Engine & Drivetrain

• Cold Air Intake – Vortex Rammer Cold Air System by Breathless Performance
• Underdrive Pulleys
• Long Tube Headers
• Mufflers
• Clutch
• Flywheel
• Remote Clutch Bleeder
• ECU Tune

Suspension

• Z51 Swaybars
• Z51 Shocks
• Polyurethane Control Arm Bushings
• Lowered Ride Height
• Corner Balanced

Interior

• Harness Bar
• Racing Seat
• 5 Point Harness (driver, passenger)
• Camera Mount
• Mac mini Stereo
• Clarion Stereo Head Unit

Brakes

• Steel Braided Brake Lines
• Brake Pads
• Brake Fluid

Wheels

• 3 Piece Race Wheels
• 2001 Z06 OEM Wheels
• 1998 OEM Wheels

Tires

• Hoosier R6
• Toyo R888
• BF Goodrich KDW
• Michelin Pilot Sport 2

Saftey

• Helmet
• Gloves
• Shoes
• Drivers Suit
• Tow Hooks

Vortex Rammer Cold Air System by Breathless Performence

A 4 year autocross hiatus and corded Hoosiers, a fast lap time do not make. It’s only fair the blame for being 4 seconds slower than others in my newly designated ASP class (thanks headers! pause, not) be equally spread between both the shear lack of viable rubber reft on my well worn A6′s and not having autocrossed more than once in the last several years. In the first heat I falsely assumed all those hours of seat time on road courses the past few years would have in someway kept my autocross skills sharp (enough), but alas that clearly wasn’t the case at all. While several sports may come back to you “like ridding a bike” this is not one of them. Proof of just how quickly you forget is in my first run, where I left the traction control on, incurred massive wheel hop off the line and finally landed in two 180 degree spins just a few feet from the starting line. Ugh. The rest of the day was spent trying to keep what felt like an unwieldy beast under control. It’s shocking how this sport can take a well mannered, neutral handling car that feels down right smooth being pushed around the sweeping apexes of a road circuit, and shines a glaring spot light on it’s (and the driver’s) lack of ability to gracefully manage sudden and dramatic weight transfer. She pushed, she oversteered, she bucked, she kicked. I thought back to the many years I spent convincing my ’98 Z28 that it was really meant for autocrossing and that pushing like a pig wasn’t actually the fastest method around the course. After several seasons and lots of practice trail braking, we finally came to an understanding and played a very competitive role in F Stock. Yet somehow, the infinitely better chassis of my Corvette was uncontrollable. Maybe it was the gas I used??

My laps peaked at a 44.0, still several seconds from being anywhere near decent. A farther cry still from a fantastic 38.xxx performed by an ASP Z06 and it’s driver who were one of the fastest of the day. So what’s the take away? I need some practice, and…new tires by the next event. 275/40 17s for the front at $560 and 315/30 18s for the rears (up from 295s) at $662 for a grand total for $1,222 worth of disposable rubber. Assuming autocrosses only and no track days, they should last all 16 of American Auto-X Series season. Next is suspension. That ASP Z06 was running 1,200lbs front and 1,000lbs springs in the rear along with double adjustable shocks. A far cry from my Z51 gear. All in due time…

So, thanks to Kevin for posting his Laguna video and giving a yard stick to measure against. Putting our two in-car laps side by side you can really compare where we gain or loose time against each other.

Kevin with his F430 is on the right. I matched our video as best I could going under the first bridge. He’s two seconds faster over all and you can see he easily leads on the straights. This makes a lot of sense as my clutch was damaged and I had only 3rd gear that day and couldn’t reach my top speed during the straightaways.

