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Starting Tuesday I am doing the three-day high performance course at Mid-Ohio Raceway. I am an excited man. Has anyone done the courses there? Anything to expect?
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Sep 8, 2012 14:14
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DogDodger posted:Mid-Ohio's an awesome track. The Mid-Ohio School has some impressive faculty, but when I took their 2-day class in 2006 the instructors didn't get in the car with you. So the on-track learning you have to pick up through follow the leader exercises. They do break the track down corner by corner and practice that way before sending you out for open laps, but having an instructor in the car for immediate feedback is more helpful to me. If you're close to MidO, AudiFest does an event there every year around the 4th of July. Keep me posted if you're interested and I'll forward you the application next year. Odd. If that's still the case I'll probably end up dragging an instructor along with me as much as I can on the third day; apparently it's up to you during the last day's lapping sessions if you want to do lead-follow or have the instructor in the car with you.
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Sep 9, 2012 21:16
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So I just finished the first of three days at the Mid-Ohio school and I had a god-damned blast! It was mostly autocross and car-control drills with an hour lead-follow session on the track at the end of the day. I kicked rear end in the autocross challenge at the end of the day, FTD in the TSX and FTD in the S2000 (top 3 in TSX went on to the S2000), but managed to nail a cone, dropping me two seconds and putting me in second place. This is a big deal, because if I hadn't hit that cone I would have gotten a gift certificate for another event at the school, about $900 value. God drat. Still, after the lead-follow on the track I am more psyched than ever for the actual lapping sessions to come. Oh, someone mentioned not getting seat-time with instructors. They were all very helpful and only too happy to hop in the car with me as a passenger or driver. I owe that to dropping seconds off my autocross times. If I get seat time with them on the track it'll be a huge help I'm sure.
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Sep 12, 2012 00:19
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DreamOn13 posted:I drove home with this from the track...about 150 miles. I almost did exactly this with one of Mid-Ohio's Acuras during their performance course. Thankfully I realized my mistake about halfway through lifting off the clutch and saved it. I was making GBS threads bricks for the rest of the lap, just waiting for an explosion that, thankfully, never came. How did you manage to even drive that thing home? Edit: And yes I am a good person and let them know what happened. No issues with the car. Dave Inc. fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Dec 12, 2012 |
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Dec 12, 2012 00:06
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The flywheel bolts were finger tight when I pulled it off and ruined the crank bolt holes (oval at that point) and input shaft. I swapped both the engine and trans because of that little mistake.
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I'm putting together an '83 944 for 944 spec racing and they allow the seat to mount onto the cage. Anybody have a suggestion for a seat placed on a fixed mount like that?
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Apr 4, 2013 23:18
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Stardotstar posted:Kirkey are popular but anything will work, just buy a seat and some rails and have the fabricator integrate them. Sparco has adjustable side mounts that you just bolt into the correct position. What's your seat budget? I really haven't looked at it much yet, and I was probably going to look to the cage installer for a hand on picking one out (they race 944 spec as well). For the seat I'm probably looking somewhere between $500 and $1000. I'm involving the cage installer really because the car's floor pan took a hit back in the day and warped the seat mounting positions (and I wouldn't trust the remaining bolts to hold anything in place).
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Apr 5, 2013 15:15
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FatCow posted:Are you looking for a halo seat or a regular seat? Probably not a halo, I think that would drive me crazy. I'm thinking about getting a HANS, though, so do I need a halo for that?
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Apr 6, 2013 18:30
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Can someone explain submarining to me, and the difference between a 5pt and a 6pt?
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Apr 9, 2013 15:54
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I like how you do a little chicken-wing shrug everytime you have to correct sudden oversteer.
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Apr 15, 2013 20:48
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Well I've been living in awful Flint, Michigan for a while, but turns out there's a great little track nearby called Waterford Hills with lots of open days. Here's me tripoding my '82 911! Later on that day something started to fail and I understeered hard out of that corner. Haven't had the time to get into it but the front wheels felt like they had about 10x as much play in the bearings as they should...
