Open Road Racing anybody?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 222
Likes: 0
From: Ventura CA
Open Road Racing anybody?
Is anybody planning on the open road racing events in Nevada this summer? It looks like there's on June 19-22, one July 25-27, one August 22-24, and one August 29-31. This looks pretty neat to me, 100miles +/- of closed highway in my vette:steering: , and the slowest class (just needs a fire extinguisher helmet and newer seatbelts) can go 124mph. We should get a group of C3s together to represent the forum (that is if I ever get this big block swap done, otherwise you guys can just send me pics of the race lol).
Check it out guys at www.openroadracing.com
Check it out guys at www.openroadracing.com
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,053
Likes: 4
St. Jude Donor '03,'11
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (BB73Chris)
I didn't know they did open road racing in the U.S. Sounds great. Better beef up the radiator, air dam ect. and run an oil cooler. Those kind of speeds will toast an engine real quick.
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 247
Likes: 0
From: las vegas nv
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (turtlevette)
Yea we have em here in Nevada. Not sure if they still run the Silver State race or not. It's a long one, ends up in Ely i think, maybe elko. All kinds of cars, lots of exotics. The last time i was paying attention to it i think a 69 camaro won it with speeds well in excess of 200 per. they close the highways and run one car at a time at delayed starts. know a guy that ran it in a 914 porsche with a very beefy 6. didnt win, but had a lot of fun. had his wife with him as a navigator lol.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 16,483
Likes: 1
From: The Only Corvette in Gila Bend, Az.
St. Jude Donor '09
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (isosceles)
They usually have a show on ESPN every year about the silver state...I like seeing the semi's run...
I would love to try it once. But so far it's still a dream.
I would love to try it once. But so far it's still a dream.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 12,065
Likes: 2
From: Smalltownville Michigan
Cruise-In 5, 6 & 10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (BB73Chris)
if i was closer i wouldn't think twice about it, but my vette is no where near ready for that... a guy knows his and his cars limits...
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 4,101
Likes: 10
From: NorCal
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (BB73Chris)
Yep, there are more every year. My neighbor ran the Silver State in a '69 428 2x4 Mustang two years in a row in the 140 MPH class and had a blast. You need killer tires and wheels, cooling system, big brakes and lots of horsepower. The guy with the '69 Camaro had six figures in that car that won (twice). I believe George Kull (gkull) on this board has some experience with these. He's in the Reno area.
Hans
Hans
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 222
Likes: 0
From: Ventura CA
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (BB73Chris)
Anybody know any tricks to open up the front end of a c3? Now that I have my headlights working I can eliminate the ones bubba put in the grills (blocking half of 'em), and I'll probly pull the license plate off to open up that middle part. It seems to me that at 120mph there's plenty of air going by, it's just getting it in that would make the difference, but I could be wrong. I can just imagine how not-fun it would be when I'm boiling over after 20 min.
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Abby Normal
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 53,463
Likes: 92
From: Press "2" for English
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (BB73Chris)
i know a couple people who run SSC and pony express, they say it's a blast. i believe them but i'm pretty sure i'd cook my car trying that. even with my high gears, sustained speeds 100+ just requires a whole bunch of power to get this brick to punch a hole in the air.
chris, as for air for your car, my thinking is you would be better off figuring a way to get the heat out of the engine bay. you may want to put an extension on the air dam or chin spoiler to keep less air from flowing under the car but at least in my experience, the heat problem has always been a matter of getting the hot air out of the compartment. you come up with a good and efficient way to do that and you'll find you have plenty of air getting in to keep things nice and cool. i have seen some people that shim the hood latches to raise the back of the hood about 1" to help evacuate hot air.
chris, as for air for your car, my thinking is you would be better off figuring a way to get the heat out of the engine bay. you may want to put an extension on the air dam or chin spoiler to keep less air from flowing under the car but at least in my experience, the heat problem has always been a matter of getting the hot air out of the compartment. you come up with a good and efficient way to do that and you'll find you have plenty of air getting in to keep things nice and cool. i have seen some people that shim the hood latches to raise the back of the hood about 1" to help evacuate hot air.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 222
Likes: 0
From: Ventura CA
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (clutchdust)
These are good thoughts... so I guess the air dam not only pushes air up into the radiator but makes a low pressure area under the engine compartment to evacuate it (never thought about that).