[qt:http://drivehard.net/racing/images/lagunaseca_f430comparo/lagunaseca_f430comparo.m4v 470 376]

Some analysis:

You can see how much faster he is through turn 1 and entering 2. I’m topping out around 117mph and banging off the rev limiter in 3rd gear. I’m guessing he’s closer to 130mph over the hill. He carries that speed well into 3 and rockets out of the fast sweeper for turn 4 (much faster than I ever can!) and arrives at the foot bridge much earlier, now compounded by another straight where I should be shifting to 4th. He seemed slightly slower leaving turn 5 because his lead dwindles as we reach the Mother’s bridge. Somewhere in the Rahal Straight I continue to regain some lost time, perhaps because I’m perfectly in the power band for my 3rd gear (it’s too short to upshift even if I wanted to). He exists the corkscrew still slightly ahead of me but less than 1 second ahead through turn 10. We finish up through 11 with me probably only 5/10ths behind. His stated lap time was around 1:47, so considering my clutch handicap, being only 2 seconds behind someone with more experience on this track isn’t so bad. Although I’m guessing he was taking it a little easier than I was considering the F430 delivers 100hp more .

While neither one of us were gunning for a trophy on this particular lap, it’s still very educational to compare sections where one person was faster than another, looking for your opportunities for improvement. I really believe you have to continuously measure yourself to know you’re making the right incremental adjustments.

The Ferrari Challenge series allows amateur F430 race drivers to compete in a structured, dealer backed environment. This event was made even more amazing by the inclusion of Ferrari’s Corse Clienti, in which privately owned F1 and FXX cars get a chance to stretch their legs on the track but are supported and maintained by Ferrari. While nothing beats the shear acceleration and deafening pitch of an F1, the FXXs were spectacular to see in action. At $2.5M each, these cars serve as development platforms in which drivers are required to give the manufacturer feedback after each Ferrari operated track session. 2,500lbs, 800hp, and an all carbon fiber body which can only be described as pure sex. Simply a spectacular piece of engineering.

Unfortunately both Challenge races spent most laps under yellow as car-to-car contact seemed to plague the weekend. At one point 5 of the leading F430s hit each other noise to tail as they were moving slowly under caution on the front straight when the lead driver suddenly braked. It was like watching a sadistically expensive fender bender chain reaction on 101.

Clearly an accomplished race driver, we rooted on our host Henri Richard as he stayed clear of contact and on course (with the exception of one slight detour at the corkscrew, see photo #34 ) and finished 3rd overall. Amenities at the track and at the Clement hotel in Monterey were excellent. My compliments to Freescale, they sure know how to put on a show.

Xbox may “just be a game” but having at least some idea what to expect around the next turn really paid off. Memorization of any course is paramount and any edge helps. Proven by my first lap of 2:26, which only two laps later dropped to a 2:00 and mildly improved from there the rest of the day. I had one significant limiting factor all day – my clutch decided to continue it’s obstinate behavior, this time in the form of sticking to the floor. This, even after installing a brand new master and slave cylinder last month. I had run the first session all in 3rd gear, but during the second session it was clear that I was in need of 4th. I’m not sure what the issue was, if it was heat build up reducing the flow of hydraulic fluid or something else, but the peddle was HARD and stuck to the floor. After pulling it up with my toes it would work again for one or to more engagements…then back to sticking. So 3rd gear it was for the day. You can hear me in the video bouncing off the rev limiter between turns 11 and 1, and 4 to 5.

With another day here and a working clutch, laps in the 1:30′s should be doable. Overall the car continues to handle and otherwise run pretty well. All told I can’t be disappointed with a 1:49 the first time out. I was keeping pace with several C6′s with 50-100 more horse power and Porsche GT2s.

A set of LG Pro Longtube Headers are next on the list. Headers plus the handful of other modifications I already have will definitely call for a tune. With any luck 30-40hp will be the result, and offer more to play with at the track. With a bit more power I could transition to 4th gear sooner and have more torque available when coming out of the tighter turns here at Laguna.

