Argonaut

Just spent the weekend at Summit Point Shenandoah. Beautiful weather both days. Drove with the Mazda Club, so I got to pass Miata's and RX-7s all day. Actually Shenandoah is much more suited to the Miata than the higher horsepower cars (its so tight and technical) but after over 400 miles (4 events) on the track I have it dialed in. This late in the season the crowds are small so we had lots of open track. I was running in the advanced group but for the last session today they gave us a 30 min combined advanced and intermediate. This was great fun because by the end of two days all the drivers have point bys figured out and it led to some great passing opportunities.

Season Recap: my very first DE was in May at Pocono, first AX same month in DC. I wore Hawk HT-10s in front, HP+ in rear and Falken RT-615's. Six months later, I've been from New Jersey to Ohio, Pennsylvania to Virginia; I wore out the HP+, I wore out the RT-615s; I've done 100s of AX runs and 100s of laps on eight different tracks. I've learned an incredible amount and met some fantastic people. I've ridden in everything from a Honda Prelude to a C5 Z06. I've driven in rain and dry, in blistering heat and near freezing cold. Thru all of this the car has done nothing but impress me. It's been used and abused, its spent more above 5000 RPM than most cars will their entire lives. The beautiful polished Violator axlebacks are completely rusted (high heat). The right side of the rear axle, PHB, sway, body, etc is completely coated in oil (did you guys know there is a vent on the right side of the axle that will spray oil out during high lateral loads? I need to solve that issue). All of this and I didn't break a thing - the car runs like new. It never let me down mechanically or with performance. Its predictable and safe, once you learn it the car can be absolutly thrown into corners at incredible speeds (for a street car) and come out safely, sliding all 4 wheels. A great, great car to learn in!

I've learned its all about the driver. It doesn't matter what you drive (within reason), I've been passed by just about every type of car and I have in turn passed every type of car. Corvette, Porsche, M3, STI, Evo, it don't matter - its the driver not the car. Its about keeping your eyes up, looking ahead. Its about smoothness of inputs, never abrupt. Its about three pedals, 1 wheel and 1 seat - your user interface and where you receive all your feedback from. Its about 4 small patches of rubber, your only contact with the surface. And its about knowing the limits of the car and yourself.

When I purchased this car new just over a year ago I never dreamed I'd be doing this. Its the most fun sport I've ever been privledged to try and I can't wait until next year. Cheers folks! Here's to the S197, one helluva a car!

PS: Those HT-10 front pads have a least one more day in them. Darn things wear like iron.

Jazzer The Cat

Wonderful write-up

Now you have the next few months to work extra-hours and buy new tires, pads and get the undercarriage all cleaned up

Jazzer The Cat

Sleeper_08

Ditto on great write up.

Now know why my passenger side axle is also damp. Did you have to top up the rear end fluid?

Hopefully you'll get up to the Mosport GP circuit next season.

Argonaut

No I did not top up the rear end. I had the 4.10s replaced a couple weeks ago with 3.73 and it looks like they really filled her up, it was the worst I'd seen yet, even got a little oil on the caliper (not good).

I'm planning on coming up that way in Oct next year, look for an event :-)

jayel579

Brad- have you thought about running a tube off of that vent into some sort of reservoir? I think all you would need is some simple Home Depot parts, 2 90 degree elbows, some rubber tubing and something to collect the spill out into. If it is setup properly once the gear oil cools it will just drain right back into the rear end. I was looking at that vent hole as well when I put Redline into the rear of mine.

Make sure you setup that run out to Mid-Ohio, let me know when you are going. I want to hit that track next season, along with Watkins Glen, Lime Rock and of course back to NJMSP.

Argonaut

Yep - thats exactly what I am thinking. I have a friend who drives a track prep'd SN95, he runs a rubber tube from the vent up to a little air filter mounted above it (don't remember if its mounted on the differential or on the chassis. It solves about 90% of the problem. I'm thinking a catch can like you suggest will be even better.

Yep - Mid Ohio, summer of 09, I'm still planning on it. There are a few guys interested. When the '09 schedule comes out I'll start coordinating it. If anyone else reading this is interested in a road trip to drive at Mid Ohio next summer let me know. So far I have: myself, jayel579, Nuke, Red06 and timothyrw down as interested.

Sleeper_08

They generally run a SoloSprint event in October and this year they ran an open lapping day on the Saturday before. It was two groups of 30 min each from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with an hour off for lunch. The price was $250 CDN. If you want to compete on Sunday it was another $100 but there are also some rules regarding licence etc.

Sleeper_08

It is about a 6 hour drive from here but after viewing the track video it looks interesting. It depends on my budget but put me down for now as interested.

Argonaut

OK Colin, I'll keep your name on my list. Thanks for the info about Mosport