Thunderhill 11/17/06 report

[earlyapex]

Thunderhill on Friday was a odd day for me.

I ended up being on only about 3hrs of sleep on friday. The love birds Jason and Tam I shared a room with where recreating Miami Sound Machine with their nostrils as they slept. :lol:

It was a instructing day for me so I only got about 60 or so on track miles which of course was fine by me, espically with no sleep.

It was about 60-65F ambient temp out so it was pretty cool. The track was pretty cold all day long, which made for interesting driving. My car is way up on torque since I last drove thunderhill so more torque + cold track made for some "interesting" moments.

There was a big assortment of cars out. I should be posting the video of me chasing down a Ferrari F360 , getting on his ass in the straight and sticking to his ass for a whole lap before he finally let me pass, then chasing down a radical, me getting completely sideways in turn 3 two feet off his rear tail-lights before setting up a pass that was then knocked down from him passing a miata, but alas, I can't because I forgot to turn on my video cam. Doh! That was the most fun I have had in my car in 6 months.

It was also the first time I have ever had a miata match my acceleration all the way down the front straight. I guess a GT3071 turbo and a 2.0L stroker motor does wonders for those miatas. ;)

So what I will be posting is a video of me driving in the afternoon on a even colder track with Jason as my passenger, getting the tailout in a couple corners , spinning all 4 tires on power in 2nd gear in turn 11 coming into the esses, passing a bunch of 1XXwhp cars, passing a baja bug (wtf??), and then almost losing it in turn 1 at over 90mph.

So now I present the bobble head video:

http://www.norcalmotorsports.org/users/video/thunderhill/111706/

http://www.norcalmotorsports.org/users/video/thunderhill/111706/thill_111706.jpg

[C-Spec]

were you the only evo on the track or what ?? :?

[earlyapex]

were you the only evo on the track or what ?? :?


haha no, it was a late day session and there wasn't very many people in the advanced/instructor group that day. Alot of people seemed to have left early because the track was so cold.

The video is kinda of a joke as it's not my best driving. I was fighting the car in almost every corner. I usually don't hack at the wheel like that. ;)

[C-Spec]

were you the only evo on the track or what ?? :?


haha no, it was a late day session and there wasn't very many people in the advanced/instructor group that day. Alot of people seemed to have left early because the track was so cold.


freaking sweet. all the track to yourself O0

[tanK]

Is this the same track event where you reported 200+ degrees in your transmission fluids??

[earlyapex]

Is this the same track event where you reported 200+ degrees in your transmission fluids??


Yup

[Barfly]

Nice video. Thanks for the post. I see you decided to cool off after that drift. :grin:

I can't wait to check out T-Hill and Sears. I will let you know when I can swing it.

[earlyapex]

Nice video. Thanks for the post. I see you decided to cool off after that drift. :grin:


Thanks. yea I was tired at this point and just decided to cool off for a bit.

Then I went out for a couple fun laps with my buddy, here's another video, 1st lap is warm-up:

http://www.norcalmotorsports.org/users/video/thunderhill/111706_02/

[tanK]

Those are awesome vids! Bryan (sp?) right? Do you go to any meets up north? I'll be heading home for thanksgiving... I need to check out your ride/setup and see how you're going to run the tranny cooler!

[JOOTZ]

good vid bro
thanks for sharing

[mkibort]

nice drive.Â* Â*I was so impressed, that i put it side by side video with my latest laps with SCCA ITE .Â* Â*your hands are nice and quiteÂ* and are in great position. The car seems effortless to drive.Â* during the harder turns, i have almost 90 degree more steering input to make a turn around say, turn 2 and 3!Â* (maybe the 4x4 effect or the steering ratio vs my porsche)
It looks like my race car is only about 3-5 seconds faster a lap, at best, but yours isÂ* a real street car.Â* thought you were making some time up in with the power, but on the video comparison, I gave you a few seconds head start, and we were dead even at the final turn. my car was faster down the straight by almost .5 seconds.Â* Â*so, your car is handling real well! Nice drive!Â* Â*a lot of new drivers could learn a lot from this video.Â*

a couple of questions. what does the boost gauge go to on your car during WOT. looks like 2:o'clock on the guage.
whats the weight and hp of your car? Tell me those were DOT race rubber tires, or Ill have to buy an Evo for next season!

I sure have learned a lot about the evo over the last few years now!

thanks for sharing.

Mk

[earlyapex]

mkibort,

First off, thanks for the kind words. That video isn't my best driving so I don't really deserve it but thanks!

It was a cool day with not alot of cars so the track never really warmed up. I was actually fighting the car for traction in most of the corners. I usually don't saw at the wheel that much. It's hard to tell in the video but the car was all over the place in most corners.

