2010 Bench Racer's League

[Kracka]

Current autocross rules calls for a SNELL2000 or newer rating, but after this upcoming season that will change to SNELL2005. MAC is fine with M or SA, but I believe the SCCA is more strict and requires SA.

[mlomker]

I like the big one better as I was able to go 150 on the straight.

I only did 110 on the short course. You could probably do 130 or more if you were confident with your braking. haha. Not me.

I hope to go to many this year.

Good stuff! I'll be seeing you out there.

[slowbubblecar]

He has coilovers so I assume the car can turn. At the HPDE that I went to there were a couple club racers hauling ass but I was handily in the top 1/3rd speed-wise and it was my first time on the track...with a bone stock X.

A lot of the turns are 2nd gear but I generally drove the whole course at 4k+ rpm so spool might not be such a big deal. With E85 and a tune I probably won't even need to shift. :D

Seems like there are always a few purpose built race cars there. Most people do not have much experience and are just there to have fun. In the few times I have gone, I haven't seen anybody really trying to compete with anyone else. People are just there to have fun. There will always be faster cars and slower cars.

Were you there the day someone brought a 60s mustang there and was "cruising" around the track?

[mlomker]

Were you there the day someone brought a 60s mustang there and was "cruising" around the track?

Yeah, that was the day that I went. I understand it was a woman driving her husbands 'baby' so she was driving about half the speed that everyone else was...

[slowbubblecar]

I only did 110 on the short course. You could probably do 130 or more if you were confident with your braking. haha. Not me.

Good stuff! I'll be seeing you out there.

On the short course, I didn't feel comfortable enough to go much higher than 130 going in to turn 2. Rather not learn the limits of my car the hard way at that speed while turning :) Could probably push it a little further on the long course if I was a little more confident in the braking. Was the only time we were on the long course though.

I am sure I will see you there :)

[turbotalon1g]

^I would love to join in this.

[slowbubblecar]

^I would love to join in this.

Might want to fight the tempation. It is expensive and is very addicting :) I almost considered building a car specificlally for doing this. Figured I could spend 7k or so, go as fast if not faster than my car around the track and could total out that car for cheaper than replacing my hood.

The nice thing is that it isn't too competitive. Most people don't care if they are the fastest one or not. Once in a while someone will brag about the car they are driving and how fast it is only to be put in their place by a car with less power or one not set up as well.

My goal is to have fun and not be the fastest one there.

[mlomker]

Might want to fight the tempation. It is expensive and is very addicting

Totally. I'm guessing that tire wear will set me back as much as entrance fees.

It was my first time on the track so I wasn't pushing it at all...half the time I was in the wrong gear. I was also more likely to slow down prior to turns rather than brake hard. I've heard of guys boiling their stock brake fluid and that sort of thing...I doubt that I even came close.

[slowbubblecar]

Not sure how picky you will be on your tires, but I will probably try to make 1 set of tires last most of the year. I think my brother and I will plan on using 1 car as we did the day you went because it is still close to $400 for us to share a car and we get plenty of driving time.

Make sure to change your brake fluid frequently as I have heard of fluid failing people. I will probably put some high temp fluid in. I have gone into a few turns a little fast and have had to really lean on the pedal a few times. It usually leads to the brakes being fairly spongy for the rest of the day and isn't as fun. The last day we went in 09, John was black flagged due to sparks coming from the brakes. Looked them over with the tech and did some 45-0 hard braking but didn't find any issues so we were able to continue.

[Halon]

I'm buying a helmet soon. The best bang/buck helmet I've found on the market is rated SA2005, and both Hughes and Zac bought one last year, they're pretty nice:

http://www.soloracer.com/pyroopenfacesa.html

I bought mine for quite a bit less, and I love it. Very comfortable, and it's Snell2005 :) If u wanna try it on you're more than welcome.

http://mitsustyle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23222&highlight=helmet