The Kraken - A Restoration & Modification Diary
09-02-2014, 09:36 AM
#272
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
9/1 Update - on a whim I found a set of black Carerra IIIs on Craigslist and the seller was looking to trade. He liked my 19s, so off they go! These will make great rain tires for DE events, and I might leave them on the car for street driving to save the R888s.
Fronts are the standard 8x18, 57mm offset. Rears are 11x18, 51mm offset. Per the fitment calculator, the rears will require a small spacer to avoid rubbing the inner suspension with the 11s. I've already rolled the fenders so that won't be a problem.
Fronts are the standard 8x18, 57mm offset. Rears are 11x18, 51mm offset. Per the fitment calculator, the rears will require a small spacer to avoid rubbing the inner suspension with the 11s. I've already rolled the fenders so that won't be a problem.
09-03-2014, 09:33 AM
#273
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
9/3 Update... Avatar change. This is what my race car would look like if State Your Gear, a little side project I'm working on with Loudmouth Golf, would look like. 
I've seen similar wraps using the flag. We Marylanders love our flag.
I've seen similar wraps using the flag. We Marylanders love our flag.
09-03-2014, 01:42 PM
#274
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Test fitted the 11" rear. Damn tight to the inner suspension, and equally tight to the fender. But no rubbing on a short trip around the neighborhood. No spacers, 295/35/18 tires, 51mm offset. I'm thinking 295/30/18 is the way to go.
09-03-2014, 10:05 PM
#275
Race Car
09-03-2014, 11:09 PM
#277
Burning Brakes
Check with Ken Rudd on his rears. He's running the same wheels. It could be individual tire vendors that make a difference here too (slightly different profiles).
09-04-2014, 01:09 PM
#279
Rennlist Member
10-27-2014, 09:23 AM
#280
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
10/27/14 Update (coming in ahead of a missed post-Watkins Glen update... still processing those videos)
Had a last-minute track weekend at Summit Point. This is by far the shortest of the three tracks I've driven (a little over 2 miles; WG & VIR are over 3 each), and this was somehow my first time on this track, despite having grown up only an hour away my whole life and having attended numerous events there.
It took three sessions for me to find a comfortable line for the car, but once I dialed that in I eventually shaved off 13 seconds per lap (1:46 to 1:33). Not the fastest time but not holding up traffic, either. I was once again signed off to solo, though a little later than I expected. I think part of that is how short the first day's runs were (20 minutes). I was signed off after the first run on day 2.
My best match ups out there, as I'm finding at most tracks, is a Boxster S in capable hands. This is the third event in a row where I've had a fun back-and-forth with such a ride. I usually pass them pretty easily, but if the guy behind the stick knows his stuff, they're a handful (for me!).
The car performed beautifully yet again. Did not burn as much oil as it did at Watkins Glen, even though it felt like I was hitting higher revs more often. Most of this track is in 3rd for me.
Track notes (mostly for me, but hey, if you're ever driving Summit... try my line!): Front straight is where it's at, but to hit high speeds there, it's all set up by turn 6, aka the carousel.
Turn 1 is basically a right handed U turn with a lot of track out space that almost no one seems to use. Weird. I did. I downshift into 3rd entering this turn and don't grab 4th until the front straight.
Turn 2 is really a continuation of turn 1
Turn 3, a slightly uphill left, I entered about 3/4 to the right of center on the track, and again there's a fair amount of track out to the right. But watch out for the gravel trap... dropping a wheel off will snap an axle from the looks of it. The gators are also not really gators. Just painted. Drive right over them.
Turn 4 as labeled on this map really isn't a turn. Go straight through it. I probably could grab 4th here but I don't really need to, because...
Turn 4a, the chute, is the 928 money spot. EVERYONE else had to brake there. I did not. I gained insane amounts of ground on people there. I would lift slightly coming down the hill, maybe two quick stabs of the brakes to settle the car, and then power through.
Turn 5: SLAM on the brakes! Very tight left hander, setting up a good entry into 6, the slowest turn on the track. I considered hitting second here but there's a lot going on there. Next time out I think I will grab second once I complete this turn. A little backwards, but likely useful in 6.
Turn 6 is... hard. It's really a double apex turn but should be completed in a single smooth motion. Go in tight at the right side curbing, and follow the asphalt line right your right wheel, but unwind the wheel pretty quickly before cutting back in for the second apex; get back on the gas at or before the apex and keep the revs up. Call these 6 and 6A. Stay track right to hit the apex in...
Turn 7. Get track left and stay there to set up 8. Turn 8 is the most crucial for carrying big speed down the front straight. Apex early and you'll lose 10 mph out of 10. There's a huge dip entering 8. There is no way through this turn to miss the dip.
Turn 9 again really isn't a turn; more like a giant banana curve. Go under the bridge basically right in the middle of the track because the banana curve carries you to the left to set up 10.
Turn 10... money turn. Lots of track out but there's two sets of gators... painted ones you can see, and unpainted actual bumpy gators past those. Brake hard going in but not too hard; enough to settle the car. Turn in a beat later than you think you want to. Early is VERY bad here. Late is safe. Gas on at the apex and hit it hard down the front.
Turns 8 - 10 were a bit of a conundrum for me in the 928. I could come out of 8 at about 4000-4500 RPM, in 3rd. I carried 3rd through to 10 because I felt like I lost time with a 3-4-3 shift, but all the same, I was hitting 6k RPMs well before the bridge. I try to limit spinning the motor beyond 6k, even though it's a straight line, just because that seems like a smart idea given the oiling issues 928s have on tracks. I was definitely sacrificing seconds, though, to not be able to grab 4th through 9.
