Day 10: Shootout!
With some simple hand tools and blood-red eyes from lack of sleep, the STI was aligned to the best of my knowledge, before setting off at 4 am and driving a brisk 155 miles to Buttonwillow, and just barely making the morning's drivers' meeting. With so many changes that had taken place on the car since our shakedown sessions, I wasn't sure what to expect. One thing was for sure; Andy was going to have one hell of a time getting used to this new track monster! While preparing for the morning's first session, I was still in chaos mode as I scrambled to mount the necessary fifth-point harness and some finishing touches, causing Andy to miss a large portion of practice. After the guys from TEIN aiding in setting up the newly revised suspension, Andy hopped into the car to gather some seat time. Watching the car come out of the "Club Corner" turn and enter "Bus Stop", my ass cheeks puckered up ever so tightly as the car began wagging its tail like a rabid dog. Exiting, the car was literally sliding into "Truck Stop" as Andy manhandled it back to the start/finish line.
Upon entering the paddock area, Andy jumps out of the car and screams "The car wants to drift in every corner! It's got WAY too much oversteer!" "Great," I thought to myself, "I've built a fantastic drift car..." After some adjustments to the sway bar settings, and lower tire pressure and spring preload adjustment in the rear, the car was sent back out for its first official lap time of the day, just minutes before the first qualifying session ended. Andy managed to get three laps in, with a best time of 2:01.644, before the checkered flag ended the run group. As the car coasted into the paddocks, the first thing I noticed was thick webs of molten black rubber covering the rear of the car; the rear fenders were cutting into the wider, 245-series ContiSportContact 3 spec tires. Upon further investigation, I noticed major cording of the tires, exposing the inner lining on both sides--a problem no one else running the Contis was having; meaning the tires were rubbing excessively against the wheel wells of the STI. Without replacement tires available, the car missed the second qualifying session as I looked on in discouragement.
Mike Chang of Evasive Motorsports offered a hand. Using a rubber mallet, I began yanking off the over-fender trim as he joined in the carnage by hammering out the rear fender to clear the tires. With spectators looking on in dismay, and Carter screaming, "Damn Scott... you're down for your shit, messing up a car like that!" we had missed our last qualifying session but had just enough time before the final relay event to bang out the rear fenders and hack away at the front Chargespeed over-fenders in order to squeeze a set of 265/35-18 Continental tires up front while rotating the original 245/35-18 set to the rear. It was a risky decision to make, as the center differential would be pissed off from the offset in tire size, but it was a sacrifice that had to be made for the Subaru team not to be short one competitor. We made the grid... and were smoked by the EVOs as a whole, but surprisingly, the STI managed to take First Place in its class. Was it all worth it? It was foremost a learning experience. For now, all I can think about is going back to my parents house this weekend--where the STI now sits on jackstands--and modifying the rear fenders to fit 265/35-18 tires on a 18x 9.5 inch wheel full time, before going back out to the track in another month. When will it ever end?