Ludachris
Founder & Zookeeper
- 8,831
- 4,642
- Nov 12, 2001
-
Newcastle,
California
I had to do a write-up about this track day due to all the hard work that went in to it and the good time that resulted. The event was held at Pueblo Motorsports park in Pueblo, CO. It's a 2.2 mile track at 4900 ft. I've never cut it so close and still made it out to the track only to have, for the most part, a trouble-free event. And I wasn't too comfortable going with the chaos that took place prior to the event. Before I tell you about the event, let me tell you what I had to go through just to make it possible....
Three weeks before the event:
I install a TCE Big Brake Kit. The install goes smoothly but I end up needing spacers for my street wheels. I put in an order and get them two weeks later. Unfortunately, the wheels/tires I was planning to have for this event won't make it in time. I'll be running on some all-season tires. No biggie.
Saturday, 6 days before the event:
The car is sitting in the garage with the injectors pulled. I had a fuel leak at the rail at the last track event and pulled the injectors to inspect the seals. Everything looked good, but I talked to Frank at FIC and found that the rail he sent had the wrong flange on it so he sent me a new one. I"m wondering if this had anything to do with the leak. I get the new rail and put everything back together. New o-rings at the rail ends and I grease up all the seals. I also put on the spacers I just received.
Sunday, 7 days before the event:
I go to start the car only to find that it won't start. I check the spark plugs, put in a new fuel filter, and go through a bunch of other tests. I end up pulling the GM MAF off to try a spare I have laying around. I notice a heavy gasoline smell in the IC piping. I pull the throttle body to find puddles of fuel in the intake manifold, throttle body, and IC pipes. How did so much raw fuel get into the intake system? It took me almost a full day to figure it out but, I realized that when I was working on the fuel rail/injectors, I took off the gas cap to relieve pressure in the system as I always do. I re-installed the injectors, tightened the cap and then pulled the injectors again and left the cap tight. I left the fuel rail sitting on the runner for almost two (hot) days. It turns out that the system pressurized with the record heat we had and a LOT of gas was pushed into the injector holes in the head. It filled up the combustion chamber and spilled over into the intake manifold and down through the piping into the FMIC. It took me two days to figure out how much gas was in the FMIC and with some consulting with a good freind out in Cali and a couple beers with the neighbor
. Needless to say, this was the cause for the car not starting, and the main reason for the rest of my headaches making the deadline.
Monday through Thursday before the event:
I try blow the gas out of the system with compressed air only to have that fail. I eventually pull the FMIC off the car and dump almost a quart out. Damn! While I had the FMIC off I make some new brackets for the external oil cooler and a few other little things. I also start putting on the new Mr. Gasket hood locks that I bought. The hood locks allowed me to get rid of the hood latch to allow more free air to come through the radiator. The Mr Gasket hood locks are crap for racing purposes. Don't get them. I broke one latch and had to buy a new set only to find out later at the track how much they suck. After the hood pin install kicked my as for a few hours I finally got the FMIC back on and got everything back together. When all was said and done on Thursday I was able to start the car and it ran fine. I finally got the chance to bed the new brakes and was relieved that I was going to be able to make the track event.
Friday before the event:
I change the oil and tranny fluid.
Saturday morning, (event doesn't start until 6pm):
I do some soldering on the injector wiring harness and install the Innovate LC1/XD-16 kit. I really didn't 'need' to do this but I didn't have a laptop this weekend and wanted to at least see how the car was running during the event. A friend of mine (Whit) helped out by topping off the transfer case with fluid and putting in new coolant/water wetter. We had planned to leave by 1:30 pm in order to eat lunch before the 1.5 hour drive. I ended up working on the car up until 3 pm and just ate a sandwich that my wife made for me as I messed with the damn hood pins. We finally jump on the road and head out. I'm weary of the idle not working right and the hood pin not lined up exactly right but oh well. We're on our way - my wife and I and my car and my friend Whit in his 98 Integra GSR. Whit helped me out a great deal and I probably couldn't have had the car completely ready in time if not for him.
At the track:
We get there just in time for me to get the car tech'd and go to the drivers' meeting. This is a 3 hour night enduro (6-9) that only HPDE 3 and 4 will be participating in. We're planning on it getting dark for the last hour or so. I mess with the hood pin and get it to the point where I feel comfortable that it will work fine. I also locate a torn vacuum line that was making the boost gauge and fuel pressure gauge act funny. The car is as ready as it's going to be.
We jump out on the track and start increasing speeds. The car feels good. I have the boost turned down to about 17 lbs. so it's not accelerating like I'm used to, but it's still fun.
