Got it fixed now :P Anyway, it is a sizeable weight loss and I'm curious to see if it will have any "seat of the pants" difference during an autox.

Interestingly, the new tyre combination will change a couple of things apart from the weight:

The stance will change as a result of the rear being raised slightly ~12mm and the front lowering slightly ~9mm. Depending on speed that might improve stability especially with the rear wing.

The overall gearing will increase by 4%.

How stiff are the Hoosiers? can you drop the pressures any compared to the yokos?

Clive

I'll probably need to raise the front again once the bumper/splitter combo is finished, and I'm going to drop the rear 1" before the next race to see if that helps solve the traction problems I had last time. The hoosiers seem to have a softer sidewall so they should react well to pressure changes, where as the yokos don't seem to care.

Had autox #6 this year in the bug on sunday. It was cool and overcast which was nice but it didn't help my tire temps at all. I softened the rear suspension by taking 2 turns pre-load out of the rear springs but I don't think it was enough. The tires are too hard for autox to be competitive and I think I'm going to need real A6 hoosiers soon. I finished up 3rd in class, about a second behind a couple miatas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJsGiNsCaW8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI1Lv9RQhcs

I'll upload pics as they come in, I saw a couple of good shots on a friend's camera so I can't wait :)

Nice vids. Thanks for sharing.

Finished another event this weekend, #7 of the series. I had a co-driver (read: tire warmer ;) ) this time around to see if I could get some more heat into the tires but it was a marginal difference at best. Tire temps never reached 100, even with 2 drivers, which seems worse than a 200 treadwear tire to me temp wise. Both my competitors were on super sticky autox R-comps again, but I really narrowed the gap this time. I ran a 52.63, vs a 52.6 for 2nd and a 51.8 for 1st. I was also one of the fastest cars down to 100 ft. slalom topping out at 80-82mph going into the braking zone.

Here's a couple videos I got... I was playing with camera angles and these were my fav's

Bumper cam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egYoJtQ7akc

Wing cam facing backward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhM1Vx5tVGM

Nice work. Thanks for the vids.

Here's a few pics from the last event that finally got posted...

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...i.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...i.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...i.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...i.jpg~original

Another autox event and finally a first place finish! This is Lucy's first top spot this year and it felt good to know she's finally coming together. What started off as a cold and crazy morning (CHP blocked the highway for nearly an hour trying to round up 3 loose horses) ended up with perfect weather and a great event. I finally had Sean (my co-driver/tire warmer) take the race tires down in his car while I drove the bug. Mind you this is about 130 miles round trip, on the street, and the bug gets lots of attention.

We swapped tires at the event, Sean drove first, then me. I don't know about you guys but I'm conflicted about someone else driving my car. On one hand, I don't want someone else to break something (I want to do it), but on the other hand I love watching and hearing it from the sidelines. Sean scrubbed the old rubber off the tires (7 year old, barely touched, hoosier r3s03) and got them warmed up, and I managed to shave a second a run as the tires gain heat. They are still too cold for autox but 2 seconds faster than the medium-hard yokohama A048s. I had the camera on the fender with the intention of moving it around but didn't get the chance.

Here's the only pic I have so far and the video of the fastest run :)

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4..._MG_4713_i.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fhHh...6ACsixGLuJisYg

Congrats man! Must be great to gain so much so quickly.
'I love Lucy'! :D

Oh wow man... Awesome! Just awesome!

Here's a few shots from the last event that finally got uploaded, and there's another event this sunday. The season is winding down with 2 races to go :)

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...i.jpg~original

How about a front wheel up at 1+ lateral G's?
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...i.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...i.jpg~original

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...i.jpg~original

Well, the 2012 racing season is now under way! First event of the year was new years day, double points too.

Had a bit of a panic moment a couple days before the race when the alternator failed while i was out on a test drive. Got back home in time, and luckily I had a spare high amp alternator on the shelf, but this isn't what you want to see a day before the race.

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l4...2.jpg~original

Had a mixed field with regulars and non regulars, and I think I managed 3rd on the old slicks. It was sunny but only about 55 (13C) degrees with a good breeze going, and despite 8 back to back runs the tires only got up to about 85-90 (29-32C). Grip was hard to find in the bug and I was sliding around a lot looking for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvVOtOGhViw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR2B3077hX4

Nice vids... did look a little slick :) Electrical problems suck in "under the gun" times.

Time attack beetle
 

This car is just Brilliant, it really makes me realize that when my car is finally set up right my choice to fit big wheels was a good one.This looks like it handles so well.At one point I was worried that 18 inch rims where too big but this proves otherwise. Great car, love it.