Capital Driving Club Discussion Forum

The 2015 CDC autocross season starts at Harry Grove on Saturday March 21st with the season's first Autox followed by the Sunday TNT also at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick, MD.

The reservation system is now open for members (and those that will be joining the club) and their guests. Non-members can make a reservation starting on Friday March 13th as space permits.

As many know, the first few events fill up quickly. So don't delay to make your reservations.

See you there.

Ed

Better watch out ladies and lads, I've signed up with the '02 Insight, It'll be 67hp of Honda's finest internal combustion supplemented by 10kilowatts of electric fury routed through a very sporty CVT, this combined with state of the art McPherson Strut front suspension and one massive diabolical twist beam in the rear. Spring rates are WELL in excess of 100 pounds per inch (at least on the front) additional weight has been saved by not installing such gaudy and excessive nonsense as "seat-bolstering". Rolling stock will consist of massive 14x5.5 inch aluminum alloy wheels and shod with rubber which shares traits with Formula One 'tyres' (round and black, mostly)

I think it would be very sporting of the rest of you to even bother showing up knowing you'll be so soundly defeated, but I hope enough of you do to bask in it's magnificence.

Co-drive's will be available to anyone who thinks they can handle it.

Nathan Atkins wrote:Co-drive's will be available to anyone who thinks they can handle it.

Dibs!

Reservations for non-members is now open.

Looks like we will have 3 available slots, if someone feels like taking a spin in our car (or more likely, multiple spins). It has been aligned and corner balanced and tuned, but the shocks, springs, front sway bar, bushings, ride height, and alignment specs are all different than last year. I have no clue how badly it might under or over steer, and almost no clue how to fix it if it does.

As always, I would love to go for a spin and I'll be happy to help any way I can, Jay.

Thanks Mike; sounds good. Hopefully the setup won't be too bad. Also I've been trying to get some old friends to come out for over a year, and it sounds like they might drop by. Hopefully I can convince a couple of them to ride along to give them some white knuckles.

I would love to get an alignment sometime this week before sundays test and tune and i will be calling around tomorrow to see what can be worked out, but I was just wondering how everyone else accomplishes this during the week when you are at work during business hours. I would rather not take a day off to get this accomplished. If I can find a place close by, then it may be possible to drop it off before work, but the most popular shops seem to be an hour or so away.

Help?

Saturday autox and Sunday TNT is now full.

will there be a new track layout?

We only get so much variation at Harry Grove because of the lot layout/size. We try to keep the course simple and a little shorter for the first event, so it will likely feel familiar. We can always give an extra run in the afternoon if the course is too short, but if we have any issues with our new equipment testing or just people being a little rusty, we don't want the event going way over schedule.

Argh. Weather Channel is calling for 3-6 inches of snow on Thurs night / Fri morning. What happens if some is still around by Saturday morning?

Bring a shovel!

JayPar wrote:Argh. Weather Channel is calling for 3-6 inches of snow on Thurs night / Fri morning. What happens if some is still around by Saturday morning?

My snow tires pay off big-time and I find out if RWD + snows are better than a Subaru with AWD!

While a group determination has not been made about contingency plans (go or no-go), I think it most likely we will be facing a small amount of slush and not genuine snow-snow. Remember that temps are supposed to be in the 50's on Saturday and we have had a few warm days so the ground, while not overly warm, will probably be warm enough to prevent a hard freeze.

I would lean on the side of the event happening unless it really sticks hard. I guess we all have to wait and see, but at this point in time we have not begun a discussion of cancelling the event.

that's horrible, I heard it was supposed to be sunny and 60 on Sat. I have no vehicle that can make it to and race in such conditions, anyone want to offer me a co-drive? Hell, I'll even do the Insight if I have to

Weather.com says 62 with sun and clouds.

So there might be a bit of slush on the ground in the morning, wouldnt be too worried

That would be the part I'm worried about, light cars with too much power and wide tires with minimal tread do not mix well with even a little slush.

hopefully they dont put down a ton of salt! i can drive by after work tomorrow and check the condition

With the temps and a field of cars, that slush wouldnt last long.

yardy8301 wrote:I would love to get an alignment sometime this week before sundays test and tune and i will be calling around tomorrow to see what can be worked out, but I was just wondering how everyone else accomplishes this during the week when you are at work during business hours. I would rather not take a day off to get this accomplished. If I can find a place close by, then it may be possible to drop it off before work, but the most popular shops seem to be an hour or so away.

Help?

I align my Miata's toe with jack stands, strings, and a tape measure. For camber I just maxed front camber and went as high as I could evenly go for caster (verified by adjusting until the car doesn't pull to either side in a straight line!). It's free, and the cars seems to be driving well and getting good tire wear. it takes some experimentation. There are online write-ups and youtube videos of folks aligning their cars with strings. Not that you can equal or beat a shop and their fancy lasers, but if you take your time it's pretty decent and if you make frequent adjustments this could save you some money.

I also use string technique on my integra racecar with good results (lap times and tire wear).

I meant more getting to/from venue. Once there I'm sure all will be fine. I care more about hitting an unexpected patch of sand/slush in the early morning hours on the way there.

PLEASE NOTE: If you pre-registered and are not going to show, please email Ed at capitaldriving@yahoo.com

We have a wait list for the event and were turning people away.

JayPar wrote:Argh. Weather Channel is calling for 3-6 inches of snow on Thurs night / Fri morning. What happens if some is still around by Saturday morning?

We'll divide by the tire indices instead of multiplying.

hufflepuff wrote:

yardy8301 wrote:I would love to get an alignment sometime this week before sundays test and tune and i will be calling around tomorrow to see what can be worked out, but I was just wondering how everyone else accomplishes this during the week when you are at work during business hours. I would rather not take a day off to get this accomplished. If I can find a place close by, then it may be possible to drop it off before work, but the most popular shops seem to be an hour or so away.

Help?

I align my Miata's toe with jack stands, strings, and a tape measure. For camber I just maxed front camber and went as high as I could evenly go for caster (verified by adjusting until the car doesn't pull to either side in a straight line!). It's free, and the cars seems to be driving well and getting good tire wear. it takes some experimentation. There are online write-ups and youtube videos of folks aligning their cars with strings. Not that you can equal or beat a shop and their fancy lasers, but if you take your time it's pretty decent and if you make frequent adjustments this could save you some money.

I also use string technique on my integra racecar with good results (lap times and tire wear).

I actually considered doing it myself but one of the things I am trying to do this year is eliminating variables. Basically start with a known good setup then work on driving and minor adjustments from there. I am sure I could get it close, but I just wanted exact values to start.

I was able to make the trek to york automotive to get it aligned. After-hours drop off and pick up made it possible for this to happen. All I had to do was convince my wife driving 1.5hrs each way to get an alignment was worth it. I am not sure I convinced her, but I was able to negotiate transport.

Here in Boyds (just south of Frederick) there is no snow on the pavement and maybe 1-2 inches on the grass as of 5 PM Friday.