This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - NickST
17
« on: June 14, 2017, 10:47:58 AM »
Just an FYI for anybody coming out to the Canadian nationals.... if you don't come to a complete stop on the course and wait for them (even to the point of having the whole course red flagged), you probably won't get a re-run in Vancouver. Nearly coming to a stop doesn't cut it.
Last event, I was coming up to the end of the course and somebody had obliterated the last slalom. Square in the middle of the exit gate there was a cone I had to brake hard for and drive around. I either stopped or nearly stopped and waved my arm pointing at it until I thought I saw the Marshall jump into action, and then I exited the course as there was two cars on course still.
To my surprise, when I asked about it... the Marshall radioed in that he never saw me stop or wave when asked, and they were not planning on giving me a re-run. I think there was some confusion because I was at the end of the course stopped and they figured I had just stopped because I was done, plus the marshals were all on the passenger side of my car.
After I spoke with timing they did grant me a re-run, but they cautioned me that if it happens again I need to completely stop my car and wait until I am absolutely 100% sure that they see me.
I strongly dislike this rule and I think it compromises safety. If cones are out of place on the course, the Marshall should just radio in that they were unable to get to the cone safely before the competitor car came through. It should just be an automatic re-run. The onus should not be on the driver to ensure the course is setup properly, and stopping on an active course to try to get them to acknowledge you just seems poorly thought out.
18
« on: June 08, 2017, 08:55:32 PM »
Are you guys coming down for the test and tune stuff on Friday?
19
« on: June 08, 2017, 10:41:05 AM »
Ahhh... ok, well Coastal Ford made a big deal about getting it done in time for me. So I don't have anymore excuses... signing up now, haha 
20
« on: June 07, 2017, 01:59:23 PM »
It is in a ditch somewhere along the #1... haha. Actually there is a pretty terrifying story that goes along with that.
I will call Ford this week and see if they can get me in... I need front brake pads as well. I doubt it will happen in time for the event though
21
« on: June 07, 2017, 12:20:57 AM »
I will come watch for sure, but I am out for the event
I am still missing my passenger fender liner and I don't want to risk getting protested for that
22
« on: May 25, 2017, 09:28:34 PM »
You should plan on going to Packwood anyway. It gives you some much needed experience in how a national event is run, and you really, really don't want Lincoln to be your first experience.
Opps, I thought this was for Canadian Nationals, I saw that you and Joe had signed up for that when I was looking at the entry list Mostly I just want to be feeling confident in my driving before I do a national event. It is a lot of money for not very many runs.
23
« on: May 24, 2017, 09:47:43 PM »
I have an event this upcoming weekend at the VCMA venue... depending on how that goes, I will decide if I am going to do nationals, haha
I still don't think I am where I need to be to be competitive though
24
« on: May 22, 2017, 08:10:19 PM »
I want to Echo Murray's post, it was a really great weekend and I want to extend my sincere thanks to everybody that helped put it on. I was pretty tired by the end of the program, and I can only imagine how tiring it has to be for the instructors to get into car after car with full focus and keeping up that positive energy. So thanks again for putting it on, not only did I really enjoyed it, I learned something in the process! A huge thanks also to Murray for the timing equipment, as well as lending me and Dan the Mazda after our tires gave out. Also thanks to Dan letting me use his car for the weekend. It really goes to show how supportive this club really is of it's members! You guys rock! I really have a lot of new insights and take away's that I am itching to work on this year. I didn't get much video, but of the stuff I took I was really happy with how my driving has been coming together. I finally feel like I am getting to the point where I can marry my aggression with the technical aspects, and prior to this I have basically been choosing one or the other. This clip is of the super slalom course from the first day: https://youtu.be/M7rWaS9wU1IAlso took a few photos: http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/SportPhreak/slideshow/Autocross/2017%20SoloPro
26
« on: April 24, 2017, 12:13:59 AM »
Yeah VCMA was incredibly well organized. They started perfectly on time, and were running 3 groups non-stop with everything buttoned up exactly when it needed to be by 5:00pm.
Two things I noticed that seemed to speed things up were the bar codes on the helmets, and that they e-mailed out the work assignments the day before. Before I arrived, I already knew what station I was assigned to, there was no confusion when people needed to rotate out for the next group. They also had a chief worker who you had to check in with on your way out to your station, if you didn't check in with him, you didn't get a score.
Also, to encourage people to help out with early setup, they allow you to volunteer for things like course layout and registration duties, and then you didn't have to work on the course. Those positions get snapped up pretty quick, and I think it contributes to getting everything going on time.
27
« on: April 08, 2017, 07:44:52 PM »
Reverse staggered tires on the RS3 give me a bad feeling about understeer.
I hope once they start getting delivered this summer they show up at some AutoX events. I think they will either be really good, or really bad, lol.
28
« on: April 08, 2017, 04:01:04 PM »
At the moment I am only really looking at the M2, the TTRS, and the RS3. The RS3 is awd and has more space, so it is the best DD of the bunch. Audi's just seem to be very heavy ... nice cars but ... and expensive to maintain
I've watched S4's run, and put down good times, but they look really heavy. I think they are somewhere between 3800~4000lbs. The S3 Iis only about 3400lbs by comparison, and I think the RS3 is going to be a couple hundred pounds lighter than that. In terms of maintenance, My Audi SUV is just about to hit 50K and the maintenance costs has been similar to my Honda SUV so far. It feels as solid and reliable as the day I bought it. The only thing so far that might cost me more is I have to replace the windshield at some point, and that is more because of the rain sensing wipers.
29
« on: April 07, 2017, 07:25:31 PM »
Is the S3 competitive at all? I haven't ever seen one run
30
« on: April 06, 2017, 07:28:27 PM »
Thinking about a new car for next year, how do you you guys think the new Audi RS3 would complete? I would guess that weight wise, it would be similar to an S3. I don't even know what class it would end up being in.
|
Show Posts