Fritz Flynn

see pics

Fritz Flynn

I'd been looking forward to it for weeks, Zone 2 at VIR that is, because I now had a P car of my own and couldn't wait to run with some other GT3s and fortunatetly there was a plentiful supply

I was paddocked right next to another RS (orange one) and like me he had just purchased the car so we commiserated a bit about what we didn't know and he was nice enough to let me use his lap top so I could charge my GOPRO to get my one and only vid. I had 4 or 5 from Friday and Saturday but deleted them by accident (BUMMER). Electronics and computers are not my specialty as observed by my constant issues trying to get video along with having my traqmate for over a month and still not having it setup.

My wife and little girl came down and fortunately the Zone 2 chief instructor (Mike Anderson) didn't need me to instruct on Friday so I was able to settle in and get some good track time in both the RS and my FD.

I had serious issues the last event with the rear tires getting too hot so I decided to get the car aligned and that was a very good move because the toe in the rear was 43 on one side and 38 on the other. Camber was approx 2.8 on the front but the front tires were not wearing evenly so I knew I needed to take some out, camber in the rear was 2.5. I had PM'd rmag about alignment settings after seeing his lap times at the two tracks I frequent in hopes that his setup would be good. He suggested 2 camber front and rear with 10 toe but I couldn't dial the camber in on the front because I think the top plates have been flipped to allow for extra camber so I ended up at 2.5 front and 2.2 rear. I was worried about going from 40 toe all the way down to 10 so I settled on 22 or 44 total. The rears are still getting slightly hotter than the fronts but only by a pound which is probably normal for this car. I'm still wearing the rears at a brisk pace but I believe that's just the nature of the beast.

Alignment question; if I lower the car I know I'll increase camber but will it also decrease toe? I'm thinking about lowering it two spins on the stock susp to add some camber front and rear along with hopes for slight toe out in the front (currently zero toe) and less toe in out back. I'd lower it more but I was rubbing on the front before raising it about a 1/4 inch evenly all around after noticing that the drivers side was higher than the passenger side which is usually the opposite way I'd initially corner weight a car. So now it's perfectly even all the way around and a good 1/4 inch higher than it was when I took delivery.

The stock suspension is fine but it's not as quick as I'd like during high speed corrections meaning it can wobble a little as witnessed in my vid while going out wide just before t10 during the traffic lap. As time permits and Kenny at Werkstatt is able to acquire some good parts I'll wake up the suspension some which I think will really make this car fly in the high speed sections of the track.

See VID: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySx2VlHxOvE

Vid is from the last session of the day and the rear tires were in some pain but still had enough left on them to have fun. I had run 3 2.06 laps in a row prior to ending up in the traffic you see in the vid. Best lap of weekend was likely a low 2.05 or better but I'm getting quicker into 3 and up the esses so there's room for improvement. It sounds crazy but with some setup I think there's a chance you can go flat out into 3 and up the esses which would mean a lot of time.

Started out Friday on 888s which are fine but get greasy and wear fast if I don't come in every 20 minutes. Saturday I put the sticker Hoos on it completely changed the vibe of the car. Much smoother and easier to drive with a 3 plus second per lap difference but on the down side I'll likely only get 8 to 10 heat cycles before the rears are completely used up. Taking some toe out of the rear may help slightly though.

I picked up a student because his previous instructor figured a change was in order after going in circles 4 times in t4 Friday, so I said OK I GOT THIS LOL (circa 70s 911 of course). It turns out he was a gifted driver and he did a fabulous job for his 1st time at VIR, driving in blue and only having 3 weekends or so under his belt.

Highlight of the event came when I was driving along trying to be smooth and working on my chops when out of no where comes this 997.2 RS knocking at my back door and I know he's all business when every time (at least 3) through Oak Tree he drops 2 tires on exit with a massive ploom of dirt each time. OK **** it's on now so I up the gas usage and after about 3 laps I get tied up in traffic at the top of 14 breaking our rhythm so I decide to let him by and follow him a bit. After pitting we hook up and wouldn't you know it's rmag the same cat that I had PM'd repeatedly about the alignment settings. On Sunday morning we line up again and have 3 great hot laps until again I get held up in traffic and once I'm even held up for a second or two I know he's gone so that didn't last as long as we'd of liked but hey I think I ran my best lap that session with a possible high 2.04 on the draft lap where I should tapped that sexy RS *** for ruining the best lap of my life JK.....