Some video... need to make an edited version that's not so long. This is the last session on day 2; battling with a Boxster S the enter time. At one point I give him a pass by signal that he waves off, and then it's on...
Also note that my run ends early because a Boxster got airborn and ended up ON TOP of the tire wall out of 8. I am guessing he went in too hot, hit the dip and decided to become a plane.
Had a last-minute track weekend at Summit Point. This is by far the shortest of the three tracks I've driven (a little over 2 miles; WG & VIR are over 3 each), and this was somehow my first time on this track, despite having grown up only an hour away my whole life and having attended numerous events there.
It took three sessions for me to find a comfortable line for the car, but once I dialed that in I eventually shaved off 13 seconds per lap (1:46 to 1:33). Not the fastest time but not holding up traffic, either. I was once again signed off to solo, though a little later than I expected. I think part of that is how short the first day's runs were (20 minutes). I was signed off after the first run on day 2.
My best match ups out there, as I'm finding at most tracks, is a Boxster S in capable hands. This is the third event in a row where I've had a fun back-and-forth with such a ride. I usually pass them pretty easily, but if the guy behind the stick knows his stuff, they're a handful (for me!).
The car performed beautifully yet again. Did not burn as much oil as it did at Watkins Glen, even though it felt like I was hitting higher revs more often. Most of this track is in 3rd for me.
Track notes (mostly for me, but hey, if you're ever driving Summit... try my line!): Front straight is where it's at, but to hit high speeds there, it's all set up by turn 6, aka the carousel.
Turn 1 is basically a right handed U turn with a lot of track out space that almost no one seems to use. Weird. I did. I downshift into 3rd entering this turn and don't grab 4th until the front straight.
Turn 2 is really a continuation of turn 1
Turn 3, a slightly uphill left, I entered about 3/4 to the right of center on the track, and again there's a fair amount of track out to the right. But watch out for the gravel trap... dropping a wheel off will snap an axle from the looks of it. The gators are also not really gators. Just painted. Drive right over them.
Turn 4 as labeled on this map really isn't a turn. Go straight through it. I probably could grab 4th here but I don't really need to, because...
Turn 4a, the chute, is the 928 money spot. EVERYONE else had to brake there. I did not. I gained insane amounts of ground on people there. I would lift slightly coming down the hill, maybe two quick stabs of the brakes to settle the car, and then power through.
Turn 5: SLAM on the brakes! Very tight left hander, setting up a good entry into 6, the slowest turn on the track. I considered hitting second here but there's a lot going on there. Next time out I think I will grab second once I complete this turn. A little backwards, but likely useful in 6.
Turn 6 is... hard. It's really a double apex turn but should be completed in a single smooth motion. Go in tight at the right side curbing, and follow the asphalt line right your right wheel, but unwind the wheel pretty quickly before cutting back in for the second apex; get back on the gas at or before the apex and keep the revs up. Call these 6 and 6A. Stay track right to hit the apex in...
Turn 7. Get track left and stay there to set up 8. Turn 8 is the most crucial for carrying big speed down the front straight. Apex early and you'll lose 10 mph out of 10. There's a huge dip entering 8. There is no way through this turn to miss the dip.
Turn 9 again really isn't a turn; more like a giant banana curve. Go under the bridge basically right in the middle of the track because the banana curve carries you to the left to set up 10.
Turn 10... money turn. Lots of track out but there's two sets of gators... painted ones you can see, and unpainted actual bumpy gators past those. Brake hard going in but not too hard; enough to settle the car. Turn in a beat later than you think you want to. Early is VERY bad here. Late is safe. Gas on at the apex and hit it hard down the front.
Turns 8 - 10 were a bit of a conundrum for me in the 928. I could come out of 8 at about 4000-4500 RPM, in 3rd. I carried 3rd through to 10 because I felt like I lost time with a 3-4-3 shift, but all the same, I was hitting 6k RPMs well before the bridge. I try to limit spinning the motor beyond 6k, even though it's a straight line, just because that seems like a smart idea given the oiling issues 928s have on tracks. I was definitely sacrificing seconds, though, to not be able to grab 4th through 9.
Some video... need to make an edited version that's not so long. This is the last session on day 2; battling with a Boxster S the enter time. At one point I give him a pass by signal that he waves off, and then it's on...
Also note that my run ends early because a Boxster got airborn and ended up ON TOP of the tire wall out of 8. I am guessing he went in too hot, hit the dip and decided to become a plane.
10-27-2014, 11:16 AM
#282
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
By the end of the weekend, yes, almost the entire track in third. Onto the front straight, I'd grab 4th pretty quickly, and I'd guess I was hitting 130 - 140 mph before running out of room. I'd downshift to third into 1, and carry 3rd all the way back to the front straight. I had to coast/maintain mid-throttle through some of 3-4 and half of nine.
10-27-2014, 09:56 PM
#283
Burning Brakes
Nice summary of the track and notes. Definitely a reference for other 928 owners/drivers.
Wow. Boxster S - sail plane? That sounds very scary! Reminds us that even DE events can be risky adventures.
Wow. Boxster S - sail plane? That sounds very scary! Reminds us that even DE events can be risky adventures.
10-27-2014, 10:52 PM
#284
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Yeah, it was definitely freaky to see a car on top of the tire wall. Learned today that he indeed got a tow home but isn't really sure what happened.
New video!
New video!
