Aydalh

Part II for me tomorrow in Englishtown NJ :D

CRX Millennium

iTrader: (1)

The line was still as long as it was last year for the three scored sections. Too bad Mazda did not use the designated driving time slot system used by Chevrolet’s RevItUp this year. Additionally, it would be nice to do two timed/stamped runs at once, rather than having to go thru the line again.

IMHO, The NC Miata last year was far superior for the autocross application as compared to MS6 this year. The low-quality/slick asphalt combined with wet surface from the rain today did not give any glimpses into AWD-prowess of the car. MS6 was a handful with uninspiring torque/temperamental transitional handling/excessive bodyroll/diving under brake. Quite a shame since I had high expectations for the car before driving it for the first time.

Anyway, 1st run T&S crap out, wasted. 2nd run, 43.1xxsec. Not happy with myself, but good enough to beat the target time. The course might have been different from the one described by Imp, not sure.

Lastly, can anyone who stayed until the end of day today tell me what the closest time was for Matched Time Gymkhana? Got 30.006, not sure whether it stayed on the leader board after leaving early at 3pm. Nice to have the Bose Radio if it sticks!

Aydalh

Guessing you meant 43.xx. I actually liked the MS6 it kinda grew on me. I agree that it was had too much body roll but the Miata does too and it's much less predictable. The track in Boston only had 1 line whereas this one in NJ seemed to have much more room for improvement. The wet didn't bother me much as the car would slide on all 4 wheels in a balanced manner without losing speed. My runs were 45.1, 43.1, 42.2, 41.0 and 40.1. Towards the end on Saturday you could get multiple runs very easily after 5pm.

For the matched time the 30.006 was still there around 3pm on Saturday. I got a 30.4 and my friend got a 30.1.

I loved the Miata/RX-8 track, it looked like an outdoors go-kart track and I topped out 2nd and had to use 3rd in the Miata on the straightaway before the U turn. We had 4 people in the RX-8 and I drove it like a maniac since I am most comfortable with the car. I actually hit 2 cones on the 2nd half going uphill where there are 2 bumps, that part was quite annoying because if you had too much speed you'd lose steering ability as you hit them.

Overall I thought NJ was better than Boston this year, although last year it was the other way around.

RoXanneBlack8

40.1 in the speed6 is really good man. i did 45.4, 43.6, then i took a break and went back later in the day and the tires were all bald on the outer edges (blame body roll) and my times were SECONDS worse than my mornin times.

due to me driving to ss9, ill be able to go to zoom zoom live in LA too!

CarAndDriver

San Francisco (Alameda): 10/21 around 11AM with a friend.

CRX Millennium

iTrader: (1)

Opps, thanks for finding my typo, 43.1xx indeed on 2nd run. Wish I had that many runs like you to improve the time. In retrospect, the car might have had issues with tires/alignment, since it just didn't "feel right". Even the CX-7 was easier to handle than MS6 at speed.

Got wind of someone doing 29.999 on Sat. Sucks for me...

RoXanneBlack8

marshmallow suspension+hard cornering for hours on end=bald outer edges


they handled like crap bc of it. but it was still awesome

Aydalh

Yeah the tires were crap. Sliding around was fun though and seemed not to hurt the time much as long as you had the right gas control. I wish I could go to SS9 I was thinking about flying in but my work project finish got pushed to around that time.