(A quick virtual lap around the track)
PMI is a fun course with a lot of straight lines. The main straight doubles as the drag strip, which makes turning on to the main straight a bit of a challenge. Turn one is a lightly banked 180 degree right-hand turn. I'm usually able to hold 60-70 mph going through it in third gear. As you come out of it, you're setting up for turn 2, which is basically a 60 degree left. I tap the brake and then step on it to pull the car through. Turn 3 is a 90 degree left that leads to a short straight that dips down and then goes uphill. I tend to reach the top of third gear before hitting the brakes hard for turn 4. This is a right-hand increasing-radius bend that isn't quite 180 degrees. If I keep my speed through it I don't have to downshift to second, but I lose a good deal of spool. Coming out of it you come out on to the third longest straight on the track, going down hill. If I nail it I usually have to shift to 4th before 5, which is a 45 degree right and has a slight bank to it. This turn is so fun because you can really carry some speed and you load up the suspension pretty good due to the fact that you start going uphill immediately out of the turn. At the top of the crest you come right into 6A which is a blind 22 degree righthander which leads to 6B, another 22 degree right. You want to make it through these two bends in one continuous turn. It sends you right into turn 7 where you're on the brakes hard. This is the most technical turn on the track. It's a tight, low speed 180 degree to the left. I have to downshift to second gear for this one. I come out shifting to third as I finish the turn, drifting out to the middle of the track setting up for turn 8, a 45 degree right. You want to hit it right to get set up for the second longest straight on the track. I usually get up to 100 mph at the end of this straight. Then it's hard on the brakes for hard right into turn 9, another second gear turn for me. Then it's the most important turn coming up, the right-hander on to the 1/2 mile main straight. This turn is quite tricky, as it's a fast 60 degree right that leads you through the burn out lanes for the drag strip with concrete walls on both sides. Halfway through is the patch where they put the light tree for the drag racers, so you're drifting across different grip levels and it's a rough surface. If you don't hit it right you lose all your momentum for the long straight. If you mess up, you're into the concrete wall on the outside. And if you really mess up, you're pinballing from one concrete wall to the other on the inside of the track. If I do it right, I'm hitting 130 mph before I have to brake for turn 1.
http://www.nasarockymountain.com/images/tracklayout-pueblo.gif
After a half hour of driving fairly hard I come back in to check things. I go to unlock the hood pins and find that the locks moved on their own. I have to grind down the key just to get it to work - I realize quickly that these are not the right hood pins for me. After 15 mins I finally get my hood open. Everything looks okay. I turn up the boost a little bit (close to 20 lbs). I let the car cool down for a little and head back out. Even though there are about 15 cars on the track I feel as though I'm by myself. I don't get passed and I don't pass anyone. This gave me a chance to adjust to the sun going down and the changing visual marks. The only lights at the track are on the main straight. You tend to lose a lot of your brake markers when it gets dark. Halfway through the session I notice a rattlesnake coiled up between turn 9 and 10. It's right in the middle of the driving line. Not knowing what it is I drive right over it and avoid hitting it with the tires. I look back really quick and realize what it was. The next time around I see that someone else nailed it and it's now laid out right where my left side tires are supposed to go. That was a little distracting, but as time went on it got chewed up to the point where it wasn't much of a problem. I came back in and let the car cool down some more and added a little bit of brake fluid. I was told my brakes were glowing and dropping a few sparks.
I got a ride-along in Clayton's Evo MR (Warrtalon on EVOtuners.net). I was able to quickly notice the difference in handling and the severe disadvantage I had with my soft spring rates and all season tires. The Evo also seemed to be better geared for the track and had less understeer coming out of the turns and even though he was on street tires, they were easily a better choice than the all-seasons I was running. He was able to stay in 3rd gear in areas where I had to downshift to 2nd. It was a good experience. I jumped back in my car for one last session that night and tried some different lines, but overall I knew my tires weren't going to allow me to go as fast through some of the turns as Clayton's car. He was a good 3-4 seconds faster I'm guessing. Oh well, it was time to just go out and have some fun! I beat on the brakes pretty hard again, as the grid marshal told me I had more sparks coming from the rotors again as I came in. By the end of the session the brake pedal was traveling closer to the floor. I had to add a little more fluid when I was done.
That was the pretty much the end of Day 1. All in all the car felt good and the brakes were much better than the old system. Though it was obvious the pads weren't the right choice for heavy track use. We headed out and stayed at my Mom's new place about 5 miles away.
