I love VIR.....I hate the rain.

[brkntrxn]

Last two sessions today were dry and I went through two old set of street pads on this car (all the Carbotech stuff is on the hardtop). It was nice to reel in a couple of the cars that were passing me all yesterday and this morning.

Bullet - I am in Mooresville. You need to look up www.thscc.com and click on the Track link. We are the Tarheel Sports Car Club and we put on great track events. A WHOLE lot of the members are from the Apex-to-Raleigh area, so you would be immediately at home with everyone. Shoot me a PM if you need some info.

 

[Maynor]

Nothing personal guys, use up as much of the rain as ya can. I'm at VIR in less in two weeks so I'm special ordering some dry, 60 degree weather okay? It was a check box on the form so I know it will work right?

brkntrxn, you were running with BFG KD's or KDW's in the rain? I ran KDWs once and they are not compatible with life in even a moderate amount of rain.. Nitto DR's on the other hand aren't quite as sticky as BFGs in the dry but rock in the rain as long as there is still some tread.

Here's to hoping for dry weather and some fun.

 

[Stavesacre21]

man i wish i could go to VIR with the SCMC at the end of may :fm: finances piss me right off :bored:

 

[gcassidy]

Nothing personal guys, use up as much of the rain as ya can. I'm at VIR in less in two weeks so I'm special ordering some dry, 60 degree weather okay? It was a check box on the form so I know it will work right?

brkntrxn, you were running with BFG KD's or KDW's in the rain? I ran KDWs once and they are not compatible with life in even a moderate amount of rain.. Nitto DR's on the other hand aren't quite as sticky as BFGs in the dry but rock in the rain as long as there is still some tread.

Here's to hoping for dry weather and some fun.

You didn't check the optional "early arrival of 95 degrees with 89% humidity" I hope. Not worth the extra money, IMO. :lol1:

 

[BlackStripes]

A couple of my good friends were there (vette instructors) and at least two are still feeling like crap because the weather and cold

I was talking to a couple of friends who were there, and i just realized that i have no chance in time trial next year, i usually run about 6 secs slower than TTU people but with street tires , but this last weekend one guy i know, just ran 2:02 in his STI!! WTF!

 

[brkntrxn]

Maynor,

BFG KDs -- pretty decent dry traction street tire, but they are like glass in the wet. I will be purchasing a set of wet traction tires at some point in the future. Before this weekend, I could count on my fingers how many times our 01 vert had been in the rain. LOL, that's all over now!

Greg,

THSCC and AV runs with soft tops up. I don't like the wind resistance the rear window sees, but that is the way they do it.

 

[gcassidy]

Greg,

THSCC and AV runs with soft tops up. I don't like the wind resistance the rear window sees, but that is the way they do it.

Kevin, I know about Tar Heels, but what's AV?

SVTOA, MBCA, and Mazda Drivers Assn also run with top up (sometimes it's your choice). It's better in the rain and 100 degree days in July. :thumbsup:

But I wonder if there's any aero advantages one way or the other. :shrug:

 

[brkntrxn]

AV = Asphalt Ventures. I posted a thread in the events section on Stacy's organization. In a nutshell, open lapping events.

 

[Maynor]

Well, I have to eat my words. Just got back from VIR after running two days with the Audi club.... rain, sprinkle, rain, sprinkle, thunderstorm deluge, sprinkle etc, etc.

Never missed a session but it made life in the paddock a bit more interesting if you weren't on course and had no shelter. Thankfully, I did but constantly wet shoes suck.

Oh yeah, I really hate VIR's sandy paddock in the rain. I should have known better than to try and load the car onto the trailer in the wet sand. The ramps sunk into the soaked sand and popped up off the trailer just before the rear wheels made it onto the trailer.. dropping the car half/off, half/on the trailer. The crashing steel sound brought everyone running to see what happened.

Clear heads prevailed and a few friends came up with a simple solution to recover the car and make a 2nd attempt. This time, on asphalt without incident.

No on track incidents in-spite of the wet track for me at least.. All my incidents were confined to the paddock. The sessions were a blast but lots and lots of cars were going off due to the wet track and grass. Many cars visited the tires walls over the past two days but no serious issues thankfully.

The TrueTrac differential absolutely rocks putting down the power! This was the first time I ran with it and there is no going back. How anyone manages with a Trak-lok on a road course is beyond me. I have seen the light and wished I didn't wait so long..

