Lately there’s been a lot of discussion about cars at work… And I’ve gotten dragged into it. I’m not really much of a car buff, but I do like to go fast. One thing I’m definitely interested in is autocross. My wife used to run with a ‘86 Honda Civic up in New York several years ago, and her talking about it got me interested in it in the first place… But with the talk at work, I’ve been researching in earnest to find out what I can. Granted, an ‘04 Saturn ION II isnt’ the greatest vehicle to run in – definitely not going to win any prizes there, but the ‘95 Saab 900 SE Turbo that I want isn’t going to be showing up on my doorstep any time soon. At least not unless I win the lottery or something.
In any case, this weekend, a couple co-workers and I drove out to the South Georgia Motorsports Park, since they were holding a “test and tune” event.   I was originally supposed to go up against someone else from work who also drove a Saturn, albeit non-stock, but he ended up bowing out, as his ignition system got stuck in the “run” position a few weeks ago, but I went and drove anyway. I ran twice, ending up next to a 3rd generation Ford Mustang, and I of course wouldn’t have won anything… But ultimately, I was racing for me, and me alone. Here’s how I ended up doing:
Run #1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Run #2
R/T (reaction time) …Â 0.815Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0.589
60′ marker            … 2.571                        2.592
330′ marker         … 7.149                         7.190
1/8 mi. marker      … 10.907                       10.918
MPHÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â …Â 65.54Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 66.10
1000′ marker        … 14.118                      14.105
1/4 mi. marker      …  16.822                     16.782
MPHÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â …Â 83.25Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 84.38
I ended up spinning my tires off the start both times, which probably could have been avoided, and probably would have cut the run down… Meh. In any case, the next autocross event in the area is on June 15th, so I’ll probably be going then.
