Three Days, 920 Miles, Two States, Two Autocrosses

"mikecyc72usa" (mikecyc72usa) 05/25/2016 at 23:47 • Filed to: Triumph, vintage, Spitfire, Autocross, Oklahoma University, competition, roadtrip

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On the start line at the OU basketball stadium parking lot.

Several weeks ago I wrote about the new Heritage Classic classes the SCCA has launched for foreign sports cars built prior to 1974 (and subsequent years of models in production in 1974 like MGBs), and also alluded to another autocross I had done with the Vintage Triumph Register ( !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ) in Norman, OK. That event was a Regional, and I had a bit of a score and grudge to settle from the previous year. So this was not only important to me, it also meant I needed to do some planning.

The backstory is simple. In 2015 I was the autocross chair for the Regional. Two weeks prior to the event, I helped run the Austin Healey autocross in the same lot. It was pouring rain, and the course went clockwise. I drove it in a Miata and a Porsche 911 to give some fun rides to people (like the head of the Chamber of Commerce). Two weeks later we used the same lot in blazing sun, the only similarity in courses was the fact both ran clockwise. At the end of the day I got in my friend’s Spitfire (a car I hadn’t driven in 4 years and was driving as my Spitfire had been in SC for 4 months at that point) which had a failing clutch and I set Fastest time of Day. Some folks cried sour grapes claiming I had an unfair advantage and proceeded to cause a huge uproar that took weeks to resolve. I still have yet to receive my class winning trophy but at least have the FTD one...

Fast forward a year. I wanted to defend my title, as well as shut up the critics. This year I’d be competing in my own car, and set about to prepare it. I figured if I could repeat or be close to winning FTD in a different car, that should shut up the critics. Plus I wanted to see if my theories I had about car setup were valid, or would they be a crushing disappointment? On the plus side, I was really looking forward to competing against my rivals and good friends Ruth and Ray, a husband and wife team of great autocrossers. They are my closest competitors, and also great friends. You’d be hard pressed to find more competitive yet humble, gracious, and fun loving people as them. Also, I was excited to check out the OU campus as I’d heard it was quite pretty.

So on the early morning of the 22nd of April, I began the 360+ mile trip from Austin to Norman. Spare parts, tools, jack, and 4 wheels with my autocross tires on them jammed into the car with me. Driving a Spitfire up I-35 is an adventure to say the least. I barely made it to Norman in time as there were several delays enroute due to accidents or construction. But I arrived and checked into the Regional, left my laptop and duffle bag with the nice folks at registration (I had no time to check into my room) and headed over to the autcross venue.

While my car was teched I swapped wheels, signed a waiver, got my wristband, and caught most of the driver’s meeting. I even got a course walk in. Before I felt fully ready it was time for me to get to grid, as I was in the 1st heat. I was hoping for 2nd heat so the course would be grippier, but it’s luck of the draw in autocross to some extent when you run and you make the best of it. So I went to the line and began my runs.

The beauty of event photos is that they can provide valuable data. Here it’s obvious to me I need to get stiffer front springs to combat weight transfer.

I wanted to set a really high bar for Ray and Ruth to have to top. I had FTD when my heat ended, and I won my class by 4.1 seconds. I was pleased. My car performed as I hoped, my theories were reaffirmed, and I had set a pretty tough time. But the second heat had the advantage of rubber on the course, the surface heating as well, and having watched us make our mistakes. Of course, my real concern was Ruth and Ray’s ability to drive their prepared Spitfire (which I call “The Red Menace”), because they are very, very, very good.

Ray slaying the course as he earns FTD.

My concerns weren’t unfounded. With a few runs under their wheels, Ray and Ruth were knocking on the door of my time. Then they proceeded to kick that door off the hinges. My friend Dusty snuck through for third overall with his TR6. Ruth hammered around the course just narrowly missing FTD, having to settle for second overall. When it was all over, I was 0.994 secs behind Ray. I have to admit I had a smile when I saw all the official times. Friendly rivalries are what make events like this fun. After the previous year it was nice to just drive, have results posted and go to dinner.

All concentration: Ruth nails an apex on the way to 2nd overall.

Now afterwards Ruth, Ray and I had a great evening talking about cars, life, and anything that came to mind. Dinner in Norman at a pub right across the street from OU was a highlight as well. Good food, great friends, and a neat venue. But I had another autocross to worry about in 36 hours....

I slept in until about 10am the next day, drove back to Austin, unpacked, got my gear ready, and drove down to San Antonio Raceway to compete in an autocross with my local autocross club Texas Spokes. I had signed up for the first eligible race with HCS, as I felt it was important to participate in a class I had a hand in creating. With a successful completion of 920 miles of driving, 2 autocrosses in 2 states in the span of 3 days, I looked forward to sleep and going to work on Monday to relax.

Photos by

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If you need them in the Norman area, call them.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > mikecyc72usa 05/25/2016 at 23:56

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That sounds like an awesome trip.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > mikecyc72usa 05/26/2016 at 04:53

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Nice :) I wish we had a similar autocross scene here in the UK. I’d definitely be part of it.

Out of interest, what were your theories about car setup?

