Beautiful weather, 8 runs total, and 730 miles on the clock. The BMWCCA held an autox today and the V surprised quite a few drivers. The lean was not as much as expected, the motor pulled like a train, and the tires(stockers) had fair grip. I placed midpack in F class, an unlimited class for cars over 2.5 liters. STis and Evos were everywhere...with race rubber...like gnats those rally cars, smack one down and two pop-up going a little quicker than the last...
Mark Daddio, a multi-time national winning SCCA SoloII driver, showed up with his street modified Evo and took FTD, fastest time of day...it was a treat to see how its done. He was in F class, so was a Z06 with race rubber, and so on.
Very different driving the V, as I am used to an MR2Spyder with major suspension work and race rubber. Completely different...so it took a little getting used to the V's requirements. Here's my current set-up; FG2, Corsa, tires were best at 40-42 lbs pressure, front camber=-1deg, rear=-1.5deg.
Straight up, this car needs more rubber. The stock tires are not wide enough to offer the cornering needed to be competitive. Sway bars could probably be a little stiffer, although I believe that new endlinks and bushings would firm some of that.
There were a few like-class cars there that I made my competition...M5 and StypeR. Now I'd be dammed if I let an M5 beat me in the V so I made it my business to beat them both. Result, had 10 seconds on the M, more on the R. Certainly an ego breaker, that V is. There also was a Z8 on the lot, and I beat him by 2 tenths...on my last run....that victory was the best one of the day.
As it turned out, anything weighing 3500 lbs or more with street tires fell to the V, and quite a few Rcompounds, too. About 3/4 of the M3s with street tires were V'd, and more than a few Stis.
SlvrVee stopped by right before I took my first run. It was nice to see another V-pilot, great guy...although he had the slightly slower silver paint
I don't think I will campaign the V as it would require too much modification for me to have fun. Lowering, stiffer springs and bars, and the wheels and tires required would be too expensive. There's no getting around the weight, a ridiculous tire would be required and I'm not gonna flare my V to beat on it in a parking lot. I killed the Spyder in 3 seasons, the V will not suffer the same abuse. I would like to track (NOT STRIP) the V, as it appears to infer that it would be a spectacular track tool, again with a little more grippy rubber. We shall see....
All in all, it was a great day. The V performed better than I thought it would. I burned off a good bit of rubber and think I gave the break-in period its final dance. I'll change the oil tomorrow and give her a wash and wax. Oh..almost forgot, V was getting compliments ALL DAY. People couldn't believe how she sounded with the Corsa and how composed she was on course. She's a looker and draws quite a bit of attention.
That's it. A good day with a great car. I'll report back when the results are posted. Last note, the gmeter registered 1.10left-1.12 right...a fair result from stockers...I think. I have a Gtech from my Spyder so next time I amy plug it in to see if the readings are similar.
The tire pressure sensors also appear to be a pound off on my left side...any ideas on how to make them perfect????Thanks.
Ve good,
ace996
