GingerMan TNIA next Friday

This was a lap with our slower backup motor after blowing the good one.

In reply to akylekoz :

The top speed is a little skewed, I usually let off because the car was twitchy at speed. I’ll watch a few once this little one is ready to be later down and then give a guesstimate of my speed 

update: A few times I got down to 45/46 at that last corner before the long straight  

Front tires are maybe a year and a half old, backs were installed the day prior. 

I see that the next TNIA event at Gingerman is Thursday, August 12th. Anyone on here planning to head that way? Just signed up so fingers are crossed for nice weather and keeping it on the pavement :)

I'd be really surprised were I able to make it again so soon, sadly. BUT if my wife tells me they're all having a girls night on that random Thursday night...

Have you been out there much before?

In reply to P3PPY :

I think this will be my seventh track event at Gingerman and my fourth different car ('06 Miata). Prior cars were a '07 Ford Fusion, '05 Mustang GT, and most recently '13 Ford Fiesta (not an ST). Based on these cars, I am pretty well versed in the art of the point by :)

In reply to fusion66 :

I was there when you drove the Fusion.  Can't make it on the 12th, due to family in town for the week.  

We may need another driver for a Lemons race on October 10-11, in a slow yet fun car.

In reply to akylekoz :

I would normally jump at a chance to drive in a Lemons event but I have already committed to my final year as event photographer for our local 100 mile race (foot, not car). I have a young local auto-crosser that has wanted to get out on the track but has trouble swinging the entry fee. With the buddy pass system, he is now able to attend for free so we will have a two Miata caravan heading up. 

hmmmm. according to google maps, Gingerman is less than 2 hours from me...

Edit, unfortunately that's also 1st day of school for my kindergartner and first grader. doh!

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

That's not fair...I am 2 1/2 hours away. If by chance you have any real interest, there are codes provided by monthly sponsors ( ItsYourTurnKONI ) of the event that reduce entry fees by $25. If you are an SCCA member, take another $10 off. That gets it down to $130 which I think is pretty good for (3) 20 minute track sessions. 

In reply to fusion66 :

+ a good long set of pace laps, which, with as slow as I am, was only 15 seconds off my best time :P

Had a great time at TNIA Gingerman Raceway last night. My 8th track day/night with 7 of them being at Gingerman in 4 different cars. The Miata (NC) was a blast and I definitely have not pushed it to its potential yet as a few squirrely moments kept me a bit conservative. 

Video is terrible - I mean terrible - if you are subject to motion sickness - proceed at your own risk. I need to change my mount system. If you can get past the shakes, feedback would be welcome. You will notice a short shift after turn 7 going into 8 as otherwise the shift point was hitting right at my right/left transition and I was upsetting the car too often while trying to manage the directional change plus shift. This was my quickest lap at 1:50.4.

In reply to fusion66 :

Nicely done! That was fun to watch. It even *felt* nice and limber as a video spectator. And yeah man I bought my camera mount for $14 from a gas station on the drive there, I need to tighten mine up before doing that sickness thing to people too :)

Soooo this isn't a stock Miata, I take it...

I was at the August 12th event too! Missed this thread or else I would have commented earlier. It was my first time out at GingerMan. I was in a silver E36, and I found two other E46's of similar pace in my run group.

Here's my best lap

In reply to MINIzguy :

Good run. It looks like it was a beautiful evening out there, too.

P3PPY said:

In reply to MINIzguy :

Good run. It looks like it was a beautiful evening out there, too.

Yes, the weather cooled off nicely and the rain clouds didn't sprinkle over us! Caught a nice sunset on the drive home too. I get why people say the state is beautiful out there now.

Yeah, since Michigan is where we are going to stay, I hope to end up on the western edge. It's so pretty.

So you don't mention if it's an M3 yet here you are doing like 16 seconds faster than me in my Z. I didn't realize how bad I was

It's a 328i with basic mods for SCCA STX class - 17x9's, 245 RT660s, coilovers, exhaust, tune, LSD, brake pads and bushings.

I'm going to experiment with shifting into second gear in T2, T3 and T10 the next time out. I'm really lugging out of those corners in 3rd gear. Then I'll work on pushing the braking zones some more. My Trackaddict data says a 1:47 is possible, and one of the E46 guys said he has done 1:46's.

In reply to P3PPY :

Similar prep to MINIzguy - aftermarket coil overs, sway bars, muffler delete so I can hear it on track (no engine mods or tune), 200TW 245 wide tires. I need better brakes before the next event as the Hawk hps+ that came on it worked but did not instill confidence. They did not fade enough to cause missed turns but I had to stand on them hard to get what I wanted out of them. Hopefully we can have a mini GRM group gathering at a future event.

In reply to MINIzguy :

Very nice lap and smooth driving.  I assume you were in advanced because I only remember one silver BMW in intermediate. 

In reply to fusion66 :

Have you run without 200s? If so, what's the time difference on that track?

In reply to P3PPY :

I have not run the Miata without 200's - it was it's first trip to the track.

A guy I have run with at Gingerman before went from 200 TW Bridgestone Re-71's to 340 TW Firestone Firehawk 500's and lost 2 seconds a lap on his Miata. 

In reply to fusion66 :

Yes, I ran advanced even though I was learning the track. The small run groups are super nice and traffic was minimal compared to NJMP events I've done.