Tuesday, November 4, 2014

A Good end to a So So Season.

     I almost forgot about this place....


     Thats ok though, because I've barely been on track.  Last weekend was the NASA Northeast season finale at NJMP thunderbolt.  Long story it was an uneventful weekend.  Fun...but uneventful.  I was in group 2 with a bunch of familiar faces from other events this season.  First session I had Marc (an ex evo friend) ride with me to fulfill the first session instructor requirement, and he immediately said that he knew exactly what we were going to work on.  I'm quite familiar with the track so within two laps I was up to speed but I suck at braking according to Marc.  Over the course of the day that became even more obvious as I kept being way under speed in turn one almost every lap.
     Sunday morning I had another evo frien/instructor ride with me.  He was please with my speed (I'm still known as the slow guy).  Halfway through the session he asked how many point by's i had gotten so far, and when I though about it I realized I had been making a lot of passes.  Turns out I was just about the fastest guy in the group.  Moving up to group three was discussed after that.  After I spoke the group leader, I was educated that the biggest difference between group 2 an 3 aside for 20$ more speed is that you have to be able to pass off line.  Thats something you dont get in Group 2 since it is a lot more controlled.  Being the end of the season and it be an event with group 3 and 4 combined I decided to stay in two until next year.

     As you'll see in the video below a fast lap for me is quite uneventful.  I wanted to dip into the 1:3x's desperately but traffic stopped me.  The car was great as usual.  I borrowed a friends AiM solo data logger at the recommendation of my group leader, and was actually quite surprised to see that I was able to generate just over 1g of lateral acceleration...pretty damn good for a street tire car in my opinion.  This was also the first event with the roll bar/seat/harness.  WHAT a ifference...I think it was ABSOLUTELY worth time on track.       (Click for vid)




     And now it's winter...time to start writing the same giant ass list of wishful upgrades I do every year!  As of right now:
-cabin filter
-injectors $500
-bumper quick release $150
-install bumpsteer bush
-refresh rear LCA's
-rear trailing bush (w0594) $50
-baffled oil pan $400
-heat tape
-STM front bumper beam $200
-remove rear bumper beam
-f/r rotors $300
-rear dtc60s $150
-WING $800-1500
-DATA $1000


WOOF.

     Who knows how much I'll get done.  I also really need to get on the dyno and dial in my tune, my 5th gear boost was all wacky all weekend.  The big one on the list as I'm sure you can tell is the wing.  I think I've finally made the decision to add aero this winter in the form of splitter and wing (still undecided on wing) and possibly build a rear diffuser if I get around to it...I think I'm ready.  I'm good on tires for a few events still but I think once I get an event of two with aero under my belt the next step will probably be NT01's.


Now I just have to decide what to do with the s2000...

Here's some pics of me riding off into the sunset.  Already dreaming of next season!





Saturday, September 13, 2014

I owe everyone an apology.

     And by everyone, I mean the 2 people that read this.  For the astute readers who may have realized a did a track day back at the end of August and never wrote about it....I'm sorry.  I've been very life busy.  Went down to my parents house the weekend after the track day for a night, then came back to RI to work all week and then went down to NJ for my best friend's bachelor party.  It never Ends!

     On August 23rd I returned to Thompson with NASA.  This was a DE only day (no racing like last time) which meant plenty of track time and the group 2 participants were quite similar to last time also.  This is good because it put me in a position to know who was quick and who to avoid etc.

     Lap after lap the car felt good, felt like I was finding time and learning some things.  At on point i was turning some pretty good laps when i noticed a blue corvette come up behind me which happened to be driven by an instructor.  So obviously I tighten the belt and focus to try and lay down some good laps.  Probably some of the best fun I've had on track yet...until my brakes went soft.  

     Well not really soft, I had a firm pedal that felt slightly long but appropriate for pad wear, so I took a little trip down the turn 1 run off...whoops.  I braked a  marker earlier than normal because 3 turns back it felt not normal (but definitely bad) and as soon as I hit the pedal I knew I wasn't slowing down fast enough, it felt like ABS started to kick in as I pressed harder and I made the decision to go straight off instead of risking a hot entry and going off into the grass.  My dad said they called "37 silver 4 off" over the radio, which is lame because I went down a paved runoff!  Never left the racing surface.

