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Hey guys. I had a great run at Thunderhill this past weekend with PCA dicing it up with couple fast track prepped Porsche GT3 and 911 twin turbo. There are also several GT3 Cup cars putting down some fast lap times. Here is what I found out about the 5 miles configuration.
It is hard on brakes, tires and suspension: Seen couple brake and suspension failure with the 5 miles configuration. Best to come prepare and make sure your car's shock and brakes are in great shape - spare parts like drive shaft and brake pads/fluid are good idea
2 miles west side is bumpy and need softer shock settings compare with East side: When I tune my Ohlin shocks on west side it likes almost full soft setting but that's too soft when you go to east side. I have to compromise and stiffen up the shock setting a bit - and still kind of soft for east side to accommodate the bumpy west end
I gathered some lap times from friends for reference - 5 miles over top of turn 5 running Hoosier R6, racing slicks and Toyo slicks
Porsche 997.2 GT3 RSR clone - 3:10
Bill's C5 racer - 3:13 (turn 5 bypass)
Porsche 997.1 Cup - 3:18
My modified Z06 - 3:28 to 3:25 if no traffic
Porsche 997.1 twin turbo - modified - 3:30
Porsche 997.1 GT3 with 3.9L sharkwerks engine - 3:31
Porsche 997.2 GT3 RS - modified - 3:33
Porsche spec Boxster - 3:35 to 3:45
Honda civic H2 racer - 3:47
Here is the video from this past weekend's chase - it was fantastic! There are bunch of great dates at Thunderhill next month including HOD corvette only event on 10/23 then 5 miles next day then NCRC for the weekend. Will see some of you next month
I hope to finally get out there for a 5 mile day... I been down for a few months waiting on funds. It will be back together next week. Synergy will make it all better.
I hope to finally get out there for a 5 mile day... I been down for a few months waiting on funds. It will be back together next week. Synergy will make it all better.
nice! alot of great track events next month and won't be crazy hot like the past 3 months
Fun video and nice driving! I love the 5 mile track and the combination of the old fast sweeping turns with the new tighter course, all with elevation changes and on/off camber turns. I was bummed to hear that NASA decided not to run the 5 mile course for the 25 hour race this year. Too many teams threatened to boycott the race, I guess because they are afraid of something new. Too bad, because it would have been epic on the 5 mile course.
Not sure I agree with the new section being bumpy or hard on brakes. There is one berm (the V shaped one) that upsets the car and I could see hurting a weak suspension. Other than that, I thought the track was pretty smooth and thunderhill in general is pretty easy on brakes IMHO.
[QUOTE=redtopz;1587812241]I was bummed to hear that NASA decided not to run the 5 mile course for the 25 hour race this year. Too many teams threatened to boycott the race, I guess because they are afraid of something new. Too bad, because it would have been epic on the 5 mile course.
/QUOTE]
Maybe they think the west section is tight/busy and not a lot of passing areas, which could cause problems when racing at night with all those cars out there.
Yeah probably. I'm sure there would be some issues on the west side. But I think there actually are passing areas plus it would spread out the cars more. One concern was towing that far and no lighting to speak of. I just think it would be way more exciting on the 5 mile and take away some of the advantage from the fast cars and put more on the drivers.
Yeah probably. I'm sure there would be some issues on the west side. But I think there actually are passing areas plus it would spread out the cars more. One concern was towing that far and no lighting to speak of. I just think it would be way more exciting on the 5 mile and take away some of the advantage from the fast cars and put more on the drivers.
Good points, it would spread the cars out more and would definitely be more a challenge for the drivers.
Fun video and nice driving! I love the 5 mile track and the combination of the old fast sweeping turns with the new tighter course, all with elevation changes and on/off camber turns. I was bummed to hear that NASA decided not to run the 5 mile course for the 25 hour race this year. Too many teams threatened to boycott the race, I guess because they are afraid of something new. Too bad, because it would have been epic on the 5 mile course.
Not sure I agree with the new section being bumpy or hard on brakes. There is one berm (the V shaped one) that upsets the car and I could see hurting a weak suspension. Other than that, I thought the track was pretty smooth and thunderhill in general is pretty easy on brakes IMHO.
That will be sad if NASA don't do the 5 miles course for 25 hours race. This 5 miles config is my favorite now and can't stop thinking how to improve my lap time and what different angles to attack the west side.
The 5 miles course fried my civic brakes which has poor cooling. Looked at my Z06 brakes and they are holding up really well - much better brake cooling helps. I am running softer shock setting for the 5 miles - that west side first left hand turn with the triangle berm on first long straight is a bitch if you hit it fast. It literally throw you car up in the air and make it skip side way when I hit it over 80 mph
[QUOTE=JRL;1587812382]
Originally Posted by redtopz
I was bummed to hear that NASA decided not to run the 5 mile course for the 25 hour race this year. Too many teams threatened to boycott the race, I guess because they are afraid of something new. Too bad, because it would have been epic on the 5 mile course.
/QUOTE]
Maybe they think the west section is tight/busy and not a lot of passing areas, which could cause problems when racing at night with all those cars out there.
true ... I tried passing slower cars on west side and felt like going off road every time
Originally Posted by redtopz
Yeah probably. I'm sure there would be some issues on the west side. But I think there actually are passing areas plus it would spread out the cars more. One concern was towing that far and no lighting to speak of. I just think it would be way more exciting on the 5 mile and take away some of the advantage from the fast cars and put more on the drivers.
agree, west side is a good equalizer and will bunch up fast and slower cars tighter
I was bummed to hear that NASA decided not to run the 5 mile course for the 25 hour race this year. Too many teams threatened to boycott the race, I guess because they are afraid of something new. Too bad, because it would have been epic on the 5 mile course.
