If you have run Lime Rock before, I'm sure you know to stay away from the bump at the apex of the downhill!

 

Jeff is awesome. He installed 2 superchargers on two different s2000s of mine. I hope to be back in the s2k game very soon. I'll prob hit a few scda events this year and hopefully the glen

 

Yea jeff did my previous turbo 4 yrs ago and has always worked in my car. It's been a while joji, nice to see you getting back into the scene!

Downhill should be full throttle. In my M3 I still let off just a little to angle the car and then power through. But I believe it's actually best on the downhill to use the dip in the apex the help transfer some weight and help you accelerate properly out of the turn. The big one is the uphill just keeping the wheel straight as you go over the lip that's where you need to be careful! Of course trail braking into Big Ben and I've found I know I've gone through Big Ben properly when i have to work to keep the car off the rumble strips on the left. To be honest the biggest place I see the s2k well outperform the m3 is on the left hander setting up for no name. The m3 is an e90 so it's big and heavy it's really hard to keep proper momentum and setup properly for no name, where as in the S it's so much more maneuverable it's easy to keep to the inside while maintaining decent speed. I'm still an intermediate so I'm pretty much a rookie at this point. That said my goal is to move to advanced early on and then start competing in time trials.

 

Explain please.

I had an incident last year where my car suddenly shot left, probably while tracking out just a little past the apex. Uncomfortable to say the least - and only time in 4 years. Perhaps it was just centrifugal force, but I though it might be the road going off camber once I crossed the centerline.

Is there a bump out there?

 

There is a bump right at the apex of the downhill. I 've seen cars hit the bump go off course to outside track into the tirewall, which springs the car back accress the track to the embankment on the inside of the track. HUGE damage to car.

 

Don't rear end me!

I tend to be dozing off out there until George blasts by.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L2O_JytTJY

 

I have done hundreds of laps at LRP and can't think of a bump at the apex of the downhill that upsets the car. I am on the throttle coming down the hill and thru the apex. I have done 1:00 minute laps in the S2000, so it is not like I am taking it easy. If you hit the curb on the inside you can upset the car. If you lift there, you can go spinning off into the weeds. If you mash the throttle with a torquey car there, you can lose the backend. Back when I raced my Spitfire (which was lefthand drive) after racing my TR3 (which is righthand drive), the car kept getting upset at the bottom of the downhill. I realized that i was hitting the curb on the inside, because I was in the car on the outside, rather than the inside and was taking the corner too close. This was well before the latest repaving.

At the bottom of the hill, the suspension loads up, which is why the corner can be taken faster than what most people think. Many drivers are hitting the brakes coming down the hill, but most people should not be doing that. Frustrates me to no end, since it makes me lose momentum when behind such a driver.

Depending on the car, the uphill can also be taken flat out. I have done it in my TR3, Spitfire, and the S2000. Spitfire was slow enough (1:06 laps) that I could do that every lap. With the TR3 and S2000 I will often tap the brakes to set the front end for turn in, because it is more comfortable. The suspension loads up at the bottom of the hill, which is why the corner can be taken so fast. At the top, I have to make a quick steering correction to the left, (steering into the slide) to keep the back end from sliding out, as the car gets light at the top of the hill. Many drivers brake too much there, thus making for a good passing opportunity going up the hill.

I realize that at driving experiences and track days the corners are usually off limits for passing, so don't even think about passing there.

 

Thanks sccaracer, this is much more inline with my understanding.

Question for you guys: entering Big Ben, what to you think if hitting the rumble strips right before in a straight line to help slow down the car?

 

Not sure that I understand your question, but you can ride up pretty high onto the apex curbing on Turns 1 and 2 in the stock S2000 without upsetting the car too much. It is smooth curbing, not rumble strip. I haven't noticed that it provides any help slowing or turning the car. But even when using the curbing, you need to avoid an early apex on Turn 2.

 

If you want cheap track time at LRP and Thompson, check out LooseNutMotorsports.com. For $235 a day you'll get near 2 hours of track time.

-Mike