Proformance is offering a track day on Friday. $175. Start at 8:30 and run until it's too dark.

 

What a great day! The weather turned out to be awesome. Good to see "SlowV6" out there, too. Lots of the same old crowd, but a few folks I hadn't seen before. I turned some really good laps in a couple the sessions, trying to keep up with the P-cars. It was fun.

 

OK, the datalogger says I was a couple tenths of a second faster going through T3A when I took the straight line rather than followed the "school" line around the outside. That doesn't say anything necessarily about which line is faster, just about which line *I* drive faster.

BTW, my best laps of the day were in the first session, and were in the 1:43s. The cold air seems to have agreed with my motor, but more than that I was chasing these P-cars through 5/6 and I just went in there faster than I have done in the past. And ... no problem. That's showing itself to be a real confidence thing -- I can go in there faster than I think I can. And the number one discriminator between a fast lap and a slow lap (for me) is how well I deal with 5/6.

 

Cool. If I weren't on winter tires on both cars and not living so far from the track, I would've gone, too. I envy you guys.

1:43s sounds like the lap time I expect with your setup can do. Good job. My fastest lap of the day also occurs usually in the morning, and usually when I have a "target" car to chase after (not necessarily drafting).

Yes, turn 5/6 is another place you can deviate from the school line and be faster. In my earlier days at PR with my miata, I gained about 25mph thru' 5a since the school line deviation.

 

Proformance is planning to try again next Fri, weather-permitting. I won't be going to that one, even if they hold it. This has been my 15th (and probably last) track day of the year. If it does end up being my last of 2005, it was a good one to go out on.

 

Wow Mike, 1:43's are respectable lap times!

 

Yeah, somebody else must have been borrowing my car while I wasn't looking. I blame it all on the P-cars I was trying to chase -- I just forgot to slow down as much as I normally do.

BTW, I pulled the tires off tonight and discovered that the right front was corded. I got 13 track days on that set of RA1s. (Bought them from Vilven, shaved to 6/32.)

 

Where do you find the dates for local track days posted?


Damn... I can't believe I missed another

 

The Friday date was announced by email on Monday. Just send an email to Donna at DonKitchJr@cs.com saying you want to be on the list to hear about any winter track days that get scheduled.

 

Yeah, it's really nice to see you again. Too bad that once again, I didn't have a chance drive with you on the same group. I kind of lonely out there in the novice group one. Without the lap timer I'm just blowing smoke in the air, but I have repeatedly turning in 1:42-43 expeiencing different lines and not shifting at red line. Yeah, without someone to catch I tend to relax the engine a bit.

Now I'm surprised that I had turned couple 1:41:1x (maybe 2x) cuz my "lap timing equipment" is only using the cam corder display. As you mentioned before I might not be too accurate. But by juding I had hit over 130 before I turn in the first kink and 150, my car is feeling very good too, well yes the tire did grip as good, but seems like from 3rd session on, it worked like champ.

Which Porsche cars you were trying to catch up? As you probably knew, I kind of chasing the 3 heavily modified 930 turbo and with a little help with traffic and high speed late braking + momentum into the corners... I'm bringing a lot more speed (comparing from my rpm in those 1:41 laps.) into the corners, especially into 5a-9, those guys are not slow either in the corners, the way they walk away from me at T6 is enough to turn me ON... I'm just felling lucky I didn't wreck my car and be able to hang with them for 8-10 laps... (too excited, tape ran out, everything is only in memory....) Oh, since you seemed to know everyone there, do you by chance had their name and contact information?? I guessed they actually amazed that when they found out I'm only using 225 RA1 and suspension with I/H/E, (mad, maybe??) Well at least we kind of chat a little and figured that my gearing is more suitable and the ABS letting me not afraid to late braking... Yeah after looking at their cars, my car looks very plain and high. I'm pretty sure if there's no slower traffic, they could have lose me in 5 laps.

Yeap, when I putting around the track, I only have you in mind and trying to get you in front of me so we could get some 3AB footage for the sake of our 3AB ananlysis/Geek talk. But then I got caught up by Miki and I was testing myself against the lady instructor...(First time I met her, very cool person). Then after 3 laps, no sight of Mike, and I wound up pitting in... Then I found myself staging behind the Porsches and off I went.... Sorry. Maybe I should PM you and race miata next year and we should all go together (and make sure we are in the same group).

I can't agree more that I'm more than happy to mark this an happy ending for my 05' track days. I guess I went with little anticipation, yeah, tires are cold, track is dirty and slippery, and I will be cold. (As you see I was hiding the whole morning... )

Oh and on the side note, I met 5 kids who's in GreenRiver and just came to watch. I gave them my advise on going to track instead of racing on street and not over spending money before they join the Proformance School, etc etc. See, I was GreenRiver Grad too, but when I was there, I never knew SIR is not just a drag strip. Ok, that's years ago, internet and track driving still not getting as popular those days. Feel pretty good for giving them some of my knowledge that I learned 10 years late. Wished I'd have met someone like that when I was studying there.