I'm fixing to get new front and a rear sway bar, already have a 2/4 lowering, and am going to get some new shocks. Heck, I beat some cars my first time out, and they were shocked. I didn't know what to expect the first time, so the next time I think I will do much better in the driving dept.

 

Phillip,

Same here. I did beat a lot of cars and know I could have pushed it even more. I didn't come anywhere close to finding the limits of my Lightning. I know with a lot practice, maybe a driving school or two and a few sets of tires my driving will keep getting faster and faster!!

Chris

 

If you are considering a school, check to see if the Evolution courses are available near you... excellent driving skills courses with lots of seat time.

 

After one year, I'd gotten here:

[code]
Class: C
1 102 Bob szczesny Porsche 911 38.247 37.873 38.068 38.164 38.197 38.024 37.844 37.759
2 101 Michelle Szczesny Porsche 911 40.374 38.553 37.815 39.255 38.628 39.340 38.48 38.519
3 111 Ben Wagman Ford Mustang R 40.977+DNF 42.202 40.716 39.454 40.936+DNF 39.919 39.269 41.998+1
4 607 Scott Mandel Pontica Firebi 41.350 39.443 40.149 39.536 39.782 44.836+OFF 39.398 39.462
5 127 Stan Kovac Porsche 911 40.751 42.461 40.986 40.834 41.340 40.970 41.095 41.009
6 582 Stelianos Monafis BMW M3 54.396 41.420 41.154 42.819+1 43.404 42.131 40.777 41.196+4
7 112 Daniel Lees Ford F150 Ligh 50.098+OFF 42.303 41.606+1 41.816 41.735 41.471 41.551 41.016
8 614 Eugene Kwok Mustang Cobra 46.315 43.867 42.505 43.534 44.134+1 43.313 43.235 43.16
9 618 Keith Henry Mustang 1990 47.399 42.528 40.245+OFF 40.289+OFF 52.923 45.350
10 617 Danny Bellina Mustang 1990 44.820 44.010 45.501 43.839 43.276+1
11 147 Walter Landzettel Corvette 51.429 47.987 47.256 41.717+OFF 46.663 48.564 47.024 46.312
12 150 Arlene Landzettel Corvette 60.699+OFF 56.397 49.92 10.936+OFF 51.221 51.347 47.159 47.185
[/code]

Next year, I want to take the Porsche.

 

Auto-x ing is a blast!

 

I autocrossed the truck alot last year. Have not gotten to go this season since I am moving. But you can expect to have alot of fun doing the races with the Lightning. I was lumped into FS because I was stock so I ran with the mustangs and camaros but was still competitive. I never really did get into the points to much I was just there to have fun. Most of the time I was the only truck to race. Most everyone loved the smoke show I would put on going around the track. And I got where I could steer the truck pretty well with the throttle. Of course the announcers loved it when I would do a launch like the drag strip. The truck stock is better than I am. I let a buddy of mine drive it he has a 1st gen but races a SVO mustang. And with him and his 15 years experance he knocked 4 seconds off my time. If you enjoy it get someone who has done it alot to either drive or ride with you. You can get alot of pointers that way. Beleive me they will jump at the chance to drive he missed one of his runs in the mustang to drive my truck. If you look at it as just fun like I did you will have a blast.

 

Daniel ...

It's only three seconds ... You can do it !!!

 

I use to autocross before I started drag racing(June, 2001) for the very first time.

I autocrossed a 1964 Corvair Spyder Coupe(GM turbo, factory), a 1965 John Fitch Corvair Corsa Convertable(Konis, 4, single barrel carbs, headers), a 1986 Saab 9000 Turbo 4-door Sedan(highly modified--externals only), and lastly, a 1991 Camaro Z281LE(6-point roll cage, bal'd-n-blueprinted 305 ci bored 0.30 over, cam, 350 ci f/injs., Crane rocker arms, ported intake, ram-air K&N filters, Bilsteins, BFG R1s, Stainless-SLP exhaust system, etc.

Then, in 2001, I tried autocrossing my L. Did badly....ran the course in 2nd gear. Not the correct way, I'm sure. What gear do you guys use?

Dan

 

If you lower your truck with the Hotchkis (or otherwise) and install the QA1s you will definitely want to use Ruslow's heim joint mounting kit, otherwise the different shock angle may cause them to bind and possibly break. It will be something of a pita to install the first time, requires raising the bed, but subsequent shock changes will be a cinch. My guess is that the Hotchkis set-up will work fine for auto-x, where you need to counteract the tendency of the L. to plow in the slow corners, but some have found that in high speed corners the Hotchkis has a lot of oversteer, not something you want if you're going to do open track stuff. L8-Apex solved this by putting a big spoiler on the back of his truck. Ruslow, on the other hand, who does VERY high speed corners in his open road events, uses extremely stiff front spings, among his suspension tricks. So I guess its a question of selecting the best components for the kind of stuff you're going to do. I went with Ruslow's 1100# coils, which may be kind of stiff for auto-x, but should work decent for open track events. Wish I could give you a report on how my new set-up works compared to stock, but won't find out until I run it this week-end.

 

I run in D with OD off. I tried running in 2nd once, and I did horribly, its just wierd doing it.

Dan

 

alphadoggy,

Thanks. Even though my post count is very low here and at NLOC, I'm constantly lurking and reading everything I can (including Tim's website) on suspension set-up, brakes, etc... I've even emailed Tim and Ruslow about their set-ups and suggestions. I considered Ruslow's stiffer springs, but for now my truck is my daily driver so I am having to take that into consideration. I'm definately planning to include the heim joint mounting kits with the QA1's. I do eventually plan to run a little on a road course on some open lapping days so that's in the back of my mind also. I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions once I dive in and get started on the truck!! Thanks again for the help!

On Sunday, I did run in 2nd and for me, I think it worked out great for the course.

Chris