Unlike other years, almost no instructors had brought their track cars to take them out at lunch time. Dave G. had brought his Chumpcar Civic EG. I foolishly thought I would be able to keep up with his Civic, but it turns out he's 3 seconds per lap faster than I am at St-Eustache! I guess I should't be too surprised: his car has a similar engine to mine but weighs about 700 pounds less than mine.
Anyway, I headed out for my first session on Saturday during the lunch hour. There were a few puddles on track, but not on the racing line. It was drizzling a little bit, but there was no real water on the race line. Given that my best lap ever was a 1:01.8 in this Civic, I was hoping for 1:03's in these conditions. This would also by my first recording with my new (used) GoPro camera. I installed it on the inside of the sunroof. I like the camera angle, except that the rear view mirror is in the middle of the shot, whether you use the wide angle lens or not.
From my first laps, I could feel the difference of the limited-slip differential coming out of the slower corners. As for the gearing, it felt right to just leave it in 3rd gear in the two slower corners (I spoke to Dave afterwards, and he told me he used 2nd... something to try out I guess). After a few laps, my times were dropping. For a while, I seemed to be stuck at 1:03.1, and I really wanted to get into the 1:02's at that point. After a while, everything came together and I managed a 1:02.2. I was very happy, given the conditions. I felt that I would clearly be able to go faster than my best time in better conditions.
On Sunday, it was warmer and sunny, and the track was completely dry. I expected to easily beat my Saturday time. It turned out to be harder than expected. After 30 laps, the best I could do was 1:02.1. I was clearly overworking the front tires, just like last year, and although I could improve my last sectors (by taking the oval-in flat out), I was losing time in the esses and Carousel. As a result, I managed several laps in the 1:02.1-1:02.2 range, but could not break into the 1:01's. I was quite surprised, considering how quick I was on Saturday. I guess the cold weather was helping a lot. I don't know if these tires are "toast" after spending the winter outdoors or if I need to use 2nd gear to get a better lap time, or if my driving was just too sloppy. I need more data! I was getting some brake fade after the end, and will really need to bleed the fluid before my next time on track. I noticed that Dave was running the new 245-40-15 Hankook RS4 on a 15x8 wheel (same size as my green ones), and that the tire seemed to fit nice and square. This is good news for me, as it means I too should be able to run this tire size on my own wheels without issue.
From my first laps, I could feel the difference of the limited-slip differential coming out of the slower corners. As for the gearing, it felt right to just leave it in 3rd gear in the two slower corners (I spoke to Dave afterwards, and he told me he used 2nd... something to try out I guess). After a few laps, my times were dropping. For a while, I seemed to be stuck at 1:03.1, and I really wanted to get into the 1:02's at that point. After a while, everything came together and I managed a 1:02.2. I was very happy, given the conditions. I felt that I would clearly be able to go faster than my best time in better conditions.
On Sunday, it was warmer and sunny, and the track was completely dry. I expected to easily beat my Saturday time. It turned out to be harder than expected. After 30 laps, the best I could do was 1:02.1. I was clearly overworking the front tires, just like last year, and although I could improve my last sectors (by taking the oval-in flat out), I was losing time in the esses and Carousel. As a result, I managed several laps in the 1:02.1-1:02.2 range, but could not break into the 1:01's. I was quite surprised, considering how quick I was on Saturday. I guess the cold weather was helping a lot. I don't know if these tires are "toast" after spending the winter outdoors or if I need to use 2nd gear to get a better lap time, or if my driving was just too sloppy. I need more data! I was getting some brake fade after the end, and will really need to bleed the fluid before my next time on track. I noticed that Dave was running the new 245-40-15 Hankook RS4 on a 15x8 wheel (same size as my green ones), and that the tire seemed to fit nice and square. This is good news for me, as it means I too should be able to run this tire size on my own wheels without issue.
Here is a short video of one lap from each day:
Other than the disappointing lap times (I still need to shave those 2 seconds to make it into the 59's), the car performed well and reliably. The oil level didn't move despite 50 laps of track driving. The car feels more like a race car with the repaired motor mounts and LSD. I can't wait to drive it on track again! Maybe next Monday, if the weather agrees?
Here are some JAG photos:
