I had my first autocross experience on sunday. I was driving the former grocery gatherer, a 91 legacy wagon with a 2.2 inj.. I tried hard to break 55 seconds on a 1 mile course, but came up 2.004 sec. short. The 2005 benz was turning 53.9. I feel that if the trans would have done what i asked it to, i could have shaved 2 seconds at least off of my best. I never knew that this car ran like that, as it was always just transportation. It has 160,000 miles on it and awd. Is there anything you guys could suggest that will shave a little time off the run that won't cost thousands of dollars? I have 60 days till the next time i get a shot at that benz, and the legacy is on the jacks. I want to smoke the benz BEFORE i go with sticky tires. Lets talk about tinkering with what i got. Jerry

 

I was considering cutting the bolt holes and setting the camber on the back wheels about 5 degrees out, and removing the cats and running the pipes out each side, 2 cyl, each. Does the 2.2 need the back pressure to run well? Will it run good with the o2 sensor gone, or should i hook it into one of my new pipes? Should I build an H-pipe to put the O-2 sensor in? The car is no longer used on the street. I checked with the local guy to see if they would let me run the stock class with my 'proposed' mods, and was told that, "unless I start beating everyone, noone would even look". I LOVE motorsports, and finally found one (and a car) that I can afford to be COMPETITIVE with! Jerry

 

our local track doesn't care about cats, but i'm going to build a 5 sp car for next year. This car is just for local fun, and testing ideas. It will never run like a WRX, unless I have it melted down and re-cast. the one that was there sunday beat 90% of the corvettes!

 

He's not joking about the driving school. You will gain far more time by learning to drive better than you will ever get from tires, camber changes, etc. Case in point, there is a '79 Scirocco that races in SM class here in ETRSCCA. His car has 94hp (at the crank), and is not remotely setup to SM level, nor to the level of the Mustang GT, BMW M3, GTI, and two WRX's (mine included) in SM here. As a matter of fact, his car is still legal for FSP, but he still beats the pants off of every one of us. It's all about being a better driver.

Go to a driving school. Evolution motorsports: http://autocross.com/evolution/ has them all over the country. Come back to the next event after the school and whup up on that benz.

 

I forgot to mention that my legacy had been clobbered by a drunk in a hit and run incident. I spent sat nit hammering dents and trying to pull the struts back to the general area of where they belonged. I ran 3 seconds behind 2 $100,00. benz's with 2 bent rear struts and 3 bent wheels!! I was curious about how my posts would be accepted by the group,.I am serious about scoobi butt kickin' and have 4 that i use, mis-use and abuse to my hearts content. I WILL have a fresh body wrapped around the 'STUDENT PRINCE' engine that resides in my torn and tattered legacy come springtime. BUT the battered wagon will finish this season. How much is an old rusty legacy worth if it can still run within 3 sec. of such cars? The drunks ins. co offered me 1300. then 2300. I'm holding out for3,000.. Should I mention the Autocross racing to the insurance co? They think its transportation. Jerry