Finally got a mic on the camera for audio that doesn’t pop and click, but I was in a rush and what you hear in the video is the result of a $9.99 mono mic from RadioShack a few hours before I left town for Monterey. I think we can do better in the future…

After a total of about 60 laps, race fuel was rough on the pocket book, $9 a gallon for 110. Ouch. But the elevation changes really make this track a blast, and the thrill of the corkscrew doesn’t disappoint. I’m missing the next HOD track day here due work travel, but the season is far from over.

[qt:http://drivehard.net/racing/images/lagunaseca_2.29.08/lagunaseca_lap_1.49.m4v 470 376]

Welcome to the Marina Airport, local home to sky divers and the words smallest autocross course. At least it seemed that way the day we joined the Tiger Owners Club for an event. All due appreciation to the Club for putting on a well organized day, but the course was so narrow and tight it surpassed fun and became a claustrophobic experiment.

Perhaps it was because my car weighs twice that of a Tiger, or that my wheel base is a limo compared to the scant footprint of a Tiger, regardless, this was not the course setup for a Corvette. Or for my friend below in the blue Ferrari F430, who felt a bit cramped as well.

I run most autocross courses in 2nd gear, but there was no chance of that on this course which was clearly designed for Micro Machines. That left me in the dreaded “too fast for one gear, too slow for the next” situation, and because only one stretch was long enough for 2nd gear but too quick to spend time actually shifting, we once again prayed to the rev limiter Gods to keep things under control.

Here you can see after the first left hand turn that the slalom was asking for another gear but it was too short to make the upshift. Maybe if I had Kevin’s fancy F1 paddle shifters… A little over driving on cold tires always gets the heart pumping, you can see some nice tail step-out heading into the slalom and making the first left hand turn exiting the slalom. Good times

[qt:http://drivehard.net/racing/images/tigerclub_9.23.07/a_in_car.m4v 470 376]

As if the tight course wasn’t challenging enough, I thought I would spice things up and turn on the windshield wipers half way through and then spend the rest of the run trying to turn them off. This technique of speed-by-chaos proved successful as it turned out to be my best run of the day and the third fastest time overall.

[qt:http://drivehard.net/racing/images/tigerclub_9.23.07/wipers.m4v 470 376]

Possibly the greatest advise my mechanic ever gave me was a prized piece of social engineering in which the goal is to persuade your significant other that spending limitless sums of money on this hobby is in fact not “silly” but a fun “quality time” activity fit for the whole family! When words fail to make this point, strap her in behind the wheel and tell her “step on it”. What can I say, the man is a genius. This clip is of her 5th run ever at an autocross, and perhaps the 2nd time she’d ever been behind the well of this car. She did very well, I think there’s some natural ability worth uncovering. You’ll also catch the first half of one of Kevin’s run.

[qt:http://drivehard.net/racing/images/tigerclub_9.23.07/k_out_car.m4v 470 376]

Lastly, one of my runs viewed from outside the car.

[qt:http://drivehard.net/racing/images/tigerclub_9.23.07/a_out_car.m4v 470 376]

In contrast to June, it was hot. 100 degree air temperature made for sky rocketing oil temperatures and I hit 300 degrees in several sessions and had to back off a bit. Needless to say I quickly changed oil after pushing the Mobil 1 to it’s limits that day. The remainder of this year’s race budget has gone to the purchase of a high performance radiator with built in engine oil cooler. Somehow I think it’ll be more useful once it’s out of the box in my trunk.

No fires this time, but an unlucky Lotus Elise caught a tire on the edge of the track coming into the pits and spun headfirst into the concrete barrier. The driver wasn’t injured thankfully, but the Elise has likely moved on to the afterlife.

I’m still fuzzy on a few of the best shift points throughout the course, that and the heat are were my biggest limiting factors. A 2:11.70 was my best effort for the day, a 6 second improvement over last time. I can see shaving off another 3-5 seconds after another day here and with better temperature maintenance.

[qt:http://drivehard.net/racing/images/thunderhill_8.31.07/thunderhill_lap_2.11.m4v 470 376]