SkipSauls

I was filling out my registration for Brainerd today and was excited about going to the "fastest track in North America", but next to the signature there was a line that read "The above vehicle does not exceed 102 dbA". Argh! My car easily exceeds that, and it's closer to the 110 dbA limit imposed by the SPEED GT series that it was developed for.

Now I've been to other club races where there were GT3 RS's and recently even a GT3 RSR, and all of these are as loud or louder than my car. I've also heard plenty of PCA cars that are in the same range, with a G-class car being one of the loudest of all. How can all of these cars run at events like Brainerd and others where the noise limitations are so low? Do they just avoid these tracks, or just ignore the regulations?

Making my car quieter isn't easy according the the shop that developed it, so that's not necessarily an option. Sigh.

James Achard

102dB. Try running at limerock where it's 89dB. If an ant farts in your passenger seat you get black flagged. I know at Limerock none of the Cup Cars go anymore due to noise regs. Sad but true...

James

RedlineMan

Hey;

Noise is an increasing issue. I personally don't see much need for anything louder than a GT3Cup. The Cup Cars are pretty reasonable. The Speedvision cars are indeed substantially louder. R/RS/RSR in the same boat, but not nearly as loud as some GT and even stock cars. Gratuitous noise is way low on my tolerance list. The clowns in stock race or DE with the old style factory stingers really **** me off.

Most guys just avoid "quiet" tracks. No Cup Cars at Lime Rock! They probably have only a handful of "loud" days a year by agreement, and so don't waste them on club events. 84 dB for cars before 1979; 81 dB for newer cars.

You thought Brainerd was bad?

dgz924s

Skip,
Yes it is LOUD! I was at MAM and my buddy was on the grid 1-2 cars behind you. I think it should be ok as Steves is almost as loud. He drives the #31 911 white/yellow GT4S car and he does Brainerd without a problem. Hope this makes you feel better!

Dal

SkipSauls

I'm working with the owner of one of my car's "sisters" to see if we can put together a bolt-on muffler/MoTec tuning package to run at lower dbs. I will probably end up avoiding Brainerd and going to Road America instead.

I'd always hoped to drive Lime Rock someday, but I guess I should wait until they perfect the Toyota Prius racecars to do so...

Thanks for the feedback.

Greg Fishman

Skip,
One of your sister cars was at Barber and they had a 104db limit, he must have been over it by 15db. He was certainly one of the loudest cars there. Many of the cup cars were around 115db or so. Of course it all depends on where and how they measure the sound.

Premier Motorsp

Those GT3R headers make about the loudest race car noise I can imagine. I'll bet they are well over 120 dB at close range. I'll bet it takes a GIANT muffler to quiet down a GT3R without losing power.

Regarding Lime Rock, who cares? That is the most pathetic excuse for a racetrack I have ever been on. And you can't run on Sunday--at all. The real shame is Laguna Seca.

Chris Cervelli
Premier Motorsports

James Achard

Wow....

MJR911

Man Chris, you're tough! It's not that bad..... sure it's short but I love the area. Rather be there than Pocono.

RogerJ

Don't let the 102 dba overly concern you when coming to Brainerd. The track managment is very good to work with. The 102 limit was put in place when they had neighbor problems. These have been resolved for a number of years now and we simply don't hear from track management on this issue. They have never monitored noise levels in my 25 years of running there. In fact after getting Skip's email, I looked at the contract we have with BIR (which looks the same as the contract we had with them 10 years or more ago) and while it has the 102 dba limit, it also states that this is self-policed.

We have had many GT-3R's and I have not been concerned about their noise level, nor has anyone else.

Skip, we will find a place for you to park your trailer if you want to do both RA and Brainerd so you don't have to drive back and forth to Colorado. Also, Hank G. just called and he is coming so Colorado is going to be pretty well represented.

Roger Johnson
The Loonacy Race Chair
Brainerd

Premier Motorsp

MJR,

You know what they say about opinions... mine included.

Lime Rock looks like an anachronism. I think the track became obsolete once cars started cornering at over a G. No runoff, no left turns and no fun anyway.

Plus, Watkins Glen is only a few hours away!!

What is wrong with Pocono? I have not run there.

Chris Cervelli
Premier Motorsports

SkipSauls

Hi Roger,

Okay, it looks like I need to reconsider! I'm already sending the car via transporter from Colorado to Road America, so I won't need storage up there, but the offer is appreciated. I'm probably going to get the car to the shop between races and out for test and tune, so I'll want it down here anyway.

Thanks!