2013 setup track debut, IFO win
01-22-2013, 11:29 AM
#1
Thread Starter
2013 setup track debut, IFO win
On Jan 20, Import Face Off came to Bradenton, FL which is about 25 miles away from where I live. I decided to race in the Forced Induction Sport class for fun. The last time I was at the track was Jan 2011 and I went 12.4 @ 118 on pump gas and ended the night with a broken diff due to wheel hop on street tires. That setup had all sorts of problems (cracked manifold being one of them) and I vowed never again to race on street tires. For this outing, I drove my car to the track, slapped on drag radials in the pits, and went racing. I was very cautious for a few reasons, the primary one (obviously) was fear of breaking. The second one was having an entirely new setup, and being a novice driver I had no idea how it would feel. I will write an extensive post soon detailing my setup, but the overview is as follows:
- Stock motor
- Full-Race sidewinder, open T3, single 44mm
- Precision 6262 .63 exhaust housing
- Single Walbro 400 (stock lines, stock FPR)
- Puddymod Stage 2 diff with 3.90 gear
- Hoosier Drag Radials on AP1's
- Shell URT fuel
Final numbers @ 26 psi
I know there will be a ton questions about the setup, but for now I want to concentrate on the racing.
I setup the two-step in the pits and set the launch limiter at 6500 building ~7.5psi out of the hole. I left this alone for the entire day. The only other changes I made to the car were lowering tire pressures and making adjustments to the boost in each gear between passes.
After doing some consulting with more "seasoned" racers, I made the decision to slip the clutch out of the hole. I know some people (Joeyballs) have had success with preloading with the e-brake, but I didn't have time to practice that so I just kinda winged it.
In the staging lanes:
On my first pass I went 11.5 @ 133mph, 1.93 60ft. I about shit myself when boost hit in second gear and I short shifted at like 6500 rpm. Wasn't used to it. Even still, the mph was there so I know I had room to improve.
Second pass was my worst of the day. Forgot how to do a burnout, nerves got to me. I had no intention of being actually competitive, but this was the second and final qualifier, so I wanted to at least best my first pass. With a horrible 2.12 60ft, went 11.4 @ 133mph. Was pretty down on myself after that, but somehow still inexplicably managed to qualify #5 in the field. Now it starts to get interesting.
8 car field, quater finals. First round of eliminations, my third pass. Went 11.6 @ 129mph 1.92 60ft, missing third. Still took the win. My opponent had issues and I came around him. Even though this was slower than my second pass, I still feel like it was a better pass because I drove the car with confidence (and remembered how to do a freaking burnout).
Semifinals, fourth pass. The car I raced was a Civic and had the fastest qualifier in the field, 10.5 @ 140mph. I was not supposed to win this race...not even close. Here I ran my best pass of the day - 11.1 @ 134mph, 1.83 60ft which was enough for the win. I'm not sure what happened to the Civic, but I took the win nonetheless.
Holy crap I'm in the finals. My first time out with this setup and power, and I'm in the finals at IFO. Pretty surreal feeling at this point. Surprisingly, I was not nervous at all. The car was running great and I had already done what I came there to do. I honestly just wanted to validate my dyno numbers on the track - being competitive was never in my plans. I was telling everyone I had no expectation of winning any races...let alone being in the final. But, here I was. My opponent was a RSX that was also trapping close to 140mph that day. I know the shop crew that worked on the car, and they were pretty confident they had the win (as was I).
Here is the video of the final:
http://www.grs-motorsports.net/video...adenton/10.wmv
5th and final pass of the day - 11.2 @ 133mph, 1.88 60ft. In the video, if you pay attention you can hear my car bog after the launch...not sure what happened there. However, the back breaker was the RSX doing a 1-2-1, which you can also see in the video. To give you an idea of how fast that car is, even after that mistake it still trapped 135mph.
Me in the winners circle:
All in all, it was a successful day. Drove to the track, slapped on drag radials, ran decent times, put street tires back on and drove it home with the top down - trophy in tow. As it sits, I know the car can go 10.8-10.7 with just a driver mod, but before I go back to the track I plan to change out the wastegate spring and hopefully find the extra 20-30whp I'm missing. Been a LONG road to get here, but the hard work paid off.
