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Yeah, recently I have left the "fear" stage when driving and am consciously trying to apply skill-sets in a consistent fashion, which is much easier said than done. Racing would be neat and the logical next step, but it would add a tremendous amount of stress, as I would want to win Right now, I am really enjoying driving with my friends and being happy when they do well!
Ran Thunderhill 3 mile configuration with PCA Diablo and PCA GGR. Unfortunately it just won't stop raining here in NorCal, so did some practice sessions in the rain. We had some heavy rain (standing water) and some light rain (track just wet). I tried driving on both the RE71R (nice grip) and R1S (terrifying) just to experience it all. In the super wet conditions I averaged 2:30 lap times and in damp 2:03. Best for the day was in the 1:59s with my personal best being 1:55.2. Overall a fun experience. Some quick pics of the cars running with me.
One of the laps I got a cool lap of 2:00 FLAT!
Next up car is getting some maintenance done and getting a brand new set of RE71R and R1S. If it does not rain I should be at Laguna with Speed District. In the right condition could set a new PB!
Since the last update the car has been to Laguna with Speed District on April 5, unfortunately it rained most of the day, Thunderhill 3 mile with PDC (open track day) on April 19, and Thunderhill full 5 mile with PCA GGR on April 26.
I think I am finally used to the gearing on all the local tracks and my heel-toe shifting has significantly improved to the point where no misshifts and mistakes are happening any longer, which means more consistent lap times. I have been primarily using RE71R tires to benchmark and with the new transmission and Penske shocks my times have improved by .2-.7 of a second per lap, which seems fairly significant, given that the times the car was running were already pretty fast. In addition the tires seem to last slightly longer, about 3 full days rather than 2, and are very consistent throughout a 25 minute session. There are some rebound settings I will need to adjust on the shocks, but all in all the setup seems fine. The biggest difference overall is the engagement with the car, as the gearbox transformed the sound, feel and significantly increased the need to shift. When you get it all in sync, it is an amazing feeling.
Here are some pictures of loading the car in San Francisco...
With PCA at TH we went from rain to extreme heat...the day high was 94F (the sand under the car was from a Corvette driving the day before).
My friend was able to capture a quick video of the car driving by from the outside.
PCA ran the FULL 5 mile course, with the motorcycle bypass. Since it is a rare configuration I will link a video in case anyone wants to check out the track.
Car got a fluid maintenance (gear, oil, brake) and is ready for the next set of events. May 17 Thunderhill 3 mile with HOD (last TH event for the summer) and Laguna with PCA on May 20. I will try and use R1S this time to see how the suspension responds to a softer and stickier compound.
I had a chance to go back to Thunderhill this Friday for the 5 mile configuration without the motorcycle bypass. 3 of my friends with their GT4s went, so it was fun to drive together. I had brand new RE71R and the morning sessions were all in the 3:10 lap range. Afternoon the temperature dropped a bit and the tires scrubbed in, yielding significantly more grip. My best rolling lap was a 3:05.7, but due to traffic resulted in a 3:06.something. There are a few sections where I can definitely go faster so low 3:05 is easily possible with the car as is.
Here is a video of the best recorded lap of the day.
I also recorded a few laps with those 3 GT4s...it was pretty funny to see the cars evenly matched and looking the same. The fastest GT4 ran a 3:07 flat and the slowest did a 3:10.1, so pretty close.
Hey hey! My aluminum scaffolding works reasonably well and allows the Cayenne to move it around Now if you want to discuss the Mooty "arrive and drive" package, then I am all in! Aleks also refuses to get a stacker, which would make things MUCH easier for us all!
What are those 3 white cans with a funnel attached to them? Are they for oil? Do you mind sharing where you got them, it might be a brilliant oil idea if it will fix the issue of pouring oil in a funnel 1qt at a time.
What are those 3 white cans with a funnel attached to them? Are they for oil? Do you mind sharing where you got them, it might be a brilliant oil idea if it will fix the issue of pouring oil in a funnel 1qt at a time.
At the front of the trailer? Those a 5 gallon gas cans
Last month or so has been incredibly busy with work and family, so little time for tracking. Coming up a day with HOD at Sonoma, which is by far my favorite track. It is a sold out event, so should be slow chaos, but all good. Car has been at the shop for general maintenance and we discovered that the front lower control arms were worn. That was the last piece of OEM suspension for me and it lasted 50+ track days not bad! So out with the old and in with the new! Went with the Tarett LCAs.
Car is back together, aligned and ready for a fun day! In addition, replaced front rotors with the same AP Racing part and replaced Ferodo DS1.11 pads with Endless ME20 just to switch it up a bit.
On a fun note, a friend of mine has a meteor gray C4S, so I let him use my OEM GT3 decklid and wing, since it is a perfect color match. Here is what the car looks like cleaned!
03-17-2019, 12:15 AM
Right now, I am really enjoying driving with my friends and being happy when they do well!
