FisterD

I am not a track virgin any longer. I went to the Tracquest event at Thunderhill on Sunday, and must say...
OH MY GAWD !
It was so awesome, I can't even believe it. I am totally hooked. They really put on a great event. The instructors were great, the food was great, the weather was great. What a day.
Mooty was there with his incredible GT3, also B-line and his brother drove up from LA, and brought their Polar Silver Beast. There was a GT3 cup car, that was gorgeous, and had a eardrum-ripping exhaust note, and an instuctor named Hank with an older green 911 turbo putting out about 650 HP that was turning in lap times of 1:58!(I was told full prep race cars turn in times of @ 2:00)

InTheAir

Sounds very cool, Darin.

Can you tell us "track virgins" what we're seeing in the tire shot?

ibdavid

Darin, what next??

FisterD

That is what my tires looked like at the end of the day. They get so hot, that the rubber seems to melt and ball-up on the tires. I was told by many there, that this is normal, and will just wear off with normal driving. The Dunlop SS Race tires held up great, and were very sticky. I can't believe how much speed, and how hard you can accelerate in a corner, and the car just hangs on! You have to do this, it is beyond description! Street driving is not even close to this.

Dan V

ARRGH. I so wanted to go

but Mrs V has to pull a

what a wasted sunday

InTheAir

Thanks for the info.

I would LOVE to do this, but with a Cab I would have to install the roll bar. I'm not quite ready to do that yet.

Now, who wants to lend me their coupe for 1 or 2 (or 20) laps??? Let's see a show of hands.

Travis

Hi Darin,

I was there too; too bad I wasn't feeling 100%. I saw your car, though I must have missed you at the driver's meeting.

The event was great and had a super time. Ever since coming home, I catch myself every now and then reliving the track turn by turn in my head. Got to figure out Turn 11. It's a sickness I guess...

Woo hoo! No longer a track virgin for me too.

chris walrod

Congrats!! So, be honest, how many times have you looked for future track day schedules since you have been back at home?

Your tires are fine, you just have some -pick-up- from other rubber on track. Did you notice any wheel imbalances on the way home? If so, you'll have to remove the wheels from the car and scrape-off this rubber. A heat gun and a dull spatula will do the trick..

Good deal!

FisterD

Travis, was that you that spun in front of me at turn 14? It was a red C4, must've been you, heh?

Chris, yeah, I'm already checking other possible dates.
and, the tires seem fine.

nile13

OPR - other people's rubber.

The other possibility is chunking, as it looks pretty light-colored.

kkim

oh, oh... another one bites the dust.... trackrat

Have fun, Darin... Yo! PS represent!!

FisterD

I think it is OPR. Thanks for the heads up.
In "chunking", do you mean my rubber is coming off in chunks? If so, this is not the case, as my tires look fine. Scuffed up a little, but still all in one piece.

nile13

Darin, street tires can chunk on a very hot track. Not the problem it was some years ago, but still... Look at the tires. If the lighter stuff on the pic protrudes, it's OPR. If it's more of bold spot - it's chunking.

BTW, this brings to mimd something I wrote recently: http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/bimmer/.../ramblings.asp

Travis

Yeah that was me. I hit something in the transition between 14 and 15. Still can't quite figure out why I spun. I nearly saved it, though being in the wrong gear probably didn't help! Guess I found the limits on that turn.

I firmed up my shock settings after that incident and that seemed to help the car feel more planted.

Travis

Oh, Darin, BTW, your exhaust sounded awesome on the track! Now I know what the supercup exhaust sounds like.