April Showers Auto X April 7, 2013

We went to Solano Community College for Vaca Valley Vettes April Showers auto cross event on April 7. The event was packed, by far the largest turnout VVV has ever seen in a long time. With auto cross becoming more popular among drivers every year, it is to no surprise that the turnouts are getting higher.

On Board Video! ------CLICK FOR GoPro!

Since the end of last season, we have upgraded the tires to Nitto NT555s (17 in FR and 18in RR). I had not driven the car since the last race last season about 7 months ago. But, my dad had been going out on weekend drives and club events. He would not stop raving about the increased grip and handling of the car on the freeway and back country roads. So I couldn't wait to get in the driver seat. The tires are pretty affordable for the performance, yes they do not give you the security or assurance of the stock Pilot run flats. But, in return you get a much stickier tire. Not to mention the price difference. The Michelin Pilot Sports are about $2000 ($500 each) a set depending on where you shop and the Nitto NT555 are around $600 ($150 each) depending on the dealer. However, since there is no spare tire a flat kit and small compressor now sit in the trunk.

The tire has a much more aggressive tread pattern, with more rubber on the leading edges of the tire compared to the Pilot Sports. Just running my hand on the tire I could feel the difference of the softer compound compared to the harder Michelins.

The race course was much larger and faster than what we have previously seen last season. The track had longer sweeping turns allowing fast speed and required more judgement when leaving corners and getting on the gas. The main sweeper which was done twice on the lap due to a loop, allowed the faster vettes to get into the 60+ mph range. For a lonely open parking lot, that is fast. On the video you can get a good idea for the layout.

The hardest part I had about my four runs on the course was getting used to the new tires. I was used to massive under steer, so bad that if I were to charge into a corner the car would still be going straight. So all of last season I charged each corner with caution. Now the car has under steer! Finally I can kick the back end around a corner with ease and not have to worry about plowing through the outside cones. On the photos, we did notice the suspension starting to become the next area to upgrade. Due to the newly found grip the car was rolling far enough where the lower front bumper came close to scraping. So that will have to get taken care of down the road once we get more comfortable to the new tires. In the video I went off on my first lap doing a burn out, I figured the cool asphalt and tires could be heated up a bit. My dad on the other hand didn't think it was too helpful, since I ran the slowest run peeling out at the start.

We both had a blast at the course and hope to make it to more events this summer. The next big event for NCCA is A Legend on Display Car Show at The Livery in Danville on Saturday May 4, 2013. My dad is the coordinator so a big turn out would make his day.