Autocrossers: Check in here!

[Gonzo]

Oh yeah, one more thing...

That morning I used my torque wrench and set everything to 80 ft lbs. At the end of the day my front lug nuts, especially the front left were quite loose. I could easily turn them with just my lug nut adapter.

The wheels still seemed to not have moved on the hub.

I guess this is due to combinations of heat, vibration, and stress but obviously I'd like to not have this happen in the future. (Granted a test and tune is a pretty intense event) I also wonder if my torque wrench is being inaccurate. Have you heard of this and if so, is there a solution?

[piknockout]

You can still register for individual events, they're just not open yet.

[Gonzo]

Well, as far as I know this is the total damage assessment for the day...

One door and wheel ding. End of the day friend opened the door to my car without minding there were parts laying about. Wham, right into my wheels. Very hard to fix spot on the door...

Damaged fender. Oddly enough not on my car but on my dad's. Someone seriously smashed something into his car during the event. I noticed it right before we left for lunch. I thought it had to have happened before the event. Apparently not.

Not exactly damage but the locking washer for my left rear camber arm has come loose. I am wondering if I should just tighten it or bitch at the shop that did it for having something come loose in less than three days.

Either way I'll have to go back and check everything they've done to make sure it isn't a hazard. I swear you can't trust anyone to work on your car. Dealerships, body shops, or mechanic shops. The only people who haven't royally f'ed me yet is Merchants Tire.

[piknockout]

Ugh, sorry about the bad luck with the dings.

As far as the lugs, weird that they got that loose. Which reminds me, I should check mine tonight. I don't do that nearly as much as I should.

[honda93]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

Oh yeah, one more thing...

That morning I used my torque wrench and set everything to 80 ft lbs. At the end of the day my front lug nuts, especially the front left were quite loose. I could easily turn them with just my lug nut adapter.

The wheels still seemed to not have moved on the hub.

I guess this is due to combinations of heat, vibration, and stress but obviously I'd like to not have this happen in the future. (Granted a test and tune is a pretty intense event) I also wonder if my torque wrench is being inaccurate. Have you heard of this and if so, is there a solution?

Then go to 86 or 87 ft..lb. on the wrench. You could even go to 90 if you wanted. Those studs are stronger than they appear... Look at when mechanics just torque the shit out of them with an impact gun (most don't use the torque sticks available on the market).

Think about it.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

[Gonzo]

Yeah, unfortunately I bought a 10 to 80 ftlb wrench since I needed to do some fragile bolts. Might have to buy me another one...

Still is that normal during autox? I haven't noticed 80 being a problem for street driving. I guess I'll just start doing 90 all the time since 80 apparently can't be trusted. Loose lugs don't give me the warm and fuzzies.

And yeah I re torque mine every so often.

[piknockout]

Conger, FYI for this Sunday. Looks like they're closing part of the Beltway this Saturday.

Beltway construction reset for April 19

[honda93]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

Still is that normal during autox?

It's not every day you try making numerous turns generating the kinds of forces autocrossing replicates... Many of those turns are equivalent to pulling into your driveway at 40+ mph without losing control or going onto the grass on the side of the driveway. Think about it.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

[CivicSiRacer]

Originally Posted by honda93

It's not every day you try making numerous turns generating the kinds of forces autocrossing replicates... Many of those turns are equivalent to pulling into your driveway at 40+ mph without losing control or going onto the grass on the side of the driveway. Think about it.

Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA

The other thing I may add (Hey Anthony) is once you torque the lugs, roll the car back and forth about 2-4 times and retorque.

Other thing is to also add a little bit (1/2 a pea size) anti-seize on each lug before putting on the studs. This helps make the thread engagement much smoother and you get a more accurate reading on your torque wrench.

I've torqued all my wheels to 80ft/lbs with no problems coming loose. And I've attended over 300+ autocrosses in 10 years. That's about 30 autocrosses a year where I would change my tires/wheels.

When I first started though I was having problems with lugs/studs stripping off and that's when people told me to do the anti-seize thing and start threading the lugs by hand the first couple of turns. Then use a impact gun to get them on/off quick.

