RogueVette

I made it through the Blizzard/Ice Storm in Cincinnati and got down to VIR (a day late).

Weather has been pretty nice here. Still a touch frustrated at the lack of TT but it is what it is. Been a while since I have run in a group where passing is not open and I gotta say I'm not a fan. Car is working pretty good other then my poor choice of pads for the event that after the first 3 laps are worthless, and the 30+ cycle R03's I'm attempting to drive on. Damn if the uphill S's and flying over the hill on the back straight at 150+ is not just stupid fun....

Good to see some friends both from the Corvette world and the One Lap. Wallyman put on a clinic in ST2 and Falcon started 4th overall in the race group. Plus of course Mark and Cass. AutoX wiz Mike Jr. Johnson is here and stuck in HPDE 2 hell, and I'm sure there are many other Forum guys here that i don't know or have not met.

Weather looks like it should hold out tomorrow so another fun day at VIR is on tap.

Can Jody come back and make it a Wallyman/Falcon weekend?

Either way it will be fun to watch.

Bink

Thanks, keep us posted.

Kanmer

Just got home. Experienced every kind of weather in the 120 miles back to Richmond. I feel for the guys having a long way to go.

Recap:
Left Fri afternoon with the C4 (Nancy's car) on the trailer with my stickies on it. Had to pick up brakes from Mark Babbitt as he had some "gently used" ones for me. Weather was terrible. Ice everywhere in this area in the morning but I refused to yield to the power of Mother Nature. I was really looking forward to this event as it was the first one of the year and my first time in HPDE3.

We got about 20 miles down the road when the first snag hit. I pulled over to inform Nancy that we forgot the space heater and it will probably be rather nippy in the Suburban Inn without it. Choices were go back and get it, do without, or get another one. Lowe's had them on sale for 50% off when we got there so decision was made. Made the rest of the trip incident free.

Arrived at VIR about 17:15 and found a camping spot on the hill withthe Over the Hiil Gang. Got my brakes and started the process of changing brakes and getting set up for a fun weekend at the track. Geez, we carry a lot of stuff with us to the track. I'll say this...when you don't get the space heater set just right you can get roasted rather quickly and not get much sleep. Lived through that.

Day 1. Saturday started out cold but clear. Weather was actually quite nice for February. I was anxious to take the C4 out and see how it handled and get used to the characterisics of this car. Of course being cold I drove the first session like a tourist. Car was definately different form the C5 with Z51. The LT4 is a good motor and rather strong but not the LS1. The suspension is rather soft but capable. I had a good time driving this car. In HPDE3, for those that don't know, is passing anywhere with a point by. I got & gave some good point bys. Every turn imaginiable. It is a lot different than what I was used to. First point was going into turn 1. Ok, divebomb here we come. "Geeze, I could get used to this" . What a blast.

Headed in so we could get to class. All I can say is don't be late to class at a NASA event because theytake it rather seriously. Of course being paddocked in the furthest most geographical location possible from the classroom didn't help. Thank God Khoi offered to chauffer on day 2.

Only issue on Sat for me was starting out the last session with 1/2 a tank of gas and it not being enough because of the fuel starvation issues with the C4. Blast into the paddock, throw 5 gallons in and head back out. Hated that process but I guess its better than running out on the track.

The sun was in & out all day. It actually got up to almost 60*. Great day on the track.

Day 2 Sunday was in a word COLD! No precipitation during the HPDE portion of the day. I actually got to give Nancy (remember the owner of the car I am driving) rides. She rode with me 2 sessions on sunday and had a blast. It never really warmed up all day but the rain held off. We had a pretty good group of drivers in our group. Couple of trains formed but were worked out. I do not like to pit in to avoid traffic. I would rather work my way through it. It was the first time I actually got to pass in the Rollercoaster. All I heard from the right seat was "Oh s**t, this is gonna be different". It was but it was fun and handled in a safe manner.

The rain started after all HPDE was done and they were into their Enduro race. That made life interesting. All those guys out there on slicks and it was coming down. Nancy was running Circuit Cross on the Patriot course at that time and was not a happy camper.

The really bad thing that happened and I still haven't heard the final outcome was Wallyman tore up his car in the Sunday Thunder race. He and Jody were going hard at it and traffic came into play. Bottome of the Esses he lost it and went into the tire wall. Jody has video. Its up to them if they want to post it. I hope you're ok Wallynam and the car isn't too badly damaged. Congrats on a 2nd place Jody.

Met alot of people from here this weekend. I like putting faces with names. Khoi, I promise I won't tell anyone about you being stopped sideways in the track between T4 and T5. Its our little secret. As is me rescuing you laptop.

