Where are all the autox Cougars??

[MrFroge]

Just dropped in to see what is happening with Cougars in autoX but it appears that everyone has given up.. I've been out twice this year, but have had mechanical problems both times.. suspension failures.. problems have been fixed but now it is in the shop getting the front brake pads replaced.. :rolleyes:

My Honda FiT will run circles around the Cougar.. makes me mad.. It is in H Stock, Street Tire and the Cougar runs in Street Mod.. Oh well. it is still fun and presents quite a challenge..:banghead:

[Bigoudi]

Hey stranger! Its been quiet in this department. I just ran last week out here at an SVTOA autox event. I didn't do so well, but it was fun at least.

Greg

[sonza68]

Unfortunantly, between scedule conflicts and car problems, I've only made it to one event this year. I've got it all sorted now, but the season is already over here so I have to wait til spring.

tnkgurl has been running, but she bought a Mini Cooper S for autox so she can be more competative. jaged is running regularly as well, but has had some car problems too.

[B3NN3TT]

My Honda FiT will run circles around the Cougar..

That Honda's got about a thousand-pound advantage in weight, though. I know my Saturn runs circles 'round the Cougar as well.

[EternalOne]

Brad ran a few times this year, as well. I wasn't able to get the Talon out in time to run with him, but next year I'll have all 3 cars ready to run...

E1

[RodneyBur]

I'd like to get into this. Is there a website to find info on tracks near Cincy Ohio?

[B3NN3TT]

I'd like to get into this. Is there a website to find info on tracks near Cincy Ohio?

http://www.cincyscca.com/solopage.php

[jaged]

i ran a bunch this year. I may get a throphy in the south bend region, and i finished 2nd in the indiana northwest region(stupid SC'd VW R32)

i had a bit of an issue at one event in the 3L , double oil filter gasket :banghead: but the atx ran great for the rest of the season.

I finished 3rd at an event this past sunday behind a camaro z 28 and a turbo'd eagle talon

they justt posted some pics from the last event. The only one if me is when the back end decided itwanted to go faster than the front link (http://public.fotki.com/billdaddy/scca_photos/solo-event-8-whl/pa150037.html)

[jaged]

:rofl: I didnt realize the back wheel was off the ground:rofl:

[RodneyBur]

Nice. I'll be entering it next year definately. Kinda sucks I have to wait till then. I'll be doing some good videos of some dohnuts and other random **** soon if someone knows a good place to do that at legally. I usually just do it in church or mall parking lots, but would like to keep my liscense more than a year this time.

[MrFroge]

Hey! Its great to hear so many of you are still having fun with their Cougars on the autoX courses...I'm working on putting on sub-frame braces and going for a CAI before going out again...

For those of you who run the ATX. My changing over to AMSOIL's Racing ATF has helped improve the ATX's gear changing responce. :biggrin:

[jaged]

with all the bolt ons i have and the sct chip, it shifts pretty quick on its own. im hoping to not have to race the atx again but it could very well happen

[J-Man]

they justt posted some pics from the last event. The only one if me is when the back end decided itwanted to go faster than the front link (http://public.fotki.com/billdaddy/scca_photos/solo-event-8-whl/pa150037.html)
look at those mad dorifto skills!! Looks like a good time Jason. HOpefully I finally find the ambition this spring to get out there and try it. I had fun last year when i watched for a day.

[jaged]

who needs rear wheel drive to drift, i get the back end around all the time and dever touch the ebrake either

[nadthomas]

Well, since the cougar is not really my daily drive anymore, and I will have an extra set of wheels come spring I might have to get some tires for them and give it a go. It looks like I might need to get a RSB after all.

[tnkgurl]

Sonza is right. I ran my car in a very competitive region and couldn't get above 8th any of the races. So now, I use it in slower regions and get 2nd. :crazy: It's tough because my PAX is ridiculous due to all the stupid mods. :( But I like the mods, so I'll live with the PAX. :rofl:

I came in second for the last event of the year in the Mini though! It was proof that it was the car that was outclassed, not the driver! :thumbsup:

[jaged]

bah. you cant really compare the 2 since they handle so differently. If you think your pax is bad you should look at mine. I think its .853 or something absurd like that

[sonza68]

DSP isn't a whole lot better.

[tnkgurl]

bah. you cant really compare the 2 since they handle so differently. If you think your pax is bad you should look at mine. I think its .853 or something absurd like that

Actually, you kind of can because they are in the same stock class. :shrug:

And Sonza's right, DSP's PAX blows. :(

[gulfcat]

Missed seeing this until tonight....

