Keith (240_keyy) posted about an autocross thing that Texas A&M does a couple times a semester. i decided to go and try my luck, only mods being Stillen STB, custom exhaust, rear sway bar, eibachs, 255/50-17 rears and 235/45-17 fronts. shocks are very beat blacks (have new blues, not installed yet). Removed all possible weight, including rear seat, spare tire, all carpeting.
I was put in F Stock class, pairing me with mostly f-bodies(camaro, firebird). For some reason there were no other heavy V8 sedans, so i was put with V8 rwd. there were other sedans, but they were all fwd. there were 5 240's, all S13's, one was a coupe, the rest were hatchback. The was also a maxima and a sentra with a godawful sounding fart can.
Course had lots of tight turns and slaloms, which did not help me any. I was able to drive the whole 1.2 mile course with the transmission in 1st, without redlining. i thought the Q got through pretty good, but not compared to the other vehicles (my best time was 2nd worst best time). I'll admit i didn't expect to get good times, as this is no corner carving sports car. But i squealed the tires around corners and slid the back end around a little bit, but never lost control. Keith's ka powered 240 with really soft racing tires was only able to do 16 seconds faster than me, and the best time overall was probably 40 seconds faster than me. when the results are posted on TAMSCC (Texas A&M Sports Car Club)webpage i will put a link.
Conclusion: The Q is great for straight line and highway cruising, but is not a good autocrosser, at least when compared to mustangs, firebirds, camaros, Rx-7's, etc. Coming back from the event i put in gas and arrived home 2 hours 15 minutes later, and covered 160 miles, hmm, did i mention the Q was great on the freeway?
Q45 attempts at auto-x
-
lessthanjakejohn
- Posts: 4105
- Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2002 6:39 am
Turning abilities is not just autoX.
Its also fast sweepers at which our multilink supsnsion excels ( also I think having had new blues vs old blacks would have made a lot of difference.)
Also autoX's are artificailly tight and dont reflect the real world.Even winding moutnain roads are not as tight and a Q can really run on those ( I have and run away from some sportier cars).
Fred...
Its also fast sweepers at which our multilink supsnsion excels ( also I think having had new blues vs old blacks would have made a lot of difference.)
Also autoX's are artificailly tight and dont reflect the real world.Even winding moutnain roads are not as tight and a Q can really run on those ( I have and run away from some sportier cars).
Fred...
doh! i bet i would have done better if my arthritis hadn't been acting up. i was throwing the car through the slalom with ease, even though i only had one hand on the wheel. the other hand was on the door handle to prevent me from sliding on the leather seats. i don't understand the proper turning technique for racing, but i can turn damned good with only one hand on the wheel (on the top for racing, on bottom for highway cruising). i should have worn my leather pants, cause leather don't slide on leather.i think john is looking to convert and join the rest of us in the old folks home. come on john, Q's are awesome!oh yeah, someone brought a 260Z to the auto-x, it looked really nice.
Well, I think you've inspired me to try AutoX. It's something I've always wanted to do, but the looks I get when I tell the people at the dragstrip that I want to race and NOT watch have kinda been the same thing keeping me from trying AutoX....You know Infiniti, 4 doors, not to mention I'm FWD as well.
But, I think I'll give it a shot now
But, I think I'll give it a shot now
-
lessthanjakejohn
- Posts: 4105
- Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2002 6:39 am
I used to do quite a few autoxs up at the old Riverside Annex, but never in the Q45. I did bring my old Q to an autox school in Houston I was instructing at, and it was very determined to understeer, and didn't like to downshift to first at times when it really needed to. It felt good for a big 4,000 lbs. sedan, but chewed up the tires pretty badly after 3-4 runs.
F-stock is a pretty tough class to be put into at a TAMSCC event. There are some national level autoxers who used to compete in that class there (possibly still do). I felt good if I could beat them in my ESP car.
F-stock is a pretty tough class to be put into at a TAMSCC event. There are some national level autoxers who used to compete in that class there (possibly still do). I felt good if I could beat them in my ESP car.
-
Mayhem_J30
- Posts: 2643
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2002 2:00 am
- Car: Ummm...My Car
- Location: Louisville, KY
Props for givin it a swing Sultan!! I've only seen two other four doors (that i recall excluding WRX) running the autox. A big crown vic and a new Jag(beautiful). You might have been 2nd to last but think how the guy in the f-body in last place felt..hhahahaha. With more practice you could do even better. At least around here in our region the f-bodies don't do that well. the usually spin out and wipeout in a glorious explosion of orange cones flying in the air.
Occasionally you can find Time Trials held at legit race courses. These are like autocrosses but are much more open and run higher speeds. You don't have to contend with the tight courses designed by the CRX or Lotus 7 guys. Check out the SCCA Solo I events.
Real track time in a Q. You will find out if your brake mods work.
Real track time in a Q. You will find out if your brake mods work.
reggiegsd wrote:Occasionally you can find Time Trials held at legit race courses. These are like autocrosses but are much more open and run higher speeds. You don't have to contend with the tight courses designed by the CRX or Lotus 7 guys. Check out the SCCA Solo I events.
Real track time in a Q. You will find out if your brake mods work.
Unless you mean some 13"+ rotors and bigger calipers, they won't. Slotted stock rotors, metal master pads etc. aren't going to hold up to track use in a 4,000 lbs. car. I'd guess you could brake hard for about 4 corners before serious fade set in with the stock brakes.
You could drive one at a track, but you'd have to take it easy on the brakes. I'm actually considering taking mine to a track event sometime just for fun.i bet i could have pushed harder and given the ABS a workout. some guys were pushing really hard and were locking their brakes, fishtailing, and hitting cones. i wanted to preserve my tires and brakes and it was my first time autocrossing, so i didn't want to get a bunch of DNF's for missing parts of the course while spinning the car around like other people did. imagine if i tried really hard and the brakes didn't work on a turn, possibly resulting in damage to car or another car or hitting a person that was manning the track. i definately recommend trying autocross, it's a lot of fun, even if you are driving a massive RWD sedan.
-
Mayhem_J30
- Posts: 2643
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2002 2:00 am
- Car: Ummm...My Car
- Location: Louisville, KY
I teach at a SCCA street school held at Thunder Hill in N. CA and we get the occasional sedan. An Acura TL Type S did fine the last time I was there, so I'm sure a Q would be capable. Big brakes would be a definite asset, but if you were careful, stock would be OK with fresh fluid. I use my other car, but often wonder about the Q.
results have been posted at http://tamscc.tamu.edu/autox/s...3.htm apparently all the novice drivers were grouped together in one class, not in their individual classes, and ranked according to a handicap system called PAX (shows how fast you would have gone in an AM car, your time is multiplied by number listed at bottom coinciding with your class to get PAX time). therefore, i finished 7th out of 16 novices! if you're looking for me on the results page, my car type is not listed, but my name is matt bruni. novices are listed after the other classes.