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Nov 11, 2014 14:27
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sig11 posted:Love Waterford but It beats the hell out of me. We did a private day last year (~10 cars open track) and I was sore all over the next day. You should come to the 3Balls events next year. The first time I went with the 911 it beat me up pretty well too; the bolstering on the seat is pretty soft and you slide around on the leather. By the end of the day I was wincing in pain every time I went through turn one from trying to keep my rear end in the seat. Still, fun little track! I may end up moving somewhere else before the spring, but if I'm still around I'll check it out. What are the 3Balls anyway?
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Nov 14, 2014 20:06
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We usually do at least one Waterford event, a trip to mid-ohio, and a couple weekends at Grattan and Gingerman.
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Well I finally got my 944 spec car in running condition and tested it out at Waterford Hills. It was immediately apparent that I'm not used to racing suspensions, brakes and tires, and I left a lot of time out on the track from early braking and low corner speeds. I felt like I was getting the hang of it and was shaving time with each lap but my second run was cut short due to a dummy in an 86, and rain was rolling in so I jumped ship. Still, video! 15 minutes for a pucker moment and recovery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jsvF31NMTw Edit: The suspension definitely needs tuning. The shocks are in their loosest setting and the thing isn't even close to corner balanced. Also the delrin bushings in the rear most likely need some shaving and are too stiff. As a result the whole car is veeeery prone to oversteer. Dave Inc. fucked around with this message at 14:13 on Aug 24, 2015 |
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Aug 24, 2015 13:50
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Why is it always the HPDE-1 group that has the drivers who refuse to get passed?
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Nov 9, 2015 21:03
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SpaceRangerJoe posted:I had my E36 at the track the other day, and it ran pretty well all weekend. This is at a local track, Motor Sport Ranch in Cresson. This is from the last session of the day, where I spent the whole time chasing down a new GT3. I'm not a great driver, but I put together a decent string of laps. They told me I can ask for a check ride to their advanced run group whenever I want, so that's nice. Feel free to judge my driving and lack of interior. Nice driving, I like how did get a little loose while giving that guy the thank-you wave. Just remember: Never be polite. I'm kicking myself for not getting down there for a track day while I was living in DFW, looks like a really fun track.
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Dec 6, 2015 17:11
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Human Grand Prix posted:I did a lapping day at the Mosport DDT track this weekend. Rain is good for teaching you to be smooth. Ended up facing the wrong way twice. It's also kind of nice in that it gets your heart pounding dealing with low traction while never really hurting your tires or brakes. I did Lemons a couple months back in an '83 El Camino in the rain, and that was exciting.
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May 16, 2016 22:37
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Wee! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVBUDe88x7c I took my '82 911 to Roebling Road this Monday and had a blast. Hawk pads and Motul 600 are a must for the straight there, but other than some high engine temps (Georgia in May), the car handled everything very well. I have a couple other quick clips on that channel and some GoPro footage I'm compiling as well (with a spin!). Really good time, and there were under 40 people there so the amount of track time I got was almost silly.
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May 24, 2017 21:01
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Wet driving is where car control education happens! I once spent an hour racing an '83 El Camino in the rain during a Lemons 24hr. It was the most fun I've ever had on track.
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Jun 8, 2017 19:35
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What I usually do is slide my seat back a notch, pull my seat belt so the inertia lock locks up with just enough room to buckle it, buckle it and then slide back forward with the seat. Do it right and it'll be so snug you'll have a bruise on your shoulder by the end of the day. First time I tried it in an autocross it knocked a second and a half off my time. On a road course it's indispensable. Now that I think of it I'm not sure if that's a safe way to operate. Does the belt need that little bit of slack before it locks up? Well... I dunno it seems like it'd be even safer like that--my body wouldn't be able to pick up velocity before snapping it tight.
