Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here
Thank you for being a part of our community!
A harness will make a huge difference. There must be something available that doesn't require major work to install since Miatas are so prevalent in the race world. Schroth makes a nice 4 point harness for the Mustangs that uses all the factory latches and belt mounting points. I can clip my harness into the car in less than a minute.
I can share with you what I would do. You actually have 2 excellent tire choices that are available in 205/55-16. Tire Rack's website is so messed up it doesn't even come up with those tires when a 940 Turbo with 16" wheels is entered to the search engine. The site is totally F'ed up since Discount tire bought Tire Rack and tried to re-write the website using America's Tire/Discount Tire format. The Advan A052 and the Bridgestone RE-71RS. Between those 2 I would pick the RE-71RS because it is more tolerant of camber challenged vehicles and will give you more tire life. You should be able to get -1.5 to -2 degrees camber out of your front end which will be enough for decent wear with the RE-71RS. It is actually enough for the Advan since your car isn't super heavy in the front and doesn't have high horsepower. Either tire is a great tire for Autocross and both have their strong points. With Hydras you have a square wheel set which allows you to swap tires front to rear to maximize tire life. Wheel weight does make a big difference. The rule of thumb is 1 pound of weight shed on a wheel is worth 4 from the body/chassis. Something else to consider when making wheel/tire choices is acceleration. If you are turning larger/heavier wheel/tire combos you aren't going to have the same level of acceleration. Greg Ervin never ran anything on his 740 other than 15X7 Multi-X and 16X6.5 Hydras. His car is light and striped down to the bone so its hard to make a direct comparison. Those 2 tires I'm recommending have so much grip compared to anything you have likely driven on I think you would be content with their performance.
grassrootsmotorsports.com
Do you think 205s have enough grip for a 3500lb 945? I figured I would regret not going at least an inch wider with the wheels.I can share with you what I would do. You actually have 2 excellent tire choices that are available in 205/55-16. Tire Rack's website is so messed up it doesn't even come up with those tires when a 940 Turbo with 16" wheels is entered to the search engine. The site is totally F'ed up since Discount tire bought Tire Rack and tried to re-write the website using America's Tire/Discount Tire format. The Advan A052 and the Bridgestone RE-71RS. Between those 2 I would pick the RE-71RS because it is more tolerant of camber challenged vehicles and will give you more tire life. You should be able to get -1.5 to -2 degrees camber out of your front end which will be enough for decent wear with the RE-71RS. It is actually enough for the Advan since your car isn't super heavy in the front and doesn't have high horsepower. Either tire is a great tire for Autocross and both have their strong points. With Hydras you have a square wheel set which allows you to swap tires front to rear to maximize tire life. Wheel weight does make a big difference. The rule of thumb is 1 pound of weight shed on a wheel is worth 4 from the body/chassis. Something else to consider when making wheel/tire choices is acceleration. If you are turning larger/heavier wheel/tire combos you aren't going to have the same level of acceleration. Greg Ervin never ran anything on his 740 other than 15X7 Multi-X and 16X6.5 Hydras. His car is light and striped down to the bone so its hard to make a direct comparison. Those 2 tires I'm recommending have so much grip compared to anything you have likely driven on I think you would be content with their performance.
Just for something different here is an article about Hyundai's recent Pikes Peak adventure. Randy Pobst was asked to drive for them at the last minute. Randy has been really touting how Autocross experience helped every other type of racing he has been involved in, including road racing.
Hyundai conquers Pikes Peak with its Ioniq 5 N
Is Hyundai new at Pikes Peak? Hardly. The brand sent its first factory entry back in 1992. This year, Hyundai’s effort centered on its new Ioniq 5 N.
Good to know, thank you for your input!
Without some experimenting it's hard to say. The car will accelerate quicker with less weight. It may have better front-rear weight distribution with a full tank. My biggest concern would be fuel starvation with a low fuel level. When I used to run my TurboCoupe I never ran with less than half a tank of gas. There are no baffles in a stock fuel tank and when the fuel level got down to near a quarter tank of gas according to the gage sustained high g sweepers would cause the car to lose all power. I finally figured out what was going on. Fourth Gen Camaros do the same thing if I remember correctly. In both my Camaros and my S550 Mustang GT I actually run quicker times with a passenger in the right seat. I think it is due to having equal weight distribution on the chassis. A Miata is always quicker with only the driver in the car because they have so little power.Does anyone have any insight on what fuel level I should run for an event in my 945t? I've been running with a mostly full tank.
Is the extra weight of a full tank better for traction or am I giving up time with all that extra weight?