When I come up with the cure all cooling system I'll let ya guys know ;)
When I come up with the cure all cooling system I'll let ya guys know ;)
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 8,220
Likes: 208
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (BB73Chris)
Looks like they already have couple of nice C3s running there.
And video:
http://www.bborr.com/2003/mpegs/bborr03(8).mpg
:thumbs:
[Modified by groovyjay, 7:51 AM 5/27/2003]
And video:
http://www.bborr.com/2003/mpegs/bborr03(8).mpg
:thumbs:
[Modified by groovyjay, 7:51 AM 5/27/2003]
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 4,282
Likes: 172
From: Lake Wylie, South Carolina
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (groovyjay)
Do any of you know the rules governing convertibles. If I put my hard top on does this get me around any restrictions? What about autoXing, do convertibles have a problem getting approved to run?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 6,273
Likes: 14
From: Austin TX
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (BB73Chris)
These are fun but can be dangerous. I "worked" at one in west Texas a couple of years back and there were two major wrecks (both cars totaled) and serious injuries.
There is a thorough tech inspection for each car to try to reduce mech failures and most classes require Z rated tires. Be sure you understand the rules before you show up. Most auto insurance is invalid for these events.
There is a thorough tech inspection for each car to try to reduce mech failures and most classes require Z rated tires. Be sure you understand the rules before you show up. Most auto insurance is invalid for these events.
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 21,953
Likes: 1,445
From: Reno Nevada
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist- Modified
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (flynhi)
I've entered the Silver state classic 92 mile and the Elko to Wild Horse twin 50 mile.
If you have a fully prepped car rookies without any kind of racing license can only enter up to GS 130 average class. For the SSC race Plan on spending about $2000 between $500 or so in entry fee's and hotel bills ............ First timers have to go to las Vegas for a road racing school and show some "Proficiency" The lists to enter and filled a couple of races ahead so get on a list now.
I had no problem going @175 mph with a little 355 ci with a 6500 red line to make the motor last for 92 miles. Vettes are really very stable with a little thought. :thumbs:
If you have a fully prepped car rookies without any kind of racing license can only enter up to GS 130 average class. For the SSC race Plan on spending about $2000 between $500 or so in entry fee's and hotel bills ............ First timers have to go to las Vegas for a road racing school and show some "Proficiency" The lists to enter and filled a couple of races ahead so get on a list now.
I had no problem going @175 mph with a little 355 ci with a 6500 red line to make the motor last for 92 miles. Vettes are really very stable with a little thought. :thumbs:
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 119
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From: South Riding VA
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (gkull)
I'm on Nav duty in an AMG Mercedes for Sept. We're still solutioning our GPS. We'll most likely go with a laptop interface to the ECU and the most acurate GPS we can find. We're both experienced boaters and have a lot of experience in mapping and calculating from waypoints. The end goal is to break the beam as close to your tageted avg speed as possible. I think folks are coming within 2-3/100th of mph these days.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 4,101
Likes: 10
From: NorCal
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (BlackRat)
I would not attempt this without a full cage in any car. Any failure, however minor in a normal situation becomes a catastrophe at speeds like these. Lose a tire or a coolant hose here and you goin' agricultural for certain! Car would be junk, but at least you would have a chance.
Hans
Hans
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 21,953
Likes: 1,445
From: Reno Nevada
2024 C3 of the Year Finalist- Modified
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (Wrencher)
What you should do is contact anyone of these events and volunteer as a worker. That way you could decide if it's for you. They have days of prerunning the course and you might even catch a ride in a car testing. The Silver State does average nearly a death per race. That's why i have a roll cage and other equipment.
As to the GPS post. all it takes is a a good passenger with a stop watch.
[Modified by gkull, 1:08 PM 5/28/2003]
As to the GPS post. all it takes is a a good passenger with a stop watch.
[Modified by gkull, 1:08 PM 5/28/2003]
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 78
Likes: 0
From: Palm City Fl
Re: Open Road Racing anybody? (BB73Chris)
WOW! I thought I was the only one wanting to do this. We will run my VW Corrado G60 this year or next. Then I will try the Vette. For the record, been planning tires, suspension and roll bar in the Corrado for 2 years to get ready. The motor prep is limited to increasing reliability and efficency. Not just power.
It will be interesting in the Vette; I forsee the 2:73 ring and pinions getting popular!! Great Post!!
It will be interesting in the Vette; I forsee the 2:73 ring and pinions getting popular!! Great Post!!