[Gonzo]

I've actually had antiseize on my lugs since I put on my new wheels (new lugs are open faced).

I'll try the rolling trick for sure. This autocross in particular probably had 40 runs with some driving in between so it was definitely atypical from a normal autocross.

Anthony, I understand the difference between daily and autocross driving, my point is I just hope the rest of the factory torque settings hold up to the abuse, heh.

[Gonzo]

Anyone know what class removing your cat entirely will put you in?

This guy is wondering... I Failed



BTW, I think I am going to be pretty relieved after this weekend. I love autocrossing but after three weekends in a row of Saturday nights and sundays being used, I wouldn't mind a break.

[Gonzo]

Weather looks like it is shaping up to be awful. Both weather and wunderground are calling for thunderstorms all day.

Whatdya think Josh?

[tpofa-07LX]

I am looking for some sticky autocross tires, my all seasons dont seem to like it very much.

I have searched and came up with a few names. Should I go with some sticky street tires or some R compounds. I will be using these tires solely for autocrossing. I am looking for something that will last a while but still grip decently and not to expensive, gonna try to get these for my birthday.

-hoosier - these seem synonymous with expensive though
- Falken Azeni's RT-615's
-hankook ventus rs2
-> Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R
-> Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07
-> BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD
-> Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1

Most of these seem to be street tires though, so does anyone know much about R compounds??

I am getting these in stock size for my LX, I am just gonna play in HS class.

[piknockout]

Well Conger, what I think is that I got up early from Delaware (went to a wedding last night) and spent my day from 9:30am-3pm just to see the event get cancelled after the start of the 4th heat. But I did get some good BBQ while I was there from "Hot Off the Coals".

Info on what they will be doing to make it up will be listed on the site and Yahoo group. If you were there, you would have known.

[Gonzo]

Ah ha.

Well I didn't get to autox but I did get to have a somewhat hairy situation on some county roads.

Everything turned out fine though.

Ended up getting home at 3am last night hoping it would be rescheduled...

[piknockout]

Well, since the morning people all got their runs, it sounds like something is going to be done for the afternoon competitors...but only those that were actually registered, so you're still SOL unfortunately. Their trying to figure out now what they want to do.

[hugeevilrobot]

Yeah, overall it was pretty dissapointing, I was in the 4th heat and most of the AS guys got a chance to go, but it got bad right before i was going to get out. Hopefully they have some sort of contingency. Still was fun to get out there, was fun watching my buddy in an old supra turbo get one of the quicker times in ESP with some nasty modded vettes and camaros.

Oh well, between Autox, inc and normal wdc region, should have plenty more opportunities to get out there... now just to decide if i want to bite the bullet and get the redshift konis and r-comps, or to go crazy and get into stx.

[piknockout]

Go crazy, come and have fun.

No doubt it was disappointing, but I'm sure Craig and company will find a fair way to rectify the situation as best they can.

[hugeevilrobot]

I'd very much like to, but trying to save for a house and doing full suspension + power mods + tuning would put a nice dent in that plenty quick. STX seems like one of the most competitive classes in WDCR, so i get to get stomped on there, or by the minis in GS

[civicsi52]

Originally Posted by tpofa-07LX

I am looking for some sticky autocross tires, my all seasons dont seem to like it very much.

I have searched and came up with a few names. Should I go with some sticky street tires or some R compounds. I will be using these tires solely for autocrossing. I am looking for something that will last a while but still grip decently and not to expensive, gonna try to get these for my birthday.

-hoosier - these seem synonymous with expensive though
- Falken Azeni's RT-615's
-hankook ventus rs2
-> Bridgestone Potenza RE-01R
-> Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07
-> BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD
-> Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1

Most of these seem to be street tires though, so does anyone know much about R compounds??

I am getting these in stock size for my LX, I am just gonna play in HS class.

If you are staying in stock class, r-comps are the way to go. Kumho makes the V710 which isn't as stiff as the Hoosier, but a few bucks cheaper. I've heard the Hoosier A6 doesn't last as long as the V710.
You also have to have a way to transport them to the event. If you have to drive lots of miles to get there, you're not going to want to drive there on r-comps. So make sure you have a way to get your race set to the event.