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Aug 4, 2017 17:28
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IOwnCalculus posted:Look at this guy who doesn't already sit at the extreme rear end of the seat rails. Recline seat a lot, lock the belt, bring seat back up. Not quite as good but it'll do. Also, I'm 6' with a 32" inseam and even in my tiny rear end '82 911 I can't reach the pedals if I'm all the way back. How freaking tall are you?
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Aug 4, 2017 20:11
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So I could use some advice on weekend/track tires for my '82 911. I'm comfortable on track but focused on learning over lap times and with an old 911 I'd rather have predictable handling over high limits. I was looking at RE-71s and Ventus RS4s but honestly I feel like I don't need stone-grabbing levels of grip and I don't want to go nuts on road noise. I've had Yokohama S-Drives on the car for a while (so cheap) but they don't give me a lot of confidence (and can't handle trail-braking at all) so I'd like something more but not all the way. Any thoughts? I do 2-3 track days a year with a couple of hours of track time each (small run groups so lots of track time, good for fun but bad for tires). Dave Inc. fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Sep 13, 2017 |
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Sep 13, 2017 19:01
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TrueChaos posted:You don't have to brake, but please don't be that dude who points by a Miata and then doesn't even lift... Oh god, I've taken my spec 944 on R comps to a couple of track days and it's painful how much I had to overtake under braking and corner entry after point-bys. They would momentarily lift coming on to a straight, let me pull up alongside them and get back on the gas like that was enough to let me by. Infuriating. So the RS4s really don't have that much noise? I have a pretty loud exhaust on the car so I'm not sure if I'd even notice--I just don't want to make it too much worse or my fiance may just give up on driving with me. Muffinpox posted:A bunch of lemons teams were running RS4s and said they got 3 races out of them, maybe 4, so 45-60 hours of track time. The z1 star specs were leagues better than my s.drives and z1 star specs are complete poo poo compared to basically any extreme performance tire sold right now, so there's really no going wrong. That's a poo poo ton of track time, thanks.
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Sep 14, 2017 12:21
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Blaise posted:But yeah, I pointed by the E46 but didn't lift (front straight, he didn't need it). Instead of staying off line for even a moment, he cut right back in front of me and ran me onto the grass. Yikes. Shiiiiit. If it's a late overtake you just have to go off line, it's not that hard. Why don't people get that? Edit: Oh nevermind, because they're "racing". I used to run with a group that would ask for "people ready to race" to put their hands up at the start, then immediately rant at those who did because nobody races on a track day. Dave Inc. fucked around with this message at 16:24 on Sep 14, 2017 |
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Sep 14, 2017 16:22
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I haven't had a lot of trouble at DEs with open passing (intermediate with point bys are worse), but they've been club groups and not SCCA/NASA. What kind of tomfoolery are you seeing in an open passing DE? Current group I run with only brings about 20-40 cars to Roebling Road Raceway in Georgia. It's not the most exciting track, but in a single day you get so much track time you sometimes find yourself hanging out in the pits during your session.
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Sep 15, 2017 12:16
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mekilljoydammit posted:I'm... really of two minds with right-seat instructors. Maybe for complete novices to find their way around the track, but at spead, I quite honestly cannot imagine having the mental bandwidth to drive properly at speed and pay attention to someone in the right seat anywhere other than in straight sections. Similarly, I wouldn't be caught dead climbing into the right seat of someone's car-of-unknown-condition. I mean, that's what we're talking about with instructors right, people not just in there to help find setup issues or something, but provide basic guidance? This is how to navigate the track, this is where you can go faster, here are the bad/good habits you have, etc. I talked to one instructor who said a lot of the fault lays with the instructors, who really need to be experienced and willing to intercede if they see the novice pushing beyond their skill level. A lot of instructors aren't forceful enough I guess--I remember seeing one that went viral a while back with a Z06 driver chasing a GT3 where the Z06 driver was trying his best to get himself killed and the instructor was vainly pointing through corners. Oh...figures the video is no longer available, but it made Jalopnik a couple of years ago and you can still see a gif. http://jalopnik.com/worst-trackday-video-ever-corvette-driver-risks-life-t-1712375361 Edit: It lives! Enjoy 6:05 for proper track etiquette. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6rEsYaXc_k Dave Inc. fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Sep 15, 2017 |
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Sep 15, 2017 16:55
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Muffinpox posted:A bunch of lemons teams were running RS4s and said they got 3 races out of them, maybe 4, so 45-60 hours of track time. The z1 star specs were leagues better than my s.drives and z1 star specs are complete poo poo compared to basically any extreme performance tire sold right now, so there's really no going wrong. I got the RS4s and had them mounted and they feel sooo much better than those S-Drives, and aren't too noisy to boot. I'm breaking them in a little bit now for a trackday at Roebling Road on the 2nd, we'll see how they hold up. I appreciate your input.