     I borrowed Filthy Joe's AiM Solo lap timer for a few sessions.  It is quite amazing how you can quickly use a tool like that to gain time.  In 1.5 sessions I found almost 3 seconds...yes 3, to find myself in the 1:26's on street tires.  I'm still waiting for Joe to send me the data file so I can overlay some video.  Until I have that done here's some pictures from my dad as well as a ride along in Jordan's track evo (in case you don't recall he is NASA NE head instructor).


 






Oh and I finally took a major step...


Sunday, June 29, 2014

No, I'm not dead.

     ...I've just been doing that little race related activity.  And it makes me sad.

     It's been a rough year track time wise so far and doesn't look like it's going to get much better.  Back in May I went to a bachelor party in Miami and spent the equivalent of 3 track days money wise...ouch.  It was a good time for sure with good friends but directed A LOT of funds away from the cars.  I had a wedding to attend in Maine on what would have been my next available track weekend, and other than that it just seems like I work.

     Finally June 21/22 rolled around which meant it was time for NASA NE's inaugural event at Thompson speedway (only half an hour from my house!) and also my birthday.  My parents came up to visit for the weekend and so my dad could come hang at the track with me as usual.  Got the car prepped in basic fashion in the week prior, just brake pads and such and took another guess at tire pressures for the damn z2's.

     Got to the track Saturday morning and was tech'd and ready to go un almost under an hour, it really is quite nice being able to empty the car out at home!  Even though I was running Group 2 as usual we were given instructors for the first session, since the instructors had been there on Friday to learn the track.  Picked up the line quickly (EVERYTHING is late apex and TIGHT) and the day was off an rolling. 



     We had a very good group at this event.  Lots of respectful driving and courtesy on track, and we all picked up speed quickly.  A lot of people didn't like the track due to being so short and tight, but I kind of liked it since the tight corners and slow exits seem to fall in the favor of the evo.  I was VERY rusty having not been out since April, but I was able to keep up with the group and we were all turning laps in the 1:27 to 1:33 range.  What was also really nice was that the group leaders car had full motec data acquisition so we were able to review video/data in the classroom of him following us.

 Interesting chasecam view from a buddy in his Evo X.  Ignore the speed on his overlay as he was staying in 4th gear down the front stretch.
 

Here's in car video.


   
     I've also got a helmet cam view, but haven't converted it yet.  The worst part of the weekend?  We were tearing up the asphalt to the point that they are going to have to make some major repairs/changes.  There was talk that they may have used the wrong grade asphalt...

     I think that I am finally at the point that I'm going to give in and spend a huge chunk of money on safety equipment:
- Autopower roll bar
- Schroth Profi 2 ASM belt with 6 point conversion
- Buddy club bucket seat (going cheap on the seat for now to allow for purchase of new helmet and HANS)

     Other than that no big plans, the car is working well.  I had made a mental decision to change the front spring rate but i wound up getting misinformation and buying a set of used springs that were the wrong diameter for my ohlins...oh well.

Next Event: Probably Thompson again August 23/24.  Trying to figure out if in the middle of all the other crap going on I can squeeze in my first trip to the Glen at the end of September.  Also still trying to find some time to autoX the s2000.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

NASA Two Day Season Opener

     I got extra lucky for this weekend.  The way my work schedule fell I noticed I had Monday off, allowing me to stay at NJMP for both days instead of just one for once...although I spent days going back and forth in my head if I should really spend the extra money.

