CAVU at CMP
04-21-2008, 08:11 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
CAVU at CMP
Finally the weather cooperated and provided great conditions at CMP for the TurnOne event. It was the best grip I have ever seen there and the weather was near perfect. We did have a little rain at the end of the day on Saturday but mostly on the T11-T14 series at the track in the last session.
Some 70 cars and 10-15 motorcycles showed up for the new record at a TurnOne event I believe. There were many of the regulars (Marty, Sylvia, Brian, Toby, Scott, etc.), some new faces and several more One Lappers out there for a run on the track before the OLOA event. The 1941 or so Dodge 2 door coupe definitely got the vote for most distinctive car on track. It has the RustoRod look, a supercharged LS of some type and a C5 Corvette chassis underneath. The mirrors must have a lot of blind spots though since I was behind him for 3 laps. Nice guys in a cool car though.
I was originally scheduled for "Toni the Black Flag Terror" as my student but I had an engineering problem, a stock seat in a Spec Miata cage means I do not fit, so Hazman stepped up to the challenge. Toni did exceptionally well and has a true passion for the sport. When not in a car she would be out looking at where the Spec Miatas were braking and turning. Though I missed out on Toni I had a repeat student in his late model 281E Saleen. We had a great time working on compressing the brake zones and smoothing out the throttle/steering inputs. The rain at the end of the day really showed the importance of being smooth. He is progressing very, very nicely. Unlike some cowards from the RX8 community he will ride with me and recommended his C5 friend take a ride with me also. I ended up out in all my sessions, plus my students, plus a few extras for some checkrides and line demos for new instructors. I burned up a complete tank of gas and never had so much fun from $50 (with the possible exception of a few Vegas trips with the USAF).
The white FRC performed flawlessly. Oil temp never above 261, oil pressure never below 35 psi, clutch did not stick once, no vibration from the torque tube, the 8 day old Carbotechs (mostly on CMP) stopped the car with ease and the 3 year old NT01s on front only plowed a little when I was chasing people. I will say the Spec clutch is an awesome deal - clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, spacer, pilot bearing, alignment tool and throwout bearing are all included. Installation was a breeze (especially since Jake and Josh bolted it in). Starting a Spec 3 clutch from a dead stop is pretty digital though and I would not agree it is "streetable" at the moment. It works better with the traction control off and a near spin release of the clutch to avoid chatter. I hope it "wears in" a little more. I put 500 miles on it before the event and then drove it very gently at the track all weekend. Well gently for me anyway, since I had to see if it stuck to the floor still. The steering did feel a little stiff after the session but everything checked out fine in the system. Other than the 800 HP stock car I had no real "competitive bone" issues all weekend.
Doug had some problems with his SRT on Sunday but no one else had any real break downs or mash ups all weekend. Doug had/has a hurt in his motor - I hope it is something simple but it looked like head or head gasket problems based on the symptoms. He still has time before One Lap to get it sorted. I am on the road for a few weeks for work but need to have a car ready for Roebling Road on 16-18 May. The white FRC will hopefully terrorize the field in TTA.
Some 70 cars and 10-15 motorcycles showed up for the new record at a TurnOne event I believe. There were many of the regulars (Marty, Sylvia, Brian, Toby, Scott, etc.), some new faces and several more One Lappers out there for a run on the track before the OLOA event. The 1941 or so Dodge 2 door coupe definitely got the vote for most distinctive car on track. It has the RustoRod look, a supercharged LS of some type and a C5 Corvette chassis underneath. The mirrors must have a lot of blind spots though since I was behind him for 3 laps. Nice guys in a cool car though.
I was originally scheduled for "Toni the Black Flag Terror" as my student but I had an engineering problem, a stock seat in a Spec Miata cage means I do not fit, so Hazman stepped up to the challenge. Toni did exceptionally well and has a true passion for the sport. When not in a car she would be out looking at where the Spec Miatas were braking and turning. Though I missed out on Toni I had a repeat student in his late model 281E Saleen. We had a great time working on compressing the brake zones and smoothing out the throttle/steering inputs. The rain at the end of the day really showed the importance of being smooth. He is progressing very, very nicely. Unlike some cowards from the RX8 community he will ride with me and recommended his C5 friend take a ride with me also. I ended up out in all my sessions, plus my students, plus a few extras for some checkrides and line demos for new instructors. I burned up a complete tank of gas and never had so much fun from $50 (with the possible exception of a few Vegas trips with the USAF).
The white FRC performed flawlessly. Oil temp never above 261, oil pressure never below 35 psi, clutch did not stick once, no vibration from the torque tube, the 8 day old Carbotechs (mostly on CMP) stopped the car with ease and the 3 year old NT01s on front only plowed a little when I was chasing people. I will say the Spec clutch is an awesome deal - clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, spacer, pilot bearing, alignment tool and throwout bearing are all included. Installation was a breeze (especially since Jake and Josh bolted it in). Starting a Spec 3 clutch from a dead stop is pretty digital though and I would not agree it is "streetable" at the moment. It works better with the traction control off and a near spin release of the clutch to avoid chatter. I hope it "wears in" a little more. I put 500 miles on it before the event and then drove it very gently at the track all weekend. Well gently for me anyway, since I had to see if it stuck to the floor still. The steering did feel a little stiff after the session but everything checked out fine in the system. Other than the 800 HP stock car I had no real "competitive bone" issues all weekend.
Doug had some problems with his SRT on Sunday but no one else had any real break downs or mash ups all weekend. Doug had/has a hurt in his motor - I hope it is something simple but it looked like head or head gasket problems based on the symptoms. He still has time before One Lap to get it sorted. I am on the road for a few weeks for work but need to have a car ready for Roebling Road on 16-18 May. The white FRC will hopefully terrorize the field in TTA.
04-21-2008, 08:41 PM
#3
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
04-21-2008, 10:05 PM
#4
Racer
Member Since: Feb 2004
Location: Harriman Tennessee
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I was originally scheduled for "Toni the Black Flag Terror" as my student but I had an engineering problem, a stock seat in a Spec Miata cage means I do not fit, so Hazman stepped up to the challenge. Toni did exceptionally well and has a true passion for the sport. When not in a car she would be out looking at where the Spec Miatas were braking and turning.
It was a great weekend and thanks for the grilled lunch Jeff!!!
04-22-2008, 05:58 AM
#6
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Yep I walked up to check in with Sylvia and she informed me that per Jeff I had, as a true son of Tennessee, volunteered to take the student in the Spec Miata instead of the S197 chassis Saleen Mustang. I guess being a couple of inches TALLER than Jeff did help me to brace myself better and being younger and more supple allows me to get in and out of a car a little easier than those strange contortions we have seen pictures of Jeff performing!
It was a great weekend and thanks for the grilled lunch Jeff!!!
It was a great weekend and thanks for the grilled lunch Jeff!!!
