Bluescreen

All right, Chris...

It looks like Steph and I are officially going! I didn't think I had a chance of getting the time off, but somehow I got it.

So, now we need to register, get helmets, find a hotel, etc. Where are you staying? Did you get a helmet yet? Let me know.

Mike

Tanqueray

Great, congratulations!

1) I posted a link to the registration form. Fill it out and fax it in to make sure you get the early bird $25 discount (10 days before the event).

2) I got my helmet from www.racerwholesale.com after a month of browsing. There is a lady (Vicki at 760-568-5801) who is a member of NASA and gives members 10% discounts. Her prices are about the same as Racerwholesale.com, after the discount. At the NASA event at Firebird last month, they were selling a couple of types of helmets at the registration stand, too. You can also try the Simpson or Bell manufacturers websites.

I ended up with the Voyager N. I wanted an open-face helmet because I wanted to make sure my vision wasn't obstructed and so that I could wear glasses/sunglasses if I wanted. I was wary, however, that the Monterey S2KCA meet will require closed-face, so I got the closed-face with the largest eye opening that I could find.

3) I am staying at the Days Inn in St. John's. The website has the phone numbers of every hotel in the area.

4) There was a good thread in the Competition forum regarding what to bring to a driving school (oil, brake fluid, etc.)

5) If you are thinking about changing your brake pads and upgrading your brake fluid (to prevent brake fade on the track), the group buy on Porterfield R4-S and SpeedBleeders is ending today. Basch Acura (42nd and McDowell) sells Motul RBF cheap.

6) The classes start at 8am on July 5th, and there is a BBQ/party at 5pm on July 4th, so I will probably head up at noon on the 4th.

Let me know if I left anything out. The schedule shows 3 driving sessions per day for us beginners, so we should learn a lot.

Tanqueray

Just back from the track. It was A TOTAL BLAST. If you have not taken your car to the track, you don't have a clue how special this d*mned car is...the instructors raved about it, it did everything I told it to do, and it was very forgiving when I screwed up. Sliding the car around 180 degree corners, hitting 98 (at least) on the straights, out-breaking almost everything, wagging the tail through a series of tight 90 degree turns...wow!

Mcco and Hawk can back me up...we out-classed the Mustang 5.0 and RX-7 racer, got beaten by new Vettes (badly), but could beat old Vettes (late 60's/early 70's). Easily 20 people stopped me and asked me about the car.

They are giving the class again in September in St. John's, and October in Chandler. Think about taking the class --- the instructors are great and NASA is extraordinarily friendly and helpful.

Bluescreen

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tanqueray
[B]
Mcco and Hawk can back me up...we out-classed the Mustang 5.0 and RX-7 racer, got beaten by new Vettes (badly), but could beat old Vettes (late 60's/early 70's).

ceo2b

Glad you guys had a great time--although I'm quite jealous. How did the tires hold up--did 4 days of hard driving take its toll?

I'm all over the September class. Any idea on dates yet?

Dave

Tanqueray

Ceo2b,

I definitely used some tire...I finally wore off those little rubber nubs at the tread edge. I also used a lot of brake pad as evidenced by the 279 lbs of brake dust and pad bits stuck on my wheels (ok, maybe not 279lbs...Mike was talking about the cheap way he had found to get gun metal colored rims, though). We did about 4.5hrs on the track, total.

Here are the dates:
Sept. 1-3 at St. John (Labor Day Weekend)
Sept. 28-30 at PIR
Oct 12-14 PIR
There is also an event at Sandia in Albuquerque Aug 1-3 (I think). If you take the class, you won't regret it. The most common comments from the instructors:
1) More gas! More gas!
2) Hit the apex.
3) Accelerate! Accelerate!
4) You need to hit the gas sooner!
5) SLAP! Keep both hands on the wheel.


Mcco,

Are you sure about a Vette doing a 1:23? The fastest I got was Cheryl or Gene at 1:31 in the Z06. The C4 was only doing about 1:38. If a Z06 can get that close to a Porsche GT car, someone is definitely paying too much.

I am going to find a cheap digital timer before I go next time, so that I have a way of checking progress. I have seen ones with memory so that you can just hit a button at the end of each lap, and it gives you fastest/slowest/average times.

I spent 2 solid hours washing the car today. I still have bits of brake pad stuck to the wheels, but at least the rest of the car is clean. Do you have a Zaino clay bar? If not, I can loan you one -- it pulled a lot of embedded gunk off the car.

Tanq

Bluescreen

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tanqueray
[B]
Mcco,

Are you sure about a Vette doing a 1:23?

Tanqueray

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mcco99
[B]

Also the Vettes ran one at a time, so no traffic.

Bluescreen

One more thing:

The drivers are so extraordinarily friendly and helpful that I couldn't believe it. I've long held a conception that motor racing would be a difficult hobby/sport to enter. For whatever reason, I was expecting cliques and a "good old boy network" mentality. Couldn't have been more off if I tried.

With only a very few exceptions the drivers, drivers' families, and NASA people bent over backwards to answer our questions, indulge our curiosity, and generally make us feel that we were very welcome members of the organization, if not their families. I'm not a very outgoing or social person by nature, but I found myself comfortable in striking up conversations with almost everybody at the event. Also worth noting is that nobody had a negative word to say about our S2000s, even though we outclassed many of the racecars in terms of horsepower and lap times.

If anybody is sitting on the fence, deciding whether or not to attend a NASA Arizona event, I strongly encourage you to attend! I and my wife can't wait to get back on the track with these people.

Mike