Thunderbolt rain line
 

Headed to NJMP this weekend and it looks like I need to bring my Ark for Sunday. I've never driven Thunderbolt in the rain. Any unique rain line Intel for Thunderbolt or just the typical don't touch painted stuff.

I've got some experience in the rain there. There can be a large river that crosses the back straight (between 2-4) that can be significant.

In terms of curbing, the saw-cut concrete tends to be usable when it's wet (like thru the octopus head). Conversely the flat concrete curbing at driver left in the braking zone at T1 is treacherous--stay way away from it in the wet.

As well as the above there can be a river on the exit of The Octopus right where you feel like you want to get on the power.

Water can build just past bridge on left side as the track straightens as you head onto front straight. Going off there can drive you across track and into pit wall, not good.

There are a bunch of videos up on Youtube that show conditions on the track. Ones that come to mind are AER last year.

One thing that isn't obvious is that the braking zone into turn 10 is downhill. It's a common place to go off as it surprises you if you are not aware. Curbing will be slick and there will be water buildup on the inside apex of turns such as 8. Also usually water running across on the straight between 7 and 8. Watch out for Turn 2...

Practice common sense and don't fight it if you go off.

It's a fully worn in track, so avoid the "normal line" as much as possible. Also watch the rivers and puddles as others have mentioned.

Be most attentive going through the esses and exiting the final turn. I have seen people into the bridge, or the barriers, all through there. I have also seen some lose it on the exit of 4 and end up to the right into the barrier.

It will be relatively chilly, so that will only add to the excitement. :)

With heavy rain and standing water T1 is a rim shot. Stay off the curbing everywhere. Stay half a car width of the T3 curbing and watch the potential river running across between T3 and T4. Stay a car width off T4 curbing. T5 is a rim shot. T9, the entry into the Octopus is a rim shot. Take T10 on the outside. Watch the river right as you go back on throttle coming out of T10. Stay off the curbing going through T11 a/b (the Esses). Stay one car width off the T12 apex.

NJMP has done a lot to improve drainage over the years and it has been better every single time I've been on track in the rain.

I'm seeing a 10% chance of thunderstorms for Sunday:

https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/mi...t/339504?day=6

That forecast has been changing all week, and for the better. Maybe any precip will hold off until Monday, when it doesn't matter to us.

Seems like tempos will rise into the 50's both days, which is a lot better than the highs of 20 that it will be tomorrow and Thursday.

Positive thoughts DTM. Positive thoughts....

that one got me and a dozen others at the november event last year. definitely need a 2 count before getting on the power once u hit the stream

One more thing that hasn't been mentioned is the puddle at drivers left at turn in for turn 1 takes forever and a day to go away. After a substantial rain, if you see the pit lane is dry the turn in point for turn 1 is likely still wet.

Guys, It's not gonna rain on Sunday. I'm gonna be there with DTM and the rest of the Chin nuts, so it's not gonna rain.

(Good stuff in this thread just in case it does), but it won't rain on Sunday.

That being said, I have done Thunderbolt in the rain, and it can be treacherous in heavy rain, but most of it has been covered in this thread.

Def stay off the curbing, and the running water around 2-3 is a headache, as it is coming out of the Octopus, but just back it down and be careful.

The spray from the car in front of you is the most annoying of all of it, to me anyway.

Looking forward to a great first weekend of the season. See ya there....

This place is amazing. Thanks to everyone. I went and watched about 20 minutes of AER action and was able to make notes on the track map of the various lakes and rivers; not shockingly it's pretty much a list of what was detailed in this thread.

Bruce, hope for the best, plan for the worst! Especially since I think I have a 0/0 day guy assigned to me for this weekend.

I'll be there this weekend as well - I was more concerned about the temps to be honest, but it's too late now as it snowed the day I thought I could put the Toyos back on, so with the tires I'm taking there, I'll likely be the fastest guy if it snows.

If it snows we can hot lap the Armada. Seats 8. Four wheel drive.

In my experience jersey drys quickly compared to a lot of other tracks I've been to and unless you are getting a long period of rain I usually say on dry tires.

Here is the last time I was there in the rain in 2016. It poured down for about 15-20mins then stopped before our race and decided to stay on drys.

Pretty sure those emails were for scda on lightning. Chin has a decent roster of instructors and drivers.

Is anyone bringing Hoosiers or similar? I've got RE-71Rs on my OEM 20" wheels, and bought a used set of 19" wheels with R7s mounted. Was hoping to try the R7s out this weekend, but not sure if it will be warm enough.

Any thoughts appreciated.

I never run Hoosiers or any slick tire under 40/45 deg F. I have cracked them before below those temps. So it really depends on the temperatures.

I'm using RE71Rs this weekend at NJMP....

... and that's why I need the R7's!

I'll take any advantage I can get :-). Will be a fun start to the season, regardless of how the weather turns out.

