Open Track, some "newbie" thoughts

[Excaliber]

I've never run a BIG track before SAAC-35, I thought I'd share some observations as a "newbie" to the more typical mainland tracks. The Hawaii Raceway track, where I've run for years with many different vehicles is fairly short at about 1.3 miles or so. One long straight, the drag race lanes, followed by reasonably tight, slow, corners on the back side. I've had plenty of Auto X experience, did some Drifting (very popular in Hawaii), ran a dirt track car and ran Formula Fords. The local Medford Oregon track is actually a "Go Kart" track, wide, well paved, but much like an Auto X track, VERY tight, very high G corners one right after the other!

So, there I was at a "real" track, Infineon, I ran the first open track session in the Novice group. I was surprised how comfortable it felt right away, plenty of time between corners, plenty of straight sections, at first it felt like a Sunday drive (on steroids though ). The ERA has a lot of power and combined with the road race slicks it only took a couple of laps before I realized I needed to run in a faster group than Novice.

So I moved up to the middle group. BIG DIFFERENCE!!! Those guys are running hard, you HAVE to get the throttle down to keep up or get passed. The difference was night and day, I was able to run with the group and even pass a few along the way, but I tell you, it was a work out. 20 minutes at near top form requires intense concentration, the track, the car, the tires, the brakes, go through changes as the laps progress. I lost my brakes on the last lap of the first 20 minute session I ran in the middle group. I think thats about 10 laps, all though I lost count early on. Other folks I talked to would loose their brakes in as little as 10 minutes, perhaps 5 laps. Of course the faster you go, the more brakes you will loose!

My pedal would go very soft, I got a little warning before they went out 95%, just a mushy pedal, the car only slowing a bit. I was careful coming into the garage to make sure I had enough brake left to stop when I got there!

Back inboard Jaguar IRS got no cooling, the pads were smoking, big time! I cut out the carpet covering the ERA access panel, removed the panel to allow for airflow and never had a problem the rest of the weekend. BUT, I could feel them starting to fade toward the end of a 20 minute session, all though I didn't loose them entirely. These are totally stock ERA brakes and street pads. I was very impressed with the performance as such!!! Certainly upgrading to high temp pads and getting some air flow will really improve on already terrific stock brakes. These brakes were never a problem on the shorter tracks I've run.

Sunday was the BEST DAY FOR TRACK TIME!!! No question there!!! A lot of folks left on Saturday night, or early Sunday morning. I decided I would once again run in the Novice group on Sunday, so I wouldn't have to much pressure to put the hammer down in the faster group. GOOD CALL!! There were only a few cars left on Sunday in the Novice group and I basically had the track to myself. I could hit the corners as hard or as mellow as I wanted. I could literally go for a Sunday cruise at a nice pace or "throw it into a corner" to test the max traction I could handle. All this withour worrying about holding someone up that was behind me.

If all you have ever done is short track and Auto X, your gonna love a BIG track. Short track, Auto X is a terrific way to prepare, I was quite surprised how comfortable I felt. You actually have "time" to think about the best line through the next corner and set the car up. "Time" is not on your side on a short track or an Auto X track, it's go like hell all the time and try to stay inside the cones somehow.

Great fun, I look forward to trying out some more big tracks in the near future. Laguna Seca, Thunderhill, Portland International Raceway, here I come! My calculated mph speed was around 120-125, based on the "feel" off the shift points, approximate rpm, tire size, gear ratios as I calculated it later. There is no way I could actually look at the speedometer, I could barely focus on the tach for a shift point at any given time. Oil temp, without an oil cooler, were around 115-120 Centigrade. Water temp was pushing 240 F. The car ran excellent, that side oiler never missed a beat and pulled like a frieght train out of the corners. I was shifting around 6,300 rpm, with the occasional bounce off the rev limiter (6,500).
Ernie

[Excaliber]

I drifted off the track and got all four wheels in the dirt once, got a black flag and then was waved back onto the track. COLD TIRES will do that to you, take a full lap to warm them up. I ALMOST lost it again in another open track session (same corner, cold tires) but was able to recover without leaving the pavement. Did I mention take a FULL lap to warm up the tires?

The SAME corner also resulted in a loose throttle linkage slip that left me with no throttle. By now I'm thinking THAT corner really has it in for me.

I was able to repair the linkage using my shoe string in order to drive back to the garage.

Hat tip to Jamo and the Gasholes for making me feel so welcome at the track! It was great to meet and greet Ron (Computerworks) as well. Good folks, good time!

[COBRANIP]

To quote Dale Earnhardt.......

"Now THAT'S what I'm talk'n about...."

[Clois Harlan]

Glad you had a good time Ernie. Reminds me of my first time on a big track. I just found someone to follow in the first session and then in later sessions I realized I was driving better than novice so I jumped up in class. A couple years later I started running race slicks and that made all the difference in the world.

We would love to have you at Run N Gun in about 23 days!

Clois

[Tommy]

Sound like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing. And good luck on your next track day outing.

[BT SNAKE]

Nice report Ernie. You sound like your brakes need the high dollar brake fluid. Mushy usually means moister in the fluid. Also a set of race pads will do wonders for fade. But as you know ducting would be the best you can have on a long track.
I sure wish I could have made it up there. I wanted to see the guys and meet you.

