Shaun
Member
I took the car down to VIR for SAAC36 for its first outing since completing this years winter upgrades - http://www.streetortrack.com/files/pict ... htm. I was hoping to get to somewhere local to shake the car down but the weather wouldn't cooperate so it didn't happen.
The car still doesn't like to retain its coolant (well, water and water wetter) and still likes to blow off hoses mid corner but that just adds to the excitment right? Actually, I think I've narrowed that down to the Gano filter (even when completely clear) causing enough back pressure at high rpm to blow off hoses. I ran the car all day Saturday and half of Sunday without the screen in and it kept its hoses on. It got up to 92 degrees Sunday afternoon and the 30 minute sessions were no match for my radiator so I'll have to look into possibly upgrading that. I think the rad could be partially plugged with crap so I'll get it flushed before going larger on the rad.
The good news is that the chassis improvements and seat made a world of difference in my ability to drive the car faster with more confidence. Gone is the mid corner flexing I could feel in the chassis and gone are my sore core muscles and hip cramp from a seat without much support.
It was my first time to VIR and what a way to start. We ran the 4.2 mile 'Grand Course'. It has so many turns I kept joking that I'd need a GPS just to figure out where the heck to turn. Luckily with the long sessions it came together somewhat quickly. I was still taking it easyish on the car after all the changes I'd made but was still able to have fun. Here is a video of a lap - http://www.streetortrack.com/files/vide ... course.wmv and here is one of my Dad doing a driveby - http://www.streetortrack.com/files/vide ... AVI. We were up to around 130mph on the straights and 85mph through the second set of climbing esses. It doesn't look it on the video's but the car is really moving at those speeds!
A few pictures:
The car is using its tires pretty well here:
Rounding the Oak Tree:
My Dad exiting the climbing esses:
The car still doesn't like to retain its coolant (well, water and water wetter) and still likes to blow off hoses mid corner but that just adds to the excitment right? Actually, I think I've narrowed that down to the Gano filter (even when completely clear) causing enough back pressure at high rpm to blow off hoses. I ran the car all day Saturday and half of Sunday without the screen in and it kept its hoses on. It got up to 92 degrees Sunday afternoon and the 30 minute sessions were no match for my radiator so I'll have to look into possibly upgrading that. I think the rad could be partially plugged with crap so I'll get it flushed before going larger on the rad.
The good news is that the chassis improvements and seat made a world of difference in my ability to drive the car faster with more confidence. Gone is the mid corner flexing I could feel in the chassis and gone are my sore core muscles and hip cramp from a seat without much support.
It was my first time to VIR and what a way to start. We ran the 4.2 mile 'Grand Course'. It has so many turns I kept joking that I'd need a GPS just to figure out where the heck to turn. Luckily with the long sessions it came together somewhat quickly. I was still taking it easyish on the car after all the changes I'd made but was still able to have fun. Here is a video of a lap - http://www.streetortrack.com/files/vide ... course.wmv and here is one of my Dad doing a driveby - http://www.streetortrack.com/files/vide ... AVI. We were up to around 130mph on the straights and 85mph through the second set of climbing esses. It doesn't look it on the video's but the car is really moving at those speeds!
A few pictures:
The car is using its tires pretty well here:
Rounding the Oak Tree:
My Dad exiting the climbing esses:
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bj