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| A picture of a 6'2" person folding into a Subaru BRZ. |
The Camaro has developed a crack again on the frame where the steering box mounts. I did a test and tune at Summit Point's autocross pad a few weeks ago, and the steering didn't feel right. I attributed it to the old Hoosiers (2019 build date!) or maybe something was loose in front.
After that event, I put the car on jackstands and tightened everything up -- one sway bar bracket was loose, and I needed to put another spacer on one of the UMI bump-steer rod ends. Then I drove the car around the block, and the steering still didn't feel right. I propped my phone under the front end to shoot video and turned the steering wheel. Sure enough, video revealed play in the steering box.
This was before the first WDCR autocross, so I simply bailed on that event.
I posted the video on Facebook, and Matt Walter of drag-and-drive thirdgen F-Body fame volunteered to fix. He has a side hustle wrenching and welding on cars (and selling parts), but he couldn't squeeze me in until this upcoming weekend. So for the WDCR autocross on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, I trolled for a co-drive.
Bill Stockton offered up his 2015 Subaru BRZ that's prepped for Showroom Stock C ... I mean, Super Stock C .... no, no ... Solo Spec Coupe! That's it, that's what SSC stands for!
On the DMV Autocross Podcast, they summerized the entry list for the event and noted, "Pat Griffith is driving a tiny car with half of his engine."
I had never driven a "twin" before even though the cars have been around for more than 10 years!
SSC allows drivers to tweak the car a bit beyond stock but not to the level of Street Touring. Shocks, bars, crash bolts, rear adjustable control and toe arms, a few bushings, and everyone drives on 225/45/17 Falken Azenis RT660s.
Since I've gotten back into autocrossing, I've noticed that people are really fast on "real" street tires. The Falkens aren't the top tier of street tires, but they are the next rung down from something like a Yokohama Advan A052.
I had actually driven on the Azenis RT660s before when I drove The Fancy Camaro in 2021. Although those were a bit wider. I remember them being fairly grippy for a street tire, a lot better than the OEM tires on the Crosstrek.
The course was fairly straightforward (Bill designed it), and I feel like I've probably run every element at sometime before on this lot! Opening loop, left turn into the "turnaround" section of the lot, slalom-y across the bottom of the lot, right turn, then a left 180 into the finish.
My first run was a 46.7 (with a cone). The car felt really nimble, and I had to think back to the Solstice days driving a lighter car -- I was using too much of the brake pedal to slow down! There was too much Camaro on the brain -- instead of whoa-ing down a 3,000-pound, 400 horsepower beast, I was in a 2,700-pound, 200 horsepower gazelle.
Bill got a 45.8 on his first run, so I knew there was a lot more time out there.
My next run was a 46.1 tagging four cones in a wall and kind of getting lost coming out of the turnaround. Then I dropped another second on the third run -- but hit another cone. I wasn't sure where I hit it, so I wanted to get at least a clean run in the books. My fourth run was on the same raw time 45.1 and it was clean.
On my final run, everything seemed to come together, and I clocked a 44.2. That was good enough for the class win! Bill had cone issues and finished third out of five total drivers in SSC.
Here's a video of my fastest run:
In typical SoloLOL fashion, my GoPro camera wasn't charged, so I switched to my backup camera. Which for some reason was on Tesla Mode and didn't record any sound on any of my or Bill's runs. So there is background noise, I borrowed from the Top Gear joke of having easy listening music like when they would cut to in-car of The Stig driving on course.
And another video from Bill's in-car camera with lifelike sound and SoloStorm data overlay:
I slotted second in PAX by .005 after the first heat, too, but I knew that wouldn't last. I ended up 11th in PAX, which was my highest finish since driving The Fancy Camaro in 2021 -- that was ninth in PAX on the WDCR autocross on the "kart pad" at Summit Point. After driving a mild CP car and cracking the top 25 once, it felt rewarding to be near the top. Kind of the opposite from the Camaro where I'm usually higher up in raw time but way down in PAX!
Hopping into a new car usually doesn't bother me much. No pressure because I have the "never driven the car" excuse, but I usually do pretty well. The Fancy Camaro, Sam Vassalo's CP Mustang, Learic Cramer's "Z car" at the Toledo Pro, etc. And now a Twin!
The Twins are for people who want to autocross something other than a belly button car (you know the answer ... Miata). Small, nimble, rear-wheel drive and not too expensive. With the Camaro trials and tribulations, I've often thought what I would replace it with if I wanted to sell. Not a Twin because it's almost claustrophobic. The car(s) would be survivable for an autocross but driving it on the street would be terrible for my tall self. I drove the truck on Sunday to the event site, and when I left, it felt like I was driving a couch compared to the BRZ!
Next up will probably be WDCR autocross number three near the end of June. I'm on the waitlist for UMI's "Muscle on the Mountain" June 13-15, but I don't think I'll make it because I don't want Matt to rush fixing my car. But I'm in for UMI's next two events -- the Autocross Challenge at the end of July then King of the Mountain in August.
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