lshu

This was my 2nd track day, and it was even more awesome than my first one at Streets of Willow! The weather was perfect (65F) and about 30 people were signed up. I met another RX-8 owner there (trustbuddy) who has the same year and color as my 8 ('05 Ti Gray). Lots of crazy stuff happened that Saturday, from people spinning out, blowing out tires, leaking oil, catching on fire, and one S2000 having a major accident. Needless to say, it was a very entertaining day . Here were my pictures from the event, enjoy:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...5&id=831346101

The track has a great set of turns and elevation changes. The last long sweeping right turn before the straight is pretty scary, as it's unnerving to test the limits of grip going ~90mph. I ran in the white group (beginner) for the first 4 sessions, and blue group (intermediate) for the last run. Next time I'll go for the blue group, as in the white group I was passing most everyone. But it feels good for the ego to pass S2000s, 350z, Integras and whatnot . In the blue run I was trading places with an Evo during the whole run. Sooo fun!! My best time for the day was 1:07.101.

Also, in my last Streets of Willow track day thread, I mentioned that my car was overheating during the second run. Since then I got the Racing Beat flash (turns on fans earlier), switched to 80/20 coolant with water wetter, and my car didn't even break a sweat through all 5 runs! The nice weather probably also helped alot (65F vs 92F).

KAtC10

You were putting down good times too, congrats. Will you be at the Buttonwillow event in 2 weeks? What all do you have done to the car, and do you mind me asking where and how much you got the reflash done?

shinkuu

congrats on a good time. what offset are you running with those wheels? i was there posting up timing. will u make it out to the buttonwillow event next weekend?

lshu

Unfortunately, I won't be there as I'll be on a business trip to France. My next track day will probably be late this year, maybe around september. Hope to see you guys then!

My mods were:
Racing Beat springs and sway bars
Tokico D-spec adjustable shocks, set at full hard
Racing Beat REVi intake and cold air duct
Racing Beat ECU Street flash
Enkei RP-F1 18x9.5 wheels, offset is +45mm
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-3D 245/40/R18 tires @ 35psi all around
Hawk HPS brake pads
Goodridge SS brake lines
Alignment -1° F, -1.5° R, 0 toe
Richard Paul AFE Short Shifter

For the track, upgraded shocks and SS brake lines really make braking/turning feel confident. Also the short shifter is amazing! Very precise and I had no misshifts. When I had my stock shifter my first track day the shift gates were vague and from 2nd I went into 1st a few times! Ouchy. The RB flash also made a good difference as I could wring it past 9K without any drop in power. My feelings for the Goodyear tires are a bit mixed. I got consistent performance with good grip throughout the run (they didn't start feeling greasy until the end of runs, pretty impressive), the tire wear was even and not excessive. However, the main downside are the soft side walls. It starts feeling a bit scary on quick transitional chicanes and high speed turns.

Since Racing Beat is close to me (they're in Anaheim, I'm in Irvine), I just drove there to get the flash, which cost $295. Since you're in San Diego, you could do the same thing. Just bring a copy of the PCM removal instructions from their site, a socket set, and needlenose pliers/screwdriver (for those pesky plastic clips) so you can give them your ECU when you get there. For me, it took them less than 30 minutes to finish the flash.

KAtC10

Sounds like you've got yourself a good setup there. I'm still all stock other than Racing Beat sways and upgraded pads & tires. I'll have to look into that reflash, thanks!