holy shit was that fun! this was my st event that i competed in (i had previously been to and spectated an event before. finally got my chance to participate (couldn't before b/c of broken t-stat.)

anyway, on to the good stuff. my car:

'95 M3 engine completely stock (except fan delete & debaffled airbox)
only real mods are my front & rear RD strut bars and the coveted x-brace. so my suspension is good despite the leaking right front strut and cracking RTABs and broken RSMs... lol (GC RSMs new RTABs & bilsteins will be on soon.

i particapated in the local event and told the directors the car i had and the mods i have made. being that is was a 1st time for me they stuck me in NOVICE. and my class was STSN.

well for my 1st time out i did damn good. i was 2-3 secs off the time of a HEAVILY (and i stress heavily) modified Corvette Z06. 2 secs away from a Viper (with racing rubber, LTW rims and a few engine mods) 1.5 secs away from a decently modded Z06. and only 1 sec away from a heavily modified (trailor carried auto-x setup E30 M3). all of these cars were driven by some GREAT drivers. some of which help put on the event and most that have been racing for years.

given these conditions me and my E36 (almost stock M3) were in some good company. as far as the competitors in my class i was well ahead (4-5 secs) of the nearest (and that includes cars from the STS not just novice)

all in all i say i had a good time, awesome runs, and i will be back for more next month, but with MUCH better suspension (in a higher class i am sure now) and some (hopefully) engine mods (i.e. - euro 3.5 intake, URI crank pulley) as well as UUC gen3 ssk and UUC tme.

this can get addictive. time to go to my nearest wal-mart and practice... lol

later,
Jayson

glad u had fun :) be warned, it is v v addictive :D what was the Fastest Time of the Day for the course ?

well the fastest time of the day was ~38.? secs... although it was a 125cc shifter cart that could go through almost all the "twisties/slaloms" in a straight line.

as far as the "real" cars go... i believe a ~46 was the fastest.. my best time was a 50.754 (1st run was a 66 b/c i spun around coming out the skidpad with too much throttle trying to make a right turn out of it, 2nd run was the best, 3rd was a 58 b/c i was stupid and babied it some, and the last run i DNF b/c i pushed it too damn hard - lost it and hit the finish cones and the timing box lol) ... not too bad for a beginer driver and a very mildly tune E36 M3. BEWARE of me when i get more auto-x time/experience and tune the car better... i wil be a Vette/Viper eater for sure.

Good deal man. I let the rain in the forecast scare me away from this event and it turned out to be a beautiful day. That guy in the E30 is John Gamby. Pay attention to him. He's been X'ing for a long time and can give you a lot of pointers, he'll let you ride with him too. The Foley's in that black mazda protoge are good too. I need all the help i can get, so i stick close to those guys and try to suck up all the knowledge I can.
I've been pretty dissappointed with my times so far, but i'll be getting rid of those A/S tires on the rear soon. That should remedy the traction problems that have been a thorn in my side.

yeah i chated with Foley Sr a little today, but didn't get around Gamby much - except to say hi. people were running great out there today and couldn't have asked for better conditions (despite the 2 puddles that didn't dry up until my 3rd & 4th runs, but weren't all that much in the way)

hope to see you at the next event. will have another E36 M3 to compete with. YEAH! i got babyM from here on bf.c to go. she did well in here 328is. some nice runs and she had fun too!

Was that Jose (Dr. Gonzales) in the 'heavily modified' ZO6? It would be black with huge wheels / tires.

If so, that was the car my co-driver drove to trophies in SM2 at Nationals after my car lost a motor during the practice session :( . Jose is a great guy.

Glad you had fun and didn't end up in the trees!

You did well! Sorry I missed the doughnut --did you catch the Viper spinning out?

BTW the Z06 was indeed Dr. Gonzales --name emblazoned right across the side (No Muffler--LOUD)

I was very properly put in the novice class. I've never even had the revs past 5k!!! After riding with John Gamby (beautiful 88 M3) and having him graciously sit as my passenger I improved by over 5 seconds over my first run. Too bad I nailed one of the finishline double cones!! (woman driver!)

Addiction is a sad thing. It happened to me with bicycle racing too. Fifteen years later I'm still at it and now this. Watch out, the 328 won't be in H class much longer and I'm off to the driving school in July!!

yeah next month i will ride with Gamby and have him sit with me afterwards. i know thre is definitelyAWAYS room for improvement. after i improvethe car before the next even i need to improve the driver.

John in Houston - and yes the black Z06 was definitely Jose, he is a real great guy. as are amost everyone out there at the auto-x. fun crowd and great activity!

Glad you had a good time.

Just a couple notes, technically, E36 M3's are NOT allowed in STS. They are specifically ruled out of that class. With the way your car sits now, you should probabily be in B-Stock.

Did you break the timing box? I've spun a couple times, missing them by inches but never hit one. I heard they are pretty delicate and cost $200+ if you damage it.

thanks for the heads up on the class situation.

by the next time i run i should have JTD RSMs, maybe Bilstein sport struts. what should i be placed in then? if i have all of the previous + RD front & rear sways with GC bushings and RTABs... what should i be placed in then?

nah i didn't break the timing box. LUCKILY! i think the timing boxes are actually pretty strong, last month Jose in his black Vette hit the same timing box and made it slide even further then i did and still has not been broken!

the people putting on the event were a little upset with me i think though, but fortunately they let me slide (no pun intended hahahaha)

Jayson. With your car the way it is now (18" wheels, X-brace, and strut bars), you should be running in B street prepared. At the winter series events and in the novice class in general, they aren't too strict about classes. Usually someone would have to complain about your car for them to do something. The suspension stuff will just about make them put you in BSP.

Damn, I wish I had gone to this event. Oh well, there is always next time.

Autocross in January? BASTARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!


Sorry just envious of you with your hot weather and year round racing. :mad:

It is 22 degrees here with a 5 degree wind chill.


j/k glad you had fun.

Oh yeah... auto-x 12 months of the year here in Houston... and with 3 different clubs (SCCA, PCA and BMWCCA).

Drive to College Station and run with A&M 12 months of the year.

Drive to Dallas and run with the BMWCCA up there.

Drive to Austin and run with SPOKES.

Seat time is plentiful down south!

Originally posted by 99blackbird
Jayson. With your car the way it is now (18" wheels, X-brace, and strut bars), you should be running in B street prepared. At the winter series events and in the novice class in general, they aren't too strict about classes. Usually someone would have to complain about your car for them to do something. The suspension stuff will just about make them put you in BSP.

Damn, I wish I had gone to this event. Oh well, there is always next time.

actually when i head out to the auto-x i throw back on my stockers... but it shouldn't matter, hopefully i will have much more next month and need to be somewhere else.

Believe it or not, but we have year round auto-x here as well in colorado! :clap:

It might be in the 40's with ice patches here and there but that adds to the excitement!