03-30-2015, 12:58 AM
Quick Update:
This weekend I Autocross the car for the first time. Waiting at the starting grid, I was nervous because I did not know what to expect. The candid drives over the past 2 months led me to believe that I would have a fair deal of body roll, and I was also expecting it to be underpowered. However, as soon as I dumped the clutch at 2500rpm, I felt the balance and power. It's fascinating how narrow, small, spaces amplify the sensation of speed. As I went through the first slalom, I instantly realized how poised this car was as compared to my Civic. Yes, there was a little body roll but at no point did it detract from the overall driving experience.
After a couple runs, I got a hang of the whole RWD thing and even felt confident enough to kick the tail out on purpose to negotiate corners. Out of a total 38 registered drivers, I placed 12th in raw time and 7th in PAX time. Considering I was on 320 treadwear Conti DW's, I was satisfied with my time. Some of the cars that I beat were, 350Z, Mustangs, S2000, STI, Civic Si, etc.
A side note here: Considering the car is stock, I expected to compete in the FS class. However, after reading over the SCCA sule book, over a few beers the night before, I realized that those beautiful 17x8.5 BBS' bumped me up to STX, which I was a little bummed about.
Anyways, it was a fantastic weekend out in middle-of-nowhere Montana. The 1er might not be the most sought after track car but the car's performance on the Autocross course truly impressed me, and I look forward to upcoming Solo events in it.
Future additions: Front and rear rotors and pads, and the Turner Motorsports' Section 1 pipe.
Ciao
This weekend I Autocross the car for the first time. Waiting at the starting grid, I was nervous because I did not know what to expect. The candid drives over the past 2 months led me to believe that I would have a fair deal of body roll, and I was also expecting it to be underpowered. However, as soon as I dumped the clutch at 2500rpm, I felt the balance and power. It's fascinating how narrow, small, spaces amplify the sensation of speed. As I went through the first slalom, I instantly realized how poised this car was as compared to my Civic. Yes, there was a little body roll but at no point did it detract from the overall driving experience.
After a couple runs, I got a hang of the whole RWD thing and even felt confident enough to kick the tail out on purpose to negotiate corners. Out of a total 38 registered drivers, I placed 12th in raw time and 7th in PAX time. Considering I was on 320 treadwear Conti DW's, I was satisfied with my time. Some of the cars that I beat were, 350Z, Mustangs, S2000, STI, Civic Si, etc.
A side note here: Considering the car is stock, I expected to compete in the FS class. However, after reading over the SCCA sule book, over a few beers the night before, I realized that those beautiful 17x8.5 BBS' bumped me up to STX, which I was a little bummed about.
Anyways, it was a fantastic weekend out in middle-of-nowhere Montana. The 1er might not be the most sought after track car but the car's performance on the Autocross course truly impressed me, and I look forward to upcoming Solo events in it.
Future additions: Front and rear rotors and pads, and the Turner Motorsports' Section 1 pipe.
Ciao