Notes:
- With the Hoosiers and 3.90 rear end, the gearing was PERFECT. I was able to pass the traps at the top of fourth knocking on the limiter. I believe the top speed with a 9k redline is 135mph. This is more than enough for a high 10 second pass
- I am the first S2000 to win the FIS class at IFO. Not a huge accomplishment, but one nonetheless
- I got away with it, but I would not recommend doing your shakedown passes at an event like this. Go to a test and tune and work all the bugs out before you officially race. Little things like tire pressure make a huge difference in how the car behaves on the track. "Seat time" can not be overstated enough and is the most important thing to have to get the most out of your car. Remember, if you're not a dedicated track car with a trailer, every pass is on borrowed time and anything could go wrong.
- If you're on drag radials, a good burnout is key. Put it in second gear and don't be a pussy. The burnout you saw in the video was halfway decent, in hindsight I should have stayed in it maybe a second or two more.
- Hard work pays off. If you're stuck in the middle of your build and thinking about throwing in the towel - don't. If you stay dedicated, great things will happen.
Finally, I couldn't have done this alone, so I'd like to publically thank a few people:
- Alpha @ Induction Performance for the tuning and support
- Collin @ Racing Integration for all the work and support at the track
^These guys are the best at what they do and have helped me so much through the years. If you're near Tampa and looking for a shop to help put you in the right direction, don't hesitate to give either of these guys a call. They will take care of you 10000%.
- Geo @ Real Street Performance for the inspiration to continue working on this stupid thing and letting me be their groupie at the track events they raced. If you guys need parts and/or support with your builds, do not hesitate to call them. They are the real deal and know what they're doing
- Roque Machine Shop for the custom fabrication and helping me work through all the (MANY) bugs in building this car
- Full-Race for making kick ass shit
- 1SlowSi for giving me shit every single day until I got this thing back on the road. Every. Single. Day.
- JoeyBalls for giving us the insights of his successes and failures on the way to his first 10 second pass. I can't speak for everyone but I know for me personally, you made me want to step up my game.
- Speaking of stepping up my game, my last thank you goes to TerminatioN. I know you thought my numbers from 2011 were junk and didn't match the timeslip I posted. That always stayed in the back of my mind. Honestly, I feel the same way as you - a lot of people post crazy dyno's on here and don't back them up with trap speeds. Hope I didn't disappoint this go around
- Stock motor
- Full-Race sidewinder, open T3, single 44mm
- Precision 6262 .63 exhaust housing
- Single Walbro 400 (stock lines, stock FPR)
- Puddymod Stage 2 diff with 3.90 gear
- Hoosier Drag Radials on AP1's
- Shell URT fuel
Final numbers @ 26 psi
I know there will be a ton questions about the setup, but for now I want to concentrate on the racing.
I setup the two-step in the pits and set the launch limiter at 6500 building ~7.5psi out of the hole. I left this alone for the entire day. The only other changes I made to the car were lowering tire pressures and making adjustments to the boost in each gear between passes.
After doing some consulting with more "seasoned" racers, I made the decision to slip the clutch out of the hole. I know some people (Joeyballs) have had success with preloading with the e-brake, but I didn't have time to practice that so I just kinda winged it.
In the staging lanes:
On my first pass I went 11.5 @ 133mph, 1.93 60ft. I about shit myself when boost hit in second gear and I short shifted at like 6500 rpm. Wasn't used to it. Even still, the mph was there so I know I had room to improve.
Second pass was my worst of the day. Forgot how to do a burnout, nerves got to me. I had no intention of being actually competitive, but this was the second and final qualifier, so I wanted to at least best my first pass. With a horrible 2.12 60ft, went 11.4 @ 133mph. Was pretty down on myself after that, but somehow still inexplicably managed to qualify #5 in the field. Now it starts to get interesting.
8 car field, quater finals. First round of eliminations, my third pass. Went 11.6 @ 129mph 1.92 60ft, missing third. Still took the win. My opponent had issues and I came around him. Even though this was slower than my second pass, I still feel like it was a better pass because I drove the car with confidence (and remembered how to do a freaking burnout).
