DMVR 2016 Autocross #1

First autocross of the season.

2016-04-17 16.04.02-1

Cons:

  • I installed Performance Friction Z Rated brake pads last week but I feel no bite and the pedal still has the characteristic E36 takeup. I have stainless steel lines and fresh RBF600 fluid, I’ll rebleed this week, hopefully it helps.
  • I’m not getting much feedback from the steering wheel – there’s no difference between grip and push as far as I can feel.

Pros:

  • I set the front sway bar to full stiff and the rear to full loose for max understeer. I could get the rear loose with a hard romp on the throttle, otherwise it reliably understeered. For the next event I’ll stiffen up the rear and feel it out.
  • The Schroth quick fit harness is badass. My arms were dedicated only to steering input and not holding myself in place, which was fantastic.
  • By the fourth run I had enough confidence in the setup to start pushing it to seek out limits of grip. I ended up blowing one corner and still ran the same time as my third run.
  • The engine ran great – I tried a couple different techniques, but ended up staying in first for the initial section, shifted to second during the straightaway, then stayed in second the rest of the time. Plenty of pull from 2000rpm.
  • The new clutch and master cylinder work great, I’m very happy with the combo.
  • Front tire pressure was 37psi, rear was 42psi, and the chalk marks looked pretty good with the full tread used.

2016-04-17 16.26.05

Clearly the weakest part of this combo is my driving. We have a test and tune next month where I’ll be able to get a lot more seat time, that will surely help.

 

 

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