This has been an interesting year for autocross for me as it marks the year where I've attended the fewest autocrosses since I started autocrossing 17 years ago. I went to a total of just 5 autocrosses this year, a far cry from many years ago where I'd see myself do 20 or more events by going to every event I could within a 3 hour driving radius. The drastic reduction in my event attendance certainly hasn't been due to my lack of love for the sport but times change and I've found myself wanting to diversify how I experience my cars.
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| NNJR SCCA Autocross - 9-24-2022 Photo By: Perry Aidelbaum (autox4u) |
So I find myself at the beginning of Fall, attending the last NNJR SCCA event for the season, to coincide with my own final autocross for the season. My lack of practice has really taken a toll on my speed. I was never a particularly very fast driver but over the years I did tackle a lot of things that held me back. Now I find myself back to making fairly simple mistakes that cost time on course. Things like suboptimal car placement, hesitancy on the throttle, and excessive steering inputs have crept their way back into my driving style. Funny thing is that I'm smiling and enjoying myself every run even though I know that I'm not putting down the best times the car can and I'm enjoying autocrossing more than I ever have in years.
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| Bridgestone RE-71RS 265 front, 295 Rear |
The course was fun, flowing, everything that's the trademark of an NNJR SCCA autocross nowadays. The temperature started off very cool but soon warmed up nicely. These were perfect conditions to test out my new RE-71RS tires. I switched to them from the Yokohama A052 because of my tire size choices. I went from a 235/265 A052 to 255/35R-18 and 295/30R-18 RE-71RS. I used to love the old RE-71 and the new version didn't disappoint. On my first run, I immediately felt how responsive they were, how good the feedback in the steering was and the grip they added to the car. I was able to place the car where I wanted, hitting the lines I wanted (even though they were probably the wrong lines). The key here is that I felt like I was in control again. Frankly the 235 front tire just wasn't enough for a car like the Cayman so the extra 20mm up front on each corner really help the front work better. They worked consistently with each run though I did notice a bit more sliding in my final run. I'm curious how these will do in hotter conditions. They definitely seem like a tire that'll need spraying and don't like overheating.
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| NNJR SCCA Autocross - 9-24-2022 |
I had asked Jonathan Lugod about advice on tire pressures. He said to run them at around the same pressures as the A052 or maybe even higher. I started a bit higher but found myself liking them best at 27psi all around, the exact same pressures I used to run my A052. With this setup and the front sway bar softened one hole, the car was largely neutral with a bit of oversteer with aggressive throttle and the typical Porsche front end push if you come in too hot. It was all very confidence inspiring and predictable. Of course, the real reason for my testing these tires was to ensure that I'd have a balanced setup for when I take her to Watkins Glen next month with S2K Takeover. It's been a while since I took her to the track and The Glen is the perfect place to let her legs stretch a little.
Final autocross fun for 2022
