some AutoX pics from the last time out 2010

[cudazappa]

Well, school's starting up again so I have to put the Challenger away to concentrate on the books...  But Sunday I did find the time for one last spin with it.

Car Show or Autocross?  Yeah, I wanna spin tires

BTW: just because you're running 4 DOT slicks, doesn't mean that the 44psi front should be at the back.  I eventually settled down to 38 PSI (on my fast time of day (FTD)) not before scraping some old rubber off the back though 

It was my first time racing with the Fairfield County Sports Car Club, and I liked the lot where they run, just not the paddock.  And I still managed to snag a relatively slow time, but I know the driver needs a lot of work, probably more than the car, not that I'll neglect the car in the off season though.

anyways, one of the guys there took some awesome shots of my Challenger, so thought I'd share some autox pr0n.  Makes the 17x9s and 275/40s look GOOD!

Complete Set Here

[Chryco Psycho]

Looks like a blast 

[422STROKER]

Nice, looks like a great time!  Look forward to the winter time updates too.

Tom

[Katfish]

Nice pics,

I'm always curious about the autox events, give us some seat of the pants descriptions.

What would have made the biggest improvement to your time?

-more HP
-better brakes
-...........

[Road_Runner]

Very Cool.  The last organized racind I did was SCCA Autocross at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Is your group associated with the SCCA?  I know almost any modifications put you into a modified class that seriously hampers almost any musclecar era car from being competitive.  If you're just racing yourself & trying to improve your skills then the SCCA is as fun as any, but if you want to compete for wins its kind of an all or nothing kind of thing as far as mods go.  Thanks for sharing the pics & good luck in school.

Later, Jim

[_Russ_]

Would love to read a run down of exactly what you did, times etc. Seems like a blast.

... and those 17's look spot on. Perfect proportions with the rest of the car. Got a build thread?

[Street_Challenged73]

It looks like you had some fun for sure!   Those action shots of you carving look pretty cool, too.   I was supposed to run my Stealth in the last local event we had, but a clutch issue inhibited that.

[cudazappa]

Thanks for the kind words all.  Right now it is "for fun."  It gets frustrating, especially when you break your battery hold down bracket and throw the fan/power steering belt (all in the same run!).  The local clubs aren't affiliated with the SCCA, although they base their rules on them.  (some minor variances).  Of course the car needs more work!

Would love to read a run down of exactly what you did, times etc. Seems like a blast.

... and those 17's look spot on. Perfect proportions with the rest of the car. Got a build thread?

Nice pics,

I'm always curious about the autox events, give us some seat of the pants descriptions.

What would have made the biggest improvement to your time?

-more HP
-better brakes
-...........

Yup, there is a build thread!  over here: http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=39578.0

some of the pics have been lost because I closed my old website.  All the pics have been moved to my new site, but I need to edit the old posts.... whoops.

As for the results from Sunday... I did ok for me.  (complete results here.)  Horrible if you grade me against others.  How does that sound?  In '07 I was racing every chance I could and fit 8 sessions in.  4 with a Diplomat, and another 4 with a Neon.  Didn't do that bad over all.  This year I managed 3 times out.  El goose egg in '08/'09.  So now its a combination of driver/car.  As a better driver I could easily have cut down another two seconds.  I really think I had a 50 flat in the car.  I did a 53.4.  I just wasn't driving smoothly enough.  But still, this was my best showing all year.  And yeah, by raw times, I was the third slowest car out there.  Yeah, the nut behind the wheel is the MAJOR issue IMO.

The car also didn't help as the power steering belt/pump is SCREAMING at me anytime I hit 2100 rpm.  That's on a must fix list this winter.  I've driven the past 2 years with this issue.  So what happens when I hear the noise?  I don't run "flat out."  So there's times when I'm not giving it all I got.

And the suspension is too soft.  I've got the stock rear setup in it now, and just 1.00 torsion bars and an 1.125 sway in front.  Great street car ride, no complaints from the GF who rides shotgun when we go out in it.  But I really need to step up to 1.22" bars in front with a 1.25" sway bar, 225# composite leafs and I'll probably run the Hotchkis rear bar and Bilstein shocks to round it out.  And their new UCAs to get more caster and negative camber, too.

That and practice should make the MOST difference.  I've got some other "low-buck" mods in mind (relocating battery, tie rod sleeves, LCA brace, etc) and a 360 to build, too.    I was even thinking of some of the F.A.S.T. mods to loose weight and keep the stock interior (yeah, its a do-all car, I wonder if the M-body Sanden A/C compressor will fit an LD340 intake, only one way to find out  )

[Road_Runner]

I don't need to be reading this thread!!  I was happy thinking about a good decent all-round suspension setup, but you've got me remembering just how much fun it is whipping in & out between the cones!  I'm sure its some kind of show for everyone watching as you run the course.

Later, Jim

[cudazappa]

its not much more money to rebuild the suspension with the hi perf pieces than the std duty...  as you know, its all in the shocks (the ride, and the $$$)