Colorado track day (pics/impressions)
#21
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Originally posted by S38
Hmmmm, you shouldn't be sideways if you are trying to turn a quick laptime. Did you have a hotlap timer when you did these track events? Maybe the tracks in Florida are no fun. Autox is fun because you can pitch the car around but waiting all day for 3-4 runs is not something that is an efficient use of my limited car weekends.
I will agree that if you just love being sideways autox or rally is a better place to be. However, I am sure cars get bent more on a rally than a roadcourse.
As for using lowend torque out of a corner, most cars need one more gear somewhere on a track. If you go to 2cnd you are revving to high and the car is unsettled and if you are in 3rd you won't quite have the pull you want. The best solution is to leave it in 3rd and just get quicker in the corner so your rpms are up. Newer cars with variable everything are usually able to stay in third more than I can.
Hmmmm, you shouldn't be sideways if you are trying to turn a quick laptime. Did you have a hotlap timer when you did these track events? Maybe the tracks in Florida are no fun. Autox is fun because you can pitch the car around but waiting all day for 3-4 runs is not something that is an efficient use of my limited car weekends.
I will agree that if you just love being sideways autox or rally is a better place to be. However, I am sure cars get bent more on a rally than a roadcourse.
As for using lowend torque out of a corner, most cars need one more gear somewhere on a track. If you go to 2cnd you are revving to high and the car is unsettled and if you are in 3rd you won't quite have the pull you want. The best solution is to leave it in 3rd and just get quicker in the corner so your rpms are up. Newer cars with variable everything are usually able to stay in third more than I can.
Yes Solo2 is a very ineffecient use of car time but So is 9 corners for 2 miles of track. A good autox course will have about 75-100 corners on a .7 or .8 mile course. I usually get about 6 laps at an event around here so thats at most about 600 corners (all back to back) That would take about 66 laps around roebling road. Or 35 some odd laps around sebring. With each lap being almost 3 min (just for easy math, I think I was lapping in the 2:40 range in my miata) It would take almost 2 hours of straight laping around sebring to = the same amount of corners you get in 6 autox laps. And you don't get nearly as much varaity. That;s just the way I look at it. Different things for different people. I have friends that Do track days every chance they get and I have friends that Autox every chance they get. (I don't know anyone who rallies but God I wish I did, My checking account said NO). But the odd thing I found is when most of us started we were pretty close to each other in driving skill. NOW all my friends that Autox are Signifgantly faster then my friends that do track days, on tracks and at Autox's. There is no question in my mind that you become a far faster driver doing Solo II events.
Now as for your sacraficeing gears. Thats true to some extent. But not true enough to cause you to be down a 1500 rpm EVER. I just watched some in car video from my track days and in a miata with a redline of 7K it never dropped below 3700 rpm. I'd hardly call 3700 rpm bottom end power. I've never had my S2000 on a track other then SoloII's around tracks but it's fairly easy to keep the car in Vtec. The only time I can see it coming out of V tec is in corners below 40 mph where you won't shift to 1st. I'm thinking about running a track day again in the near future but In my wagon. It doesn't handle worth a damn but it sure will surprise some people down the straights. It traps in the 115mph range. I attempted to autox once for kicks and it was a waste of time. Autox is all about handling and the wagon was all about Understeer followed by a one wheel PEEEL.
#23
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Ideally, you want a close ratio box that allows you to keep the motor right in the sweet spot. Regrettably, the M5 has too much of a spread from 2-3. I believe this is because it was primarily designed to be running in 3 and 4 most of the time. To be honest, I hate corners that are so slow you have to go to 2cnd.
I do enjoy autox and will do some events this year for fun. It is always fun to see how I compare to much smaller lighter cars. Plus, a Mini Cooper S may be on the horizon.
I drove one yesterday that has about 200hp (new blower, exhaust, etc. from some German tuner). Oh my, what a fun car. It just doesn't feel like fwd car and it is turning with even the slightest movement of the wheel. All for $23k plus $2k for the mods. Hard to beat that.
I do enjoy autox and will do some events this year for fun. It is always fun to see how I compare to much smaller lighter cars. Plus, a Mini Cooper S may be on the horizon.
I drove one yesterday that has about 200hp (new blower, exhaust, etc. from some German tuner). Oh my, what a fun car. It just doesn't feel like fwd car and it is turning with even the slightest movement of the wheel. All for $23k plus $2k for the mods. Hard to beat that.
#24
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I had the opertunity to Autox a Mini cooper Non S. I was amazed at the times I was putting in with it. Your right it doesn't have the FWD feeling as much as most FWD cars. My only complaint was 1st gear in corners was all wheel spin (yet even in my buddies open diff maxima we don't have a 1st gear wheel spin problem, It will do it but it's easy to control) and then when I shifted to 2nd I wanted to get out and PUSH. Protege's have the same feeling. Nice car. I"m yet to drive an S even though I have some friends with them here in town.
#26
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I've heard VIR is fun. I'd like to give it a try some time. Lime Rock would be another neat one. I almost did a skip school at Laguna 2 years back. At $2K+ I couldn't swing it. I have so many laps around there on Tourismo I'm completely bored of the layout.
#27
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Colorado 350Z to California!
Just got through registering for Speedventures Buttonwillow event on March 21st. This track is located just outside Bakersfield, CA and I figure it will be about a 1,300 mile trip (one-way) in my Redline track model. Almost like Shogun's break-in trip to Florida in his Pikes Peak White Enthusiast!
Like our day at PMI, Buttonwillow looks to have a good combination of high and medium speed turns. I'm certainly looking forward to learning (for me) a new track! Check out the website at Speedventures.org and take a look at the tracks they will be racing at this year. I plan to do 4-6 events with that organization and take my new Z around the country in '03.
Wish me luck- I'll do us proud!
Like our day at PMI, Buttonwillow looks to have a good combination of high and medium speed turns. I'm certainly looking forward to learning (for me) a new track! Check out the website at Speedventures.org and take a look at the tracks they will be racing at this year. I plan to do 4-6 events with that organization and take my new Z around the country in '03.
Wish me luck- I'll do us proud!
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