.
Geeze, I got lost on the back side of the old course at 3 a.m.
Man I wish his video's also had telemetry in them. It would be nice to see some of the speeds that he's hitting though the back section!
After watching this video multiple times I find that my line and turning points are the same as Bill. So that only leave one reason why our time is different ... my Aims data recorder is broken! I am lapping the 5 miles course @ 3:13 all this time and I did not even know it
After watching this video multiple times I find that my line and turning points are the same as Bill. So that only leave one reason why our time is different ... my Aims data recorder is broken! I am lapping the 5 miles course @ 3:13 all this time and I did not even know it
Ha ha hah!!!
I attempted to follow Bill a couple of times but I was moving in slow motion.
I attempted to follow Bill a couple of times but I was moving in slow motion.
see! I told you there is a Bermuda triage on the west side. Time and space continuum are disrupted and people often emerge west side in a different time zone, confused, bewildered ... and some in a vastly different looking car cover with dirt
Geeze, I got lost on the back side of the old course at 3 a.m.
Well.......maybe it was more like "spaced out".
Yeah. The worst part of the 25 hour race for me was during my 2 hour stints I don't think I blinked my eyes or at least not very much. After the 2nd stint, my eyes started getting really red, dry, and painful with swollen blood vessels. I think next time I'll have to bring eye drops.
Originally Posted by mikymu
After watching this video multiple times I find that my line and turning points are the same as Bill. So that only leave one reason why our time is different ... my Aims data recorder is broken! I am lapping the 5 miles course @ 3:13 all this time and I did not even know it
You are doing very well and you are fast because you have the ability to find the right line and you are smooth with you driving inputs. However, that's the easy part . To get to the next level you need to get comfortable sliding your 500 hp machine more and getting on the throttle earlier in the corners. Plus even though you have more hp, you should be full throttle more than you are right now. Some of that may have been the porsche holding you up, but you are part throttle around most of the track. Something to think about for next time. Even in GT2 trim in my car which is around 420 whp, I drive it like a miata. Full throttle, brake, back to full throttle. This requires good vision ahead and your steering inputs have to anticipate the additional speed (ie. turn in earlier). The one part of the track you are turning in too early is the first tight left hander on the West side where you put 2 off one time. Turn in later and back to full throttle sooner. The 2nd tight left hander has a lot of runoff room so you can turn in a bit earlier and get a way with it. Stay full throttle until you brake. Don't lift to part throttle before a brake zone. Most of you advanced drivers I see on video have the car and abilities to go faster than you think. Some of it now comes down to how comfortable are you pushing to find the limits especially if you have not done so before in a race car. For example in T8 you can easily hit 110 mph or higher minimum speed. Most people get to 100 and stay there. However, the fast turns are not the places you will find a lot of time, so no sense risking the car there unless you want to.
You are doing very well and you are fast because you have the ability to find the right line and you are smooth with you driving inputs. However, that's the easy part . To get to the next level you need to get comfortable sliding your 500 hp machine more and getting on the throttle earlier in the corners. Plus even though you have more hp, you should be full throttle more than you are right now. Some of that may have been the porsche holding you up, but you are part throttle around most of the track. Something to think about for next time. Even in GT2 trim in my car which is around 420 whp, I drive it like a miata. Full throttle, brake, back to full throttle. This requires good vision ahead and your steering inputs have to anticipate the additional speed (ie. turn in earlier). The one part of the track you are turning in too early is the first tight left hander on the West side where you put 2 off one time. Turn in later and back to full throttle sooner. The 2nd tight left hander has a lot of runoff room so you can turn in a bit earlier and get a way with it. Stay full throttle until you brake. Don't lift to part throttle before a brake zone. Most of you advanced drivers I see on video have the car and abilities to go faster than you think. Some of it now comes down to how comfortable are you pushing to find the limits especially if you have not done so before in a race car. For example in T8 you can easily hit 110 mph or higher minimum speed. Most people get to 100 and stay there. However, the fast turns are not the places you will find a lot of time, so no sense risking the car there unless you want to.
Great suggestions and you are right on the money Bill
My Z06 is still a street sports car - full interior with roll bar only so I typically leave couple seconds on the table for insurance. My car weight 3370 lbs 1/2 tank with me in it and makes 500 hp/torque at the wheels. Car balance is not optimal yet - rear step out much too easy when I get on gas so I have to be gentle. Will play with sway, camber and wing along with shock setting to make it more stable.
Very good point with the west side but I still think I was in a time warp ... going too slow. I had to slow down alot on the west side not know what the black Porsche gonna do and lap time should be in the mid to low 3:20's without traffic but still waaaaaay off from yours. It's hard to compete with a properly prepped and tune race car like yours. My lap time is off by 2-3 second on the East side compare with your time but stretch out the distance and add more tight turn such as 5 miles then your race car's lap time will leap and bounce exponentially. I do have to be careful and not push too much and be mindful to compare my time with street prep cars and not real race cars
Yeah. The worst part of the 25 hour race for me was during my 2 hour stints I don't think I blinked my eyes or at least not very much. After the 2nd stint, my eyes started getting really red, dry, and painful with swollen blood vessels. I think next time I'll have to bring eye drops.
Worst part for me was being in a Miata with a Daytona Prototype behind me on the straight.
But I did get to drive the DP a year later.
09-09-2014, 04:00 PM
Thunderhill 5 miles discussion
You are doing very well and you are fast because you have the ability to find the right line and you are smooth with you driving inputs. However, that's the easy part 
with a Daytona Prototype behind me on the straight. 