It's fine. Everything's fine.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...d82672dd25.jpg

Mines way worse.
The dumba$$ plow guy at my office heard "Plow it in as best you can so I can't get it out for this this weekend".
I guess he didn't hear the word "Don't" and "Can" became "Can't". I'm gonna try and dig it out later, but everything around it is frozen and the bank he put in front of the trailer is about 6 feet high.
May end up driving to the track with my track car. Not really what I wanted to do. Damn it!!

You didn't see me I'm in the baby solo group, playing for the novice team. Go novices :rockon:

It was a gamble on the weather, I thought Chin did discount it appropriately for the odds as you do get those springy early March days sometimes, but that winter storm came out of nowhere. This is usually what happens to me, if I book skiing in February, spring comes early, and if I book track in March, it's a snowstorm. I thought I'd cancel given the weather but it turns out I still want to go :burnout:

I'm not really running street tires by choice, work is just destroying my schedule and I had one day, and one day only where I could swap the Toyos back on, and that was last Saturday, and that day if I swapped the Toyos, I wouldn't be able to get back home. So I think I'm just driving very slowly, and will work on some technique stuff that I'm bad at, heel&toe, smoothness, brake release etc. Has to be better than watching TV.

I'm no expert but I think it's way too cold for R7s (I thought it would've been very cold for R888Rs), especially if you leave the car outside overnight, it looks like it might get well below freezing, which is pretty bad for those tires (as mentioned above). If you can store it inside enclosed trailer it might work? Given the heat challenges the RE71s are more appropriate, I believe they do OK without getting tons of heat (hence a top choice for AutoX).

Well, a little hair dryer and BFH got the ice broken up enough to get the ramps out and into the deicing chamber I created in the garage.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...c6d32cbb31.jpg

Accuweather now showing:

Millville, New Jersey:

Saturday: Mostly Sunny and high in the upper 40's

Sunday: Chance of morning showers and high near 60

I'll take it. Forecast has been changing for the better on a daily basis.

Fingers X-ed!!!

No cracks about a Miata driver having access to a hair dryer? This place has gone soft man, I don't even know this place anymore.

Too early in the season. Everyone is still being nice.....

Still can't get the ramps out of the trailer. Too much ice.

Driving track car to NJMP. So glad I left the plates on.

Let's ******* go!!!!
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...60bb664a06.jpg

Chin's a fun deal, well run program. Please give Jim Pomroy my regards.

Sleeping in = going to IHOP (for me)

And valuable consumer advice: I can confirm winter tires do not work on track - I'm proud to have stayed on the track

I had the great pleasure of riding right seat with rhythmaddict, crazyfast and dgrobs this weekend and had an absolute blast. Three very similar but also very different cars driven in tough conditions. Learned a little from each of them, and how to yell YEEHAWWWW in the Octopus from a driver to be named never. #neverbenotnineyearsold

Many thanks to the folks who weighed in on the rain line; was very useful on Sunday. I have to say I'm a little disappointed in NJMP's drainage. The water draining across the track hours after the rain had stopped at 10:30 kept the track mostly wet or damp until final checker at 5:30.

Never be not nine years old

Too funny. I see a fortune to be made in T shirts and bumper stickers.....

I thought it was a great weekend. Saturday was stellar and it was great to shake the cobwebs out after a long winter off season.

Sunday was wet but a great learning experience. Loved the way you worked with me (in my right seat) on using understeer and the "wet line" vs the "racing line". I learned a ton, and will never look at driving in the wet the same way again.

Learning to use understeer and oversteer to my advantage in the wet was awesome.Your advice and instruction was priceless. Once I realized that it was the worn in sealant that was slick as ice when wet, the track became a whole new ballgame.
So much fun using understeer and oversteer to slash seconds off the lap times.

I agree that I thought the track could have drained a little better when the rain stopped, but it was overcast and humid with little to no breeze, and I'm pretty sure that kept the track damp the remainder of the day.

Good to see some of my track buddies again. As much as I love skiing with the kids, winter has become "too long" for this track addict.

Thanks again for the instruction and advice. You have an open invitation to my right seat anytime. Open invitation.

Great opening weekend for this kid. The Octopus in the wet. Yeehawwwww indeed. Amazing how much more grip there was when "offline" and rimshotting the right. All part of the learning experience.

Thanks gain DTM. Anytime.....

You do realize that Dave started this thread to get some nuggets on the wet line... and then proceeds to act like a sage in the right seat!

Seriously though, great coaching - I just need to learn to listen more :-).

And, really fun weekend - look forward to the next event!

Key word highlighted.

You can lead a horse to the higher grip line but you can't make him drive on it....

Yes, that little nugget has not escaped me.

Also, was fun finally getting to kick YOUR a$$ (on Sunday)...

BTW, I try to take an instructor out at least one session per event. Always learn something new. You now agree?

Great weekend indeed!. Sat was a good clean day, although now I feel like I had more fun at 5/10ths on Sunday playing with correcting over/understeer...while getting flipped off incessantly.

Not sure I ever got home that fast from NJMP. Set my personal best for getting home from that track.
I can only imagine what the folks on the NJ TPKE were saying as 2 Caymans blew by them single file.
Guess your radar detector was working well.....

Ha, well at least you set one personal best yesterday!