First AX of the season
We had our first local SCCA Solo event of the season this past week-end. I decided to enter even though I am planning to concentrate more on DE/track events than AX this year.
But, I was suffering from cabin fever, and felt the need to get frisky in my CS. Since it was actually a pre-season warm-up (i.e. not for points), and the weather forecast was for bad to lousy weather, I decided to run stock and didn't even bother to change from my winter Alpins.
I did have to reprogram my Softronic back to stock (for the 1st time). There was a brief moment of concern when I started the engine after the flash back to stock because the engine was idling very roughly and it threw a CEL. I then ran my Durametric program and it didn't show any faults under the DME, so I don't know what that was all about, but it went away by itself after several minutes.
The conditions, as expected, were lousy. It was cold, windy, rainy, and the parking lot venue is one of the worst we run on: rough pavement, and so much sand on it that it is frequently referred to as the Beach (kind of a double play on words, since it is part of a Beechcraft plant). In fact, at times it looked more like a drifting contest than an autocross - lots of spins. It was hell chasing cones, but kind of fun to drive.
I did my first run with the PSM on to see how it felt and learn the course. The next 2 runs I did with the PSM off, and my times got worse the faster I tried to go - I was just slipping and sliding too much. I did my last 2 runs with the PSM on again and my fastest run was about 2 sec. quicker (on a 40 sec course) than with the PSM off. The moral of the story: when it's really slippery, PSM is a good thing.
Side Note: This was only my second appearance at our local events in my CS, and I was a little surprised at how much attention and how many compliments the car got. We have had guys with 944s and older 911s at times, but Porsches (especially late models) have generally been pretty rare, and one of the event coordinators actually remarked to me that they usually didn't get too many "nice cars" like mine, at our AXs. Now, that day we had at least 2 late model Vettes that probably cost as much or more than I paid for my CS, but I guess that the Cayman is still rare enough (around here) that people consider it to be special - or maybe it's just that Porsche mystique.
But, I was suffering from cabin fever, and felt the need to get frisky in my CS. Since it was actually a pre-season warm-up (i.e. not for points), and the weather forecast was for bad to lousy weather, I decided to run stock and didn't even bother to change from my winter Alpins.
I did have to reprogram my Softronic back to stock (for the 1st time). There was a brief moment of concern when I started the engine after the flash back to stock because the engine was idling very roughly and it threw a CEL. I then ran my Durametric program and it didn't show any faults under the DME, so I don't know what that was all about, but it went away by itself after several minutes.
The conditions, as expected, were lousy. It was cold, windy, rainy, and the parking lot venue is one of the worst we run on: rough pavement, and so much sand on it that it is frequently referred to as the Beach (kind of a double play on words, since it is part of a Beechcraft plant). In fact, at times it looked more like a drifting contest than an autocross - lots of spins. It was hell chasing cones, but kind of fun to drive.
I did my first run with the PSM on to see how it felt and learn the course. The next 2 runs I did with the PSM off, and my times got worse the faster I tried to go - I was just slipping and sliding too much. I did my last 2 runs with the PSM on again and my fastest run was about 2 sec. quicker (on a 40 sec course) than with the PSM off. The moral of the story: when it's really slippery, PSM is a good thing.
Side Note: This was only my second appearance at our local events in my CS, and I was a little surprised at how much attention and how many compliments the car got. We have had guys with 944s and older 911s at times, but Porsches (especially late models) have generally been pretty rare, and one of the event coordinators actually remarked to me that they usually didn't get too many "nice cars" like mine, at our AXs. Now, that day we had at least 2 late model Vettes that probably cost as much or more than I paid for my CS, but I guess that the Cayman is still rare enough (around here) that people consider it to be special - or maybe it's just that Porsche mystique.
Total Comments 5
Comments
|
sounds like a slip n'slide out there - and a blast to drive! all that gravel sounds nasty, i hope you taped your CS well. Mar 15th is my first AX of 2008, and i can barely wait...
thank you for posting this - now i am even more excited - woot! also looked up SCCA events in my area - heh. |
 
|
|
|
Quote:
. . . Mar 15th is my first AX of 2008, and i can barely wait...
 |
|
|
|
|
hahahaha! oh my sides! hahahaha!
no. but i am in the initial research stage! i have decided to tackle the task myself, and if it turns out well may even put an article up - you never know! i need to find about a month of wiggle/dry room in-between events... |
|
|
|
|
Nice post. Yup it takes a while to learn to drive on a slippery course, lots of trial and error before you can do better than the car. w psm on, did it allow at least some slip before intervening?
|
|
|
|
|
Actually, I don't find the PSM overly intrusive - it does seem to allow some drift or side-slip, but catches you as soon as the rear end starts to come around.
My previous AX cars were a WRX and a MINI, so driving a RWD car with this much torque takes a little getting used to. |
|
|
Recent Blog Entries by KS-CS
- Endurocross Madness (10-09-2008)
- Cleaning Exhaust Tips (08-26-2008)
- Another Lesson Learned . . . (08-08-2008)
- Ridin' with the Man . . . (06-26-2008)
- Wash Day Conundrum (06-09-2008)