A full tank in the 940 is over 120lbs
I'm a novice and may not even notice a difference but if there's easy time to be had, I'll take it
They probably used Facebook to announce the change. That's why I was forced to activate my Facebook account that I had for 10+ years and had never used. I couldn't even log into it because I couldn't remember what I had used for a password when I signed up. One of the clubs I race with had done the same thing, only, the date was the same, the location had been changed to another location almost 75 miles from the original location. On the club's website they still had the original location listed for the event. I heard about the change word of mouth in time to not show up and wonder where everyone was. I was pissed the club was so negligent. Anyway, that's why I have a Facebook account now. Just 2 weeks ago another event was cancelled Thursday due to staging wild fire equipment at the ski resort we use as a venue. The club website didn't change their flyer for a couple of days at least. That is a 110 mile drive one way to the event in the middle of nowhere. I think the email went out Friday. The Facebook announcement went out almost as soon as the club got notice the event was cancelled by the management team of the resort.
This is the only reason I reactivated my facebook too
Good job. It looked like you are left foot braking. I didn't see you right leg make the switch from gas to brake. If that's the case you are catching on fast. It is the ticket to quicker times. You also are getting the car over in to position quickly by back siding the entry cones. That is giving you more time to be in position for the next slalom cone or element. Well done. I ran this last weekend with my club at Evergreen Aviation. My Solostorm would not connect with its GPS antenna so I had to trigger my camera using the button on the camera. I only got 2 runs on video and no data. According to my friend that runs a CAM T Mustang peak speed for him was 58 mph. I'm guessing peak in my GT was 55 mph. I moved the camera into the interior mount for the last run so I could just reach over and turn it on/off vs climbing out of the car right before the starting line to turn it on. The two videos give an interesting perspective on how different the same run looks viewed from the inside vs outside. There was a very short spacing slalom right before the finish that gave the best drivers grief. Lots of cone strikes or missed gates because they didn't plan far enough ahead and get their car exactly where it needed to be. I made 6 runs Sunday, 1 cone penalty and it wasn't in the slalom. I coached 2 of my fellow members on how to run the course and they both dropped 1-2 seconds off their time immediately after getting some instruction on where they were leaving time on the clock. Check out just how aggressive you can be on steering inputs if you are on time and smooth with your inputs. That's what it took to get through this slalom at speed. Most of the low seat time competitors slowed to a crawl to get through the slalom clean.Best run from Sunday. I'm 6 seconds off the top XA car but I managed to run faster than 3 other XA cars, which were all running 200tw tires.
Thank you! I've been improving with every run, it feels good to make consistent progress. We got to do 5 runs this weekend and I got a bonus run from a timing error. We usually only do 4, so getting 6 helped was great.
Yep, it takes some getting used to, but I've been trying to left foot brake every time I drive this car so it becomes more natural. I'm getting a lot smoother with it than when I first tried it at the previous event.
I must have gotten real close on some because I have fresh cone scuffs on the left and right rear wheels but only one penalty all day
I've been trying very hard to look ahead, I'm getting a little better but man, it's hard! It's interesting to see the interior view because you can clearly see that you're looking for the next element. I want to try a static interior mount next time instead of helmet mount, it's hard to tell exactly where I'm looking.
This is especially true in the 940, I have to drive it pretty aggressively in the slalom or on straights to make up for how much time I lose in the corners
I'm actually looking at least 2 elements ahead of me. As far as I can see down the course. I can't see around corners. That's why you will see drivers looking out the window while going forward. They know where they are and are looking for where they need to be in 2-3 elements. Looking just one element ahead makes you drive point to point. In order to really connect everything together and minimize path length you need to be looking 2-3 elements ahead of you. When you get more used to the whole idea of driving fast using only visual references you will be able to drive like that. If you want to practice the idea do your course walks walking on the exact line your butt will be on through the course. Then, when you think you have it down/memorized, sit in your car with your hands on the wheel and drive the course from memory. Have the course map on your lap in case you can't remember something. If you watch really fast drivers you are going to see someone doing this eventually. When you can do this, you will drive the course without thinking about it. If you go back and watch my video again you will see me looking out of the side window 3-4 elements down the course while still heading towards the monument before the hard left hand turn. That's because I know exactly where I am and exactly where I need to be next. The same thing at the short slalom. Before I finish the slalom I'm looking out the right side glass at the finish line. I can do that because in the back of my mind I know what it should look like when I'm in the right position on course. I'm not looking at the elements as I pass them. I know where they are and where I need to be. I hope that makes sense to you. If it does, work on that and you will start shaving time off of your runs at an accelerated rate. Someone commented at the Porsche Club event 2 weeks ago that he couldn't understand how I and a few other drivers could put down such fast runs right from the very first run. He is new to Autocross and runs with my club, however, I didn't know him because I'm usually so focused on what I'm doing at these events. I shared with him what I'm trying to convey to you here. He was at this Evergreen Aviation event. He ran in the afternoon session so I didn't get to see him drive.
You both are faster than me, but I had a lot of fun at the last autox that 2manyturbos was at (thanks for the pointers). I was sliding a lot, probably not great for time, but trying to find that balance. Thinking some new 200tw tires will only help, might put them on before the next event. I’ll have to post some footage of my run once I cobble it together this weekend.
You are driving you car well. IPD bars and springs lead to plenty of sliding in a 240. They make the car more responsive than stock, but, are far from ideal for what you are trying to do with your car out on a Autocross course. 200 TW tires will definitely help.