Day Two:
Unfortunately, Clayton lost 4th gear the night before so he wasn't around for the next day's festivities. We got to the track and got ready to have some fun. My wife Cinthia was working the control tower while my friend Whit and I got our cars prepared. Before we left my Mom's house I noticed an oil leak. Luckily it was due to a loose fitting on the oil pump housing where the oil feed line for the turbo connects. I was able to tighten that up without losing too much oil. I actually had to cut a piece off the sponge-like sole of my sandal to plug the fitting while I tightened it. It worked Got the car running and hooked up the transponder. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of times I was running around the track. Unfortunately for me, they didn't have it set up for my first session. Oh well.
The next time out I had some fun. I was running hard but was getting losing time in the corners to an Evo MR ('bigd' over on EVOtuners.net and a Z06 Vette. They were gaining on me but I was able to stay far enough ahead because of my straight line speed. On a more technical track, they would have had me for sure. I NEED TIRES BADLY! I still managed to get the 4th best lap time behind the Z06, the Evo MR, and an STi.
The third session was the best. The lead instructor for our group led us out around the track in rows of two. We actually got the chance to do a rolling start even though we weren't technically racing. At that point I started in the third row and could have easily passed the two Z06s in front if I would have gone three-wide on the front straight. I don't think the instructor would have liked that though. I got around the first Z06 (who obviously didn't realize that he was slower until the end of the first lap) and had to catch up to the other Z06 and the STi who were up ahead. It took me two laps but I was able to get around both in the back side of the track. As hard as I tried, I couldn't catch the 'bigd' in the Evo. He had me by 2-4 seconds one every lap. And though I felt I was going faster than I was earlier, I still only managed to match my best lap time earlier. It was still a blast! Though it wasn't a real race, it had the feeling of one. It was by far the most fun I've had at a track event so far.
We had to leave before the last session, but that was fine with me. I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before and was pretty burned out. We packed up and headed home, with no major issues. That's the sign of a great weekend. Hopefully someone got some good photos so I can post them. I know there was one photographer there on Sunday so I'll see about buying some prints from him. The nice thing about this event is that there was finally another local DSMer who made it out (fhudsonjr) and two others who came out to spectate (wolf20043 and Julia). It was nice to finally have some 'family' out there. Hopefully we'll have more people coming out next season when we have more events.
Some photos taken by a Grassroots Motorsports photographer:
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGaller...userid=rupertberr&gallery_id=446186&curpage=2
Three weeks before the event:
I install a TCE Big Brake Kit. The install goes smoothly but I end up needing spacers for my street wheels. I put in an order and get them two weeks later. Unfortunately, the wheels/tires I was planning to have for this event won't make it in time. I'll be running on some all-season tires. No biggie.
Saturday, 6 days before the event:
The car is sitting in the garage with the injectors pulled. I had a fuel leak at the rail at the last track event and pulled the injectors to inspect the seals. Everything looked good, but I talked to Frank at FIC and found that the rail he sent had the wrong flange on it so he sent me a new one. I"m wondering if this had anything to do with the leak. I get the new rail and put everything back together. New o-rings at the rail ends and I grease up all the seals. I also put on the spacers I just received.
Sunday, 7 days before the event:
I go to start the car only to find that it won't start. I check the spark plugs, put in a new fuel filter, and go through a bunch of other tests. I end up pulling the GM MAF off to try a spare I have laying around. I notice a heavy gasoline smell in the IC piping. I pull the throttle body to find puddles of fuel in the intake manifold, throttle body, and IC pipes. How did so much raw fuel get into the intake system? It took me almost a full day to figure it out but, I realized that when I was working on the fuel rail/injectors, I took off the gas cap to relieve pressure in the system as I always do. I re-installed the injectors, tightened the cap and then pulled the injectors again and left the cap tight. I left the fuel rail sitting on the runner for almost two (hot) days. It turns out that the system pressurized with the record heat we had and a LOT of gas was pushed into the injector holes in the head. It filled up the combustion chamber and spilled over into the intake manifold and down through the piping into the FMIC. It took me two days to figure out how much gas was in the FMIC and with some consulting with a good freind out in Cali and a couple beers with the neighbor
. Needless to say, this was the cause for the car not starting, and the main reason for the rest of my headaches making the deadline.Monday through Thursday before the event:
I try blow the gas out of the system with compressed air only to have that fail. I eventually pull the FMIC off the car and dump almost a quart out. Damn! While I had the FMIC off I make some new brackets for the external oil cooler and a few other little things. I also start putting on the new Mr. Gasket hood locks that I bought. The hood locks allowed me to get rid of the hood latch to allow more free air to come through the radiator. The Mr Gasket hood locks are crap for racing purposes. Don't get them. I broke one latch and had to buy a new set only to find out later at the track how much they suck. After the hood pin install kicked my as for a few hours I finally got the FMIC back on and got everything back together. When all was said and done on Thursday I was able to start the car and it ran fine. I finally got the chance to bed the new brakes and was relieved that I was going to be able to make the track event.
