On Fri, 14 Jan 2000, wiseman wrote:
> Howdy Robert
Howdy-ho neighbor!
I cc'd the Triumphs list, just for yucks. This kind of info beats the ol'
"vendor bashing stuff" hands down.
> Well, I am about ready to buy autox wheels and tires for my TR6 [
> and maybe even some magnetic numbers if F/SP is really stable now ]
... isn't it ESP for TR6's. Hmmm. I'd better get the rule book! Ah - what
the heck. I'm running AP next year. I know that hasn't changed. ;-)
> and wondered how you get your stuff to the track/lot ? Trailer, or
> just throw-em where ever they fit ? Will they all fit in the car ?
For the last 5 years, I've put one tire on the trunk lid rack, one in the
trunk (sort of angled in) and two on the passenger seat. I run the
Hoosier 225/55-15's - they're sort of wide. I leave the spare at home,
and throw a floor jack, a torque wrench and a few misc tools into the
passenger footwell and any space left in the trunk.
I also use a min. of two bungie chords per location - you don't want
tires bouncing around in the car when you go around a corner or slam on
the brakes!!
I've even been able to put all that stuff in _and_ enough camping gear
and spare clothes to do an NE Divisional a couple of times. Yee - hah!
Heck, I even drove from Boston to Hudson, WI two summers ago for the VTR
National with my race tires... I even had to sleep in the car with all
that "rubbah". Alright!
That having been said, I'll offer these tidbits:
1. DON'T DRIVE YOUR AUTOX TIRES ON THE STREET. The more "heat cycles"
they do, the shorter thier useful life. Don't ask me how I know this. Oh,
as you are probably well aware, a set off 225/55-15 Hoosiers costs about
$600. ;-)
2. If I were to continue driving that car in xSP (assuming that it's ESP
for now), I would buy a little utility trailer from Harbor Frieght or one
of the cheap places and built it up with a box to accomodate all 4 tires
and a few things - like the floor jack and some tools. I'd leave the tires
and tools in the box and just "hook up" the night before an event. That
way I wouldn't have to go through this bizarre ritual that I perform every
time I go to an autox. This is very important considering that many times
I'm loading my car up _before_ I have any blood-sugar level. Very
dangerous.
As for how to hook a small trailer to a TR6, if you have a '75 or '76
TR6, the rear bumper is pretty "stout" and a bumper mount trailer hitch
will work. However, I'm partial to "reciever" hitches, and you will be
too the first time you smack your shins on a "hard mount" bumper hitch,
so I'd approach a Welder/Fabricator of a trailer shop and have them "custom
fit" a reciever hitch that uses the tubluar x-member and the frame rails
ar mount points. Then you just yank out the reciever when you aren't
toting things around.
The utility trailer can double for baggage toting when you aren't racing.
Just an idea. FWIW, there's a picture of a similar idea in the latest
Grassroot Motorsports - although it is behind a _Miata_, of al things -
but it does give you an idea of what you need to do.
3. If you have access to towing capability - try it out. Get the car
ready with tires and everything and then just drive it on the trailer.
With this scenario, you have maximum time to walk the course, setup -
whatever you need to do before an event. This is a big plus in my eyes
even though I've never actually done it. I've been pretty proud to drive
to/from the event everytime and change my tires and all that. But it's
getting hard to do after 4 or so seasons of autoX.
I know that 3 is heresy to the hardcore Triumph crowd - but think about
your time. Frankly, the bast part of my AutoX day is the drive home with
the top down - but the AP car can't do that (unlees I sit in it and have
someone else drive the van on the way home!!)
The problem is - once you tow - you'll be spoiled.
> thanks
> John Wiseman
> 76TR6
>
> PS
> Its hard to keep excited about next season when it has been snowing
> for the last 2 days [got to love the lake effect snow ]
Hmmm. You should take up ice racing or something.
I just keep working on my car. It really helps my mental attitude. As
soon as I sit down and start thinking about how much money and time I'm
investing in my project, I get depressed.
This weekend I'll be showing a bunch of my Triumph friends how to rebuild a
TR6 gearbox.
Kewl.
rml
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