Thanks again to ZONE 2 for a great event

jenk12m

It always ends up that way. You tell your self your going to take it easy and just be smooth and then you get the white knuckles and find yourself chasing someone and running your best times

rmag

I tow your *** around for 3 laps, miss one exit in/out of hogpen and I have to hear your cryin' all over the net ... next time bump draft or pull out Great meeting you, that was a blast.

Fritz Flynn

And when you miss the next exit I'll be right behind you WAITING, always WAITING hehe

No doubt BRO, super good time

DHI

Fritz,
You're a fast track fiend, no doubt.
But looking back at that video, and very respectfully, don't you find your hands are all over the place on that wheel?

David

Fritz Flynn

Hi David,

Yep my hands tend to wander around quite a bit, my wife says I look like Cruella Deville up on that wheel but I like to think of it as something called pre set/shuffle steering.

Pre set steering allows for optimal hand position or keeps your hand as low as possible allowing for better feel and thus quicker corrections. I always tell my students to keep their hands at 8 and 4 because if I asked them how much something weighed they'd hold the object palm up and not in the position of a hammer curl. With palm up you're using your smaller more sensitive muscles and with hands at 9 and 3 or worse 10 and 2 you're using the big muscles like the shoulders etc...

Thanks for the props

Fritz Flynn

After a couple of months away from the track I was anxious to get my baby "Fiona" back out for another play date with some of her siblings and as always the PCA club didn't disappoint. Lots of really nice cars and Rmag was there again and we made of most of every session playing lead follow and only lifting to let each other catch up when caught in traffic, serious good times

Some of my long time track mates made it as well so it got a little crazy saturday night and we really made the most of our time together.

It was hot and the car was slow and I'm starting think this CA tune is hurting me pretty bad. I got passed on the back straight by 996 GT3 for christ sake, that's just appalling and then I tried to catch him and it wasn't happening. Well driven 996 who I should of tracked down and met but hopefully there will be a next time.

As mentioned before this car eats tires (smoked the rears in just 3 days) but the fronts looked decent so my fronts had 3 days from the zone 2 event but the rears were fresh so I was dealing w/ some push in turn one and oak tree but once again the brakes on this thing are frikken crazy good so you pretty much can deal with that by trail braking and if that doesn't work usually a little lift and rotate will do the trick. Have I mentioned these cars are sick fun to drive

I've found the pads taper VERY VERY bad so it's a must to flip them after each weekend. Also a good idea to rotate/swap tires as the left rear will take a beating especially at VIR.

I'll post some pictures later but here's a video from the last session Saturday. It was hot and the track was super slick so I had a great time practicing car control and trying to keep up with rmag.

Vid: http://www.youtube.com/user/FRITZFLY.../0/lLbWEBAsDLE

Fritz Flynn

When one of your boyz has a wig on and his hand is wrapped around a four loco it's going to be a long night

Notice Ryan flipping me off but more importantly notice his ride, DAMN!!!

Fatih's car is so sweet for a DD/track GT3

Pat's (paddy) 993. Still the best looking P car.

RWK's incredible cars

etc....

TRAKCAR

Nice pics, Ryan's naked grey RS looks all business.
I'll come see you guys sometime to draft my laptimes down ;-)

jenk12m

Nice pics and the grey/black looks so much better without the graphics. IMO

jenk12m

When are all of you guys planning to head back to VIR. I would love to run with you guys. I know pboc will be there in early July. I don't mind the heat, I ran up there last year at the zone 2 pca club race where ot was 100 degrees even in the shade

Fritz Flynn

Lets plan on running with FSR in Sept. for 2 days on the S course and 1 day on the F. The south is a technical short fun track that should be really fun in a GT3. Or possibly w/ BMW around the same time. BMW has the Friday test and tune day so you get unlimited track time Friday and your typical HPDE scene Sat Sun. whatever event we do I'd recommend 3 days VS 2.

Fritz Flynn

Yep and hopefully he won't add any more business to it because I'm about to go belly up as it is lol.

333pg333

Hard to be sure but it looks like some of your buddys are wearing slicks too? That would account for them being quicker (if that's happening?).