Friday before the event:
I change the oil and tranny fluid.
Saturday morning, (event doesn't start until 6pm):
I do some soldering on the injector wiring harness and install the Innovate LC1/XD-16 kit. I really didn't 'need' to do this but I didn't have a laptop this weekend and wanted to at least see how the car was running during the event. A friend of mine (Whit) helped out by topping off the transfer case with fluid and putting in new coolant/water wetter. We had planned to leave by 1:30 pm in order to eat lunch before the 1.5 hour drive. I ended up working on the car up until 3 pm and just ate a sandwich that my wife made for me as I messed with the damn hood pins. We finally jump on the road and head out. I'm weary of the idle not working right and the hood pin not lined up exactly right but oh well. We're on our way - my wife and I and my car and my friend Whit in his 98 Integra GSR. Whit helped me out a great deal and I probably couldn't have had the car completely ready in time if not for him.
At the track:
We get there just in time for me to get the car tech'd and go to the drivers' meeting. This is a 3 hour night enduro (6-9) that only HPDE 3 and 4 will be participating in. We're planning on it getting dark for the last hour or so. I mess with the hood pin and get it to the point where I feel comfortable that it will work fine. I also locate a torn vacuum line that was making the boost gauge and fuel pressure gauge act funny. The car is as ready as it's going to be.
We jump out on the track and start increasing speeds. The car feels good. I have the boost turned down to about 17 lbs. so it's not accelerating like I'm used to, but it's still fun.
(A quick virtual lap around the track)
PMI is a fun course with a lot of straight lines. The main straight doubles as the drag strip, which makes turning on to the main straight a bit of a challenge. Turn one is a lightly banked 180 degree right-hand turn. I'm usually able to hold 60-70 mph going through it in third gear. As you come out of it, you're setting up for turn 2, which is basically a 60 degree left. I tap the brake and then step on it to pull the car through. Turn 3 is a 90 degree left that leads to a short straight that dips down and then goes uphill. I tend to reach the top of third gear before hitting the brakes hard for turn 4. This is a right-hand increasing-radius bend that isn't quite 180 degrees. If I keep my speed through it I don't have to downshift to second, but I lose a good deal of spool. Coming out of it you come out on to the third longest straight on the track, going down hill. If I nail it I usually have to shift to 4th before 5, which is a 45 degree right and has a slight bank to it. This turn is so fun because you can really carry some speed and you load up the suspension pretty good due to the fact that you start going uphill immediately out of the turn. At the top of the crest you come right into 6A which is a blind 22 degree righthander which leads to 6B, another 22 degree right. You want to make it through these two bends in one continuous turn. It sends you right into turn 7 where you're on the brakes hard. This is the most technical turn on the track. It's a tight, low speed 180 degree to the left. I have to downshift to second gear for this one. I come out shifting to third as I finish the turn, drifting out to the middle of the track setting up for turn 8, a 45 degree right. You want to hit it right to get set up for the second longest straight on the track. I usually get up to 100 mph at the end of this straight. Then it's hard on the brakes for hard right into turn 9, another second gear turn for me. Then it's the most important turn coming up, the right-hander on to the 1/2 mile main straight. This turn is quite tricky, as it's a fast 60 degree right that leads you through the burn out lanes for the drag strip with concrete walls on both sides. Halfway through is the patch where they put the light tree for the drag racers, so you're drifting across different grip levels and it's a rough surface. If you don't hit it right you lose all your momentum for the long straight. If you mess up, you're into the concrete wall on the outside. And if you really mess up, you're pinballing from one concrete wall to the other on the inside of the track. If I do it right, I'm hitting 130 mph before I have to brake for turn 1.
