08-25-2013, 05:16 PM
Well, after tow-and-a-half agonizing years away, I finally took my "finished" car back on the track yesterday to re-take Driveway Austin's beginner's class (a good decision). I'm happy to report that the car did amazingly well - I was able to keep up with a 2001 996 turbo on the short (0.7 mile), technical, challenging section of the track they restrict the beginners to.
I was afraid that the very racing oriented suspension mods (torsion bar delete, ~675 lb wheel rate springs front and back, Moton Clubsport struts and shocks, replacement of all rubber bushings with solid or spherical ones, including the solid camber plates, solid steering rack bushing, front sway bar brace, Racers Edge heavy duty control arms, 18" wheels, Hankook RS-3 tires, and welded-in half cage) would make the car more nervous and twitchy, but nothing could be further from the truth. The car is amazingly settled, planted, and astoundingly forgiving. I was of course very rusty, and making a slew of beginner's mistakes, but I never came remotely close to losing control, so I know I left a lot on the table. That should all come back with seat time. But no matter how big of a mistake I made, the car always gave me plenty of leeway to recover.
The best part of the day was riding in my car with the school's owner's son, who races a wicked-looking Lotus Elise-based car in Grand Am. Maybe he's supposed to say this to everybody, but his reaction to my car was a real thrill. He kept repeating what a blast it is, how easy it is to drive fast, how forgiving it is, and his praise got more and more profuse with each passing lap. I literally almost couldn't get the car away from him. Made me feel really good that the basic set-up of the car is sound, considering it's a dual-purpose car, with all the compromises that come with it.
I definitely have a lot to work on - many of my downshifts were ragged, I was killing way too much momentum at several places on the track, my inputs were too jerky, and it took me awhile to get back into the habit of looking ahead, and not driving point to point. But I think I've succeed in creating a car that I can "grow into" without getting into much trouble as I hone my driving skills, which I'll have plenty of opportunity to do with the track barely two miles from my place of work.
I was afraid that the very racing oriented suspension mods (torsion bar delete, ~675 lb wheel rate springs front and back, Moton Clubsport struts and shocks, replacement of all rubber bushings with solid or spherical ones, including the solid camber plates, solid steering rack bushing, front sway bar brace, Racers Edge heavy duty control arms, 18" wheels, Hankook RS-3 tires, and welded-in half cage) would make the car more nervous and twitchy, but nothing could be further from the truth. The car is amazingly settled, planted, and astoundingly forgiving. I was of course very rusty, and making a slew of beginner's mistakes, but I never came remotely close to losing control, so I know I left a lot on the table. That should all come back with seat time. But no matter how big of a mistake I made, the car always gave me plenty of leeway to recover.
The best part of the day was riding in my car with the school's owner's son, who races a wicked-looking Lotus Elise-based car in Grand Am. Maybe he's supposed to say this to everybody, but his reaction to my car was a real thrill. He kept repeating what a blast it is, how easy it is to drive fast, how forgiving it is, and his praise got more and more profuse with each passing lap. I literally almost couldn't get the car away from him. Made me feel really good that the basic set-up of the car is sound, considering it's a dual-purpose car, with all the compromises that come with it.
I definitely have a lot to work on - many of my downshifts were ragged, I was killing way too much momentum at several places on the track, my inputs were too jerky, and it took me awhile to get back into the habit of looking ahead, and not driving point to point. But I think I've succeed in creating a car that I can "grow into" without getting into much trouble as I hone my driving skills, which I'll have plenty of opportunity to do with the track barely two miles from my place of work.
