Solo2 guy: "You know a Chevelle isn't really a car that's conducive to autocrossing."
CC: "That's OK. We have really big tires on the front and back."
Solo2 guy: "Um, what kind of suspension do you have on it?"
CC: "Drag shocks and drum brakes, if that's what you mean."
Solo2 guy: "And you said a big-block with 502 hp?"
CC: "Yup, it's high 11s on the bottle."
CC: "Hello?"
No one understands our need to go do stuff with our project Chevelle, but if it sits in the CC shop any longer, people will start to think it's a resto job. No way, dude. Drive it or sell it is our mantra. So, it was off to the SCCA Solo2 course with a suspension set up for drag racing and some big wheels and tires from Weld and BFG. We will show you how to do it, some driving tips and tricks, and a few blunders to avoid so you won't look as bad as we did your first time out.
Just Go
The easiest place to get information on dates and locations is the Web. We logged onto Solo2.com and found six upcoming events in our area and scanned the www.scca.org link for another 1,000 divisions and locations around the country. There is even a national championship held every year in Topeka, Kansas, that attracts more than 900 cars for those who want to compete on a larger scale. As for us, the local event was competitive enough. Every lap is timed from the second green cone to the timing trap at the end of the course. Good or bad, your time is announced over the loudspeaker and illuminated on the scoreboard after each run.
Top 10 Reasons You Should Try This
1. Nothing coming the other way
2. No police
3. All-legal
4. Nothing to hit but cones
5. Bring your friends and race for money
6. Go fast, slow, fast, and slow
7. Five times more runs than at a dragstrip
8. Runs last around two minutes each
9. Beat import guys at their own game
10. It's only $25
Tech
For $25 (SCCA members pay $20), any driver with any vehicle can compete, provided the car passes a tech inspection. We showed up at 9 a.m. and lined up in the inspection lanes, filled out a tech card, and were able to cruise the pits and scope out other street machines. If you have drag-raced before, the routine is virtually identical. You'll need a tight battery hold-down, no leaks, good tread, functional brakes, and no major body damage to get the nod.
Tires and Wheels
We ran our new BFG g-Force T/A KD tires pumped up to about 50 psi on a set of Weld's new 17-inch Draglite XPs. Grizzled veterans recommended running pressures at least 10 to 15 pounds over the max pressure written on the sidewall. We decided 50 psi was correct after drawing a chalk mark on the sidewall and across the tread before the first run. After the run, the chalk was scrubbed off the edges of the tread but remained on the sidewall, indicating that the tires weren't rolling over on the walls due to underinflation. If the tires had been overinflated, the chalk on the edge of the tread would have remained intact.
The Learning Curve
We got spanked like first-timers, even though we brought a designated driver and a powerful musclecar. Here are a few things we screwed up and a few we didn't.
What Hurt Us
* Our Chevelle has 90/10 shocks. Well, duh! The Chevelle's (considerable) weight planted like a sittin' cow on the throttle, but when we lifted for a corner, the weight stayed to the rear and unloaded the front tires. The result (called pushing or understeer) made us plow straight ahead with the wheel at full lock. Stock shocks would have been better.
* We didn't really inspect the car before we left. As a result, a loose sway-bar end link became a broken one, and the car bottomed hard on the big tires in the turns. We also didn't think to tighten any bolts; a brake line later came loose and tried to kill us on the drive home.
* The Posi on our car was cooked after a zillion trips to the dragstrip. The advantage to a rear-driver is powering out of the hole after the corner. We were hobbled when the Chevelle began to absolutely obliterate the inside tire on corner exits when we tried to put the power down. Slowness and a trip to the rev limiter were the result.
* Our hotshot driver wasn't.
* We forgot to bring water, tools, food, or suntan lotion. Autocrossing without these items is like pushing a van up a hill with your helmet full of sand and the visor down.
What Helped Us
* Everyone said the big-block was too heavy and would be a detriment. We found that on the short, low-speed autocross-style course the ZZ502 actually helped transfer the weight to the front wheels under braking and eased the pushing caused by the drag shocks.
* The Chevelle is a tough chunk of American steel. All its heavy-duty drag-racing parts made the car cool and durable during full-throttle flogs.
* Horsepower! We made up a lot of time on the small straights and turned in a best time of 87 seconds, which was a little quicker than the average imports could produce. Suckers!
* Mongo 17-inch Weld Draglite XPs and beefy P275/40ZR17 BFG g-Force KD T/A tires were key; without them, we would have looked really bad.
* Although not required by the rules, the Chevelle's five-point harness kept us from sliding across the vinyl bench and out the door.
* Again, Bob Bondurant floated as an apparition in our heads when we approached every apex. Bob's training and the hours at his school in Phoenix, Arizona, awarded us a small amount of respect from the hard-core Solo2 contingent. Also helpful were the Solo2 classes we attended earlier in the year, so do that first and avoid being a cone-slaying tool.
* We torqued the lug nuts before and after every run. It was our biggest fear that the new rims would get loose--and they did.
* Neighboring pit guys pitied us and loaned us tools that we forgot to bring.
Here are a few hints on cornering:
* Solo2 driving rarely requires shifting, so we left the Chevelle in Second gear.
* When approaching a turn, we were hard on the brakes before we turned the wheel.
* At the turn-in point, we were looking ahead at the big yellow cones that represented the corner exit position and gradually released brake pressure.
* As soon as the Chevelle was facing the corner exit cone, we were hard on the gas.
* We never coasted. It was gas or brakes at all times.
* If we had to turn harder while exiting the corner, we knew we were on the gas too early. When we unwound the wheel on the gas, we knew we were just right.
* Cones mark the basic track layout, corner apexes, braking zones, and corner exits with varying colors and positions. During the course walk, we asked some experienced drivers to point out the differences.
Cones
The trick to getting a good lap time, or even any time at all, is cone management. The cones are placed in chalk-outlined boxes at the edge of the course, and penalties (usually one second added to your time) are given for the following:
* Knocking the cone over and out of its box
* Knocking the cone over, even if it stays in the box
* Leaving a cone standing, but knocking it out of the box
There is no penalty for the following:
* A standing cone that is touching the outline of the box
* A standing cone partially in the box
* Not hitting the cone at all
The interesting part about this rule is that you can hit a cone and have it fly straight up in the air. If it falls standing up into or touching the box, you're OK. If you think you're gonna hit the cone and don't or if the cone wiggles as you pass it, you're driving like a pro.
Every driver must wear a helmet that is rated Snell-75 or newer. If you don't bring your own, you have to wear a loaner, and you don't want that. We used a Snell-93 motorcycle helmet. CC