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Sept. 26, 2011 11:18 a.m. jstein77 Dork

I had a pretty good shakedown run with the Turbo Sentra at Daytona yesterday. Won my class with about a second to spare and had a slightly faster time than the AWD SM cars in the class above me. There were some issues, however, that I'll need to tune out.

Results

First off, it's extremely loose. I was sideways just about everywhere. I'm going to put in a larger front bar, either a 23mm Nismo or a 25mm Eibach. Secondly, the brake pads I chose, some Akebono ceramics, didn't work very well on the the first couple of runs. They improved some by the third run, but now they feel lousy on the street. I'll bleed the lines and maybe break the glaze and see if they get some feel back. There's always Hawk HPS if that doesn't work out. Lastly, there's a nasty oil leak somewhere around the turbo. I think maybe the turbo has cooked the valve cover gasket. I'll address that this weekend.

All in all, a pretty good first run for the beast. I'll continue sorting it this year and hopefully be back competitve for PAX next year.
Sept. 26, 2011 12:11 p.m. procker Reader

Always liked the SE-Rs up through your body style. The newest ones look kinda heavy and like turtle shells or something...I dunno, not too attractive to me. Is that your dedicated track car? Nice results too! Looks like it's a hoot to drive, and being loose like that prolly makes you think harder before taking it to the limits in the non-straights...I always thought it was good to have some experience in loose cars like that...hones your driving skills
Sept. 26, 2011 12:54 p.m. N Sperlo Dork

procker wrote:

I always thought it was good to have some experience in loose cars like that...hones your driving skills

So, what you're saying is that you like drifting.
Sept. 26, 2011 1:20 p.m. jstein77 Dork

In reply to procker: It's my daily driver too.
Sept. 26, 2011 3:08 p.m. procker Reader

In reply to N Sperlo: Haha no, not drifting my friend...more under the impression that if you have a car that isn't tuned to perfection, or to where you want/need it to be, then when you have everything in order driving becomes easier...more of a "point and shoot" system. Just some $.02 ;)
Oct. 19, 2011 7:36 p.m. jstein77 Dork

Got the last of the issues taken care of today by replacing a leaking oil drain line from the turbo to the oil pan. A nice fat 25mm Eibach sway bar, bright red, has made the car corner much flatter and should tame the oversteer. The brakes now feel fine after a bit of work, so I should be all ready for this weekend's autocross in Orlando. Wish me luck!