This will be John's (@TSiAWD666) 5th year competing at the Grassroot Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge at Virginia International Raceway. Sadly, last year he blew his turbo in the warm-up session and was not able to compete in the event and a turbo swap had to be performed early Saturday morning to be up and running for the weekend Time Trials sessions. He's headed down for the whole weekend for UTCC as well as NASA's Hyperfest and is looking for redemption!

If anyone is down there, be on the lookout for his GSX. We all hope he has a smooth weekend and is able to bring home a win!



John's race report from 2015: https://www.facebook.com/john.freun...0204981705368889.1073741837.1429266581&type=3

Facebook page for UTCC: https://www.facebook.com/events/851630111619612/

Good luck John, keep that driveline and clutch happy and go put down some awesome laps!!

Best of luck.

Really tempting to head out there if I'm off work with the family and take some pictures.

Drive fast and be safe! Look forward to seeing your results and let me know what you think of that new turbo.

Good luck.

Man that's awesome and sweet looking race car too. Have fun!

Good luck, looking forward to the report!

Best of luck John, we are all cheering you on, go give'em HELL

Wishing you good luck and fast laps, John!

If anyone is interested in last year's adventure you can read about it here:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/the-road-to-utcc-2015.494651/

Thanks everyone for the support! Hoping to break the sub 2-minute barrier with some changes to the suspension (the alignment was way off last year due to my error), non-leaking oil/coolant letting me run more than one hot lap, and maybe even break the class record for TT2. I'll make some time later to write up about the prep for the event here.

If anyone has any questions about the car, event, or whatever, feel free to ask. Thanks again to everyone!

Which gear oil are you running in the rear end with the Weir clutch packs on the evo diff? Are you back to using a higher lockup fluid, or is it still toned down?

With the trans, are you still on the Redline 75w140NS?

The twin disk holding up?

Any aero adjustments?

Are you now logging transmission temperatures as well?

For those who don't know twicks69, aka Tim Zimmer, aka TMZ Performance, built my drivetrain from trans to rear diff and has done a phenomenal job in supporting me with terrific customer service and a product that continues to perform very well. He goes out of the way to get you the right product, is extremely fair in his pricing (for his level of service remember he deserves to be paid, but believe me he would be justified in asking for more), and is meticulous (I daresay near OCD, and I mean that as a compliment!) with his attention to detail and gets everything right.

twicks69 said:

Which gear oil are you running in the rear end with the Weir clutch packs on the evo diff? Are you back to using a higher lockup fluid, or is it still toned down?

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Still the Heavyweight Shockproof you recommended, with no Friction Modifier anymore. With the R-compound tires I found I no longer needed it. When I made the switch way back to the NT01 tires (and now Hoosier A6/A7/R7) I felt I wasn't getting the lockup I wanted which resulted less rotation on acceleration. I removed the friction modifier that made the rear rotate nicely again when coming out of corners. I change the fluid maybe once a year. I actually think I could probably use a little more lockup back there but it's a low priority.

With the trans, are you still on the Redline 75w140NS?

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Yes. While I should be switching to Motul stuff because of the sponsorship I haven't drained anything since last year. So, uh, everybody buy Motul fluids!

The twin disk holding up?

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The clutch you built for me still works terrifically. Zero complaints.

Any aero adjustments?

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No. Not much I can adjust beyond the wing, and it's still balanced with the front. Didn't make any aero changes but maybe I'll now look into Andrew's newer revisions and improve them.

Are you now logging transmission temperatures as well?

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Yes, I'm still logging them (remember I gave you the data from last summer's event?).

Sounds good dude, which tires are you using for the upcoming event?

And you have the new APR wing on the car now? That thing is F'ing nuts!!

I'm using Hoosier R7 for warm-up and Hoosier A6 for timed sessions, both in 315/30/18.

Ah, no, I'm still using the DHP Composites 70" wing I've had for years. Since I made no changes to the front aero I didn't need more downforce in the rear so I haven't even looked at that new wing beyond pictures.

What are your suspension mods in a nutshell?

