XelderX's BG FSP Build

I wouldn't think anything of that sort of event. Driving in the wet vs driving in the COLD and wet is very different. You need the right kind of tires to make it work and Azenis are not particularly that good in the cold or the wet. You probably would have been better off with some "all-season" tires.

Yea. I'm starting to put together a few options for foul weather at Dixie. I don't have any tires that will work so I'm hoping I can beg/borrow/steal something from ST or CSP if they happen to run a different run group.
 
Yea. I'm starting to put together a few options for foul weather at Dixie. I don't have any tires that will work so I'm hoping I can beg/borrow/steal something from ST or CSP if they happen to run a different run group.

Try to get some Toyo R1R's if you can't get Hoosier wets ;)
 
It will end up being about the same price either way I go. To run the R1Rs I would need to buy a whole other set of rims. I have a spare set of 14" rims, but no 15s. I guess I could sell the 14" rims to help buy a set of 15s and tires. Either way....15" R1Rs + (4) 15" rims = $800....or (4) 205-14 Hoosier Wets = $800.
 
Hankook Z212?---wishywashy sidewall (much less stiff than Falken) helps in the rain...cheap in a 195/60-14

If the car was *that* bad...not likely that any tire will be the magic bullet. Think sways, like you mentioned...and soft dampers...

Our car was great in the wet on Dunlop Star Specs at the MKE NT...until the diff exploded...still need 15's for those too, however.
 
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The car is starting to look pretty good. I'll try to get some pictures of it with the race wheels on next weekend at the Dixie National Tour.
 
*singing* One eyed one horned flying Purple People Eater! */singing*
 
Hotness. I really like the color. How much did the paint job run?

i was hoping for a little darker purple. The pictures make it look like the color I wanted. It's actually a little lighter shade in real life. I did quite a bit of bartering for the paint job. I replaced a MSP head gasket for a friend who's dad works for PPG in the fleet sales department. That allowed me to get any paint I wanted that was available for PPG's fleet paints line. The shop that painted the car is kind of a one stop fabrication, paint, powedercoat car/bike shop. I've done a lot of lathe work for some custom bikes they are building so the painter sprayed the car for $400.
 
I am looking forward to seeing it in action this weekend at Dixie (hope I am not working that heat)
 
I'm finally home from southern Georgia. Man, that is a long drive to only be two states away. The event was awesome considering the weather swamping most of the Southeast. Luckily, it didn't rain at all during the tour. FSP was a war. First off, thanks a ton to Jason for flying out and co-driving with me. He had a little trouble getting used to the car and only got 3 short, low speed practice runs in it before competition. He still had some fast times in the event, but getting into the trophies required some bonzai runs with a little luck on top. I learned a few things about the car this weekend and Jason helped me put together a few ideas to try on it. Saturday didn't start off that well for me. I don't remember hitting 3 cones on my first run, but that is what it says. The scratch time was still good and I think most of the other top runners spun out. Run #2 was where things started getting exciting. Jinx coned a high 49 second run and I pulled a clean 49.7. Zimmer was right behind me, in run order and time, with a 49.9. I knew we were going to be close but this was a little more than I expected. Jinx goes out in his third run and just lays out a scorcher 49.1, but I was behind him on course so I didn't know what his times were until I finished. I was right with him with a 49.3, but I coned it and Zimmer did the same thing right behind me. That left me sitting in 2nd after day one .6 behind Jinx. Day 2 was even crazier. Jinx had cone trouble on run 1. I decided it was time to put up or shut up and laid down a clean 48.2 which no one could touch until Neal Tovsen (co-driving Zimmer's Rabbit) came out of nowhere with a 46.9. At least 20 people in the immediate area where I was at in grid said "Holy s***!" all at the same time. Neal was a half second behind on Day 1 so I knew I still had a chance to come out on top if I could just get into the low 47s. Jinx got a 47.7 dirty on run two and I came in with a 47.4 that put me back into the lead by .008. At that point it was a 4 horse race between me in 1st, Neal .008 back with Jinx and Zimmer still looking for clean runs. Neal went out on his 3rd run and shocked everyone again by taking off another half second for a 46.5. Jinx put in another hero run to take over 2nd place with a 47.8, but I was unaware and had already decided that my race was with Neal. It was spin it or win it time. I was pushing at 110% through the first few turns and had a good little slide coming out of the first sweeper which spooked me a bit since there was a wall of cones on the outside and I knew the back of the car got real close. That got me a little out of sequence for the next little slalom, but it didn't feel like it cost me any time. I nailed the kink right after and got on the gas early for the next set of offsets which I took WOT. There was a little 3 cone wiggle at the end of that section, but I got in a little too deep and the lost the rear of the car under braking. I gathered it up pretty quick, but I couldn't get turned back in time and tapped the last cone with my front tire. I knew at that point that 1st place wasn't for me so the rest of the course was an attempt to see just how fast I could go. I did the big slalom on the backside of the course almost WOT with just a slight lift in the middle and I was almost on the rev limiter before I got the the last cone. That was about as close to nailing it as it was going to get. The last few offsets I took just a hair faster than my previous runs and came through the finish shaking my head. I knew how good it could have been, but the cones cost me. I had run the time I needed to run to win, 46.949, but had two cones. I left the event with 3rd place and some mixed feelings. I was happy with 3rd place and that I now knew the car belonged with the top of the FSP class. 12th in PAX made me smile pretty good too. I was dissapointed that I couldn't put it all together in the end, but I have to keep telling myself that it's just the beginning of a long season. I got tons of compliments on the car and it's performance which really made my weekend. She's tucked away back in the garage now waiting on a few little adjustments.
 
Well Done.

Neal comes down to Milwaukee a fair bit--he's a very talented driver (and a nice guy...). Two years ago he co-drove my pal, Darryl Wrolen's STX BMW to 2nd at Nationals--behind Fenter's WRX...and last year he made a BS RX8 look pretty impressive. That puts you in some pretty good company right out of the box. Very cool.
 
Well Done.

Neal comes down to Milwaukee a fair bit--he's a very talented driver (and a nice guy...). Two years ago he co-drove my pal, Darryl Wrolen's STX BMW to 2nd at Nationals--behind Fenter's WRX...and last year he made a BS RX8 look pretty impressive. That puts you in some pretty good company right out of the box. Very cool.

Its a yellow BS RX8, right? Him and Ivan have came to some of our events in that... they just fly!

Justin, glad to hear the car is working well. Your story had me at the edge of my seat going "WILL HE CONE, WILL HE CONE?!" :D
 
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These are the only pictures from the Dixie tour that I can find so far. If anyone locates any others let me know.
 
Wow.....looking good man. Is that as far as the car rolls in the picture?
 

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