All in all, it was a great time. I will be back there in March. I hope everyone made it home safe and sound.

Bob

Cobra4B

Awesome weekend... I posted my review in another thread. Lots of funa and good to meet some of you finally :cheers;

Oyishdog

That is no good. I hope everything/one is OK.

Cobra4B

^ Jody said it looks mostly cosmetic... Wally!?!?! You ok... let us know what happened from your POV.

wallyman424

I'm fine.

here's the breakdown:

1. i lost abs 1/2 way through the race, tried the key trick to get it back, no dice
2. it was the last lap, i was ahead of jody, coming up on a train of e30s (4) on the bridge straight
3. start passing, get up even to the 1st car, hit the brakes real quick to set the nose, he cuts in to run his line, i have to put the left tires on the curbing/grass.
4. no abs + left side on grass/curbing = snap spin. the car was sliding 90 degrees to the tire wall, then the nose caught the tires and threw the car around.

damage: 1x front fascia, 2x front fenders, 1x rear quarter panel, 1x rear fascia, a lot of body support stuff, cracked radiator drain spigot, bent tie rod, banged up exhaust pipe.

everything else looks fine. it is mostly cosmetic, but its a **** load of cosmetic stuff. I'm probably going to buy a welder and create my own body panel mounts. I'll tear the car apart on tuesday to assess the damage further.

if anyone knows where to get some cheap body parts (mainly rear fascia) let me know. I've got a line on some cheap front fenders, and i can borrow a front fascia for a while...

Cobra4B

Wally... search on here for used body parts.... also there's a few parts salvagers like 427 CPE (I think that's his SN) and Gene's Kar Shop that can help you out.

Ther aren't a lot of metal body supports... I just took my car all apart, but for paint obviously. There's a metal piece that supports the lower part of the quarter panel, but the rest is pretty much brackets on the fenders/quarters and screws into the chassis.

Glad you're allright!

Oyishdog

glad to hear you are OK. Sounds like the car is "ok," but a pita to deal with all that bodywork. What do you think happened to the ABS?

wallyman424

i dont know if this is possible, but i had been having a left bearing rumbling the entire weekend. Maybe the abs sensor just gave out?

Gray Ghost GS

Wally, try Ebay and Corvette Salvage as an option for quarter panels. Good luck on your repairs and glad to hear you're alright. Mike

Z06cool

I thought I did a good job of spinning completely around and getting off track.... And I'm glad you're keeping this a secret. Good thing you're also not going to tell anyone that this bone-headed move was on the warm-up lap.....:o

RogueVette

Khoi and Bob, It was great meeting you guys. Thanks for all the help with various things. Oil, Jack etc...

It was fun being on track with you guys. Most everyone in our group did a good job of giving point by's. A certain Blue corvette struggled and I know a few slow cars (E30's and Miata's) must have been surprised at the closing speed of our Vette's, because more then once I had to slow and fill all 3 mirrors on the straight's before I got a point by. I did however have 6 cars go off right in front of me from driving in their mirrors. A neon at the top of the S's (Yikes that was crazy), an E30 in 2, a Sentra at the top of the roller coaster, another E30 in 6, the S2k in 2 and some 350Z at Oak Tree

Overall I had a blast. Thanks RAFTRACER for getting everything back together and in working order. The car seems Jeremy proof now.

Wallyman, glad your OK.

Falcon

Hey Wallyman, I hated to see that happen.

As we were coming up on the E30 train, I saw Wallyman start passing them and he knew there was no possible way for me to pass them, too. I could tell it was going to be close for him to make the left that starts up the Esses. It was certain he'd have a very shallow apex, so he'd have to be tender with the gas. His left wheels went up on the cement curbing, unsettling the car a bit and around she came. It was not a pretty sight.

That leaves a very hollow feeling in the pit of your stomach when you see something like that happen to a friend of yours. Wallyman got to see that happen to me at Mid-Ohio last July.

If here's anything I can do to help, Wallyman, let me know.

BTW, that was a fantastic drive you put on the field on Saturday. Congratulations on 1st place.

It was good seeing all you guys again.

Oyishdog

WOW, nice job on first place!!! Did you end up running the R6's?

RED FURY

http://www.tannerdog.com/FJR/NASAFeb.../img_1442.html



Phil

RogueVette

Yup, thanks bud.

Jason

That was the first warning sign I got last time I had a rear bearing go bad.

sleeper02Z06

Wally,

I feel your pain bro, important thing is you are ok. Gimme a call Tuseday afternoon when I get home from work, we'll talk!


Joe

wallyman424

yeah, they're excellent tires.

will do.