I'm still running with my local club. At the start of the year I moved to SML expecting to have mods... but I mostly don't, so now I'm trying & failing to keep up with an '05 WRX.

Our year ends in December.... and January's a new year!! Either I get my mods or I get a new class!

[jaged]

you can be quiet now, we have a road rally next weekend then im dont till april/may

[99mcougar]

auto x would definatly be fun to get into :) but i have to wait until next year :( whish kinda sux. Thinking of doing some supention mods, i got my mind set on koni sturts, but what do you guys think are the best way to go for springs..ground contorls? or should i do the whole koni kit? kinda new at this hole thing and just wondering what you think the ideal setup is.

[sonza68]

Honestly, I would run a few events and pick a class to run in before doing any mods. Some common mods and lead to pretty significant class bumps.

[99mcougar]

thats cool, but the thing is i don't think there is too many different classes over here, we have 3 events a year, and its still perty new 3-5 years old. I think they have it set up more as just a go out and have fun kinda thing, which is really why people do it IMO..

[sonza68]

If it is SCCA, there are 5 classes you would reasonably be running in. With the SVT UIM, it really narrows it down to only 2 (DSP and SM).

For your first couple events, plan on it being just for fun. It is rare for someone to be fast right out of the box. It usually takes at least a couple events to be be comfortable and often takes people longer to become fast.

[jaged]

hes up in the great white north of canadia though so im not sure if there is a SCCC

[99mcougar]

yeah I don't think its any SCCC stuff, its more like pay $10 and giver eh!

[EricF]

Yeah... after a 2 year Hiatus(sp) I'm due to run an event sooner or later.
Winter is here and the cougar is sleeping, Nothing like having two sets of wheels and kumho's waiting to be warmed up...

Glad to see there is still plenty of cougars running.

[MrFroge]

With a lot of modes you can be competitive in SM.. but that is a lot of mods.. :banghead: The Cougar design is now (My Car) is over eight years old.. Man, the technology is sooo much better today that you won't be competitive in any class.. :eek: :( :( :( .. I'm sorry but you should just try to improve on your own performance with the Cougar and not worry about the other cars.. My un-modified, street-tired Honda FiT will out run and corner my Cougar all day, untill we get over 110 mph.. which will never happen on an SCCA autox..:crazy:

Just have fun..:biggrin:

[EternalOne]

I finished 3rd at an event this past sunday behind a camaro z 28 and a turbo'd eagle talon

I'm glad there was at least a Talon up there with ya! :D Gives me some hope for next year with mine.

I'll probably run the Cougar a few times, just for ****s and giggles, but the Talon is being built from the ground up as an AutoX car so I will see much more track-time with it.

E1

[EternalOne]

Oof, just checked out the pics and realized that Talon is more than stock turbo'd. It's got a FMIC, which means its most likely running a larger turbo, and increased boost levels. Do you happen to know if it was a TSi?

E1

[jaged]

i have no idea, all i know is that im gonna get him next year

[EternalOne]

Hehe, I'll head over to DSMTuners tonight and try and find out who it was... I wanna know what setup he's running myself, just to see if I'm on the right track with my build.

E1

[tnkgurl]

Hellz yeah, the Talon can kick ass. I did a school with a Talon this year. That dude was FAST! Man did he kick ass!

Be selective about where/how often you run the Coug. If your Talon is good enough to be competitive, you might want to focus on getting as much seat time as you can in the Talon as opposed to fartin' around in the Coug. I don't know if you've autocrossed before, but even if you have, the more seat time you have in the car you want to be competitive in, the better. :thumbsup:

[EternalOne]

I've been racing for years, but it used to be all dirt-track stuff back when I was 16 and 17 in my step-dads late-model. After that I've done mostly drag-strip stuff, with a good mix of karting. I haven't touched a road course since San Anto, so it's been awhile since I've actually had to turn the wheel. ;)

But yeah, the plan is 99% in the Talon, with the Cougar only coming out just to see how she handles and toy around since I don't get much street time with the car. Plus it doesn't help that I have the Eclipse as well, which is setup as 100% drag-only and drives totally different. (2x the HP, 1/2 the suspension, lol.)

I'll def be asking you and Jaged a bunch of questions before next season starts up. :D I've got a lot of catchup to do on the car first tho...