Good luck, I was hoping to see you run again this year but my trans had other plans so I had to cancel the NASA weekend.
Will you be at Summit this year?

I would actually really like to get into racing, it looks like for the event you are participating in that the place to start is NASA and progress HPDE 1-4, then get a TT license to be able to participate in the event you are doing? I'm from PA as well, so that track is probably the closest to me. It looks like they are also holding HPDE events there as well, although ATM my talon is in pieces and I don't think I want to track my 3s, . But it seems like HPDE 1 is the place to start getting into racing once I have a car to take?

Talyn said:

I would actually really like to get into racing, it looks like for the event you are participating in that the place to start is NASA and progress HPDE 1-4, then get a TT license to be able to participate in the event you are doing? I'm from PA as well, so that track is probably the closest to me. It looks like they are also holding HPDE events there as well, although ATM my talon is in pieces and I don't think I want to track my 3s, . But it seems like HPDE 1 is the place to start getting into racing once I have a car to take?

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Not to get off topic from the thread, but check out Pitt Race since you're in Pittsburgh. I have run with the AutoInterests group there but there are plenty of HPDE outings through various organizers.
http://www.pittrace.com/

Pitt race is a great track. I try to go a few times a year.

Best of luck this weekend John!

mysticj said:

What are your suspension mods in a nutshell?

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I would say my suspension is, while quite performant, fairly simple. The details are in my car's profile but I can break it down quickly here:
- Custom Valved KW Variant 3 coilovers with custom spherical bearing upper mounts, conical/coaxial upper perches, and Swift 900/1000lbs spring
- modified front subframe to provide roll center correction for lowered car (the lower control arm mount points are raised up)
- OEM front sway bar, RM Racing rear, poly sway bar bushings
- Adjustable Front sway bar end-links. These remove pre-load from the way bar.
- Paul Volk rear toe arms (spherical bearings, lighter, and easy adjustment, no more seized bushings!)
- Front Strut Tower Bar (no name brand)
- SPC Upper Control Arm replacements in front with 5.4 caster -3.0 camber, and Ingalls camber adjustment in the rear at -1.5 camber.
- Compworks Fender Braces
- Roll cage by RRT
- Driver's side compression arm bushing flipped to restore caster

I listed chassis stiffening as it's quite important in getting the suspension to perform properly.

Xska555 said:

Good luck, I was hoping to see you run again this year but my trans had other plans so I had to cancel the NASA weekend.
Will you be at Summit this year?

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I do plan to be out at Summit, just not sure when. Have to see how the car survives UTCC and Hyperfest, and then will plan things out Sorry to hear about your trans, that's awful man.

Talyn said:

I would actually really like to get into racing, it looks like for the event you are participating in that the place to start is NASA and progress HPDE 1-4, then get a TT license to be able to participate in the event you are doing? I'm from PA as well, so that track is probably the closest to me. It looks like they are also holding HPDE events there as well, although ATM my talon is in pieces and I don't think I want to track my 3s, . But it seems like HPDE 1 is the place to start getting into racing once I have a car to take?

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Looks like you got the gist of it The NASA system has you progress through the HPDE ladder from group 1 through group 4, at which point you can test for a TT license and then begin doing TT. I actually never did go to group 4 and just tested out of 3 because I thought 4 was only for instructors (which I'm not) TT is run like HPDE but with fast cars and experienced drivers. Tracks near you would be Pitt Race, NJMP, and Summit Point to name a few. I would take any car you are comfortable with that is in good condition to get started as you don't need a fast car to learn to drive fast.

Is the racing Friday only?

GST with PSI said:

Is the racing Friday only?

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There will be racing and lots more all weekend. Friday is the Ultimate Track Car Challenge but also sessions where other cars will be practicing. Sat and Sun will be a NASA weekend which includes various road racing (like time trials that I will be doing), and driver education. Hyperfest (http://hyper-fest.com/) happens the entire time with drifting, off road stuff, burnout contests, and more. It is a really awesome weekend altogether.

Updates?

The event is next weekend

Good luck sir. Be safe, but most of all have plenty of fun.