Ludachris
Founder & Zookeeper
- 8,858
- 4,705
- Nov 12, 2001
-
Newcastle,
California
It's a really good feeling getting all of the bugs worked out of a car. This was the first time I've been to an event in 3 years where the car ran really strong the whole time and had absolutely no issues (or nearly no issues). And the result was the fastest lap time of the weekend among all cars.
Of course getting ready for the event was a different story. I had purchased a Gruber motorcycle battery before the last event in order to save some weight. Well, unless you buy a trickle charger, expect to have to jump start that thing a LOT. I ended up buying a new batter from Costco just to get the car on the trailer. So much for saving weight this weekend! Oh well, it solved the issue and made my weekend run smoothly without having to worry about the battery.
Saturday was a perfect day in terms of weather - overcast, temps in the 70's and 80's... not typical of the area. It's usually in the 90's and dry, which was the case on Sunday. But Saturday was a dream. The car was loving it. I was able to stretch its legs on the 1/2 mile straight and hit 135 mph without much trouble. It was pulling out of the corners like a rocket. However, I didn't have a transponder - that is, until a 350z slammed one of the walls and was totaled. I took over that one for the weekend.
The high point of the day was passing a bunch of Vettes and coming up on a Noble half way through the lap. I was on his tail through the last 4 turns and came out of the last turn (turn 10) heading into the long straight. I'm sure he thought he'd stay in front of me... until I caught up and passed by about half way down the straight.
It was so priceless. Even the guy working the starter flag station gave me a thumbs up as I came back around the next time. The day ended with me putting down the second fastest lap time of the day - a mid 1:44 lap time. The only car to run faster was Factory Five Cobra, beating me by 3/4 of a second.
The next day was hot and I knew I had to get some good laps in before lunch. The first session out was my best, and ultimately the best of the weekend. I did a warm up lap and then let loose. It took me 7 laps to get the golden lap in. It was a mid 1:43 and it was a full 2 seconds faster than the next car in my group. The rest of the day was good, but I got progressively slower as the day went on.
It was a great weekend and I had a lot of fun. The only issues I had were the wastegate fitting backing out again, fuel tank sloshing causing me to keep the tank full, and oil temps getting up to 250 degrees. I'm going to relocate the oil filter to get it away from the exhaust and will try and do something about the Tial fitting before the next event. I'll likely go for a fuel cell in the off season to fix the fuel starvation.
Thanks to all my sponsors and all those who helped make this event possible!
Of course getting ready for the event was a different story. I had purchased a Gruber motorcycle battery before the last event in order to save some weight. Well, unless you buy a trickle charger, expect to have to jump start that thing a LOT. I ended up buying a new batter from Costco just to get the car on the trailer. So much for saving weight this weekend! Oh well, it solved the issue and made my weekend run smoothly without having to worry about the battery.
Saturday was a perfect day in terms of weather - overcast, temps in the 70's and 80's... not typical of the area. It's usually in the 90's and dry, which was the case on Sunday. But Saturday was a dream. The car was loving it. I was able to stretch its legs on the 1/2 mile straight and hit 135 mph without much trouble. It was pulling out of the corners like a rocket. However, I didn't have a transponder - that is, until a 350z slammed one of the walls and was totaled. I took over that one for the weekend.
The high point of the day was passing a bunch of Vettes and coming up on a Noble half way through the lap. I was on his tail through the last 4 turns and came out of the last turn (turn 10) heading into the long straight. I'm sure he thought he'd stay in front of me... until I caught up and passed by about half way down the straight.
It was so priceless. Even the guy working the starter flag station gave me a thumbs up as I came back around the next time. The day ended with me putting down the second fastest lap time of the day - a mid 1:44 lap time. The only car to run faster was Factory Five Cobra, beating me by 3/4 of a second. The next day was hot and I knew I had to get some good laps in before lunch. The first session out was my best, and ultimately the best of the weekend. I did a warm up lap and then let loose. It took me 7 laps to get the golden lap in. It was a mid 1:43 and it was a full 2 seconds faster than the next car in my group. The rest of the day was good, but I got progressively slower as the day went on.
It was a great weekend and I had a lot of fun. The only issues I had were the wastegate fitting backing out again, fuel tank sloshing causing me to keep the tank full, and oil temps getting up to 250 degrees. I'm going to relocate the oil filter to get it away from the exhaust and will try and do something about the Tial fitting before the next event. I'll likely go for a fuel cell in the off season to fix the fuel starvation.
Thanks to all my sponsors and all those who helped make this event possible!