I had to jury rig a differential catch can because a I kept getting the red meatball due to smoke on the first two sessions. Turns out the new exhaust configuration was burning off the axle vent overflow as it dripped.

First attempt at a solution was with materials on-hand (plastic tubing, plastic bottle wrapped in a Pepsi can for "heat protection." It lasted 4 laps before melting in spectacular fashion. Friend of mine caught it on film as it went up in smoke coming out of Oak Tree. I'll post the picture when I get it.

One trip to Advanced Auto later and $20 in heater hose, metal hose clamps, spark plug wire exhaust header shield, brass fittings and one red-bull can, problem solved. No more drip. The red-bull can was just the right size to lash onto the IRS sub-frame with getting in the way of the lower a-arm, half-shaft or being too close to the exhaust.

There just isn't much room or access to mount a simple catch can with the Mustang IRS... anyone have a clever solution I could use?

Otherwise, this might just be my permanent solution before going to a full differential cooler.. I ran 5 more sessions without a problem using this set-up. Two of them full tilt boggie on a mostly dry track.



John

 

[gcassidy]

Yea, see what I mean. VIR rocks in the dry, but in the rain, it's like a date with a really hot chick who stays on her cell phone to her old friend that's going through a rough time.
You just keep thinking "if things were just a little different, this could be so great"!

Glad the car's OK after loading it on the trailer (I assume no damage done). And I guess my next mod may need to be a new locker of some kind. I just keep hearing good things about them.

Congrats on staying on the track. :thumbsup:

 

[Maynor]

Hilarious analogy!

Haven't gotten under the car yet but I doubt there is much damage. Will know for sure this weekend.

I don't mind driving in the rain... its a reminder about how critical smoothness becomes on track. Plus, going a little slower, you can practice new lines here and there. Picked up a few approaching Oak Tree, T12 and T16 in particular. Less arcs, more drag race lines between those points brought lap time improvements.... not that I was keeping track or anything..

 

[ac427cobra]

Yea, see what I mean. VIR rocks in the dry, but in the rain, it's like a date with a really hot chick who stays on her cell phone to her old friend that's going through a rough time.
You just keep thinking "if things were just a little different, this could be so great"!

Ha ha yeah, I agree!!! That's a seriously good analogy!!!

:rockon::bowdown:

 

[brkntrxn]

Rain - The Great Equalizer

I just found this pic. Yeah, it paints us Cobras in a bad light, but it happened!!!

 

[ac427cobra]

Rain - The Great Equalizer

I just found this pic. Yeah, it paints us Cobras in a bad light, but it happened!!!

Get some good rain tires. That will be the last Miata, Evo, Subi or Quattro you'll ever be pointing by in the rain! ;-)oke:

 

[brkntrxn]

Bruce,

Do you have a recommendation on a rain tire?

 

[ac427cobra]

Bruce,

Do you have a recommendation on a rain tire?

Kevin:

Quite a few years ago I tried some Dunlop competition (non DOT) rain tires and found their grip to be almost unbelieveable! They were from the 24 hours of Daytona. I bought them from Bob Chick who used to handle used racing tires. I'm not sure if he handles them any more but I do have a source you could try. The guys name is John Berget and his contact info is jbracingtires at sbcglobal dot net. I don't want to post the email but I'm sure you can figure that out.

IIRC the tires were used and $75.00 each. I've had them for several years and they are still fine. You just can't use them on a drying track, you're wear them out right quick. They actually drive better with water on the track. They can get a tad squirrley if they don't have enough water.

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[Ryan]

http://www.jbracingtires.net/ epper:

 

[ac427cobra]

http://www.jbracingtires.net/ epper:

I wrote dot com didn't I?!?!! :fart::kaboom::bash:

 

[Ryan]

You put an email address, I put a website address. Crazy old man. :beer:

 

[ac427cobra]

You put an email address, I put a website address. Crazy old man. :beer:

I thought I may have put dot com there and you possibly edited it? Maybe I didn't screw up!?!?:shrug:

Crazy old man?!!? You better be nice to me otherwise I'm going to show you that slow ass line the Corvette drivers take at VIR, then you're REALLY going to be sorry!!! :idea::read:


:lol:epper::lol1: