Not MadCat360's WRX

www.turninconcept.com

My favorite site when I was a Subaru guy. Screw power; handling was where it's at!
 
... yeah...
 
So I got an offer from a friend for a private track day at Thunderhill in February. 15-20 people, open pit lane so run as much as you want, and cost is around $300.

I would kill to get the WRX out there and see what it can do.
Do eet!
 
I may be able to coax him into it later when he's done autocross. At least he wants to do that! There's hope. He did a full bore standing start from a light to the top of 3rd gear the other day. It will spill onto the track at some point.

I think he was hoping to do Laguna Seca first. That may be why he's holding out too. Laguna might not be that great of an intro for him though. It's hard to pass and the track days they hold there are usually packed. Might be a bit much between the inevitable learner-group traffic and the intensity of the track. But we'll see.
 
Yay!
 
Done autocross!

[video=youtube;bWqqOT-ktbM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWqqOT-ktbM[/video]


I am very slow on launches.

Also, the TCS system sucks. There were a couple spots in run 2 where I was full throttle but the system didn't give it to me. In run 3, with the system turned off, I gave it full throttle in the same spots with similar lines and steering inputs and it went like a champ. The computer doesn't know shit, and it's unpredictable with it on.

My dad did quite well for his first time. He's definitely hooked.
 
too-many-wheel-drive :p

I've always had a soft spot for Imprezas. Any model, any year. They are all interesting. I also like how a Mazda 13b/20b will install into an Impreza chassis with minimal modification and even using the scooby drivetrain (with an available adapter plate of course).

*looks on craigslist for cheap GC8s*
 
i cant wait to autocross in my subaru , never done it before , seems like alot of fun .
 
It is! I was really surprised how well the car behaved. Yeah, it's a little pushy, but not too bad honestly. I was expecting massive wash out understeer and turbo lag problems in the big sweeper, but it was well under control. In fact, if I didn't know the car was turbocharged, I would not guess it was. It behaves like an NA.

I just checked the results this morning and my dad managed to get a 5th place finish and I won, both in the novice class.

EDIT: Pics:

Taking mom for fun (she was stone quiet until we crossed the line, then she started shouting how awesome it was)

http://img12.imageshack.**/img12/2631/j5v4381.jpg


Dad driving

http://img688.imageshack.**/img688/8624/j5v4424.jpg

Photos credit Mark Mervich.

Numbers are a bit digital because we cut them out of magnetic material we got from the hardware store.
 
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Your parents are AWESOME. Mine would probably poop themselves if I took them to an autocross!

You know what a win means...time to drop the "N." :)

I always turn traction control off for loltocross. The "ACS OFF" button is my BFF 4evarz. I'm surprised you ran with it on.
 
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You know what a win means...time to drop the "N." :)

It's like my coach says. You wanna be the biggest fish. I'd be running top 3 in other indexed classes, but all the other cars in D Stock are running racing tires. Ours is a daily driver so F that. I'll run novice until the chapter says no.

I had hopes that the stability program would be like the one found on Porsches - only helping the car along, not acting like a parachute when I simply try to accelerate out of a corner. I wanted the torque vectoring. But there's heavy TCS in addition to the vectoring and braking it does. The braking makes the car unpredictable. It reacted with entirely too much gusto during my 2nd run. So I turned it off and it just works so much better. The 50/50 torque split really isn't that bad because the front tires are the same size as the rears and the weight distribution is pretty good. It's understeery but not horribly so.

EDIT: Even more pics! These are very very nice.

http://img828.imageshack.**/img828/1952/hko8632.jpg

http://img837.imageshack.**/img837/9880/hko8541.jpg

http://img812.imageshack.**/img812/6865/hko8518.jpg

http://img813.imageshack.**/img813/9717/hko8244.jpg

http://img855.imageshack.**/img855/1763/hko8240.jpg

Photos credit hkophoto.smugmug.com


The blue-taped thing on my helmet is the plug for my radio headset and mic. With a stiffer rear sway bar that inside rear's gonna come right off the ground. These pics show how immense the weight transfer is in the car. It feels like it does a kind of hoppity-skip jig from corner to corner.
 
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In fact, if I didn't know the car was turbocharged, I would not guess it was. It behaves like an NA.
The turbo's only really noticeable to me if it gets under about 3,000rpm, or under about 25mph in second. Unfortunately, that happens a lot on my way to work, so I'm constantly reminded "laggy turbo, laggy turbo, laggy turbo" as I go to work. With the 1/2 gap, going down to first isn't really worthwhile for 20 to 25mph, either. *sigh*

I had hopes that the stability program would be like the one found on Porsches - only helping the car along, not acting like a parachute when I simply try to accelerate out of a corner. I wanted the torque vectoring. But there's heavy TCS in addition to the vectoring and braking it does. The braking makes the car unpredictable. It reacted with entirely too much gusto during my 2nd run. So I turned it off and it just works so much better. The 50/50 torque split really isn't that bad because the front tires are the same size as the rears and the weight distribution is pretty good. It's understeery but not horribly so.
I've never met a stability/traction control system that was compatible with autocross. Even sport mode on the Porsche interferes too much. It's great for futzing around on the street and for track, but at autocross it just kills things.
 
These pics show how immense the weight transfer is in the car. It feels like it does a kind of hoppity-skip jig from corner to corner.

That's the truth! I was out in mine last Thursday at H2R with one of my employees (green student). We took turns driving laps and I did a little coaching. 10 minutes in the WRX were exactly what he needed to finally understand what I was talking about with braking to "set the front end" and staying on the power to "keep the rear end planted." His mustang has bone-crushing springs with feedback that's just too subtle for a novice ass to feel. On track the Subie is like riding a see-saw if you're not smooth, I can imagine how it felt for you while cone-dodging at an autocross. Must have been a hoot, thanks for the report.
 
(I want my N back!)
 
Moar cone dodging!

[video=youtube;_ZWU6W-qp44]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZWU6W-qp44[/video]
 
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