Good to hear from you hay-y-nferio. Would be great to have you come out and maybe take a few laps in yours or our Fits. It's a blast.

This past event was great fun. It was super humid though. Felt like a solar panel out there just absorbing the heat. It drizzled a little and was a little damp for our 1st run but it dried up pretty quick.

And again, thanks a bunch Brad! It really helps to have an outside eye analyzing what Tom and I are doing. Congrats on the 1st place finish in ASP class! You were up against a Bugatti Veyron! Also, I saw that you're racing your Mini @ the rally course too. Cool!

Here's a video from this past event: YouTube - 12-12-2010- Hawaii SCCA - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 4 runs

Next event is on 1/9/2011.

Laters.

 

As usual you guys did great.

Very tight competition in ST class as always

I thought Raton was really much better all day but not running cleanly. Just settle down and go smooth, the rest will take care of itself. Don't beat yourself by overdriving or by trying too hard.

Run three was going well on the video until the end.
It was good you got in the final clean run which took first in class.

I did not think the Subaru was doing all that well for the course. Not being pushed quite hard enough- perhaps he needs wider tires for more grip. In that case his power advantage over the fits was not being used. So in turns he may not really do that well vs straights. I also thought that he was not aggressive enough on the first 200 yards vs Raton.

Tanukifit was only 0.09 sec out of third place. Both of you got best runs on the last one. Good job.

You just have to outdrive the competition and be clean. It's pretty even so I would say skill will count the most. You'll have to earn the victory.

 

Thanks Brad. Your advice about getting on the gas ASAP after the 1st slalom and trying to maintain as much speed through the loop really helped cut the time. I was really surprised my car was pushing into the turns--it just would not turn! I had my skunk2 dampers set to 8 (front) and 12 max (rear). This is the first time I've had that particular setup. I think I need to turn the dampening down on the fronts--maybe to 6. The inability to take the turns really made it tough @ the finish section too. Most of the previous events I've used 7 (front) and 10 or 11 (rear). I think I need to fiddle with the settings on some fun runs.

 

You just have to try whatever suspension settings make sense but to reduce understeer you want-

Soft front shocks
Firmer rear shocks
More tire pressure in front tires
Less pressure in rear tires
More stiff rear swaybar if adjustable
More front negative camber

And if you have not done alignment in one year then do it with more toe out in front about 1/8" out is OK. Often alignment is not as good after 6 months of street driving.

Note that suspension settings are not always predictable- as in non linear so even though you expect 10 to be softer than 12 (max) it might be closer than you think or even different right to left. The calibration on shock adjustments is usually iffy unless you buy 20 units and calibrate them to match in pairs/sets.

 

Raton,

Congrats on the win for ST class today.

I think your third run was about 39 seconds but did not count.

Otherwise you looked ok.

The course was full of slow down traps which you had to observe.

Two weeks rest then back to autocross.

Good work.

 

Thanks Brad. And congratulations on your 1st place in ASP class. 5th overall! Cool!

There were allot of ST drivers yesterday--8 of 'em. We missed ya out there Tom.

Yeah, the finish on that DNF run felt surprisingly easy and fast at the time. I didn't realize it was a DNF. Apparently, I missed the cones for the last left before the finish. Those 90 degree turns sure slow you down...by 2 seconds. Those darn traps.

Here's the video from the event: YouTube - 01-09-2011- Hawaii SCCA - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 5 runs

Yup, next event in 2 weeks.

See ya!

 

ST class is missing Tanukifit.

The competition was fierce as usual

1. Nissan Altima 46.206 seconds, 67th on raw time out of 84, 48th on PAX
2. Raton 46.555 seconds, 73rd on raw time, 51st on PAX
3. Honda Civic Si sedan 48.299 seconds, 77th on raw time, 71st on PAX
4. Toyota Matrix XRS 49.208 seconds, 80th on raw time, 76th on PAX
5. Kia Forte Sedan 51.771 seconds, 82nd on raw time, 81st on PAX

This was a longer higher speed turning course not favoring ST class.

 

Yup, I got clobbered. haha. But Brad......Congrats on the FTD!!! Awesome!! #2 in PACs! Micro-seconds off PACs #1.

Thanks for your help. Man, I was out of it...and Howard was on it. He had a different tire/wheel setup. Looks like a winner. Howard, Ryan and I went for lunch with the other 3 ST drivers (Ron, Jay & Dave). Was nice getting to know the guys your racing with.

