4th Autox - Mr. Ed's Debut!!!

Comments to follow...

Results: http://www.phillyscca.com/solo2/results/2008/SO071308.shtml

Ghia Collage

First Rallyx

On June 22nd I had my first rally-cross exposure and after playing around in the dirt and gravel all day I can never look at my SX4 the same way again. This event was my first real exposure to organized off road racing, and the experience was unforgettable. Originally I had intended on raising the coilovers on the hatchback and going to town. However days turned into weeks and the car was not ready prior to the event. With the hatchback out of the picture and this being the only scheduled rally event of 2008 another vehicle would have to stand in. Enter the SX4!!

That’s right I rally raced my then 4 week old 08 Suzuki! Some of my peers & competitors thought I was crazy for racing such a new car, but I was up for the challenge. The learning curve for the event was rather steep for me. The SX4 has a number of different features that needed to be tweaked or disabled to really take advantage of the car. First of which was the traction control system. In the preliminary runs I did not realize that the traction control was engaged, and due to the offroad circumstances the car was constantly in TC mode. The traction control works by cutting the throttle when it detects any of the wheels slipping. The system was engaged so frequently that I actually stalled due to lack of throttle coming around a turn-around section. Despite these electronic hardships in the AM sessions, I came out strong in the PM session! The afternoon course was much more open and less confusing (And I was becoming more comfortable behind the wheel)! Overall the day was a complete success and quite possibly one of the best automotive experiences I have ever had!

See this link for some additional pics: http://www.tristatetuners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58131

Results: http://www.phillyscca.com/courserally/results/2008/CR062208.xls