Meat Head

Hey there Jinx - I’ve noticed a huge improvement this year over last year with the shock replacement. Like I said earlier, slow degradation is hard to notice until it becomes plain bad.

Meat Head

Personal Log Star Date 2024-185

Finally after more than a week an update to my annual track day at Mission Raceway. Another good event hosted by a local shop with lunch and coaching included at a decent price.

It surprised me how few people were asking for coaches to ride along. These guys typically have over 20 years experience. I lost count how many spins and offs occurred during the day - at least 2 per session for each of the 4 groups. Not what I would have expected either cause most of the participants losing control were over 40. It’s okay to admit you don’t know fellas.

The high point of the day was the third session when my mom (turns 80 next month) was my passenger. She was bragging about it to her friends later so that was a great sign.

My newbie status still shone through. In the afternoon I cut short a session after feeling the car drive funny. Nothing was wrong, just hot tires and, I later discovered, numerous chunks of melted rubber stuck to my rims (other people’s tires). I’m now approaching the point where I can feel new 200TW tires would make a difference. Oh well, budget is firmly in reality so the 500TW Continentals will do. The coach gave me the best feedback I could hear - I’m smooth. According to him, my continued heel/toe/double clutch technique isn’t making any time for me (slower in fact) but, it saves the transmission so I’ll keep it.

The car ran well with temperatures never getting over 198°F coolant and 172° F oil on a 25° C day (ya I know, it’s Canada so we use both). The cooling system upgrades work. New shocks made a HUGE difference, especially on turn 3 where there’s an abrupt elevation change mid corner. Compression was tested tonight after work and there’s no difference between values measured in March and now



Dreaded selfie with mom


Mom and I underway


Another shot


One of several rubber chunks stuck to the rims - quarter beside it for scale

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

So cool.

10KRPM

That's wonderful that you were able to take your mom out with you! I can picture her saying "wait, why do I need a helmet?"

I'm surprised at the number of spins and offs you are describing. I'm not a track person myself but have friends who are, one in particular very experienced and is an instructor at times. From hearing them talk it sounded like the tracks they are at really look into and talk to drivers who run into difficulty, make sure they know their limits and warn about repeating.

Meat Head

10KRPM - that was the worst day for offs I’ve seen. They used the black flag a couple times but, not enough. Someone passed me on the right while I had a coach in my car ( point to pass on left only in 3 locations). They got a flag and a discussion. It was a very exuberant group.

10KRPM

Exuberant sounds slightly scary to me.

UnknownJinX

Glad to hear you are having fun in your 8. The most I feel comfortable doing now in my Speed3 is an AutoX event. Tracks get pretty expensive once you consider the wear and tear. Worth it if you have the money, though.

That event somehow is still better organized than some of the events I heard about. Nothing can be as bad as that one track day at Toronto Motorsports Park...

Meat Head

Hey there Unknown Jinx - I’m going to talk with both the organizers and the driver school before I attend another event. They need some end user feedback. I’ve vacation time soon so will make a few stops. Best done in person. (Edit) Email comes off badly sometimes.