Auto-X on Saturday

[RedBaron]

There is an Auto-X at the Greensboro Colesium on Sat starting at 8. It costs $30 to run all day. Flow will be displaying a new '06 there if anyone wants to bring a friend. You might be able to talk your way into a joyride or two.

RB

[simplygriff]

Crap... I think I gotta work. Is there more info anywhere? Like when the next one might be?:D And requirements and such. I've never done an Autocross but am seriously thinking I want to try.
-G

[RedBaron]

My roomate at work is part of that group, so I'll start posting up the schedule. I think they have something every weekend.

RB

[RedBaron]

Correction: Its at the UNCG Park-and-Ride parking lot. Its past the colesium and the entrance is past Chapman St.

RB

[simplygriff]

I know exactly where it is. :D
-G

[TWISTER]

Is this where people aim at those ugly orange parking cones?:confused:

YES, I might come and hang out.

[Mr. Magoo]

How long will this last? I'll try to get there if I can slay the "tax dragons".

[Lou777]

Is this where people aim at those ugly orange parking cones? :confused:

Don't worry....tongue in cheek. :p It sounds like fun...sorta... You ladies let me know if you ever decide to partake in above stated fun. I might join you.

IO!!!

Lady Here!! <waves frantically> Totally interested in these, but cautiously interested, only because of the "change my tires" posts that I've read in the OL and on NAM. If no one had put the idea in my head that it would/could wear out my tires at an exponentially higher rate than normal, I'd be setting up my own every weekend and running through it 5 times before anyone got there.

I'm in the midst of waiting for some new tires to get here before the Dragon so, I'm more than painfully aware of the cost of runflats at the moment - I am interested, but I would probably be a benchwarmer more than an actual participant...that is until I actually get there.

Does anyone know if you have to use helmets or other special equipment to play?

[RedBaron]

The organizers usually provide helmets, strictly for insurance purposes. The courses are set up so that you usually won't get out of 2nd gear (60-70mph) usually. Obviously safety is the first concern, so they are very careful about runoff areas, etc.

You don't "need" tires, per se', but the runflats aren't going to be the best tire for performance. You can get a cheap set of wheels off of Ebay (or at the mall, lol) and mount some non-runflat performance tires on them for race use.

Our completely stock '06 S was waxed by 2 seconds on Saturday by a Cooper with race tires on it. Two seconds in a race environment is 15-20 carlengths, so that is a lot.

RB

[simplygriff]

Who drove RB? you or IO? Sounds like you guys had fun, wish I hadn't had to work... :rolleyes:

Yeah ditch the runflats, you'll get much better handling and a more comfortable ride. Plus non-runflats are way cheaper. ;)
-G

[RedBaron]

Who drove RB? you or IO? Sounds like you guys had fun, wish I hadn't had to work... :rolleyes:

Yeah ditch the runflats, you'll get much better handling and a more comfortable ride. Plus non-runflats are way cheaper. ;)
-G

We didn't get to this one, I had to work. We dispatched Frank, one of our other motorheads, to oversee things.

RB

[simplygriff]

Ah, I misunderstood. I thought you took your car out. :D
-G

[RedBaron]

Ah, I misunderstood. I thought you took your car out. :D
-G

I'll be taking the BMW to the next one, the MINI is strictly IOs

RB

[simplygriff]

It was last Saturday... Unless there's another one somewhere...

Welcome to the forum by the way! Oh and I have to see your car sometime. You got a mod list somewhere? I saw your 415 post on NAM a few days ago... :cool:
-G

[Mr. Magoo]

Can anyone give me an idea how long this will last Saturday?

[simplygriff]

That sounds awesome spillman. I'd really love to check it out. I may have to wait til the warranty's up before I go Twin Charged but the thought has crossed my mind. (Gotta finish off that car payment too so I could afford it. HAHA!) Maybe we can meet up sometime later this month.

Red Ryder,
I'm pretty sure this was last weekend. I'd say contact Red Baron and see if there's another coming up. I think he said something about having a schedule.
-G

[Bullfrog]

The Triad Sports Car Club schedule can be found here:

http://www.auto-x.com/schedule.htm

I plan on making as many as I can, but the last few have been on days when I was on the track at VIR, so I haven't been to any yet. I'd rather do a track day than an autocross.

[Lou777]

Wow, am I out of touch - I totally missed the post about RB and IO being an item ;) Sheesh, what a little reading can do for a person...and after re-reading IO's post I have the feeling that she wasn't looking for ladies in the sense that I took it - I think she may have been talking to you boys out there. My excuse - it was early when I responded - I was blinded by the auto-x.

Anyway, I've tossed around the idea of getting rid of the runflats - but man, I just spent the past 2 weekends out on the Blue Ridge Parkway with little to no cell service thinking about how back in December my runflats saved my skin when we had a snow storm and the RF light came on. When I finally checked my pressure (I didn't take it seriously because going through a neighborhood with several speed bumps had set it off when I first got Andy) it read 5psi.

This is when I truly *got* what a runflat is. I became intimately aware of how the system worked and obsessed with checking the tire pressure every few days instead of every few weeks or "as needed". After the tire was fixed, the light wouldn't go off - so I was checking my pressure everyday because I thought there was still something wrong with the tire. Took it to Flow - they said the wires in the switch were pulled and fixed it ...but that few weeks of driving with a light on my dash has caused a small amount of paranoia.

So tell me how to work it without runflats :confused: Andy is an everyday driver - I just turned over 20K last week and he's not even a year old. I drive through a bad neighborhood to and from work, on the WV Turnpike several times a year and like to frequent country roads which usually means no cell service. If I thought I wouldn't kill myself should I have a flat, I would do it in a heartbeat - but because of the way I drive (spirited doesn't cover it), and where I drive, I think I could really do some major damage to the car if I had an instant flat.

Have any of you had a flat without a spare on hand? I understand that the system still works even without the runflats because it measures the rotation speed, not the pressure of the tire, but I can't help wondering how bad it would be if the tire were to blow....but even if it doesn't blow and it just goes flat - what's a girl to do to get motoring again?