The printed course map looked great but when walking the course it was quicky apparent to me that I brought the wrong car. Nearly every 'leg' was wide open with almost every transitional element offset the easy way, spaced far apart, non-existent (don't ask), or large enough radius not requiring a lift. Horsepower course.
This event would be the first event with the newly tuned piggyback and higher rev limit. The power felt the same (it basically is) but the higher 7700 rpm rev limit worked flawlessly and kept me out of third gear, although I was still into the limiter several times on Saturday. Sunday's course had me only on the limiter twice, but for a much longer duration, especially at the finish. Not wanting to hurt the engine I am reserving 8K+ rpm limit for bigger events such as Solo Nationals.
Above is the only course map that was provided and it is pretty accurate except for a missing a major element between stations five and six. Area #2 was completely eliminated on Sunday.
Day one: The weather forecast was sunny and hot, well 80*F, so I brought the 70 run Hankook RS3 tires and scored another competent co-driver to help warm the tires. I left the water sprayer at home. STR runs last group and timing issues in the morning delay the event which means we don't go out till about 5pm or so. Visually the course is good, but being so long and with similar style corners it is easy to lose focus and after a long day in the sun I am exhausted. Even with a tire warmer and sunny skies I still do not fully trust the first run on the Hankooks and it shows on the clock. Run two was about perfect. Run three was a half second slower and felt greasy which I attributed to me trying too hard. The car was a little pushy but nothing out of the ordinary. Setup was same as Qualcomm with the rear ride height at the low setting. Clockwise direction course. At the end of day one I was in seventh place about 1.6 seconds behind the leader.
Day two: The weather was several degrees warmer and the event was running smoothly, so we gridded up around 2pm during the heat of the day. The course was run backwards in the counter clockwise direction and both legs at station number two were elimated creating another fast rhythm section from station 3 directly to the finish. Car changes include rotating the tires and raising the rear ride height 1/8" to help aid rotation. Tire pressures the same as day one at 28F, 25R. First run I cone but the car is turning great and feels more lively. Second run I make a huge mental mistake and briefly lose the course. The greasy feeling I got on day one returns for our third runs and it seems the Hankooks were too hot (unpossible). I manage a clean run but still about another 1.6 seconds behind the leader for the day barely keeping me in seventh position overall.
Final Results
So why was the car turning-in and rotating so much better on day two? Was the minor ride height change enough to make the difference? Or was it the course flow? Tire rotation? Corner weights? Alignment? I seem to recall being faster on both left side pro courses (El Toro and Lincoln) and more confident on day one's SD Tour course. Coincidence? Psychological?
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1/8" raise rear ( 1 5/8" from bottom of threaded collar to bottom of GC spring perch)
6 1/4" from lower shock eye to top of sping perch (bottom of spring)
6" springs and standard NB top mounts
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