P71 at an SCCA autocross: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Aug. 24, 2009 10:00 p.m. P71 SuperDork
John's GTO corded a tire so I let him borrow the P71 for STU (since he's in points). The results are slightly surprising.
- 82m STU 141 John Russell 01 Ford P71 69.173
- 83m ST 90 Sam Boyce 92 Nissan 240SX 69.174
- 84m HS 12 Mark Jeffries 79 Honda Civic 71.733
- 85m BS 55 Christina Billings 06 Nissan 350Z 73.770
- 86m SS 17 Fred Nolke 08 Corvette Z06 76.768
- 87m STS 151 Audra Degg 83 Mazda RX7 76.786
- 88m HS 21 Glen Morris 79 Honda Civic 81.471
- 89m EP 31 Bonnie McCune 90 Honda Civic 82.297
- 90m DP 149 Steve Voight 91 Mazda Miata 86.727
That time was with a cone too (John can't drive apparently ) so a 67.1 would have thrown him up to 76th overall. He caught the last cone of the course with the rear tire.

It was bizarre shagging cones that my own car hit, but not nearly as weird as following my own car for the 90 mile trip each way. Yes, I kicked his butt with the RX-7, it's MUCH better at cone dodging.
Aug. 24, 2009 10:22 p.m. Carson Dork

Wow, that's pretty cool, that's a big car to be beating up on those (relative) feather weights. What was the course like?

Was there really a '79 Civic running or was that a typo? If it was a '79 do you have any pictures, by chance?

The best part about running a first generation Civic would be the ability to run it flat out, the whole course, no braking needed!
Aug. 24, 2009 10:43 p.m. P71 SuperDork

The course was at Packwood, which is a *very large, pretty flat expanse (it's a National Tour / National Pro Solo site). This one was a fairly long one with three large slaloms, a 180 turn-around, and some nice sweepers. The P71 did the worst on the slaloms, the springs are too high and too soft to work the back-and-forth quick enough. The 245/275 combo had plenty of grip, but the short front tires were overworked (I just ordered some 255/50's to replace the 245/40's). Braking was excellent (drilled/slotted/zinced rotors, Performance Friction pads, P71-spec mondo calipers).

That really was a '79 Civic and it's an awesome little car! There's some pics on my blog somewhere:

www.pacnwracingscene.blogspot.com

I'll update yesterday's event tomorrow afternoon with any luck.
Aug. 25, 2009 8:23 a.m. blaze86vic Reader

I love taking the Vic out to events like this. The 275 tires do make a big difference, and the r-compounds made much more difference. But the event days of the Vic are all but over.

The last event I took it to because it was raining, and I had no interest in driving the Celica in the rain again. It's slow in the rain, and if it's going to be slow, it's much more fun in the Vic. I loved that I drifted the entire course without knocking a cone over. My buddy with his 240 was talking BS before we went out. I made sure to slap the ever un-impressive HP numbers my car makes on him after he couldn't beat my time (195wph btw), just for that added sting.
Aug. 25, 2009 9:21 a.m. 2002maniac Reader

ZOMG!! Your car's faster than an 08 Z06!!!
Aug. 25, 2009 9:51 a.m. P71 SuperDork

Lolz! No, it's all about the driver at the autocross, everybody knows that. It just goes to show you that even the bestest most powerful car can be whipped by a better driver in an inferior car.
Aug. 25, 2009 12:54 p.m. belteshazzar Dork

i heard p71's don't handle good though.
Aug. 25, 2009 1:14 p.m. slefain Dork

P71 wrote:

Lolz! No, it's all about the driver at the autocross, everybody knows that. It just goes to show you that even the bestest most powerful car can be whipped by a better driver in an inferior car.

I bet the 'vette driver was till ticked though....
Aug. 25, 2009 8:00 p.m. P71 SuperDork

There were quite a few drivers watching the raw times flash up on the board who's mouths dropped.

I ordered 255/45 and 275/40's for it yesterday from DTD (has GRM gotten them to advertise yet?). Had to go with DTD as I got Falken FK452's and Tire Rack refuses to carry Falkens for some reason.

I ordered a bunch of other parts and the P71 goes to the shop Thursday for some much-needed work. Think J-Mod and some fancy suspension work involving a plasma cutter...

It'll still be a dog compared to the 7 around cones though.