E1

[jaged]

my region is planning on hosting an evolution driving school at the begining of the season, and im doing at least one of the 2 days. it makes worlds of difference. now i can run over the edges of the cones and not knock them over :biggrin:

[Marius]

I went out and ran my first ever autox event yesterday! :biggrin: It was a crapload of fun. I have completely stock performance and suspension, so I wasn't fast or anything, but it was still cool. Unfortunately, I had to run in DSP, so I'd have no chance of being competitive anyway. I'm going to try to make a couple more events this summer. :)

[tnkgurl]

Did you have to run DSP because of the SVT lite upgrade? Do you have an ATX or an MTX? Either way, if you plan to autocross more, I highly recommend a transmission cooler! :thumbsup:

[Marius]

Nope, like I said, my car is a stock 2.5L. I got bumped into DSP simply because I'm running 18" rims, and stock classes require stock diameter wheels. I have an MTX, and a transmission cooler is definitely planned. I'm not sure if this is common, but my power steering was really whining after each run.

[jaged]

mine does that too. i had a very fun, but frustrating event on sat

SM
1st 59.713
2nd 59.954
me 59.994

i had a 59.021 but i dnf'd because i hit a cone in the stop box :banghead: its going to be a very competitive season for me. and it was my first event as solo chair, and i trained a guy for tech so it was a busy day all around

[EternalOne]

Nice man! Brad did pretty well this weekend, too, except he came back a nice solid shade of red. :p

I didn't get a chance to run, damn Talon's oil cooler blew so I have to install the Greddy 13-row I have in the garage. Maybe next weekend.

E1

[Marius]

I'm red as could be as well. Hopefully next time I'll remember the friggin sunblock.

My first run yesterday I DNF'd for missing a cone on the last slalom. Run 2 was a 61.54. Third run was 60.28. I was really wanting to break the 50's, but on my last run I DNF'd by again missing a cone on the last ****ing slalom.

I thought it was decent for a newbie. Most of the competitive cars on the course were running in the 52-54 range, although a DSP 1st gen Neon rolled out a 50.08. I was shocked.

[jaged]

FTD was 55.7 for my event. I finished 14/38 raw time. it was cloudy and rainy so no sunburn for me

[tnkgurl]

My face is beet red! I finished 55 of 222, so I'm pretty happy with that.

I can't believe 18's put you in DSP. You need to buy you some beater 16s fo sho!

[Marius]

I have my stock rims in the basement, but the tires are as bald as it gets, and I really don't have the money to replace the tires, or I would and use those for AutoX and run GS.

[Marius]

Couple pictures of the Cougar, ready to race:

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn293/MariusofAntioch/AutoX001Small.jpg

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn293/MariusofAntioch/AutoX014Small.jpg

I made the magnetic numbers myself! :)

[jaged]

i need to find the number, but i know a guy that sells one offs from road race teams for cheap. i got 2 slicks shipped to me for $170 with probably 80% tread on them

[azbobbybooshay10]

I'm taking the spring and summer seasons off so I can get all the little things taken care of and not beat on the car too bad before Fest, but I'm planning on running the entire fall season.

On another note, I was looking at some pictures of an autocross this weekend in Southern AZ that a buddy took his Focus to, and I saw quite possibly the strangest thing ever on an autocross course.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b15/azbobbybooshay10/RedneckAutocross.jpg

[jaged]

nope, fest 04 trevor autox'd his explorer

[Marius]

I told my wife I should take the ole Pontiac Montana out and autox it, she was not impressed by that idea. It would amuse me greatly though.

[azbobbybooshay10]

I told my wife I should take the ole Pontiac Montana out and autox it, she was not impressed by that idea. It would amuse me greatly though.

Strap in two car seats and blast a Hannah Montana CD while going around the track for added bonus laughter! :rofl:

[Marius]

That would be classic! The only thing that would make it better would be if I strapped a big honkin Scooby plush doll in riding shotgun with me and put "Most Hated Montana" down the side! Anyway, a little more on topic, I'm hoping to make at least 2 more events before fall, if'n the wife'll let me spend the money.

[jaged]

I have 7 more with my local region and i think 5-6 with my other region. i should have the car dialed in(again) after the next event

[sonza68]

nope, fest 04 trevor autox'd his explorer

And at the same event, James ran his F-350 dually.

[freednighthawk]

I'm taking the spring and summer seasons off so I can get all the little things taken care of and not beat on the car too bad before Fest, but I'm planning on running the entire fall season.

On another note, I was looking at some pictures of an autocross this weekend in Southern AZ that a buddy took his Focus to, and I saw quite possibly the strangest thing ever on an autocross course.


Hey, what's wrong with an S autocrossing? The standard cab shortbeds can handle the twisties better than half of the cars on the road.