Its called DVR/Tivo, plus not really interested in street racing meets, went to them(down on Northern Parkway) all the time back in high school and saw alot of really horrible accidents and we were always going in between lots to avoid the city and county cops.

 

hey Dan how was the AutoX, I would have loved to go,,,, are there any more events for the year??? Ill PM you and Jamie my phone # so we can start coordinating some meets and what not...

 

Nobody here said 'street racing meets', so maybe you misunderstood.

 

maybe, but thats when all of them were on Sat nights all night long...I guess thats what I associated your comment with...

 

There are and will always be miscreants out there doing that type of thing.

However, I really like what I'm seeing from the classic muscle car meets over the past few years. They bring out chairs, have music, sometimes a bbq or some sort of cookout thing goin'. Granted, they're typically an older crowd, but they have fun just chillin' and shootin' the breeze. Since there are alot of them, they can organize better and put on that type of gathering, I guess.

 

Interesting day...

Swung by Bowiesox to see the AutoX, seemed (at the time) to be a light turnout, so I went north to try and find the meeting place. Three tries, finally got my direction right and arrived what I thought was too late. I did see two guys there with 8s, but as per damned usual, my shyness reflex kicked hard and I didn't ask them if they were with the meet.

Apparently, they were. Sorry.

Headed back down to Bowie to see if anything else happened, and came in on a full slate. The groups were now about 15 cars each, they were getting about 5-6 runs per session. The MSCW runs a nice, relaxed event, and the course was almost tempting enough for me to try it. One must know their limits, and I stayed at that limit, as I've only been driving my 8 for about seven weeks now. I finally got through the shy barrier and ended up working corner as well as starting one of the afternoon groups (rookie error for tripping the timer, balanced karma by fixing the cause of the erratic behavior). One particular 7 on the course might have been spared the 'cone killer' award if I had been driving, I'll try to alleviate that on the next date.

Took two 'copilot rides' to see what it's like out there. John with the Miata and I believe it was Don with the 2005 Corvette, thanks! The Miata was smoothness itself through the course, the Corvette was sheer brute force. Lower end of the course, a sort of freeform 270 degree left hander, the 'Vette felt like it was trying to remold the asphalt into a mini-Daytona. Both rides were worth A-tickets at Six Flags.

What do I need to run in this? Tech inspection sheet filled out, a helmet, and the ability to come out of this freakin' shell and risk embarrassing myself in front of a crowd. Check (brake pads "borderline"), looking (Pyrotech seems OK), and I'll still be fighting that last one 'til that second shovelful of dirt is tossed in my face.

 

was it the red corvette? that guy is lucky! his dad bought it for him, i spoke to his dad when working a corner last weekend. the dude has quite a few nice cars.

 

One and the same!

Kind of like the guy's driving style, "Brakes are for sharp corners, tires do the rest". Yeah, and a LS1 under the hood doesn't hurt, either.

Still, the lowest time for the event while I was there came at the hands of a VR: a smoking 49 seconds and change.

 

Hey Tim,
Glad you had a good time at the AutoX, dont be shy, the blue MS kitted car is Dans and the Silver is Jamie,,, real nice guys next time Ill be there too just had way too much work to do this weekend....

 

Was good to see so many RX-8s out at the event. I don't think I ever saw more than two last year.

I was there in the Grey Mazdaspeed3. Try as I might, I couldn't get below a 50.8XX. It was a great event, and it was fun to watch the rotary guys from my corner station. One of these days I'll get permission to Auto-X the -8 again... probably the same day I manage to find a spare set of tires so my better half doesn't glare at me for scrubbing her DD summers .

 

anyone up for a random monday drive?!

