Hey George, that sounds awesome. I will definitely be out there as a spectator this year. I just had L4L5 back surgery so there will be no racing this year for me. whaaaaaaaaaaaa


(bummer too cuz I just got new GoodYear blue streak specials & wheels for my C3 and, we put a new 2.3 turbo in the Mustang road course car)


by the time I should be back in the saddle it'll be December

 

Well thanks for everyone's suggestions!!! I just finished my first track day at Nelson ledges this past Friday and had a blast. The car performed better than expected and no mechanical issues. I didn't end up making any changes on the car during the day as the car was very neutral handeling. Tire rollover and wear looked good on the tires with little feather edging and no chunking after 40 total laps.

I just wanted to get more seat time and focus on my driving and confidence in the car. In the last couple of sessions as I was pushing a little harder I think I could have stiffend up the rear spring but I will save that for next time.

The hawk pads, ATE fluid, and removing the backing plates performed great. I think after the first session the pedal felt a little softer, but consitant in every session there after. Our instructor said this track was "easy" on brakes, but I was very pleased with how they worked.

As for the performance, I was in the Novice group and I had no trouble passing everyone except for a gentleman in a new Porsche CaymenS. I never saw him in any of my 4 session, but some of the people there with me said he was pretty fast. Top speed on the back stretch was in the 115 to 120 range and the car felt very stable despite the track being very bumpy. I had no trouble with oversteer under hard braking. This track had some pretty fast decreasing radius turns and I could get on the brakes as hard as I wanted and it was very stable. (I had the rear set at 1/8" toe in)

Overall it was a great experience and I can't wait to get back on the track again!!!!! Thanks again for the suggestions. I have a short video I will try to post in the next couple of days, but here are some pics from the event.

 

You're saying this is your first day on a road course? Where is your instructor?

 

No instructor ride alongs. We had a "class" for the novices explaining the event, flags, safety, etc. then a lead follow session. After that, we sat down again with the instructor with more track pointers, driving tips, etc.

The event was well run as far as the grouping and flow of the session, and communication to all of the drivers. I was supprised, however, that there was no tech inspection/safety inspection.

 

Glad to hear you've gotten that first day under your belt.

So, have you caught a terminal infection from the RR bug yet?

 

I definitely got bit by the bug. I just need to get that bug to bite my wife

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHmSP30ySkc

 

nice!
could you post some more infos about your car?
what size tires?
rear sway bar?
front and rear camber setting?
motor?
grooved brakes disks?

i see that you have very little body roll. and your car is very lowered, above all at the rear.i can't go that low on mine unfortunately...

 

The tires I used for the track day were 245/55/16 Goodyear eagle F1's set around 42PSI. I was pretty impressed with these tires, they were consistant throughout each of the sessions and didn't get "greasy" as the sessions when on.

I am not running a rear bar, and the adjustable rear spring was at it's softest setting.

Front and rear camber were at about -1deg. I didn't have a tire pyrometer to really check the camber settings, but the tires looked good after the 4 session. Front toe was at 1/4" in and rear toe was at 1/8" in. Castor was in the 4.5deg range.

Motor is a GMPP Crate engine 350 w/ GM Fastburn heads, Hotcam, 750 Holley, etc, making about 340HP to the wheels on our dyno.

Front rotors are were Raybestos cross drilled and slotted rotors, rear rotors are just stock solid rotors.

 

thanks
your car is not very different from mine, so your is a nice reference for me. if you have more videos...
I like how your car corners flat.with your set up did you addressed the oversteer out of a turn?

i have 245/60/15 R compound ( Avon) , your same front bar ( but 9/16 rear bar) : after seeing your car , i want to try the no rear bar option. differences are : Alu heads BB, stock front springs, rear 7 leaf spring, Bilstein HD front, single adj QA1 rear (soft setting).

btw 42psi tires pressure is a lot... i know it should be 30psi hot which means 26 psi cold

 

Got to make it out for another track day. Here is some incar video.(sorry about the wind noise)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vipNnpBK9nc

 

Nice video! I was trying to think of what to say. Not ever being to that track................ My only suggestion would be to use the whole track. hang out wide on the edges and apex the turns. Brake hard and late then turn in........let the car drift out under power after the apex.

Nice to see you passing all those cars!

 

Great to see you giving it another go.

 

[QUOTE=gkull;1575557554My only suggestion would be to use the whole track. hang out wide on the edges and apex the turns. Brake hard and late then turn in........let the car drift out under power after the apex.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the suggestions. So far I have been to this track twice, and each time I have had a car go off bad right infront of me. One was a G35 (bad driving) and the other was a Acura TSX that dropped a wheel off and overcorrected. These offs have helped to keep me in check from pushing too hard

I may not have been 100% spot on, but I got some track tips from one of the guys I work with that has raced his club car and grand am car there. I believe the grand am car would run 1:13's, and I was running about 1:20. It's an interesting course, but I would like to make it to Mid Ohio or Putnam Park next year to compare.

 

Mid-O is an awesome course, both challenging and technical, but there are several places where it's very easy to get into real trouble, so you might want to get a few more track days in before heading there.

Haven't been to Putnam myself, but from all accounts it's very nice. IIRC Jason Staley runs there if you want some direct feedback on it from a CF'er.

FWIW, suggest you work on consistantly hitting your marks (turn-in, apex and track-out) and honing your car control skills before worrying all that much about max braking at the deepest point, which is going to require some upgrades (read "$$$") to do much of anyway.