Stan neglaected to mention that HE was the giant killer in SS last weekend. CONGRATS STAN!!! And he did it with AO48s! <<<

Thanks. That was just a local fun event though. Still it was nice to be wiping off my car with quick detailer spray and a microfiber cloth to remove dust while others were removing slicks and loading their cars onto trailers. When you get a PAX or RAW FTD at this club, you get a foot square plaque that you temporarily place on your car door during the event so everyone knows what's up during the event. And if someone beats you then the plaque moves over to their car. And at the awards besides a class trophy, you get a smaller FTD plaque that is about playing card sized. You run your collection of these things on your car at subsequent events. Some guys have a door full.

BUT. They are magnetic!!! Time for some blue tape...

 

[Robert Puertas]

Food for thought:

Yokohama A048:
195/50-16 - 23.6" dia. - 8.0" wide
225/45-17 - 24.9" dia. - 8.9" wide

Hoosier A3S04:
205/45-16 - 22.8" dia. - 8.6" wide
225/45-17 - 24.6" dia. - 9.5" wide

Kumho Ecsta V700:
205/45-16 - 23.9" dia. - 8.1" wide
225/45-17 - 24.8" dia. - 8.9" wide

Falken Azenis Sport:
215/45-16 - 23.5" dia. - 8.5" wide
225/45-17 - 24.9" dia. - 9.1" wide

 

[DanDotDan]

The original post on the SCCA forum has grown over time. There's a very interesting discussion on the relative strengths of the Elise, Vette, and GT3. My impression from the thread is that the GT3 is less of a threat then the Vette - interesting.

 

[Surferjer]

Dan, that may be especially true when the new Vette comes out. The existing Vettes are extremely formidable, too.

 

[Surferjer]

Steve-from what I'm seeing, hearing and experiencing, here's where that five seconds is for you:

1) AD07s vs. AO48s: 1.5 second gain
2) AO48s vs. Hoosiers: another 1.5 seconds gain (3 total on tires)
3) Experience is good for at least 1.5-2 seconds, even if you're a pretty competent driver. If you're NOT a terribly competent driver, that could be many seconds
4) It sounds like, based on the length of the course, that it was pretty big and wide open. That's more of a Vette course. A shorter, twistier course lends itself more to the Elise's capabilites. That's probably another second.

So if you were an experienced driver, running the stickiest tires with the proper setup, on a shorter course, you could beat them. Even on that course you'd be right there. (This is the sort of logic that keeps me going LOL)

 

[Steve W]

That was a pretty tight course. I didn't get out of second gear for the whole thing, but I did get to the top of second gear... (60ish)

In fact is was so tight before lunch that they modified it at lunch time to take one of the hairpins out.

Having ridden along with a couple of good drivers this time out, I'm sure that there is at least 3 seconds to be had from the driver. The other guys are so smooth and deliberate, and right on top of the cones. I may be picking it up quickly, but I'm a long way behind.

I'm taking the EVO 1 class in December. (organised by Robert Puertas) I can't wait for that.

Steve

 

[Surferjer]

Robert-bring one to PA!!

Steve-the first course I ran was on 27 seconds long, and looking back I could have easily run the whole course in 1st gear.

 

[Robert Puertas]

Robert-bring one to PA!!

Hah! Talk to Pat Salerno.