Trackdays #3 &
4 for AccZDent (my 300ZX Non-Turbo)
"Boy, this is becoming a habit."
So, here's the story. Sit down, shut up
and read on.
Pre-Race Prep & Mods:
I put in a Gatorade bottle catch can for the drive's side PCV valve. Apparently
I will also need one for the passenger side too. However. it took a day and a
half of track lapping to foul a plug this time, instead of two 20 minute
sessions. I cleaned the drop in K&N air filters as well.
I still haven't even looked at the factory "100,000 mile" spark
plugs. Perhaps I should!
Saturday:
Left SB at 4:30am. Arrive at Willow Springs Raceway in two hours flat. Ran a
string of 1:47s trying to keep up with a full-race Spec Miata (running Kumho
Victoracer slicks - treadwear 40). Two Track Package Brembo-equipped 350Z guys
walk over to insult me, saying that my "race" tires allowed me to
pass them (both! twice!). Otherwise their 300 pound lighter cars with an extra
65hp and 80 extra ft-lbs would destroy me.
Yeah…whatever. I point out that my
215-width Azenis have a 200 treadwear rating and their 245-width Bridgestones
are 140. Obviously its my super-glue tires because I certainly HAVE NO DRIVING
SKILLZ whatsoever <read with hint of sarcasm>.
Thanks a lot guys. Bu-Bye!
However, everyone else is MUCH MUCH
friendlier, with a few people following my lap times and rooting for me while I
was lined up in pre-grid!
I finally get to do my Group #3 eval after
lunch. Instead of my expected ride along eval, my Group instructor (John, with
the red 1998 M3 that runs 1:37s) follows behind me doing all kinds of nutcase
maneuvers 3 feet off my bumper to try and distract me. Blindspot divebombs into
turn 3, funky lines through 2 and 5, turning early after 4 to try to get me to
screw up my line into five. If I didn't know he was a cool guy and was testing
me, we would have had some "issues" to work out at the download
meeting. Can you guess the result…?
Sunday:
GROUP 3!!! Yes! No one shows up when they call for cars, so I end up gridded
first. CRAP! I wanted to be in the back. Who the hell wants to waste laps 1-5
letting people pass you? Oh well. I get out there and the Victoracer guys are
stuck behind ANOTHER 350Z, a rental Neon and a Spec-944 on street tires. The
Victoracer race tire guys don't catch up until lap 7 or so. In the meantime, I
get about 6 laps of hail-mary TopTimeOfTheDay lapping in.
The result: a 1:46.369, backed up by a 1:46.420. Morning session 2 seems to be
the hot ticket for me. I am now shifting into 5th in Turn 7 rather than halfway
through 8. Now I _DON'T_WANT_ to know how fast I am going, because no sane
person should be hurtling towards Turn 9 like this.
Wrap up:
FUN FUN FUN! Multiple hours of full tilt
lapping as 1 in a field of 10 Group 3 cars.
I was there. WHERE WERE YOU?!?
At the end of the day, even with a 1:46,
AccZDent is still 2 SECONDS slower than the slowest 130hp Spec Miata in
OpenTrackChallenge (.com!) Touring 4. Sheesh! What am I doing wrong guys?!?
HOWEVER, IT IS NOW FASTER THAN THE LAST PLACE
S2000 in Touring 3 (mystery slow outlier). Perhaps a cage, exhaust, no interior
and a Q45 270hp V8 (yes it FITS!!!) would help…? Or Turbos? Maybe not.
Howsabout a BEATER CLASS for
OpenTrackChallenge 2004!?! You know you want to!
Why you should come run with me in Group 3:
Now, what's the big deal with going to
Group 3? Well, at least 70% of the cars in Group 3 have ample enough horsepower
to pass me without me having to lift throttle. I do have to lift if I am being
passed in the Turn 2 to Turn 3 straight, but that is quite rare because I am
HAULING ASS entering Turn 2. Actually AccZDent is JUST FINE speed wise running
with Group 3 through most turns.
Anyway, on the straights, I can get passed on the front or back straight
without messing up my own hot lap. I can floor it and they still blow my doors
off! I only had to make a pass three to four times per session.
Finally, while there were a coupla cars following some weird lines in Group 3,
the vast majority are following their lines consistently. I can concentrate on
MY lines rather than constantly worrying that the person in front of me will do
something wacky while I am sliding around at 95mph.
Of course, NOW I WILL BE THE WACKY DRIVING LINE PERSON in Group 2 at
Buttonwillow, huh? Bring it!
Club D.I. had a live band!
- Jason