<grinning> Well, well. I just lost that argument. I thought the 318is was in
HS. I certainly drove it like it was (read: S L O W). I won't argue that I
definitely need more seat time in it. I _felt_ like I would've been faster
if I'd used the 3200lbs convertible. What was hard for me to swallow was
that I needed to be 5 seconds better to catch up to the top dogs. I know for
sure that I could've shaved off 2 more seconds by driving better (been
spoiled by CalExpo's 4+ runs where my 4th runs have usually been my best)
but 5 seconds? I guess I sucked worse than I thought. Oh and I was on
Kumhos. That was probably the only reason I stayed ahead of the SVT. And I
think it was a novice driver. :-)
I haven't been around cause I've been running with the CSCC and SAC SCCA
crowd with my convertible. More runs, guaranteed fun runs and the short 10
minute drive to the events won me over. This year though, there aren't as
many available days at CalExpo so I'll be back.
Thanks for the info, Peter. You've renewed my confidence on my purchase.
I've stopped sulking already. :-)
-Arnold
>From: "Thana, Peter {HTS~Palo Alto}" <PETER.THANA@ROCHE.COM>
>To: red 318is <red318is@hotmail.com>, ba-autox@autox.team.net
>Subject: RE: GS class cars
>Date: Tue, 06 May 2003 16:47:17 -0700
>
>Arnold,
>
>The '91 318is was never in HS. Before going to GS it was actually a DS
>car. And a rather successful one at that. You're thinking of the '92
>and up E36 318is, which is still in HS.
>
>The classing change that happened last year was in response to the total
>domination of what was then GS by the Integra Type R. Also I believe
>the SAC/SEB wanted to consolidate some of the predominantly FWD, hot
>hatch categories to make room for one new sports car class (AS).
>
>So, to make a long story short, the former ES (cars like the '94 Celica
>ST and 1st gen CRX Si) got split in half, the lower half merging into
>HS, and the upper half merging to GS. The top dogs of GS (Type R,
>Celica GTS, IS300, 6 cyl BMW 3 series) moved up to DS. And some of the
>main cars in DS (Neon, E30 318is) got moved back down to GS.
>
>They added in a new AS for C4 Corvettes etc., made the old AS BS, the
>old BS CS, the old CS ES.
>
>So now you have decent competition in DS between the ITR, BMW 330, WRX
>etc. GS is the most interesting class to come out of the reclass by far
>IMO. There are a wide variety of cars that can be competitive on any
>day, given the right course, driver, weather conditions etc. Anything
>from a tiny '85 CRX Si with 91hp but only 1800lbs to carry around to a
>big, heavy V6 Camaro have shown to be competitive. In the middle are a
>bunch of fairly lightweight, low power speed maintenance cars like the
>Celica GT, the Neon, the old Subaru 2.5RS and your 318is. I believe any
>of these could be competitive on most courses.
>
>The 318is you bought is an *excellent* car for GS. It was a good DS car
>after all, although the Celicas are getting faster. The E30 318is was
>only made in 1991, so they aren't that common. The motor was not that
>powerful, but the car supposedly had struts from the E30 M3 as well as
>an available clutch type LSD and lower ride height. Although it has
>struts and not much negative camber up front, it is specced with
>something like 9 degrees of caster from the factory!
>
>Pete Mottaz might be able to shed some more light as he owned Bob
>Tunnell's championship winning 318is for a while. I have driven them
>and they are fun cars, though they have a reputation for being somewhat
>tippy on race tires due to a narrow track and long suspension travel.
>
>I haven't seen you around for a while Arnold, so I'm sure all you need
>is some good seat time to get back in it. Also keep in mind you were
>running street tires on a surface that grips like heck with Hoosiers.
>But no, it's not the car. If anything Joe and Anna Goeke proved that
>last weekend- I was working course for heat 4 and they hustled that
>3600lb Audi boat around way faster than it had *any* right to go!:)
>
>Peter
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: red 318is [mailto:red318is@hotmail.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 4:18 PM
>To: ba-autox@autox.team.net
>Subject: GS class cars
>
>
>I'm having a small argument with a friend over why my '91 BMW 318is got
>bumped up to GS from HS this year. Can anyone post a short list of the
>other
>cars in GS? I'm at work (yeh, I know, I shouldn't be doing this at work)
>and
>don't have my rule book with me. Thanks.
>
>On the Nat'l Tour, it was my first taste of some serious competition and
>boy
>did I feel intimidated. Anywho, as much as I'd like to blame my poor
>performance on the car (this w/e was the first time I took it autoxing),
>I
>know my driving sucked. I'll be showing up at more SFR events between
>Sac
>events to get some more seat time.
>
>
>-Arnold.
>ps. if anyone has an insight on the class change, please share it.
>Thanks
>again.
>
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