    Anyway...so I picked up the car from the shop 2 weeks prior to the event, still having all the work to do that's listed in the last post.  Of course it took me until the exact last minute to be ready to go.  Alignment took 4 tries or so since I couldn't manage to get the wheel dead straight, then went further wrong the first time I tried to correct it.  Tried to change the rear diff fluid, but good old Mitsubishi changed the diff fluid containers and now my fluid pump can't attach to the bottle and of course I didn't have any suitable empty containers around.  But above all the tune was being the biggest bitch.  With the new o2 housing I gained almost psi of boost all the way across the board which led to my injectors going static at about 6k rpm, and going lean to >12:1 at about 6500.  I dropped a bunch of WGDC out and still couldn't get it in check.  Then it hit me...turn on boost control.  BOOM, problem fixed, sometimes its better to let the ecu take over.  The car was making in right in the 345whp/300wtq range SAFELY.

     Travel to the track was uneventful for once, and the weather forecast was looking damn good.  Got to the track Saturday morning, reg'd, tech'd, said hi to the evo homies, and got ready for first session.

First Session - Needed to get used to the new tires, went out slow.  Right away I knew the new z2's were very different from the r3's.  The bet way to describe it is that the RS3's used to feel like they were digging in and taking a set in the track, whereas the car now feels like it is sitting up on the tires.  Basically, the z2's gripping feels very close to how the rs3's felt just before/as they started to slide...on the other hand right from the get go the technical pieces of my driving felt quite good.

     I cant remember many other specifics of sessions that day, but I did some laps that felt decent, however my line through 2-3-4-5 was honestly quite terrible.  I tried some things, talked to Joe/Marc/Thai about the line and improved slightly, but the car continued to feel like it was gonna slide every time I went through that section and I got slightly annoyed at how I just didn't feel comfortable with the car as I pushed.  On the upside, there was some AWESOME racing to watch between sessions, as well as having plenty of time to get my camera out and take some pictures which I haven't done in quite awhile.

     Sunday was even better weather, but most sessions were planned to be combined group 1/2.  Obviously that turned out to be a mess, 40 cars rush hour traffic like.  Through someone elses bad luck (a blown up Speed 6...rods found on the track blown up) the schedule got shifted and group 2 got 2 solo sessions back.  car still felt the same, driving was decent, had fun.  The last session I ran though was great as we were grouped with the instructors.  I tried to keep up, but there was no chance.  Experiencing that speed differential was nuts, I was giving point bys as fast as I could...but i think I still managed to pick up a few things.

     I'm still happy with the car, it survived, it performed well, basically just continued to be great and allowed me to have some damn good fun.  My fastest timed lap of the weekend was in the 1:25 range which basically means I have some slight idea what I'm doing (Joe Ascoli and his evo set a new TT3 track record of 1:09 for reference...), but I certainly should be sub 1:20 with the current car setup.  All time is being lost in 3-4-5, and lifting halfway down the front stretch thanks to wonderfully wobbly front wheels.

     It's pretty lame I won't be on track again until some time in June.  Time to start playing with the S2000 and hopefully get some auto x in.  Plus I have a bachelor party in Miami to look forward to.  Need to figure out my front end wobble, and get a better alignment on the car, then just drive it.

     I'm still working on editing video and pictures.

Picture set can be found here  - https://www.flickr.com/photos/natebookbinder/sets/72157643561613583/

Quick vid using both cameras:


I'll add a better video this weekend probably.


    

Friday, March 14, 2014

Season starts in 3 weeks!!! (uh shit...I'm not ready)

     Hopefully what has happened so far this year is not a sign of things to come this year...

     Two weeks ago I went down to NY to get the evo out of storage.  While putting the battery in and doing my typical pre-flight checks  I noticed a not so blue brake fluid reservoir (I've been running ATE super blue).  A quick investigation lead to finding that both calipers had decided to leak and allow all the fluid out.  Driving 30 minute back to my parents house was going to be fun!  First thing i did was park the car in a snowbank and scuff the front lip trying to even back it out...awesome.
     After a little discussion with some people who are tight with/sponsored by RacingBrake (the maker of the upgraded caliper pistons I installed last summer) I was told that while after I did the upgrade, the company changed the thickness of the piston seals as a few people had slight leaking issues.  I fired off n email to RacingBrake with a few questions and they turned around and offered to send me a free set of new seals as well as 50% off their new hi-temp silicone dust boots.

