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SCCA CAM-C Thread

kz

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I am no help, but it is crazy to me that they lumped all Mustangs (including the GT350 with the HP) into FS. Including the 12-13 Boss 302. Seems so unfair.
Can't have a class for every single Mustang, that only happens to Miatas and Corvettes....

On a more serious note - FS was basically dead before this change and now is thriving - has more participants than CAM C. In the meantime, BS became basically dead. So business like usual or Street class life.
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WItoTX

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Can't have a class for every single Mustang, that only happens to Miatas and Corvettes....

On a more serious note - FS was basically dead before this change and now is thriving - has more participants than CAM C. In the meantime, BS became basically dead. So business like usual or Street class life.
Yeah a couple friends are in FS, in Camaro's though. Just seems odd that a handling pack car has all the advantages of camber plates and IRS and whatnot, and the 2013 Boss has almost no chance of competing with that LOL
 

strengthrehab

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Well, this is true. But that Boss could add everything and jump to CAM. Casual autocrossers just go to have fun, anyway. If someone wants to win a class, that person needs to get a competitive car. Or just go have fun.
 

Dana Pants

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If I can count right, street class has 9 classes and probably ~20 “cars to have” which includes also very specific and sometimes rare option packages. In general a car will not be the “car to have” for more than a 5 year period. Besides, losing is cam is much more fun than losing in street class.
 

strengthrehab

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Good Luck to all folks competing at the Pro Finale and/or Nationals this weekend.
 

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Cheo

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On 305 Falkens (first time on this size) this weekend, should be fun!

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WItoTX

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Man I returned to town expecting pages of updates from Nationals on this thread. Was it a rough outing for the S550 CAMC crowd at Nats???:shock:
 

kz

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Man I returned to town expecting pages of updates from Nationals on this thread. Was it a rough outing for the S550 CAMC crowd at Nats???:shock:
I wouldn't say it was rough. Jacob had a "pretty good" last run on Friday.







(He crushed it, went second faster than anyone else and won).
 

SteveW

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I wouldn't say it was rough. Jacob had a "pretty good" last run on Friday.







(He crushed it, went second faster than anyone else and won).
I'm really curious to hear the story on that run. That time is incredible when you look at what others did in some key classes (BS, FS, STX).
 

NightmareMoon

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I’ll try to post a recap tomorrow. Been a little busy after getting back from Lincoln.

Heres that east course flier run in the meantime.
 

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NightmareMoon

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So yeah. the 2022 SCCA Solo Nationals was a lot of fun, and I won the class!

I think the CAMC class had 33 cars, about 15 S550s, followed by 10 S197s and a few Camaros, including Super Dave Schotz in a 2020 ZL1 1LE he built for One-Lap of America.

IMG_5109.jpg


Prior to Nats, I'd finally gotten my hands on some sticker A052s and some Forged Apex wheels in 11"/12" sizes to put them on. I also added a rear seat delete, which combined dropped my car into the 3650 range. Otherwise, this is pretty much the same car setup I ran at last year's Nats, where I trophied, but didn't make the podium.

Last year I was the fastest driver on Falkens, and swore I wouldn't go back to nationals w/o A052s to run on. I figure the Yokes are worth 0.4 sec on a 60 second course over the Falkens.

Practice
I ran two practice sessions - first I let the brand new A052s get very hot in order to heat cycle them. This also let me learn their characteristics when greasy hot, in case they felt that way at the end of a long run. I also took note of the temps across the tread with a laser to try to gauge if my pressures were too high or low. Seemed like I was running a little low in the front.

The next practice day I went out and tried to drive them fast and water them back to cool like I would for competition runs. You can't win the practice course, but my times seemed comparable to other fast drivers in CAMC as far as I could tell.

Competition Runs
Day 1
was the west course, which was the shorter of the two, dominated by some wiggly offset slalom stuff and two decreasing radius fast sweepers. Competition was very close, with only about 0.5 second separating 1st from 6th. I had two silly cones and had to stand on my 2nd run which included a good slide at the end of one of those sweepers, which placed me ~0.5 off the lead in 6th.