Unfortunately, my GoPro died after 2 runs (battery). I'll get the videos produced later. Not the best of my runs.

Thanks again Brad and Congrats!....FTD!!

Laters....

 

We had another SCCA Event this Sunday. The Fit just barely managed to hold off the charging Altima--it was super a close finish.

Make.. | Model. | Run1.. | Run2.. | Run3.. | Run4.. | Best.. | OA | PAXTime| PAX
Honda. | Fit... | 45.056 | 44.972 | 44.373 | 44.020 | 44.020 | 46 | 36.272 | 34
Nissan | Altima | 45.531 | 45.651 | 44.387 | 44.152 | 44.152 } 49 | 36.381 | 35
Nissan | Sentra | 52.363 | 53.270 | 53.161 | 51.220 | 51.220 | 76 | 42.205 | 75

This was a pretty interesting course. Not as many folks came out for this event. Thanks again Brad for your help and congrats on another 1st place for you.

My GoPro broke. So no videos. Bummers. Went to BestBuy and they replaced it. So hope to take videos @ next event.

Next event is on 3/13/11.

The more Fits the better. You should give it a try. It's the only way, on this rock, to to do this stuff...legally. It's pretty fun and interesting.

Laters...

 

Raton,

Nicely done.

0.132 second difference.

It's a photo finish but you are snatching the victory like Michael Phelps.

You win by a fingernail.

It's come down to putting it all together and making the fewest errors.

I had a GoProHD as well and played back my 39.0 second run and it's pretty difficult to see where I could have done much better. No big flaws but just some slow tight turns in the first half.

 

We had the last SCCA event of the year yesterday. It didn't go exactly as I'd hoped. Was beaten by an Altima by .008 seconds. The always deadly Subaru GC8 was there too and a very experience driver joined the mix in his Nissan 200SX.

This course was pretty darn challenging---2 walkthoughs of the course just wasn't enough. Still...had a good time.

Here's the Results:
Make.. | Model.... | Run1.. |C| Run2.. |C| Run3.. |C| Run4.. |C| Best.. | OA | PAXTime| PAX
Nissan.| Altima....| 45.543 | | 46.727 |1| 44.464 | | 45.776 |1| 44.464 | 44 | 36.638 | 31
Honda. | Fit...... | DNF....| | DNF....| | 45.992 | | 44.472 | | 44.472 | 45 | 36.645 | 32
Subaru | GC8...... | 46.537 | | 49.508 |1| 46.792 | | 44.554 | | 44.554 | 47 | 36.712 | 33
Nissan.| 200SX SER | DNF....| | 46.521 | | 45.410 | | 45.076 | | 45.076 | 51 | 37.143 | 37

Note: 1 cone = +2 seconds (The above times have cone penalties already added)

Finally, got my GoPro to work. Here's a video from the event: YouTube - 03-13-2011- Hawaii SCCA - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 4 runs

The next event is on 4/10/11. This event will be the 2010 run-offs. I think you need 5 races during the 2010 season in order to participate in the run-offs. You'll get 3 runs and the winner will be the 2010 run-off champ. Tom and I will be driving our Fits. We're gonna give it our best.

After that, on 5/1/11, there's a Test-And-Tune event. I think it's just $40 and you can run your car as much times as you'd like. There will be instructors available all day. I believe they have helmets if you don't have one. Just need to wear covered shoes too. It's a great opportunity to give SCCA a try.

Laters...

 

Very close competition. It's anyone's race, got to go for it.

Maybe we will see two Fits in the Run Offs.

For those that want to drive even more- and a great chance to try out autocrossing with NO pressure and get some instruction. No need for a race car just bring what you got.


Here is the info on SCCA May 1 test and tune at Aloha Stadium lower parking lot

http://www.sccahawaii.org/documents/...n-05-01-11.pdf

Note that sign up is soon begining this saturday so you must decide soon.

------------------------------------

• Event will be pre-registration only…no walk-up registrations.

• Pre-registration start on Saturday, 03/26/11 @ 9am on the website

Welcome to SCCA Hawaii Region Web and will end on Wednesday, 4/27/11 @ 6pm

Payment via PayPal required at time of pre-registration.

• Fee - $50 (no refunds)

• Non-members must pay for a weekend membership ($15) with a check

on event day (payable to SCCA Hawaii)

• Event limited to 80 drivers.

