Not having run the Challenge since 2003 in my XT, and not even having legitimately autocrossed in over a year, I was itching for some practice, and a chance to test out the suspension stuff for real instead of just goofing around on the street.
As some may know, I've had a helluva time with the car these past couple weeks, as I had to change out the crossmember because of a broken steering rack bolt. I did virtually NOTHING else the weekend before the event, except for turn wrenches. But when all was said and done, she had a brand-new, OEM, steering rack (with new U-joint), a brand-new, OEM, crossmember, a resealed power steering pump, a resealed oil pan, and a tune-up and new pads and rotors. It was a very time-consuming, physically exhausting, and expensive couple weeks, but when I finally realized the car was capable of making it to and participating in the Challenge, I somehow found it all worth it.
Due to the WRX springs and Turbo rear swaybar, and my honest nature, I signed up for the Challenge in STS (Street Touring) class. Most likely, I could have signed up for a Stock class without anyone saying anything, but I, as long as some other honest people, felt I should sign up for the class that allows for those particular mods.
After the work was done to the car, I took it to an alignment shop through a friend who was able to get me a better deal, and who promised me that they would grant my request for custom alignment settings. So I figured I was finally going to get my -1º of front camber that I wanted. But the dumb bastards at the shop said they were not able to get my camber set that far negative, which as we know is bullshit. I was angry, and I was tempted to argue enough to not pay for the alignment, since they had ignored my requests as a customer, but with only 3 days till the Challenge, I let it go, and just decided to run the car as it was.
So, fast forward to Saturday morning, as I'm getting ready to run. Tire pressures set at 40f/38r, brand-new helmet from Pep Boys
, all systems go on the car. Heat 2 gets ready to run, and so do I.First run was a 65.263. Getting used to the car with all the new stuff on it, and also getting used to the suspension feel, since I hadn't actually raced the car since. I drove pretty good, but knew I could do better.
Second run... I lost my power steering at the start
. Took the first corner and had to bear-hug the wheel to get it to turn. I kept going, but cautiously to see what would happen. After that turn, the power steering magically reappeared, feeling lighter than it did a second ago. I continued on, and because of my issue, did a 67.260 on this run. Good thing they only take the best score!Third run, made double-triple-extra-super-duper sure the steering was bled properly, and decided to try again. Car had power steering all the way around the track, and I was already getting used to the way the car handled. 64.043 seconds.
I set a goal for myself to break into 63 seconds for the 4th and final run.
Final run, again, car drives great. The first three runs, I came in a little too hard into a left-hander after exiting a slalom and got a little squirrely (despite my camber settings, this car can oversteer!), but this time I tracked through the turn smooth. Kept on through it, and put a little extra on for the last couple turns before the time boxes. I drive around to see the timeboard, and...
I not only broke 63, but 62 too! 62:737. I'm ecstatic!
After the 2nd heat, we broke for lunch, and they posted the first half of the results up. My class was already done running, so the 3rd spot out of 4 that I had secured myself in was already a done deal. No, I didn't win, or even get a trophy, but neither was I expecting to. I was in fact quite happy that I was only 2 seconds behind an 05 Legacy 2.5i, in a beat-up 91 Legacy.
As the day progressed, I saw some pretty sweet stuff... 2.5RS-T's everywhere, Saab 9-2X's, old Impreza 1.8's, etc. Some guys drove absolutely fantastic (my friend RenMaxi actually ran the event too in his 91SS, and came 2nd in class and 24th overall), while others didn't (many spinouts and one excursion off road, almost into a ditch full of water).
In the end, with overall time, PAX factored in, I came 87th out of 124 cars. Again, I'm not in any way disappointed, because I drove as fast as my ability and experience would let me, I also got some practice to improve those two things, I do have a good number of WRXs/STIs sitting below me, I got to find out how my car drives at its current limit, and above all, I had fun.
Hopefully next year, my car will look a lot less like ass