At this point Matt Lucas was leading in Scott Steider's 2017 Mustang GT. Scott is a fast driver car and has placed well at every event I've seen him at. Super Dave was 2nd, only 1/10th off the lead. I didn't feel like a podium or win was out of the question. With the bigger course and majority of the time being on the East course, I knew it wasn't decided yet. Time to cram some course walks in and watch some video of the long east course. After a couple of walks, my bud Matt Morhardt (HS class champion the day before) walked with me and gave me some pointers on his successful assault on the east course.

IMG_5107.jpg

(Sunrise Day 2)

IMG_5115.jpg

(OPR on shoes after ~12+ course walks... these will need a power tool to salvage)

Day 2
Boy I felt like chewed gum all morning. A bit hangover, not enough sleep, no breakfast, and generally did not feel amped like I wanted to feel heading into the final day of racing. Looking ahead might be a problem, but lunch and a Redbull later and I still wasn't feeling like a human yet. I walked the course that morning and again twice in the lunch break before our heat.

My first run was fast, but I was still flying under the radar. Schotz was 2/10ths quicker and had taken the lead from Lucas who was slower, but still holding 2nd due to my day 1 deficit. The adrenaline had me 90% awake now.

My second run I improved 6/10ths, and Solostorm indicated that I found time on the first 1/3rd of the course nailing a couple of the corner exits harder, but the last 2/3rds was a carbon copy between those two runs. This told me there was time, and lots of it still undiscovered. Briefly I held 1st (before Schotz got his second run, sped up a half sec, and moved back into the lead, where nearly everyone expected he would finish). Lucas coned his second run but would be running about the same combined time if he could do it clean. It was close, and based on how the car felt, and what Solostorm was telling me, I was convinced that a 76.x was out there for me to go get. A lot of friends from my local club were gathering to watch the final action.

I dropped a bomb on the field with my third run. I focused on just flat footing the throttle on every exit and trusting the yokes would hold on (spoiler, they did). Coming through the lights I saw the 76.464 that I had hoped to see and knew that might be enough. I went to the scales to weight and wait while Schotz, then Lucas and finally Steider took their runs. Schotz put down a 77.3 (he needed a 76.87). Lucas had an advantage from Day 1, but only managed a 77.4, nearly tying Schotz. We had to wait a while for Steider, who had the chance if he could run a similar time to mine, but he came across with a 78.1 and it was over. High 5s with my Spokes brothers and time for celebration.

IMG_5118.JPG


IMG_5116.jpg


Takeaways -
* Yokes fit my driving style and with the warm windy weather and only one driver, they were easy enough to keep cool (with plenty of spraying). I'll keep these for Tours and probably still use Falkens for local events.
* You have to maximize the fast stuff. I think this is probably where I got a full second on the field. That means good exits from the tricky tight bits leading into fast straights. Need to keep the foot planted on the gas and hold on wherever you can. No fear and no mistakes allowed. Fast sweepers included.
* The shorter 3.73 gearing with 18" wheels (and a high RPM tune) kept my rev limit around 60mph, but the last couple nationals this has been enough to avoid shifting. That short gearing gave me a small torque advantage over the taller geared Camaros, GT350s, and 17+GTs.
* My car will fuel starve at autox too. Need to keep the tank 1/2 full or else. (happened on the practice course)
* Two practice sessions helped me immensely in getting into the zone and knowing the tires.
* walking the courses a stupid number of times might be mandatory for me, going forward.
* Seems that the ZL1 1LE may be too much car for autocross? IDK.
 

Dana Pants

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congrats!

Thank you for confirming fuel starve.

We have a local ZL1 1LE. The consensus is it’s way to stiff and doesn’t carry it’s weight well. It’s currently running no swaybars, stock springs. And semi regularly lifts the inside rear wheel. Physics is broken for that car.
 

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@NightmareMoon congratulations on the fantastic result! Thanks for the write-up too.

Did you have 315/30 A052s and where did you end up with on pressures? At one local event a couple weekends ago I tried up to 34 in front but down to 27 in the back. My tires are wasted though.

It is surprising that a 60 mph top of 2nd is enough. Have they slowed the top speeds but increased the overall average of courses now?
 

kz

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I congratulated NIghtmareMoon in the grid, but again, this was some top level driving.
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