lol thats a good one

 

john, big daddy good seeing you guys this weekend @ VIR. john are you selling your car?

 

I gave up trying to sell it since you can't find a mailbox for less than $400K around here. But definitely good to see you too... when are your next track events?

 

FATT @ SP July 29 and NASA @ VIR July 30, 31. Ordered new sways from EVO and new wheels and tires from Radial Tire. Lord help me turn!

 

What type and size wheels are you getting Jim?

See you at VIR next month!

 

I'll be at VIR at the end of July also. It will be my first event with the Z, last car was a 180 whp Spec V. I've got Hotckis bars coming and Carbotech pads. Other than that I'll be stock and in group 2.

 

will you be there with NASA?

 

Yep. It will be my second time running with them.

 

You'll love the way the Z handles on track. What model do you have? (Track Brembos?) What kind/size tires do you have?

 

I just wanted to add my take on VIR GE. I loved it! Even though our cars are heavy, if you work it right, you can get through the tight section just fine, and the downhill section after B!tch is just plain fun.
Saturday I was feeling a bit down, throwing up, and it effected my concentration and driving. By Sunday I was feeling better, and got into a nice groove. This configuration doesn't allow quite the same rhythm you can feel on the full course, but if you can break it iinto sections and carry over your memory from the last time through, you get to have a couple of rhythm's going on each lap. I liked it, because it made you work for consistent laps. I hope they continue to use that configuration.

The car ran great all weekend, with only my stock suspension holding me back from a lot more time 'flat out'. For instance, I could not go down the front straight wide open, because the car would pitch and become very unstable under power, so I'd just have to feather. Same was true of the climbing esses. By myself, I was seeing about 143 on both the front straight and the back straight before braking for B!tch. I was using a development pad for us, so I was braking a bit early all weekend to make sure of it's performance (it worked great). With a working and well set up suspension, I could have been quicker down the front straight by several MPH. As it was, I cannot complain, as the car made me very happy, and came back in one piece.

It was a great weekend, though I wish I had gotten more time with some of the Z owners there. John, it was nice to meet you, and I'm guessing we'll see more of each other up there at future events.

 

Same as you actually!

2003 Track in Sliverstone.

My tires are Nitto 555 in 245/40 front and 245/45 rear that came on the car somewhat. I ordered Carbotech Panther X-8's for the front to use for track days.

I'm trying to do as many auto-x as I can to get more familiar with the car at the limit. It's completly different from what I'm used to.

 

We also run the same tire size. I really like that small change to a wider front tire; it got rid of alot of the stock understeer. I'm running Panther Plus pads but although I like them a lot, I will probably step up to 8's or 9's next time; I have heard so many good things about them.

 

What brand tire are you using?

Yeah after having a set of Hawk HP+ glaze over on me last time I figured it was time for a switch. One of Carbotech's engineer's was one of my past instructors and recommended them to me, so I'm sure they'll work fine.

Having no brakes at a track event is no fun and I swore that wouldnt happen to me again.

 

Yeah, Matt's a great guy, a good instructor (I've had him, too), and I hope they pay him well because he sells a lot of pads at the track!

I have tried a lot of different tires, I figure they're very temporary so I ought to try a bunch to see which ones I like best. One problem is that with the sizes I run, it's hard to find one type of tire made in both sizes, so I have to mix types front and back.

I have tried Toyo T1-S, Kumho Supra 712 (a favorite) and Ecsta MX's; I just had a pair of Dunlop DZ101's put on the rear and Avon Tech M500's on the front. The Avon Tech's get great reviews, and based on reports I expect the Dunlop DZ101's will be easy to torque-steer and easy to control as I do it; they're supposed to be drifter's tires.

The tires I just took off I was very impressed with; I had Falken 451's on the rear and Falken Azenis on the front. They wore very well, very evenly, and it seemed they wore better and better the closer I got to the end. I kept expecting that they would be shot after Tail of the Dragon, or shot after Rockingham, but when Mark at Hubcap Heaven took them off after Rockingham he said "Oh, somebody's going to get a good autocross out of these!". If you look around the paddock, I bet you'll find that Falken Azenis are the most common tire, and for good reason.

Brian

 

Yeah Ive gone through a few sets on my old car. The Nitto's were already on the car and seem to be alright. I needed something that will last longer than Azenis and of course be pretty decent in the wet. Well see how they do at the track.

 

I'm glad you all liked Matt. He's a nice guy,great instructor, and all, but he doesn't have the answers for me when it comes to brakes. I switched this weekend from the VRs to the XP10s, and was pretty disappointed. I'm going to resurface my rotors and try the XP10s at the Glen again soon. We shall see. The Carbotechs were definitely quieter, but didn't feel consistent at all. And when I went to ask questions, I felt like he was a deer in headlights... not what I was hoping...

 

I've run the XP-10's at Blackhawk Farms & I was/am impressed. I really like their improved initial bite. They stayed consistant for me, but I have 13.1" Stoptechs. Something else John & I can compare at the Glen!

 

back on topic real quick...

i REALLY loved this track set-up. i mean, let's think about it for a minute. take the best parts of full course, south course, and patriot course and combine them into a 4.2 mile 28 turn monster. i almost feel like that is more than i am worthy of.

yes the laps are long (i was coming in at 3:30 to 3:35 a lap) meaning you don't get as many laps per session, but the laps you get are really workouts for you and the car.

the size of the track made for alot of open space and easy passing. we were running about 10 cars/mile, which is pretty wide open when you think about it.

i would gladly pay the extra $ to get to do this configuration again.

sean (who can't believe a paradise like VIR is only 1.25 hrs away)

 

I agree with you on your feelings about this configuration. I hope that we use this for most future events, though I do occassionally hope to be able to do a full blast down the back straight. My times were coming in at something under 3 minutes per lap on Sunday, on the rare occassion that I could get a clean lap.
That is my only gripe about the entire experience: Too much traffic. I was pleased that we were able to pass anywhere in the insructor group, which made things a bit better, but I think that we needed to have fewer cars on track in each of the groups. I had a hard time teaching my students correctly due to the amount of traffic, and how long it took to get past all of the cars we needed to pass. When you are only getting a handful of laps per session, each turn is critical to learning, every time you come to it. Did you guys find the same frustration?

 

OK, this is exactly the post I was looking for when I resurrected this thread earlier this week. I told you I would be looking for a review of Grand Course, Sean, what took you so long????

From all posts, it sounds like VIR Grand Course is a good one!!!!!

Brian

PS: I'm not sure where the term "Grand East" came from, it may have even come from VIR's marketing, but everyone's calling it "Grand Course".