 

if you had said that yesterday I would have said I was up for it but kinda late now

 

wow...you guys were all at the autox and none of you approached me or jaime. Striker-7, we thought it was you at the gas station but you just took off without any sort of acknowledgement. c'mon man, we don't bite. kers4w, where were you? i know you couldn't have missed my car. unless you showed up after 1, i left for the football game.

so anyways, let's start up another list for the fudds meet 10/26

1. imdanomite

 

1. imdanomite (Dan)
2. Rotr8 (Greg)

 

Yup. I used to store my trailer at a guy's house on Furnace road.

Well, I've only had the car since December, and I only go into "town" (B'lair) maybe once a week, so not that big a surprise. Just keep your ears open.

 

I'm thinking I'm going to have to try and make that one. Then I'll just have to decide whether to bring the 8 or the CYM RX-7 R1. My kind of dilemma...

 

I approached you! But hey, I can understand why the others didn't. Your car intimidates them. Good to see you there, Dan, and good to meet you Jaime.

Striker, I saw your 8 in the lot, but didn't really figure out which guy you were. I was driving the red 8 without the plastic bits. I think the guy with the plastic bits got FTD with a 49.something on Kuhmo V710s. Best I could do was 52.28 on wasted stock tires. Do they look worn out in the picture?

I was amazed at how quick those MAZDASPEED3's were (5speed6). Cutting 50.xx runs. Wow.

The guy with the Corvette is Brian, and he is crazy. He had sticky tires on the front, and street tires on the back. He had the 2nd best spin of the day when he did a massive power-on loop and took out 8 cones. The best spin of the day was an Acura TSX(?) that did a forward-360 without hitting a single cone.

I took some video of my runs. Nothing special, but they give a flavor of the course, and that glorious rotary howl. One is of a good run, one ... is not so good. (Click View in High Quality.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv2LnDCGvPE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbkZ9oAuRvs

 

I gotta admit, it threw me a curve seeing the 'Speed3s zinging through the course the first time. Who'd expect a small station wagon to be so danged much fun? I don't know if it was your car (light grey? dark grey?), but one of the Threes was telegraphing it's braking points with blowoff from the turbo wastegate. Come to think about it, it had to be you. :50.8 in a 5-door is hauling, hanging tough with the -7s and -8s.

 

let me know once you have solved your dilemma I'm going too

 

Near as I can tell, I was working the hillcrest right-hander when you flew through on the "good lap". I do remember those tires, I think you were showing another driver where the run at VIR had chunked the outer edge blocks.

Me? I was the tall guy in a Wile E. Coyote blue polo shirt, starting I think it was the first Group B session of the afternoon. Never been to an Auto-X in my life, and I'm running people through the traps. Don't blame me for the timer, I didn't have anything to do with those batteries...

 

I was in the Metro Grey MS3. The Others were Black Mica.

It's a hell of a lot of fun. I just need to get some real tires. I ran on the OEMs yesterday, and while they're much grippier than the throw-away tires on my FD wheels, they're also only 215s. 7"-wide wheels that weigh 24lbs a piece? What a friggin' joke. I need some 245s... maybe some RT-615s or Some of the new Dunlop or Kumho street class tires.

Hope to see some of you guys come out next year. Also, if you were bit by the bug and don't mind a bit of a drive, check out NASA Mid-Atlantic's NASA-X series. It's competitive, and they run at least 8-10 events a year, but it's a fantastic learning atmosphere and they're really laid-back. The only downside is the closest events they run are at Virginia Motorsports Park (Dragstrip with a huuuuuge parking lot) in Petersburg/Dinwiddie VA. If you've ever raced with NASA Mid-Atlantic (Road Racing) or done a HPDE with NASA MA or TrackDaze, it's the same set of guys who run all of them.

http://www.get-fast.net/nasacross/

 

Dan, you are going to head to the Oct Fuddruckers meet? I should be there this time if nothing else gets freaking stolen. :P I was supposed to have my turbo in by then, but it looks like that will be postponed.

 

yup...add yourself to the list man. i'm sure it'll be a good time.

 

i'm down for the fud meet

 

see you guys there...