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http://www.nasarockymountain.com/images/tracklayout-pueblo.gif
After a half hour of driving fairly hard I come back in to check things. I go to unlock the hood pins and find that the locks moved on their own. I have to grind down the key just to get it to work - I realize quickly that these are not the right hood pins for me. After 15 mins I finally get my hood open. Everything looks okay. I turn up the boost a little bit (close to 20 lbs). I let the car cool down for a little and head back out. Even though there are about 15 cars on the track I feel as though I'm by myself. I don't get passed and I don't pass anyone. This gave me a chance to adjust to the sun going down and the changing visual marks. The only lights at the track are on the main straight. You tend to lose a lot of your brake markers when it gets dark. Halfway through the session I notice a rattlesnake coiled up between turn 9 and 10. It's right in the middle of the driving line. Not knowing what it is I drive right over it and avoid hitting it with the tires. I look back really quick and realize what it was. The next time around I see that someone else nailed it and it's now laid out right where my left side tires are supposed to go. That was a little distracting, but as time went on it got chewed up to the point where it wasn't much of a problem. I came back in and let the car cool down some more and added a little bit of brake fluid. I was told my brakes were glowing and dropping a few sparks.
I got a ride-along in Clayton's Evo MR (Warrtalon on EVOtuners.net). I was able to quickly notice the difference in handling and the severe disadvantage I had with my soft spring rates and all season tires. The Evo also seemed to be better geared for the track and had less understeer coming out of the turns and even though he was on street tires, they were easily a better choice than the all-seasons I was running. He was able to stay in 3rd gear in areas where I had to downshift to 2nd. It was a good experience. I jumped back in my car for one last session that night and tried some different lines, but overall I knew my tires weren't going to allow me to go as fast through some of the turns as Clayton's car. He was a good 3-4 seconds faster I'm guessing. Oh well, it was time to just go out and have some fun! I beat on the brakes pretty hard again, as the grid marshal told me I had more sparks coming from the rotors again as I came in. By the end of the session the brake pedal was traveling closer to the floor. I had to add a little more fluid when I was done.
That was the pretty much the end of Day 1. All in all the car felt good and the brakes were much better than the old system. Though it was obvious the pads weren't the right choice for heavy track use. We headed out and stayed at my Mom's new place about 5 miles away.
Day Two:
Unfortunately, Clayton lost 4th gear the night before so he wasn't around for the next day's festivities. We got to the track and got ready to have some fun. My wife Cinthia was working the control tower while my friend Whit and I got our cars prepared. Before we left my Mom's house I noticed an oil leak. Luckily it was due to a loose fitting on the oil pump housing where the oil feed line for the turbo connects. I was able to tighten that up without losing too much oil. I actually had to cut a piece off the sponge-like sole of my sandal to plug the fitting while I tightened it. It worked
Got the car running and hooked up the transponder. I was looking forward to seeing what kind of times I was running around the track. Unfortunately for me, they didn't have it set up for my first session. Oh well. The next time out I had some fun. I was running hard but was getting losing time in the corners to an Evo MR ('bigd' over on EVOtuners.net and a Z06 Vette. They were gaining on me but I was able to stay far enough ahead because of my straight line speed. On a more technical track, they would have had me for sure. I NEED TIRES BADLY! I still managed to get the 4th best lap time behind the Z06, the Evo MR, and an STi.
The third session was the best. The lead instructor for our group led us out around the track in rows of two. We actually got the chance to do a rolling start even though we weren't technically racing. At that point I started in the third row and could have easily passed the two Z06s in front if I would have gone three-wide on the front straight. I don't think the instructor would have liked that though. I got around the first Z06 (who obviously didn't realize that he was slower until the end of the first lap) and had to catch up to the other Z06 and the STi who were up ahead. It took me two laps but I was able to get around both in the back side of the track. As hard as I tried, I couldn't catch the 'bigd' in the Evo. He had me by 2-4 seconds one every lap. And though I felt I was going faster than I was earlier, I still only managed to match my best lap time earlier. It was still a blast! Though it wasn't a real race, it had the feeling of one. It was by far the most fun I've had at a track event so far.
We had to leave before the last session, but that was fine with me. I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before and was pretty burned out. We packed up and headed home, with no major issues. That's the sign of a great weekend. Hopefully someone got some good photos so I can post them. I know there was one photographer there on Sunday so I'll see about buying some prints from him. The nice thing about this event is that there was finally another local DSMer who made it out (fhudsonjr) and two others who came out to spectate (wolf20043 and Julia). It was nice to finally have some 'family' out there. Hopefully we'll have more people coming out next season when we have more events.
Some photos taken by a Grassroots Motorsports photographer:
http://www.printroom.com/ViewGaller...userid=rupertberr&gallery_id=446186&curpage=2
. Hopefully we will be leak free and ready soon. Without the traffic in front of you, it would have been a fun time with the EVO. Hope to do it again soon. If we had made it in march, I am sure Julia would have had me make sure the car was ready, as she saw how nice and simple the HPDE 1 group was.
