continued from above
After that look-see went well, we added some fuel then Olof (above) got in to ride shotgun for the next 2 sessions out. Each run was only 3-5 laps, but we were learning a lot as I pushed the car harder each lap. The car was LOOSE AS HELL, especially in the faster corners. So each time we came in we kept adding more angle of attack (AOA) on the rear wing. For sessions 4 and 5 I went out alone, to push the car at the TT3 race weight we would be running. With the final wing change we managed to get the car a bit more neutral and ran the lap below.
That video has some
pretty bad driving from me, as usual, and it was still a bit loose. Even with some ridiculously late braking into T1, which turned into a big SLIDE, plus some bobbles in other corners, the car put down a 1:57.6 lap in 95 degree heat on well worn R6s. The best lap I ever have put in at ECR was a 1:56 back in November of last year, when it was 40 degrees cooler and we were on fresh 315 Kumhos, and didn't have these big driving errors. In June the best Amy or I could get out of the car was a 2:00 min lap, wringing it out all day, so we seemingly found 3 seconds on the same set of tires in the same heat. We could have stuck around for more laps and likely chopped off some more time, but it was getting towards 1:30 pm and everyone wanted to go eat and get out of there. Most of us had not taken a day off in weeks and we were all dead tired, too.
The car did make some funky noises all day, only under decel or idle, which we attributed to the vacuum pulling the hoses shut on the oil / air separator system. We are replacing these with proper suction-rated lines tomorrow.
TT3 Work Continues After Track Test
So the car was barely finished enough to take it to the track but we have a lot to wrap up before heading to NASA Nationals. The car is covered in grasshopper guts, half of it is unpainted, and the temporary hood pins we had installed need to be replaced with Aero latches. The flares aren't done, we have a lot of spares to put together, and the general pre-race prep needs to be redone.
Left: Actual look at the track test event. Right: Photoshop rendering in red
We always see a lot of bug hits on the cars raced in Texas when the grass is high, and this test day was no different. To reduce the impact of bug and rock hits on the radiator (actually the A/C condenser) we've got some Kevlar honeycomb grill protector material coming. This will go on the face of the heat exchanger and stay out of the higher pressure airflow at the grill opening. This stuff us used in circle track to take mud and rock hits and can be cleaned out quickly.
Lots of cleaning has to be done before the bumper cover goes to the painter. We have a lot of little paint work to tackle, too - like the raw steel bumper beam, the unpainted splitter needs some semi-flat black, and the grill cover will likely get some black, too.
You merely adopted the downforce, I was born in it.
Some guys on a fb car page made the Bane connection, above. Strangely that's the 4th Bane reference picture so far (and the funniest). I don't like to name cars, though, and we just call it "the Red Mustang" around here.
The flare mock-ups are shown above, with some photoshop work to cover up a few things. The final flares will look pretty similar to this, and they are open on the back for better air evacuation. Hopefully we have time to post up some pictures right before we load up on Monday Sept 2nd, with a painted car, new graphics applied, and at Nationals we will have another set of 18x12" wheels in a different color installed. A sticker set of Hoosier A6s are inbound, other bits and pieces will be here today, and the hood is already bodyworked and primed. I have to stop here and go finish some more flare work tonight.
Upcoming Events
NASA Nationals< Miller Motorsports Park, Sept 4-8th. Will post up about that probably a few days after we get back. But there are several other events we will be at right after Nats.
Five Star Ford track event at ECR, September 7th. - This is an event we would
normally be attending in our Mustang, but most of us will be at the NASA Nationals. Matt is taking his BRZ out that day, and if I can find someone to drive it out there, our 2013 GT will be there for showing. These track events are fairly informal but well run, includes instructors for novice drivers, lunch is provided, and they have great SCCA corner workers present. $150 to sign up and you can see more details
here.
NASA @ TWS, September 20-22nd. We will be competing at this event at Texas World Speedway, the 2nd time this event is run on the NASA schedule this year (different direction). They will have HPDE, Time Trials, Racing, and an Enduro.
Here is a link to the event sign-up page.
Camaro VS Mustang: The Ultimate Battle - October 5th, Texas Motorplex in Ennis, TX. This is a multi-motorsports event being run by True Street Motorsports. This event is billed as a Camaro and Mustang event but is open to all GM and Ford powered vehicles. Events include drag racing and autocrossing; Vorshlag is joining forces with the Texas Region SCCA folks to set-up and run the autocross event. Vorshlag will have cash prizes for the fastest autocross times from both street tire (140+ treadwear) and race tire (DOT R-compounds or slicks) entries. The entry fee is very cheap ($45!) and the sign-up page is
here.
There are more events, but that's all I am going to put out there right now. Gotta get to work...
Cheers,