Because 150whp isn't enough...
#162
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 419
Total Cats: 45
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!
#166
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 419
Total Cats: 45
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.
#167
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 419
Total Cats: 45
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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