• Each driver must work 1 heat (about 1 hour) then you are free to run

the rest of the time.

• Tentative schedule:

0630 – 0800 Set-up

0700 – 0800 Check-in & tech inspection

0800 – 0815 Driver’s meeting

0815 – 0830 Classroom instruction

0830 – 0900 Track-walk with instructors

0900 – 1200 Morning runs with instructors

1200 – 1300 Lunch

1300 – 1600 Afternoon

 

We had the 2011 SCCA Run-Offs today. Tom and I (in our Fits) were the only ones in the ST Class. It was a pretty cool course. Ended up running with the Blitz Throttle Controller set to SP7. Good fun! Here's a video from the event: YouTube - 04-10-2011- Hawaii SCCA - ST Run-Offs - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 3 runs

Thanks again Brad for your help today. And thanks Dirk for you advice too. I have lots to work on. And congratulations Brad and Dirk on your victories today!

It was good to see Tom out there again. Missed ya! Hope to see you out there again sometime.

The next event will be the Test-N-Tune on 5/1/11. Check out Brad's post for more info on the TnT.

Laters...

 

Congrats on the season.

You represent the Fit well.

Many other regions don't have any and at Nationals there is dominance by the 1989-90 Honda Civic Si.

Consistency and attendance paid off for Season Points.

Overall for run off both of you did well.

Raton was as aggressive as ever. Your best and fastest run was resulted in a few clipped cones but that was good. Just need to be a little cleaner.

TanukiFit had a great charge in the last run- wonderful job of putting it together. I've seen you do that before- was it run offs last year? You can do it, just apply courage.

Raton may be the only Fit driver out there for next season. Any others interested in running? Street Touring class if you are somewhat modified on suspension and wheels with street tires. H stock if you are stock and use stock wheel sizes. FSP if you are modified and want to run race tires and wider wheels. Street Modified if you have added boost.

Test and tune would be a great time to come out and you can drive any car that passes tech inspection. It is not a competition event, only practice and learning with instruction. It's probably the best driving event value all year in the state. Don't complain that there is nothing available in Hawaii- we have no speed limits, we have a safe course set up with volunteers to manage any cones you might clip.

Think about it. At least come out to watch.

Congrats again to you guys. Great job.

 

wish i was there to take part, or at least watch some events. can't wait till I'm back in Hawaii again.

 

When you are back in town then drop by one of the events.

Check dates on SCCAhawaii.org

Meanwhile watch the videos posted by Raton.

 

werd, thanks! and i'll definitely watch some vieos.

 

After you are finished watching Raton's inspirationally fun video clips...

You will be set to try it out for yourself- any car will do.

Last chance for SCCA Test and Tune May 1.

Work one hour and drive all day with instructors in the morning- many to choose from.

see
http://www.sccahawaii.org/documents/...n-05-01-11.pdf

Deadline is approaching soon April 27

$50 for the event and $15 for weekend membership which can be applied to annual membership $80 within 60 days.

SCCA membership allows you to drive in any SCCA event from
Autocrossing monthly to Rallycross (share a drive is possible) to Test and tune or EVO driving school (2 day event this summer).

If you are interested in performance driving then this is it for Hawaii.

 

Do your Fit meet up at the Starbucks Salt Lake near Kmart across the street from the Aloha Stadium parking lot this sunday.

That way you can relax there then walk over to the Test and tune event for SCCA which runs all day. You can park next to Starbucks and McDonalds so you don't have to hassle with the stadium entry and exit- sometimes a line.

Raton will be there and you can marvel at his daredevil skills.

 

The 5/1/11 Test-and-Tune was awesome! It was so cool having some of the best drivers drive my Fit and seeing how it should be done. I managed to get in 8 runs. There were A LOT of drivers at the event.

I got video of all 8 runs & all the instruction & advice I was given for a total of 45 minutes of video @ 3gigs. Lots of very informative & helpful stuff.

Here's a video of just the runs though:
YouTube - 05-01-2011- Hawaii SCCA - Test-and-Tune Event - '08 Honda Fit Sport - 8 runs

Here's a helmet cam my friend Howard took when he drove my Fit on run8:
YouTube - TNT_Fit_May1.mov

Super event! Hawaii Fits!...check it out! The Fit handles really well on these courses. Good fun!

Laters...