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Sep 25, 2017 15:38
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Oh, maybe he was trying to tell you to carry more entry speed. That said, just shouting things out as you're going down the track doesn't sound all that helpful. What always helped me most was the instructor giving me pointers on reference points for braking and letting me know to start early then push it later each lap, then silently sitting in the car with me for a couple of laps, going back in and giving me feedback when stopped. When I did the driver's courses at Mid-Ohio they never did that "go go go" or "brake brake brake" stuff, unless I guess you completely blew by a brake point and still had your foot planted.
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Sep 25, 2017 15:50
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Also it's $50 for like 4 minutes of "track" time. Compared to $300 for a couple of hours of track time it's rather expensive, that's really why I'm not too interested in it.
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Sep 28, 2017 11:34
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Wow. The RS4s made all the difference in the world. I couldn't believe how much more predictable and stable they were at or beyond the limit than my old s-drives, and what a difference in made in how I could attack corners. I was easily able to trail-brake and slide into corners with great entry speed whereas before the same attempt would have ended with me showing off my pretty headlights to everyone behind me. And fast, too, drat fast! I had a long time PCA instructor tell me that he was massively impressed to see an old SC keeping pace with C7 Z06s in the same run group, and I couldn't believe that myself either. Very very happy. Thanks again for the input and suggestions, all. I'll have to put up some video from the GoPro later.
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Oct 3, 2017 12:21
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Here's some video from my runs at Roebling Road Raceway on Monday. I actually ended up being a little faster in the morning when I was following the line that felt more natural to me. I started following the line of other drivers a little later but looking at my lap times slowed down just a hair through turns one, two and six, seven. I really need to try carrying more speed at corner entry but I've been burned bad trying to trail-brake and I can't help but think it's not worth risking that sort of thing on a track day but...have to learn how to do it sometime, right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vcfWNEKNck
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Oct 6, 2017 13:29
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Wrar posted:Trail braking an older 911 is supposed to be hella tricky given the weight balance. You don't say..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmqQn3GROp4 That was on the older S-Drive tires, the RS4s were way more predictable but I still had this moment stuck in my head when I was trail-braking. I managed to pull it off pretty well a few times on turn 5 but I never even made a real attempt at turn 1. Corner entry under trail-braking there can be 100mph...I need a little more confidence for that. Dave Inc. fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Oct 6, 2017 |
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Oct 6, 2017 14:57
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Bape Culture posted:
I've only done four laps on the ring in a rented Scirroco R, and on the fourth one I hit oil turning into Eschbach (just before youtube corner), went sideways across the track and barely managed to save it. One of the guys behind me on a motorcycle didn't and ended up in the hospital. Now that I've been I can't understand how someone could show up for a touristenfahrten and push the limits of the car. No tech inspections on anything, poor visibility, few active corner stations, seriously gently caress that.* * Totally worth it would go again. Just... a little more slowly.
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Oct 16, 2017 15:34
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Heh. Swaybars. Swaybars are for chumps. Except for OEM sport shocks, all standard hardware with all bushings four year old or less. They just really like flopping around.
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Oct 31, 2017 20:15
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I'm a big dumb baby. Is there a big dumb baby guide to filming and overlaying on GoPro with harry's lap timer? I've got a track day Nov. 10th at Carolina Motorsports that I'd like to try it out with. Edit: Also, suggested phone mount for a pixel?
