Unfortunately most of the pictures didn't turn out... telephoto lens wouldn't focus for some reason. Was hoping one of the ones of the nissan gt-r or ford gt would've turned out, but oh well. Fantastic experience in any case, and I would really love to go again. :biggrin: Paddock type thing - Left to right: my 2.5i, porsche boxter, mazda miata, evo 9?, evo 10 Turn 12, short course Turn 10, long course Turn 12, short course
It was really nice to meet you. Hope you had a great time running the old 3.1 mile track in the morning and than transitioning to the new 2.5 mile track in the afternoon. It looking like you were doing great out there. Hope to see you out there again.
Yeah, its was nice to meet you too. I had no idea it was you til I saw your car and was like, "Wait a minute..." The 3.1 mile track was a blast, even despite my car running out of steam somewhere north of 100mph. I think I should've lowered one of the back windows, since my instructor liked to have the window down. Also, I don't think I ever got turn 10 done right, usually quite a ways off from the apex cone. I definitely liked the 2.5 mile track better, it has a really nice rhythm to it. Part of it I think was just how the confidence kept building up over the day, too. Didn't have a lot of screechy tires until the cloverleaf a few laps into the afternoon. Or rather, it took me til the afternoon to take a corner hot enough to find the understeer. :laugh: All in all, I think this was the best excuse I've had yet to pick up some summer wheels and tires. My nokian WR's held up surprisingly well though, for a winter-biased allseason. Then again, I wasn't (or at least, it didn't feel like I was) pushing very hard either. Just trying to learn the line and work on mixing smooth and fast. I definitely want to make it out there again, though I doubt it'd happen until next spring/summer. I would love to be wrong on that, though. :biggrin:
Looks fun Kyle. im going out there labor day weekend for a 3 day deal. im not running my car, but going to hang out and maybe get a ride or 2 from my boss and whoever else will let me! lol. if you want to join, shoot me a pm.
Wow, this looks like a blast. Do they time you around the course? It's always cool to see yourself improve your times throughout the day as you gain experience around the track. I'mma try hard to see if I can get the rsti ready to make the late august or early september dates. I'm sure they have tech inspection for your car before they let you on track? I'd better do a good job of hiding those zipties lol...
Nope, the laps aren't timed. I was more worried about getting the line right... quick laps will come once that's down. By the end of the day I could somewhat tell if it was a quick lap or not, mostly by counting how many times I screwed up :laugh: There isn't a tech inspection for the BIR Perf. driving school. Basically assumes that if you brought it there, you did the necessary checks yourself. I asked Mark U. for a list of things to check over before the event and these are the notes I scribbled down from the phone conversation (with a few additions/notes from experience now): - Portable Air Compressor - Set front tires high (40-45psi cold) to help with wear on outside shoulder; my note: the BP right out in front of the gate has an air hose you can use, and I believe the building the class was held in has one too, I didn't try it though - Check alignment and/or have it aligned with the max. amount of negative camber you can get evenly on both sides up front. - Brake pads - Make sure they're no more than half worn - Check battery tie down - battery should not move at all when shook, the car should be doing all the moving - Change motor oil, check brake fluid level (if fluid more than 1yr old, think about replacing it) - Clean everything out of the car but the spare & jack - Check that your lugs / suspension bits are tight Other misc checklist things - bring clothes for the weather, school runs in the rain too - lunch is provided, and water and soda are provided throughout the day - eat breakfast before showing up, class starts at 8am Past that, don't be afraid to ask a bunch of questions. It's not a race, its a learning experience - there's no shame in taking it slow and easy around the track. Heck, the laps I was stuck in traffic were some of the best ones to learn from - spent them not braking nor accelerating much.. left it in 3rd, worked on getting the line right.
I really should get back up there again! Its good to see that you had a good time up there Kyle(This is Faber BTW)!! Are the days all being split between short and long course? Would be fun to take the WRX up there for more learning in a different car. Just wish tires and brakes were cheaper I also like the laps when I would get stuck behind slower cars, was a good way be more focused on good driving. I don't really think my 240 would do to well on the short course, but never know. I guess the car is more built for road racing then anything else. Nothing like doing 140+ legally!!!
I'm not sure if it was a special thing on that particular day or what, but I was under the impression we'd be doing the short course all day, before the classroom session. They did say that if it did start raining (forecast had said it might), that they'd pull us all in and move us to the short course. Apparently the drag strip is worse than driving on ice when its wet. Why do you think your 240 wouldn't fare well?
Ya, the traction compound doesn't do so good when its wet. I am pretty the 240 would probably do just fine on the short course. In fact it would probably just as much fun as the long couse. Would just need to keep my foot out of more. I know I need some better brakes and front tires next time I go with the 240, and to not stay out for 20+ laps.
There was also a stock S13 there as well, he just got the car, his background was offroad dirt tracks. You should be fine if you wanted to bring your 240sx!
