Putnam Park, April 10-11, 2010

So this past weekend I was at Putnam Park with MVP Track Time (Mark Pfeffer’s organization), my first of the 2011 season. WHAT A BLAST! We had perfect weather, high-60’s / low-70’s, and well sized run groups. The track is a very fun little romp; destined to be a regular run for me. There were tons of great cars, lots of Porsches, a smattering of S197 Mustangs (incl. two 500+ hp cars), a Lamborghini Diablo and a Ford GT. Great cars…not the greatest drivers.

I was running in the intermediate group (MVP has three groups), so I saw a lot of those Porsches, supercharged S197s, and the Ford GT out on track with me. I saw them for a little bit. Then I ran them over! Obviously, any time a Mustang GT (n/a, just a CAI and tune) flat pounds a Ford GT you know the drivers are mismatched. Still, it was damn fun passing all those Porsche and high-dollar iron works. A buddy of mine called it well, “It’s like killing baby seals.”

Best time for the weekend that I caught was 1:23.47. I’m pretty happy with that. This was my first time at the track, so I think I’ve got 1:22s in the cards with a bit of work. This was also my first time on R-comps. WOW! You have got to love these things. Hell if they aren’t A6’s or R6’s, my Nitto NT01’s were a very nice introduction to the world of R-comps.

I was also working through getting to know a bunch of new gear. This was the first time I took the car out with the new Kirkey seats, roll bar, harnesses, HNR, Stoptech BBK w/Carbotech XP12s, and of course the new wheel/tire combination. I’ll have a bunch more to say about all that in other posts, so for now I’ll just say everything worked as advertised or better. I’m very pleased and still very much getting used to the car again. The only thing that could have been better was getting a couple of sensible test and tune sessions with the shocks. I pretty much set them once and ran.

For now, here’s a few shots of the weekend to help those still waiting for their seasons to begin…

Dedicated track wheel/tire combo: 18x9.5” Enkei PF01 shod with Nitto NT01 in 275/35R18



In the paddock – it’s like a car show for drivers (polishing cloths not required)



Street wheel/tire combo: 18x9” Rota G-Force shod with Toyo R1R in 245/40R18 (I ran these most of the first day as the NT01’s were resting from their virgin run)



Mean and meaner! (no, my car isn’t the meaner one…the other one is competing soon, so I won’t divulge times; I’ll just say that all comers better bring their A-game)



My favorite victim!



Action Shots!
Passing the Caterham



Passing the Ford GT



If you like, you can see the whole album here: http://picasaweb.google.com/HotRodPh...ParkApril2010#

Best,
-j

 

Philostang

Thanks for sharing.

We can tell how enthusiastic you were as you are a year ahead of yourself (subject line)

I agree - chasing down more expensive iron is lot's of fun and it is a reminder of the old adage - just because they can write the cheque doesn't mean they can drive the car.

This weekend I'm getting my car ready with the pads/rotors and ATE brake fluid flush as well as checking the underside to make sure everything survived the winter. I may then do my first track day on April 28 and use it to heat cycle my NT01s and then shake out the cobwebs on the street tires for the rest of the day.

How did you find the NT01s for noise near the limit. Did they provide any audible feedback?

 

I have to say - if I had a Ford GT I'd probably drive it pretty slow also. Thats a little to nice of car to take any risks in. But none the less, its pretty cool passing a "supercar".

Seat, harness, tires and Stoptech - now those upgrades will do wonders for your driving. Seat and harness are huge, they provide you so much more feel and stop all the sliding around so you can better concentrate on driving. R-comps - make you feel like superman, truly amazing how they transform the car. BBK - um, um, thats something I'm looking forward to still. I'm getting sick of the long pedal and mushy feel of the stock system (it always stops...just doesn't inspire confidence).

Thanks for the write up Philo. I'm jealous. My car is sitting on a lift as I type, waiting for her new bushings, wheel studs, diff cooler and tranny cooler - sigh. Almost done.

 

HAH! Man, I am still too swamped with things to tell my head from a bowling ball. Sheesh...much video and data opportunities were lost this weekend from stupid things like that.

Anyway...someone please feed the retarded monkey...

The NT01's are not terribly noisy; which is good. I don't really like the noise of street tires, I prefer to feel what's going on and the noise always gave me the *******. It's like static, just interference for me. The NT01's feel great; aside from the greater grip you get much less squirm and an overall more consistent feel throughout their range of traction. I know now why folks say once you go to an R-comp you never want to go back. I definitely don't.

Although, we did do a quickie run at the end of the day during an open field session (all groups on track, hardly anyone left anyway) and I had already swapped back to my street tires. A GT500 took the field and once we saw that go by in the paddock, we couldn't resist the temptation to go play with him.

Argo, you hit the nail on the head describing the upgraded stock brake system. I always knew she'd stop (and she did, as needed), but it didn't feel inspiring at times. The Stoptech's are a nice cure for that. The pedal feel is outstanding; with the right pads these things modulate like a dream compared to stock, super smooth, super confidence inspiring.

I still think upgrading stock is the way to go for most everyone looking for better braking (even on track). After a while though, I too was growing weary of the long pedal and seemingly never-firm stock calipers. Bear in mind that though the Stoptech's are firm, they're not the insanely firm race brakes found on dedicated race cars. When I did Bondurant we spent a day and a half in the Formula Mazda cars, and the brakes pedal feel on those things was like trying to slightly bend a piece of iron bar with your foot. Awesome feel! Stoptech's are very good, but not awesome like that.

As for pampering an expensive car, I can understand that to a point...but not to the point that you don't drive the damn thing well enough to outpace a car 1/4 the cost of your own. In this guys case I doubt it was even that anyway, he had half the field complaining about him for holding them up. Apparently not only do some people think they can buy their way to being fast, they also think that their bigger check means others shouldn't be allowed to pass them. There were some ego problems early in the weekend. Some bruises go further than skin deep.

Best,
-j

 

Per your first post is this the "meaner one"?

http://s197forum.com/forum/showthrea...890#post475890

 

That would be the one! I didn't want to divulge times, but Dave did it anyway. That's ok; there's still a few tricks up his sleeve come game day.

-j

 

Nice pics! Wheels look great. Going to get some centercaps?

 

Hey Rip,

Thanks! I have centercaps, the wheels came with them (both sets). They're not allowed on track. Most of the time they'll get by a quickie tech inspection, but if you have a careful inspector he or she will call you on it. I think some organizations will allow them on track, but I just figured I'd take them all off and be done with it.

FWIW, the Enkei ones are really quite beautiful. However, they don't clear the front hubs anyway, so really I only gave up the two in the rear.

Best,
-j

 

My favorite day....

 

Philo, glad you were in your element there.

As far as the guy on the Ford GT, he prolly got lost on his way to Florida and ended up on the track somehow...
Did he go over 70mph?