Another track day under my belt! I ran into issues with the FPR hose popping off in session 1, made one lap and parked it to figure out what the problem was. Boo.
On the way down, I noticed the wheel is hanging a little left. Great.
Just rolled over 130k miles!
No bother, had a freaking blast anyways, the new 200TW tires are AMAZEBALLS compared to the 300TW fuzions I had before. Just wow. SO worth every penny, I am just absolutely loving them. The car has SO much more grip, I can nail every corner, push the car further than I could before, and I have that much more margin of safety when I over-do it. The BFG Rivals defintely tell you when they are at their limit so you know to back off a bit and re-assess. This didn't stop me from pushing them to this limit...I had to find it so I knew where it was, right? Still no major brake-away or off-road excursions though, just rippin fun!
Noo, that hose doesn't actually go there.
The new sway bar changes a few dynamics of the car. At higher speeds it just keeps it more flat, the car wants to turn nice and hard. Bam, just what I wanted! At lower speeds, exiting a corner in 2nd gear becomes much more of an effort of self-control (but not a safety issue imho). The car is still very neutral once things set in, but initially the rear end kicks out with heavy throttle (think about that sucker-punch 30psi stock turbo at ~3000rpm) and the rear diff (esp with the mod) is helping track the rear end out--BUT--it is limited in how much this happens. With so so so minor of adjustment (watch my hands in the opening of the video) a minimal counter-steer gets things balanced, turn right to go left, and then rip out of the corner. 4 wheel drift = no problem like this, just awesome (but not ideal I know). I tried pushing the car to do this and while it adds a bit of a quirk to the car, it makes it so much better.
I got to practice this on a bit of re-surfaced pavement (i.e. gravel) near my house a few weeks ago, that was NOT fun but again the car set in and I pulled out nice and smooth. These tires kinda suck on gravel.
I really need to practice slalom with the new setup, didn't get that right yet. Didn't get *most* of things right yet at all to be honest, but that's what these events are for and I'm very grateful for them!
Car aside, I need to work on smooth smooth smooth. I don't know what else to say but that--I'm getting more confident on the track and with this car and as a result I'm more inconsistent. Maybe its as I'm trying things out still but one thing is for sure--I stab the brakes, crank the wheel, and the video below shows it so well. Maybe stupid to post again 'how not to drive' but farkle it--I'm having fun!
Keep in mind--this is session 2 of 5 sessions. I got smoother through the rest of the night but bleeeeeeh my GoPro (original) can't do low-light worth anything. ANyone know if the newer ones are better?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjurCq6c7U0&hd=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjurCq6c7U0
Car has some minor leaks but not enough to slow me down for the rest of the season, just more little crap to deal with in the off-season. No wing yet!