So, there was an autocross yesterday. The day started quite rainy, resulting in a low turnout, but things cleared and we had a fantastic afternoon for an event. Seven runs, done by 3. Perfect.
Except on my second run, somebody came running up to my car to tell me I’d let loose of a large bolt on course. A quick peek under the car revealed I’d lost the bolt holding the propeller on my Watts Link.
Using a borrowed wrench and some scraped elbows, I disconnected the Watts bars from the axle clamps and removed it. Back to stock rear suspension, and right back out on course.
Observations? Well, oddly , I went fast. A lot faster. But I’d only run two runs so far with the Watts, and was still figuring out the course. It’s possible that gain was all Watts, but also possible it was all me being better.
What was stark was the car’s behavior. It was LOOSE. really loose, except when it wasn’t. There was very little consistency. In one corner it would push. In another it would try to step the rear out. When the rear did slide out, it didn’t gracefully slide back into line when I lifted the throttle or steered into the slide. Nope, it snapped back the opposite direction. Each run I found myself madly sawing at the wheel trying to get the car to go where I wanted it to go.
The takeaway for me was that I’m likely faster with a loose car, but the Watts adds a large level of predictability. I’ve ordered new parts to replace what fell off and will have the Watts back in place for the next event at the Corvette Museum. I’m going to raise the center link pivot one hole to see if I can keep the predictable handling while also loosening it up a bit.
We shall see.