All Systems Are Go

After months of various unrelated issues coming up that have prevented me from bringing Bumblestook out, the stars finally aligned and today I was able to take her out on her 2017 debut after all the work done over the winter.

NEPA SCCA Autocross - Poconos Raceway - 5/27/2017

With only two weeks left before we head out to Toledo, time was quickly running out to get her tested. The summary of changes over the winter are:

• Went to 315/30/18 Hoosiers up front to make it 315 all around (Previously I was running 295/315 staggered)
• The tires on the front now were my rear tires from Nationals last year so they were covered in OPR from Lincoln
• Switched from 10mm to 15mm spacers up front for clearance
• Cut more of the front fender out for clearance and added overfenders
• Switched to Karcepts front and rear sway bars for increased adjustability
• New ATS Spec III Type DD diff was installed
• Replaced passenger side front knuckle, wheel bearings and studs
• Replaced passenger side axle with the matching spare we used to replace the driver side axle during the ProSolo Finale
• Added mount for tablet so I can run SoloStorm this year for datalogging

I wanted to test for clearance, scrub the OPR off and break in the new diff as well as get a general feel for the balance of the car with the new setup. NEPA hosted an autocross today at Poconos Raceway. These are typically very fast courses but for some reason, today's course was particularly tight and slow. When we walked the course, many of us thought it was going to be a disaster. The gates were very tight and the elements felt all over the place and visually confusing. I was personally surprised that it drove better than I expected and all the transitions helped me achieve my goal of getting a baseline balance with her new setup.

The new tablet mount worked perfectly for capturing data

My first 3 runs were spent scrubbing off OPR. The fronts weren't hooking up too well with all that clag on the tire so I took the course at about 80% pace and at least get the diff to work. The new ATS diff feels incredible. The engagement is very smooth and I had no problems getting power to the ground. Also this year I'm trying much lower tire pressures so I started the day off with a target 28/25psi. She was feeling a bit pushy so I kept lower the front pressures until they were 25psi even and I really felt she was ready to dance but still leaving a bit of push which I was ok with at the Poconos. If this was at the Meadowlands I would've raised the rear bar to test but I wasn't about to do that on the road course so I'll leave that for next weekend. Also, since I was testing, I took the opportunity to take different S2000 drivers on ride alongs so they could feel what a BSP S2000 really feels like. The reactions were, as expected, priceless. 

Poconos Raceway - 5/27/2017

Unfortunately after our third runs another car had some issues and leaked coolant at the beginning sections of the course so on my final two runs I backed off a bit there to avoid sliding there but I was still able to drop time elsewhere. On my final run, I went solo and put in a good time but the narrow gates and the wider stance put me in cone trouble as all my runs ended up dirty. Overall, I'm super happy with how she performed today. Data showed we pulled a max of 1.6Gs lateral and I didn't even get her to slide yet so there's more. She performed flawlessly, the tires are OPR free and smooth and I had no rubbing anywhere. We've got one more day of testing left before her first big event this year so hopefully I can dial in the suspension a bit more and really make her dance. 

NEPA SCCA Autocross - 5/27/2017