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Organized Drag Racing and AutocrossDrag racing and autocross discussions and questions. Techniques, tips, suggestions, and "what will I run?" questions.
Edit: weird, I somehow have a duplicate account that I've had for four years!
I got accepted for this year's UMI King of the Mountain Aug. 22-24. Anybody else here make the cut? Looks like eight people driving thirdgens on the entry list (click "Registered Drivers").
I have no delusions of grandeur about winning the "Mid" class (1973-1987 cars) let alone the whole thing, but watching the finals streaming online over the past couple of years, it looks like it's a fun event. Former thirdgen owner Sam Strano won it last year in our friend John Vitamvas' Mazda RX-8. Rotary? Nope. LS swap? Nope. It has a turbo Ford 2.5. They'll be driving it again this year.
I'm on the waitlist for their Muscle on the Mountain next month but probably won't go even if I make it in. But I'm registered for their Autocross Challenge in July -- the "Mid" class for that event is all third and fourthgens, and Fox Body and SN95 Mustangs. Looks like 10 thirdgens on the list?
All the UMI autocrosses require tires 200 treadwear and higher, so no Hoosiers for me. Since there really isn't anything "good" that would work on my 17" CCWs, I'm likely getting a set of 18X11 Corvette rimz with used Yokohamas from Sam. I autocrossed my Camaro on street tires once -- in 2011! -- so it should be fun. Although since returning to autocross last year, it looks like the performance of today's street tires is pretty close to R-compounds.
I went 3or4 years in a row but missed it the past two years. Mid class was fun. I hope to get back to autocrossing maybe next year. The UMI gang is an incredible group of people and everything about the event is well run.
Passing on all the UMI events this year. Cost is too much to justify. Works out to a couple grand per car by the time we haul in and run. Fun place to go for an event with lots of great drivers participating.
You guys will be missed that's for sure. I don't know how you guys have done it all these years. I live 20 miles from the track and it's still expensive for me. I do get to sleep in my own bed though. lol
I finished seventh in the Mid class at this weekend's Autocross Challenge, but it was one spot away from qualifying for the class shootout. Second-fastest thirdgen, although the gap between me and the fastest thirdgen is HUGE.
It took me awhile to get a hang for the Yokohamas. Friday afternoon, I was over-driving like I was on Hoosiers. Saturday was better as I let the car do the work and not make it do something it would do on Hoosiers. I should have driven on them at the local event the previous weekend, but I've been sitting on sticker Ho-Hos for almost a year! There's another local autocross the week before King of the Mountain, so this time I will stick with the Yoks.
I ended up placing 9th at MOTM. I too was the 2nd fastest 3rd gen, Brian John’s raw timed all off us You can find the published qualifying runs here. At this time I am struggling with pad knock back and the short Global West Trac-Link torque arm causing wheel hop under braking and I am pretty sure I blew out a front Koni strut on Saturday unrelated to the wheel hop but likely the course surface. I’ll make some changes but I’ll likely be taking my C5 next year to MOTM. I do plan to take the third gen to the Autocross Challenge next year.
My weekend did not go as planned. Starter got heat soaked after my first run. Let it cool and ran a run in the afternoon then let it run so I didn't need to use the starter and it got so hot the brake fluid boiled. Should have known better when I upgraded the engine. Time to upgrade the cooling system move some brake lines and a starter heat shield. I did run my daily on Saturday so it wasn't a complete loss.
My weekend did not go as planned. Starter got heat soaked after my first run. Let it cool and ran a run in the afternoon then let it run so I didn't need to use the starter and it got so hot the brake fluid boiled. Should have known better when I upgraded the engine. Time to upgrade the cooling system move some brake lines and a starter heat shield. I did run my daily on Saturday so it wasn't a complete loss.
I did see your brake lines on your build thread and can see why you’d have issues with brake fluid. I have my front line running on the front side of the kmember and tucked on the frame rail behind the steering shaft for both front and rear.
You’d also likely need to get a mini starter such as one for an LT1 or aftermarket to help with getting it to crank when hot. I thought I was having starter issues last year but it was a loose ground and a weak battery after fixing those it has been smooth sailing.
Do you have your camber plates maxed out, if so how much room do you have between them and your master cylinder?
I did see your brake lines on your build thread and can see why you’d have issues with brake fluid. I have my front line running on the front side of the kmember and tucked on the frame rail behind the steering shaft for both front and rear.
You’d also likely need to get a mini starter such as one for an LT1 or aftermarket to help with getting it to crank when hot. I thought I was having starter issues last year but it was a loose ground and a weak battery after fixing those it has been smooth sailing.
Do you have your camber plates maxed out, if so how much room do you have between them and your master cylinder?
I do have an LT1 starter on the car but I do think a weak battery played a part also. I think it just got way to hot due to cooling issues. I still have room with the camber plates but car has just a temp alignment on it for now. Lots of work to do before next years event.
That other thirdgen is Jason Smith's car. There isn't much thirdgen left except the outer sheet metal.
I happened to stumble across the Speedtech site this morning. Holy crap! He has a bit more than the $15K suspension package on his car (IRS instead of a log axle).
I had starter issues on Saturday afternoon and had to bump start it before every run. Angled down the banking to make it easier. Turns out the wire that went from the harness to the starter solenoid had pulled out of the female terminal. I had some terminals in the garage when I put stuff together, probably wasn't the right gauge for the wire but it worked. Until Saturday. Got some better terminals when I got home and connected things back up.
Fun event last weekend with King of the Mountain. I finished 20th in the Mid class, about 1.4 seconds from 12th, which would have qualified me for the Saturday night shootout.
I struggled all weekend with a mystery gremlin of the car not starting and had to be push started 5-6 times. First we fixed the main power cable that went to the starter (slightly singed by the header through the heat shielding), then the spade connecting to the flat pin on the solenoid came off (dropped the starter to fix the first problem, so it wasn't snug I guess). After doing three drama-free runs on Saturday morning, it wouldn't start for the afternoon runs! I think it might have been heat soak.
UMI puts on a good show, and the competition pool was a little deeper than last month's Autocross Challenge -- several SCCA national champions in the house. Not as many thirdgens as last month, though.
John Vitamvas, who I've known for almost 20 years, won the whole thing in his Mazda RX-8. Turbo Ford 2.5L and 10R80 transmission. That he built literally by himself in his garage. I was so stoked to see him win that I forgot about how my car behaved.
Looking forward to making some tweaks so the car might be better off next year.
The whole finals was just weird with dnf's and guys hitting cones. I was there all day Saturday watching my buddy in late class. He just could never get a handle for the course on day 1 and that put him way behind for Sat. His class was super stacked anyway. Had fun just hanging out and watching some fast cars. I will be at AXC again next year and will hopefully have all my gremlins worked out.
05-16-2024, 09:59 AM
Turns out the wire that went from the harness to the starter solenoid had pulled out of the female terminal. I had some terminals in the garage when I put stuff together, probably wasn't the right gauge for the wire but it worked. Until Saturday. Got some better terminals when I got home and connected things back up.
