[GlennAustin]

Here's a picture of our 2000 Deep Slate Intrepid ES, waiting to do what all good cars should be able to do:

 

[GlennAustin]

Here's another picture of our Intrepid without the numbers, but with my new race tires and wheels. Because I run a stock class in SCCA, I can't change the wheel size, but I can change the tire size.

The new tires drop the car about 3/4" which is great for handling. To get the best performance from the tires, I have to turn off the traction control, even when the course is wet.

[ July 21, 2001: Message edited by: GlennAustin ]

 

[capitalcity rt]

HOW DID YOU DO? GOING UP AGAINST THOSE RED AND GREEN LITTLE GUYS SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A CONCERN BUT HOW ABOUT THAT YELLOW BOXTER?

 

[GlennAustin]

That day I earned respect for the Intrepid in Solo II in this area. A couple of weeks ago I was right behind the Boxster, and he was about 10% faster than I was, but then again I also am still learning what those tires want on the Intrepid.

Either way, the comment is no longer "how slow the car looks," but is now "that car can really move!" I guess that says it all.

[ July 21, 2001: Message edited by: GlennAustin ]

 

[GlennAustin]

One thing I noticed a couple of months ago -- I've got a model of a Jaguar XJ220, and the profile of the XJ220 and the Intrepid are startling similar.

I guess that's why I wanted an Intrepid -- you can't get an XJ220 here in the states (although I actually have sat in one at a Jaguar dealership.

Just think - the profile of a $1M car for under $30K! Too bad the engine, brakes, tires and suspension are nowhere near. At least they look great and handle very well.

 

[capitalcity rt]

Don't overdo it with your car. I am sure that you want to keep it for some time. Hammering it on the race track will eventually start wearing out the parts and end up costing you big bucks.
Although fun, premature wear and the costs associated with it, are not.

 

[GlennAustin]

Don't worry - Solo II is not as hard on a car as being on a race track. The courses run from 30-90 seconds long, and you do about 3-5 runs (a few more on some of the better courses with fewer drivers) for the entire day. Kind of like a rodeo bull -- you only work for a short time a couple of times a weekend, the rest of the time you sit around "bench racing."

In fact, most of the problems that others have reported (trannys, engines) just aren't happening on our 2000. Our previous Dodge car (1987 Daytona Pacifica) only ran well if you drove it hard. If you babied it, the engine got pretty bad pretty quickly (two engine rebuilds -- both covered under warrantee, because we didn't drive the car hard).