Also @huggybear: Of course he wanted to know how to fix his car. He just got passed by a Fairmont, for Pete's sake. It's gotta be the car's fault!
Also @huggybear: Of course he wanted to know how to fix his car. He just got passed by a Fairmont, for Pete's sake. It's gotta be the car's fault!
No sir I wasn't in that miata. I had to look at the video again to make sure. I have a NA miata white with a silver hardtop. I will say that the Shenandoah is a pretty fun track. That was my first event on that track. I have only done the Summit Main. Very technical.
Shenandoah's my favorite place to be so far. I've also driven Nelson Ledges (but not with the improved horsepower and brakes), but I like Shenandoah better. I'd do main, but I'd need even more brakes, and hood pins. And more balls.
huggybear626 wrote: No sir I wasn't in that miata. I had to look at the video again to make sure. I have a NA miata white with a silver hardtop. I will say that the Shenandoah is a pretty fun track. That was my first event on that track. I have only done the Summit Main. Very technical.
I kept hoping to get close to you on track, because you looked friendly and I thought you might be cool to talk to, but it never happened. It's hard to have something to talk about if you never saw each other on track. "Wow, we must have very similar lap times, because we never see each other!"
Thats berkeleying cool! I love it. Keep it up!
@huggybear: I tried to talk to the guy with the Evo, but he seemed aloof and sullen.
@Lof: I hope to!
snailmont5oh wrote: @huggybear: I tried to talk to the guy with the Evo, but he seemed aloof and sullen.
ya think ? 
snailmont5oh wrote: @Jed: Here's my garage write up. It's all I can remember at the moment. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/garage/snailmont5oh/ @wbjones: I really would have, but I wanted to go fast over the hill, and that scares the hell out of me, so I forgot. I was on worn-down RA-1s that day. I need to get a rear-facing camera.
Interesting. You don't see very many EVM tri-links anymore.
In reply to snailmont5oh:
Yeah I think on the Saturday sessions we were on track for a little bit together but I let you go by so I could follow your lines. That weekend was the first time in that car ever at a track I have never driven. I learned a lot watching that Fairmont
In reply to huggybear626:
Did you get any video?
I did get some but the one where I was with you the camera died early.
They these https://youtu.be/evnwmA7s7ks https://youtu.be/y3cg3AEJ8dk https://youtu.be/D-pzv6mK5mE
These are from Sunday and please excuse my language on one video.
Dammit! That's the story of my life. The only time I ever see my car in someone else's video, it's broken, or I'm cooling it down. Also, were the brake lights quite visible? I recently replaced the bulbs with LEDs, and I worry about such things.
Isn't a Fairmont basically a fox body Mustang, but a sedan?
@snailmont5oh I try to find video from other people's cars as it can be a huge help. As in this video link; I'm in the red Datsun (the tail happy thing going into turn 1) people had told me the car moved around a lot but blessed with better then average car control I just drove the wheels off it. Turns out the axles were not properly shimmed and had waaaaay to much end play.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7TsTgZJULSM
As for the Evo driver; as an instructor I find this to be a common attitude, now that I have the Datsun really dialed in (I've dropped 9 seconds a lap on a 3.1 mile course and am running slightly faster than most Spec Miatas) passing people with a 100 whp wonder tends to get them to listen to you. Last track day I was at there were a group of guys with new Vettes who were initially really bummed the gutless wonder caught and passed them. After one of the regulars in a Vette filled them in ( I have a pretty good reputation as an instructor/driver) we had a pretty exchange of ideas. Two of the guys thanked me a the end of the day, having feed back is nice to have.
Now as for that track.......the Datsun would be great there.......looks like loads of fun.
Tom
@Tom: That car definitely had you busy! My car likes to move around a lot, even though it doesn't really look like it from the in-car. I guess I must just perceive the movements I make as much larger than they are. Of course, you can't see what the throttle is doing. I think you'd really enjoy that track. It's 18 turns in 2.2 miles.
@Toebra: I always like to correct people about this. :) The Fox chassis Mustang is a Fairmont, not the other way around. Fox Chassis Fairmont development started in '72, and the decision to put the Mustang on that platform wasn't made until much later.