Speed > mikecyc72usa 05/26/2016 at 09:18

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I LOVE your car. It looks perfect the way it is, mismatched and all.

mikecyc72usa > Speed 05/26/2016 at 09:57

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It’s in the movie “Everybody Wants Some” for about 5 seconds as a setup shot for a scene as well. It will be repainted and made to look better, I just never have the time to take it off the road.

mikecyc72usa > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 05/26/2016 at 10:01

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It’s pretty much all suspension related. Stiffer front springs (though I need stiffer still), cross drilled and slotted front discs, better pads all around, quick ratio steering rack, stiffer rear shocks, basically no toe in at front for better turn in (though it is a bit more twitchy), -3 degrees camber on the front. TR8 wheels, Range Rover Freelander studs, so I can use stickier tires. GT6 MK2 exhaust because it’s .25 inches bigger ID for better breathing. Next is stiffer front springs, a rear Z-bar, some head flow work, balancing, and playing with various carb settings on the twin SUs I have or going for Mikuni side drafts.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > mikecyc72usa 05/26/2016 at 10:24

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Nice :) what lb springs do you have up front?

I’ve heard of people running 330lb front springs up front and reporting good things, but my thought is that with that level of stiffness you end up with the chassis being a springing component!

My plan with my Spit6 is to heavily reinforce the chassis by welding the body to it for a sort-of unibody design. Then I’ve got an idea of running tubes forward to the suspension towers from a beefed-up bulkhead. With a stiffened base, I can afford to run softer (but still uprated) springs for a bit more compliance.

It’s a bit extreme, but as mine’s a ground-up rebuild I might as well try something a bit out there :)

Also, I can’t remember if you’re running a 1300 or a 1500. If you’re looking to do head work anyway, it might be relatively cheap to pick up a small-journal early 1300 engine from a Mk3 or earlier. Definitely the engine of choice for motorsport applications (although you could argue a 1500 for autocross as flexibility down low in the rev range is a desirable characteristic).

Oh, what's it like living with a quick ratio steering rack? I'm thinking about one for my car, but not sure about day-to-day livability...

mikecyc72usa > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 05/26/2016 at 10:40

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I have the 330lb springs. Far too soft. Even with uprated shocks, there is front end dip on braking, or while going down the road at 70mph there is a little wallowy feel after a dip. I need to go to at least 460lb. The 1500 is a great engine because of torque. Currently mine has about 64RWHP and 111lbs of torque kicking in just about 2300rpm. The 1300 is great for the track, but they are also getting hard to find. The quick ratio rack is nice. Took a bit of getting used to. Driving it 360+ miles 2 days after installing it was much more physical than I thought. Especially on the return as I didn’t swap my wheels and drove on 185/60 R13. My forearms and wrists were very tired, nearly sore. Now it’s no big deal. I drive the car every day.

Next up may be a GT6 3.27 diff and speedo. That will hopefully not have me running out of gear at autocrosses. I usually am hitting 6500 rpm in 2nd right now.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > mikecyc72usa 05/26/2016 at 11:23

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Very interesting. Looks like I might be looking for some uprated springs in the future if my thoughts are wrong. Another part of my thinking is that the roads are fairly crap around here, so in order to maintain a high speed you need a good deal of suspension compliance. On a relatively flat track that would be another thing entirely.

I might stick with a standard rack in that case as I’ll be running at least 175s all the time, unless I see a quick ratio one come up cheaply.

111lb-ft is a very respectable figure :) a tubular 4-2-1 might help that as well if you haven’t invested.

What ratio are you running at the moment? I know the later 1500s over here had 3.63s but I seem to remember US-bound ones still had 3.89s to overcome the power deficit from emissions equipment.

The 3.27s have a reputation as the weakest of all the small-chassis diffs (CWP teeth I believe), but that usually rears its head with people running the 2.5l long-stroke 6s so I reckon you’ll be fine with the 1500.

Does your gearbox have overdrive? If so you could wire in a switch to defeat the lockout on second and have a nice little bump inbetween 2nd and 3rd. I've heard that it can shorten the life of an overdrive unit, but again that's coming from people with much more powerful engines. You'd still keep the short gearing for acceleration as well.

mikecyc72usa > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 05/26/2016 at 11:56

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My car has a 3.89. I never had an issue with a 3.27 even with a 135hp GT6 that I autocrossed and drove every day in city traffic in Indianapolis. The standard rack is fine, just on a tight autocross course it is nice to have the quick ratio.

I have a 4-1 header, which is the best for low and mid range torque. 4-2-1 is awesome for road racing. Can’t build a Spitfire to do both really well, unfortunately.

I have a non OD gearbox. I hate OD as it’s heavy and is one more thing to go wrong.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > mikecyc72usa 05/26/2016 at 12:01

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Yeah plus the OD sucks a bit of power.

It’s people running 170bhp/200lb-ft Triumph 2.5ls that tend to break the 3.27s.

Were there any Triumphs over in the States that had a 3.63 ratio? Might have been used in TR7 axles and you can transfer the CW and pinion over to a small-chassis diff housing. Then you'd have just a little more legs on the straights but keep your acceleration.