Semifinals, fourth pass. The car I raced was a Civic and had the fastest qualifier in the field, 10.5 @ 140mph. I was not supposed to win this race...not even close. Here I ran my best pass of the day - 11.1 @ 134mph, 1.83 60ft which was enough for the win. I'm not sure what happened to the Civic, but I took the win nonetheless.
Holy crap I'm in the finals. My first time out with this setup and power, and I'm in the finals at IFO. Pretty surreal feeling at this point. Surprisingly, I was not nervous at all. The car was running great and I had already done what I came there to do. I honestly just wanted to validate my dyno numbers on the track - being competitive was never in my plans. I was telling everyone I had no expectation of winning any races...let alone being in the final. But, here I was. My opponent was a RSX that was also trapping close to 140mph that day. I know the shop crew that worked on the car, and they were pretty confident they had the win (as was I).
Here is the video of the final:
http://www.grs-motorsports.net/video...adenton/10.wmv
5th and final pass of the day - 11.2 @ 133mph, 1.88 60ft. In the video, if you pay attention you can hear my car bog after the launch...not sure what happened there. However, the back breaker was the RSX doing a 1-2-1, which you can also see in the video. To give you an idea of how fast that car is, even after that mistake it still trapped 135mph.
Me in the winners circle:
All in all, it was a successful day. Drove to the track, slapped on drag radials, ran decent times, put street tires back on and drove it home with the top down - trophy in tow. As it sits, I know the car can go 10.8-10.7 with just a driver mod, but before I go back to the track I plan to change out the wastegate spring and hopefully find the extra 20-30whp I'm missing. Been a LONG road to get here, but the hard work paid off.
Notes:
- With the Hoosiers and 3.90 rear end, the gearing was PERFECT. I was able to pass the traps at the top of fourth knocking on the limiter. I believe the top speed with a 9k redline is 135mph. This is more than enough for a high 10 second pass
- I am the first S2000 to win the FIS class at IFO. Not a huge accomplishment, but one nonetheless
- I got away with it, but I would not recommend doing your shakedown passes at an event like this. Go to a test and tune and work all the bugs out before you officially race. Little things like tire pressure make a huge difference in how the car behaves on the track. "Seat time" can not be overstated enough and is the most important thing to have to get the most out of your car. Remember, if you're not a dedicated track car with a trailer, every pass is on borrowed time and anything could go wrong.
- If you're on drag radials, a good burnout is key. Put it in second gear and don't be a pussy. The burnout you saw in the video was halfway decent, in hindsight I should have stayed in it maybe a second or two more.
- Hard work pays off. If you're stuck in the middle of your build and thinking about throwing in the towel - don't. If you stay dedicated, great things will happen.
Finally, I couldn't have done this alone, so I'd like to publically thank a few people:
- Alpha @ Induction Performance for the tuning and support
- Collin @ Racing Integration for all the work and support at the track
^These guys are the best at what they do and have helped me so much through the years. If you're near Tampa and looking for a shop to help put you in the right direction, don't hesitate to give either of these guys a call. They will take care of you 10000%.
- Geo @ Real Street Performance for the inspiration to continue working on this stupid thing and letting me be their groupie at the track events they raced. If you guys need parts and/or support with your builds, do not hesitate to call them. They are the real deal and know what they're doing
- Roque Machine Shop for the custom fabrication and helping me work through all the (MANY) bugs in building this car
- Full-Race for making kick ass shit
- 1SlowSi for giving me shit every single day until I got this thing back on the road. Every. Single. Day.
- JoeyBalls for giving us the insights of his successes and failures on the way to his first 10 second pass. I can't speak for everyone but I know for me personally, you made me want to step up my game.
- Speaking of stepping up my game, my last thank you goes to TerminatioN. I know you thought my numbers from 2011 were junk and didn't match the timeslip I posted. That always stayed in the back of my mind. Honestly, I feel the same way as you - a lot of people post crazy dyno's on here and don't back them up with trap speeds. Hope I didn't disappoint this go around
01-22-2013, 01:18 PM
#7
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good job!!!!! super jealous of your hp level. i need to quick buying more and more bikes and put another turbo on my s2k (first setup blew up). sometimes a little luck on your side is better than being the best ,lol. good work