Tom1200 wrote: @snailmont5oh I try to find video from other people's cars as it can be a huge help. As in this video link; I'm in the red Datsun (the tail happy thing going into turn 1) people had told me the car moved around a lot but blessed with better then average car control I just drove the wheels off it. Turns out the axles were not properly shimmed and had waaaaay to much end play. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7TsTgZJULSM As for the Evo driver; as an instructor I find this to be a common attitude, now that I have the Datsun really dialed in (I've dropped 9 seconds a lap on a 3.1 mile course and am running slightly faster than most Spec Miatas) passing people with a 100 whp wonder tends to get them to listen to you. Last track day I was at there were a group of guys with new Vettes who were initially really bummed the gutless wonder caught and passed them. After one of the regulars in a Vette filled them in ( I have a pretty good reputation as an instructor/driver) we had a pretty exchange of ideas. Two of the guys thanked me a the end of the day, having feed back is nice to have. Now as for that track.......the Datsun would be great there.......looks like loads of fun. Tom
I enjoy track days .. but that is the one thing that makes me shy away sometimes … lots of folk running them think they are racing …
we lost one at a DE at Road Atlanta last weekend, high powered cars, with minimal safety equipment and novice drivers (even if signed off to higher run groups) are a tragedy waiting to happen …
no 4pt roll bars (or more), no race seats, no 5pt/6pt harnesses, no H&N restraints … those just a min. for high speed track stuff
@snailmont5oh I have the opposite problem; what I think are small movements are actually fairly large, back in the 90s a friend had video of me in my Showroom Stock Miata entering a greasy hairpin. From inside the car it seemed like moderate corner entry oversteer, when I saw the view from outside the car it was a case of Jeeeeeeeezus does that thing snap oversteer.
As for your local track it looks like great fun, I'd love to have that really cool carousel at my local track.
@wnjones I run mostly local PCA track days and at every drivers meeting they do a silly chant "this is not racing" this seems to get the point across. They are also a little stricter on passing rules as well. I keep it to 75%-90% race pace. Due note I'm wearing all my race gear including the Hans Device.
About 8 or 9 years ago I was instructing at a manufacturer event; one of our group was a former CART and 24hr of Daytona winner. The subject turned to an upcoming Viper Club event at Cal-Speedway and when the aforementioned driver heard that you could run with just a helmet his reaction was "that's nuts".
I used to get some flack from two or three local track day guys for telling them they need to start thinking about safety gear. One of them did the classic insinuating I was a some sort of girly man at least until the chief driving instructor at the tracks driving school said "dude he used to road race motorcycles at Willow Springs and Riverside"
While I have no issue with my local track in a big horsepower car I would be very cautious about running somewhere like Willow Spring or Road Atlanta in a road car, even as agressive as I am.
OK back to Fairmont videos............
Tom
I'm at Pocono now for an autocross tomorrow, so I got nothing else for the time being, unless someone knows someone that caught me on camera when I wasn't warming up the tires, or cooling down early. Those, I would like to see.
Updadte: I finally had time to go through some of the videos lap-by-lap and get some times. My new best has been upgraded from a 1:48 on worn Hoosier R6s to a 1:46.9 on 225/50-16 RA1s. Woohoo! Also, I'm apparently better chasing than I am on my own.
Nice, fresh tires make a world of difference. As for being faster chasing versus on your own that's easy to have happen. The key is remembering the marks you were using when chasing down prey and sticking to them.
I once ran a track day on the inside road course at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; the course used the NASCAR front stretch, at what would be the oval turn one you had to brake for a 45-50 mph chicane and myself and a 914 driver were reeling in cars from 200ft or more. Both the 914 and the Miata were topping out at 110 mph. Our key was had found a 2" white dot painted on the pavement about 75 feet past a 3" x 12" painted line on the apron which was about 200 yards past the start line. We were both simply playing connect the dots. We were also doing the same thing on the back stretch, foot flat to the floor till you got to the letter S painted on the wall then brake.
I am painfully aware I am easily distracted so connect the dots works for me. If you can find a copy of Keith Code's "Twist of the Wrist" motorcycle racing book it spells it out well.
Tom
Oh, the RA1s aren't fresh, by any means. I only use cheap take-offs. I shudder to think what that damn thing would do on actual tires. :)
huggybear626 wrote: No sir I wasn't in that miata. I had to look at the video again to make sure. I have a NA miata white with a silver hardtop. I will say that the Shenandoah is a pretty fun track. That was my first event on that track. I have only done the Summit Main. Very technical.
Do you know who was in the white Miata with the silver cage? I bet he has video of me!
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