Hersh

[CobraDan]

From your second picture it looks like you are on a shoestring budget and may not be able to buy good brakes

[Excaliber]

Clois, man I'd love to do the Run and Gun, but thats a bit to far to drive at this time. And, as CobraDan pointed out, I'm on a shoe string budget...

[Clois Harlan]

I understand that, most of us are right now. I know of at least seven guys trying to make things happen with their cars right now so they can make Run N Gun or some other track date. Most of us cut things right down to the wire...no matter how well we plan. The best story I have been told was by the guys at Mongoose racing (Gary Krause) who was pulling his corvettes in an 18 wheeler while some of his crew were inside the trailer putting final touches on the car (windshield- etc)

[ack fia]

I second the change in fluid. I went to better brake fluid and have not had a problem since. I did go with Castrol SRF (really big $) but it was worth it.

[Excaliber]

I was surprised how much air I bled out after the brakes cooled to some degree. I HAD bled them well before. I theorize that moisture in the brake fluid, having turned to steam, is how the "air" got in the brakes? Or, what does happen when you start with no air and then end up with air after track time?

Yup, I'll be moving to high temp fluid as well, but those rear brakes were SO hot I suspect any fluid would have reached boiling point. The rear end area traps a lot of heat already from the engine, trans, rear end and without ventilation it has nowhere to go.

I will be leaving out the ERA rear access panel between the seats at the end of the trans tunnel cover. I'll cover that opening with some kind of wire mesh, fastened in such a way as to make it quick to remove for servicing. I could add some duct work as well but I think just having the opening alone will be sufficient.

Man I was really punishing that side oiler, I thought, well if she blows, she blows, it's time to find out how good it really is. I was running 2nd gear for several corners in a row that I would normally take in third. In 2nd the rpm was staying close to the max range, 5,500-6,300. I DID blow some oil out the valve cover vent while doing that, which created a bit of smoke from the headers. I was running about a half quart oil over the full mark so that might have been the primary reason.

Original Le Mans rods, by the way, stock internals like you would have had in the 60's. So much for the theory old parts are no good, as well as the theory side oilers blow up. I'm sure you CAN blow one up, but from my experience to date, your gonna have to really punish it. With my old solid roller cam I've run that engine up to 7,000 rpm before, same internals as I have now. The motor has about 10,000 miles on it from the last refresh, maybe I'll tear it down this winter and do it again. It will be interesting to see what it looks like inside.

[tkb289]

Ernie,

It was nice to meet you on Saturday. You definitely gave your ERA a workout and I could tell you were having a great time on the track! Got to say the folks running the event did an awesome job.

Nice MacGyver repair on the throttle linkage

- Tim

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by Excaliber

Looks like you are kind of old for this.

Glad you had a great time.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by tkb289

Ernie,

It was nice to meet you on Saturday. You definitely gave your ERA a workout and I could tell you were having a great time on the track! Got to say the folks running the event did an awesome job.

Nice MacGyver repair on the throttle linkage

- Tim

Uh, more like MacGruber.

[Clois Harlan]

Ernie,

What did you do pass Rodknock and Silverback and they are P.O.'d?

Way to go dude!

[Excaliber]

I wasn't the oldest guy on the track, but at 59, perhaps, close to it!

MacGruber, eh eh, funny stuff. http://www.hulu.com/watch/1433/satur...ve-macgruber-1

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by Clois Harlan

Ernie,

What did you do pass Rodknock and Silverback and they are P.O.'d?

Way to go dude!

Just kidding around. I'm an old gray beard myself.

[WildBill3]

Sounds like a fun time for shure thers nothing like seat time, and the confidence it brings along with speed.We had great fluid in and still got a sponjy pedal .Cooling those brakes and rotors is big,great idea about the removing that panel to let air flow through.

[Pete Munroe]

Ex,

You mentioned you have stock ERA Jag rear brakes...

Are you running the stock 1/2" thick solids with Girling calipers or have you upgraded to 7/8" ventilated rotors?

Opening the access panel is a good idea...no external ducts.

OK, WHICH rear Jag brake configuration you are running.

I opted for the 7/8" vented rotors with Girlings, but am curious your results.

Thanks

[Excaliber]

Solid rotor, stock Jag calipers in the rear. I believe ERA runs a Camaro front disc, it's a single large piston caliper. Whatever pads came with the car, I assume nothing special, but don't know. Standard brake fluid, new and flushed, not high temp. I tried to get some Hi temp before I left but couldn't find what I was looking for.

Pretty impressive for stock as you can get brakes, ERA has done a remarkable job. Other folks were fading well before I was. Kei, my Hawaii buddy, has a CSX8000, Roush 427W. He could last EIGHT MINUTES of a 20 minute session driving hard, or slow down substantially or just come in early.

I was on them pretty hard too, not backing off much or down shifting until the last moment when I was running hard. Even with the increased air flow I still had to be careful as they would be fading noticeably toward the end. As opposed to "gone" before the increased air flow. I'd say I could not run a full 20 minutes at top speed without further modifications right now.

With my 3.31 rear gear and 6,300 rpm redline I didn't use 4th gear that much, and briefly when I did. 2nd and 3rd were the primary selections. I noted a LOT of guys were using 4th gear consistently, I figure they must have a lower rear gear? I had to be careful to not hit third gear to hard, the tires would break loose and upset the car (80-85 mph I think...). Rather nasty feeling on that front straight as I would shift just as I neared the curve near the finish line. It's not much of a curve, but your haulin' ass in that section and the walls are intimidating.