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Nov 1, 2017 18:14
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I had the most bizarre damage from a track day (my first legitimate damage from an HPDE), and I managed to catch the moment in (awful) GoPro POV. My oxygen sensor replacement lightbulb lens fell out of its socket on the dash going over the very harsh rumble strip at Carolina Motorsports Park. Oh, that wasn't it. I mean my engine bay air conditioning condenser shook so violently going over the rumble strip that it smashed itself into the fan shroud and threw refrigerant all over the paddock once I parked it. (13:40 below, great slide at the end of the straight, too!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtOFUmViURk There are worse things that could have happened, I guess. I got some Harry's from a different session as well, but I'm kind of surprised at the low framerate in the video. Is that just because it's going off of the accelerometer refresh rate? And the GPS speed was totally all over the place, not sure what was up there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIbMfsUtIDM I really need some stiffer springs and a little more sway bar on the car if I'm going to keep tracking it. The Hankook Ventus RS4s are way too much for the stock suspension and even though I'm getting good ultimate grip the car wallows all over and rolls the tires way over into big positive camber. Really hard to get it through transitions. I don't want to do it, though, and ruin its life as a weekend cruiser. 
Dave Inc. fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Nov 13, 2017 |
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Nov 13, 2017 01:39
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IOwnCalculus posted:What about intentionally running harder tires so they break loose before the suspension gets overloaded? Not a bad idea but I'd need something that still has good responsiveness and progressive slip. With my old Yokohama S-Drives trail-braking was almost a guaranteed spin. I really love how well the Hankooks respond and how much slip angle they can handle. Also it makes me extremely happy to keep up with E92 M3s in a 35 year old car.
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Nov 13, 2017 02:01
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jamal posted:KW happens to have just come out with a Variant 3 and clubsport for that car, which tend to ride really well. Looks like about 3k for the V3 (I do get a pretty decent deal on KW though). They even make a lifted version for those safari project cars Leh Keen is doing. Yeesh, that's a bunch for shocks. They do sound good, though.
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Nov 13, 2017 02:36
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Phone posted:As soon as you said "CMP" and "harsh rumble strips", I knew it was T14. Someone took high speed footage of a Spec E30 race years ago, and you can see how violent those gators are. Jesus, I knew they were rough but the entire cars are vibrating. Those things are no joke, and I was trying to steer clear of them as best as I could since I still had to drive home in that car. Poor little A/C condenser just didn't make it. :'(
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Nov 13, 2017 04:04
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Larrymer posted:I'd try sways first. They won't really hurt the ride as much vs. springs and should help the roll a lot. And they're usually easier to install and take off if you decide you don't like them. It's the exact same setup minus reinforced mountings I think, and probably with different spring/sway rates and shock valving. I do have the OEM sport shocks but that only helps the car settle into its typical body roll (wallow). And yes I was apparently lifting the inside front wheel all the time and a guy behind me said I looked hilarious doing it. Kind of hoping someone caught video of it. Edit: Mmm... Upgrading sways requires a change from under-body to through-body mounts, which means removing the tank and drilling through the fenders. Apparently not that bad to do but I can wait a little while before going that route. Dave Inc. fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Nov 13, 2017 |
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Nov 13, 2017 18:17
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Bilstein sports. More damping than the stock springs need so the ride is on the harsh side, so it might actually work with a stiffer sway. That said, it would also work better with stiffer springs in general, but this is still more a weekend car than a track car. I think I might be best finding a little less sticky tire.
Dave Inc. fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Nov 13, 2017 |
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Nov 13, 2017 22:40
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BlackMK4 posted:I admire your ability to not say gently caress it and end up with a stripped out, stiff car. I'm in that happy place where it's both fun to drive on track and my fiance still enjoys going places in it with me. I fear that any movement in either direction will sacrifice the other!
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Nov 14, 2017 13:12
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