     After all that excitement I made the drive back up to RI.  Surprisingly the car seemed to leak very little fluid when moving/brakes were heated, but parked for 3 days pretty much drained the reservoir again, but this time one caliper stopped leaking.  So I turned around and dropped the car off at the shop last Saturday and asked him to keep an eye on the fluid...no word yet.


     It's funny how even though all us track guys/racers know exactly how long our winter break is we all wind up in a time crunch before the first race.  My first event is officially going to be April 5th, which is apparently 3 weeks away as my writing this.  Crossing my fingers that I'll get the car back by next weekend, at which point I will still need to do the following:
- Change rear diff/trans fluid and oil
- Rebuild front left if not both calipers...again...and fully bleed system
- Align the front end
- Wire oil pressure gauge

   It's probably only about 4-5 hours of work, but the calipers need to be done in my parents garage which turns it into a full weekend...and the only option is the weekend before NJMP.

            It's gonna be close....


Here's some pics:

                                                    Inside view of the MAP O2 housing

                                                 Swaintech'd to try and control some heat

The rubber for this year


The old boots off the whiteline bits
 


     It should be a good weekend,  12 Hours of Sebring and start of F1...and right now I'm gonna watch days of Thunder...sweet

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Welcome to 2014 (I thought it was a good idea at the time...)

     Better late then never I suppose.


     Lately I almost feel like a real person, I've been eating vegetables, I have bed time and I had to buy a bunch of new shirts/ties.  What this means is I finally got a new job...directly across the street from my old one, go figure.  I work days now so I don't feel like I'm constantly losing my shit although I'm still kind of going nuts because it's been effing cold here in the north east and all my fun cars are locked away in garages.

     Wait, did he say fun cars plural? yeah...whoops.


     I tried to talk myself out of it I really really did, but spending too much time surfing the internet and watching track videos made it virtually irresistible along with the fact that I'd reaaly like to keep some miles off the evo this year.  Quick stats - 2001 AP1 173k on the chassis, 50k on the motor, couple small dings and scratches, virtually new top, exhaust and intake.  Needs a set of tires that's it.  Only put about 100 miles on it but DAMN is it fun.

     Back to the evo.  Trying to refrain from any major changes to the car (which I think I spoke about previously) in an effort to focus on my driving.  Need to do a full round of maintenance of course, mods wise I just sent out an O2 housing out to Swaintech today (made sense to replace since I have to get in there to find the exhaust leak/failed part anyway) and I have a set of control arms sitting here with Whiteline front bushings and the RCK bits installed so I can easily get the arms swapped out.  Like I said, nothing too crazy.


Here's the list of events I've compiled so far:
 
March 29  Lime Rock  NASA
April 4-6  NJMP Lightning  NASA
April 12  Lime Rock  EMRA (1pm)
April 28-29  Watkins Glen  NASA
May 3-4  Pocono South East  EMRA
May 16-18  NJMP Thunder  NASA
June 7  Lime Rock  EMRA  (1pm)
June 20-22  Thompson  NASA
July 3-5  Lime Rock (unmuffled)  NASA
July 19-20  NJMP Lightning  NASA
July 26-27 NJMP Lightning  EMRA
August 9-10  Thompson Speedway  EMRA
August 23-24  Thompson  NASA
September 6-7  Pocono North  EMRA
***September 19-20  Lime Rock NARRA***
September 26-28  Watkins Glen  NASA
October 24-26  NJMP Thunderbolt  NASA
November 9-10  Summit Point  EMRA

     Notice that starred event...yeah I'm excited about that one.  A large organization like NARRA at Lime Rock on Trans Am weekend should be a blast.  The car is under prepped and I in no way expect to go out and win, but I certainly don't expect to be last mainly because by then I will have turned close to 300 laps on that track where most of the competitors very well may have only run it on iRacing.

     Unfortunately the schedule will be complicated this year.  I have no idea how things will work out with my work schedule...and as of right now I have 6 weddings and 2 bachelor parties in 2014 which is gonna eat a lot of the car budget and my vacation time.


We shall see, I expect big things this year!