Because 150whp isn't enough...
Another successful track day this past weekend at VIR. Fears of rain were unfounded - couldn't have asked for better weather. Cool and sunny, I had no heat issues (saw 209F water temp maybe once) and the car made great power. I put Thumpetto's wilwood dynapro/11.75" kit to good use, though I thought I might be able to get away with HPS pads. I was wrong - 2 or 3 laps in they were getting hot and I had to swap over to the DTC60's. We ran the north course on Saturday and the full course on Sunday. Some highlights:
* No issues with brake fade once the DTC60's were in (running Pagid endurance pads on the rear).
* The only mechanical issues I had were an exploded shifter bushing (thankfully I pitted next to flatout racing, who had a spare) and tearing the bottom seam off the back window of my soft top. Time for a new one!
* Hitting 130mph on both the front and back straights on the full course (!!!). 6500rpm in 5th gear, almost RPM limited
* Definitely need some aero work, as the steering gets a little light above 125 or so, especially over the hill on the back straight
* Had a ton of fun harassing well-driven E46's and Caymans
* Ran a 2:15.00 on the full course with 225 Rivals, which was about a second faster than the well-driven spec E30's and SM's that were at the event
* Made the round trip from Greenville SC (about 4.5 hours each way in the rain) on a single tank of gas. 36 gallon tank and 17mpg for the win.
* Speaking of gas, I can't make a full day without refilling anymore, so I need to buy a 10gal can or two
* No issues with the exhaust manifold studs this time around; the 3/4 washer seems to have held
* The racecapture makes timing and data display super simple - no more messing with the bluetooth GPS receiver, RaceChrono and MSDroid; just start the app and drive.
* The highlight of the weekend may have been passing 4 spec miatas racing nose-to-tail on the back straight, and having all 4 guys come over after the session to see what was going on
Video to come!
* No issues with brake fade once the DTC60's were in (running Pagid endurance pads on the rear).
* The only mechanical issues I had were an exploded shifter bushing (thankfully I pitted next to flatout racing, who had a spare) and tearing the bottom seam off the back window of my soft top. Time for a new one!
* Hitting 130mph on both the front and back straights on the full course (!!!). 6500rpm in 5th gear, almost RPM limited
* Definitely need some aero work, as the steering gets a little light above 125 or so, especially over the hill on the back straight
* Had a ton of fun harassing well-driven E46's and Caymans

* Ran a 2:15.00 on the full course with 225 Rivals, which was about a second faster than the well-driven spec E30's and SM's that were at the event
* Made the round trip from Greenville SC (about 4.5 hours each way in the rain) on a single tank of gas. 36 gallon tank and 17mpg for the win.
* Speaking of gas, I can't make a full day without refilling anymore, so I need to buy a 10gal can or two
* No issues with the exhaust manifold studs this time around; the 3/4 washer seems to have held
* The racecapture makes timing and data display super simple - no more messing with the bluetooth GPS receiver, RaceChrono and MSDroid; just start the app and drive.
* The highlight of the weekend may have been passing 4 spec miatas racing nose-to-tail on the back straight, and having all 4 guys come over after the session to see what was going on
Video to come!
Let me know the next time you're coming down to RA, I'd like to ride along to check out those Xidas. I'm sitting on the bump stops with my Bilstein/FM spring setup and need to upgrade, but I'm undecided on which spring rate to go with. I was thinking 700/400.
And the latest on my string of not-directly-boost-related failures: rear wheel bearings! Finally time for replacement. I didn't realize they were this bad early on (didn't have any play when I did my usual inspection before the weekend), but they definitely got loud enough before the end of the day that I parked it with a couple sessions left. The car was pretty fast, if a little loose, and I set a new personal best of 1:34.2. Video below. No long 5th gear pulls on this track, but I added fuel up high anyway after seeing those AFR's at VIR.
GridLife South! Ignore the wideband, the data logger was clipping at 11.9 for some reason.
No major issues this time around - just a little bit of heat on a couple days. What a great event - totally exceeded my expectations. GLTC winner ran a 1:36 and change in his K Miata too... talk about hustling.
No major issues this time around - just a little bit of heat on a couple days. What a great event - totally exceeded my expectations. GLTC winner ran a 1:36 and change in his K Miata too... talk about hustling.
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