VCMC This Sunday - Oct 17

Thanks Brian. I didn't see your post here on page 3 and I had edited my post at the bottom of page 2 to acknowledge that I had discovered the earlier times posted.

See you tomorrow at McD's!

Won't be the same not having Tristan there spinning out of control.

We have frost...lower elevation:)...dressing warm in layers...lol

Nice to see postings from other Fiero's, I know Carol as she was my instructor for Velocity Training and we mnt bike ride, the classes have all changed, looks like I may also, but I am classed as stock modified (SM), let's see.

Drive safe, pack LIGHT and see you soon for breaky:)

I'm back. I've had one beer. I'm zonked.

T'was a good day.

Patrick wrote: An interesting video perspective from another of today's competitors can be seen Here.

Carson's a great driver...and I like that camera angle:)

After three kicks at the can, I have to admit to certain frustrations while being on the autocross track.

1) I enjoy the sensation of acceleration. However, I'm frustrated as heck when driving the duke that nothing much happens when I step on the gas. Yes, the car goes somewhat faster eventually, but I want to feel the car I’m driving jump immediately.

2) It seems to me in the corners on the track that the tires which are mounted on my '84 have all the gripping force of melted margarine. Yes, I'm sure I'm contributing somewhat with my less than perfect approaches etc, but with any speed whatsoever my tires were squealing like banshees sliding sideways yesterday. At the next autocross that both Brian and I are at, I’m going to swap tires with him when he’s not looking.

Seriously though, what a difference when riding in Brian’s GT. Yes, I fully appreciate the superior driving skills that Brian has developed through repeated practice on the track, but I’m also aware of the huge differences between his GT and my ‘84.

I’m not suggesting that Brian should or would be interested in this, but on a "what if?" basis, it would be very educational to see how we’d both make out if we swapped cars for one run. Would Brian’s superior driving skills actually get the duke around the track a whole lot faster, and conversely, would my newb skills on the track slow Brian’s GT times down approaching the duke’s level? Again, I’m not suggesting we actually try doing this, but the wheels are turning in my head regarding possible theoretical outcomes.

Now before anyone accuses me of being way too impatient and expecting way too much in way too short a period of time (considering my first autocross was less than a month and a half ago!), let me state quite emphatically that I’ve really enjoyed the three events I’ve participated in up to this point. I have every intention of continuing, and I have every intention on improving upon my newb autocross driving skills.

I guess I’m just debating the merits of continuing to drive the ‘84 duke when I suspect I’d be much happier driving a Fiero (yes, I’ll stick with a Fiero) with a bit more (okay, a lot more) juice.

I actually think I’m starting to develop bad habits with the duke due to it’s lack of speed. I feel that I’m not learning to apply the brakes at the "usual" points on the track. Although I was locking up my brakes during the Corvette Club autocross (due to the long straightaways), I found that yesterday at the VCMC autocross (which was much more twisty) I was able to go around the entire track without barely applying my brakes at all during a couple of the runs. Just letting up on the gas was usually enough as the duke hadn’t built up enough speed between turns to make anything other than engine braking all that necessary. Sad but true.

Driving the mighty duke has been a great introduction to autocross, and I’m not ready to pull the plug on driving her quite yet, but I see a quicker, faster Fiero in my future on the track.