I think the best lap I managed that day was a crappy 2:07 with a passenger. My best lap over the top 7 months ago was a 2:05, the car has more power and is set up a bit better now so I think it's capable of breaking that 2:05 but Friday was not the day to do it.

The car makes 320whp on a low-reading mustang dyno on the 100 octane road course tune. Flywheel is anybodies guess but it's probably around 400hp. I run 26psi peak on the 100 octane tune, so with the car mainly above 5,000 rpm on the track, it holds about 21-22psi.

I haven't weighed the car but I have a rollbar in it - 60lbs or so, only weight mods are mini-battery, back seat cushions out, no spare and tools. It's probably around 3200lbs or so still.

The car is currently running a set of 255/40/17 Michelin Pilot Sport Cups. I have some cheap-o $1200 coilovers on the car that aren't set up so well. The springs are really soft at 8k-f/6k-r. The car really needs more spring because it pushes a bit sometimes unless I manage it well.

Here is a photo of the car in current trim:

http://www.norcalmotorsports.org/users/bryan/albums/evo_06_24_06/evo062406_01sm.jpg

[mkibort]

Actually, there is not much sawing going on. You may be getting faster and thats just a natural byproduct. as you go faster, you can still be smooth on the outside, but a little more active on the inside. ever watch the ALMS GT2 drivers in a race. its survival!!! 11/10ths.
I think i saw a 2:07, but you either had the lap with traffic, or with a passenger in the car. 2:07 with a guy in the passenger seat is now 3400lbs and all the extra destractions.

we were at laguna on a cold and then a month later, a hot day. side by side video showed the same level of frustration with my push too! however, you may be lucky as I was, in starting with a soft car. going stiffer (sometimes :)) makes things worse!

michellin cups are dot race rubber?? treadwear 100 or less?

either way, maybe its time to complete the cage and go after kent! (or the rest of us) :)

MK

[hagakure]

2:07 with a passenger is pretty good for that day Bryan...The track was damn cold. I was sliding all over the place on my stone cold dead hoosiers as well...as ususual, good smooth driving.

[earlyapex]

mkibort,

The Michelin Pilot Sport cups are streetable R's, like the Toyo RA1's but with a stiffer sideway on the weird dual compound stuff that Michelin is known for.

http://www.blackcircles.com/public/tyres/michelin/content/obj1119694?view=277

They come stock on Porsche GT3's.

If I recall correctly, my hot lap timer showed a 2:07.3 or something. Although I actually didn't check it when I was out with your Percy.

Thanks again for the kind words.

[hagakure]

I think you will see a few more evos racing in the next few years, and they will not all be 550 HP monsters, so it should be a bit more interesting. You should look into an evo MK....there are a lot of used, cheap ones out there with desperate sellers!:)






Actually, there is not much sawing going on. You may be getting faster and thats just a natural byproduct. as you go faster, you can still be smooth on the outside, but a little more active on the inside. ever watch the ALMS GT2 drivers in a race. its survival!!! 11/10ths.
I think i saw a 2:07, but you either had the lap with traffic, or with a passenger in the car. 2:07 with a guy in the passenger seat is now 3400lbs and all the extra destractions.

we were at laguna on a cold and then a month later, a hot day. side by side video showed the same level of frustration with my push too! however, you may be lucky as I was, in starting with a soft car. going stiffer (sometimes :)) makes things worse!

michellin cups are dot race rubber?? treadwear 100 or less?

either way, maybe its time to complete the cage and go after kent! (or the rest of us) :)

MK

[mkibort]

dont get me started about used hooseirs (old S03s) i almost lost an entire season of good times, until i changed my practice tires (RA1)s to race tires when i saw some cords on my used, but still "looked" good hoosiers. then, i found 2 seconds a lap and threw out all my old used/used hoosiers. used toyos are fine, used hoosiers are dicy at best. i think the hoosiers are only good for a couple of weekends at tops.

MK




2:07 with a passenger is pretty good for that day Bryan...The track was damn cold. I was sliding all over the place on my stone cold dead hoosiers as well...as ususual, good smooth driving.

[hagakure]

I found that out. I got 8 pretty good 20 min sessions out of them, and now they are toast. I'll be going with shaved 255-40-17 Nitto NT01's next year. for NASA TT. Will just work with John Mueller to help me get te suspension optimized to use them correctly.

[dM]

Nice video!

TH looks like its a really fun track and i cant wait to get out and have some fun. I like to watch incar cams at the track. Got anymore videos of you at the track. I like to watch and see other peoples lines and where they like to run on the track.

Nice driving on the cold track btw.