Those who know me know that my daily/track/beater car is an STi.

This past weekend I got my NASA provisional comp license in my 240sx race car.

On Monday I went to Lime Rock Park for some seat time. Buddy of mine had me take out his new MR with 2,000 miles on it.

First time I ever drove a mitsu and I rolled the GTR coming out of the down hill - silly boy braked on the down hill. Real men don't brake on the down hill. My exit speed was at least 15mph faster than his. Witnesses said the driver was not very happy at all. Stock MR on street tires, rather beat up street tires now, my friend auto-crosses ALOT.

The MR isn't a bad ride.

 

A bunch of local Subie and Evo owners went this weekend to LRP.

More pix: http://www.plaftaphoto.com/gallery/album112

Get out there to the HPDEs - this is the first time there has been more than 2 or 3 Evos.

 

Wow, I need to see your line if you aren't braking at all on the down hill. Either its a lot better than mine or the MR suspension/lsd/acd really make that much of a difference. The LRP HPDE was a lot of fun though.

 

I touch the brakes in the diving turn just to set the nose for turn-in. In a racing situation, just a little breathe would suffice. Don't know the Ultima driver, but if you passed him with a better run out of the diving turn the Ultima was not being driven anywhere near its full potential.
Cheers,

 

When you said roll I thought you meant "flip". I was expecting carnage. That is definately bad *** that you pulled an Ultima. How did you like the MR?

 

Yes the difference was definitely the way the cars were driven through that line. (Drag racing is for fast cars, road racing is for fast drivers.) He was no slouch though - from the first time I had him in my sights until I rolled him coming onto the straight was about 2.5 laps. And he was not happy about it - but it did take him 4 laps to get back and he did eventually pass me at the end of the straight going into turn 1. I was going 135mph when he rolled me at the first brake marker.

Considering it was my very first experience in the MR and so as feedback only on that track - the MR is very well sorted stock. So much of the work is done for the driver though - it is a pleasure and easy to drive but boy could someone develop some bad habits in it if they ever had to drive a car without all the stability control.

As for the downhill - the physics of the it are that right at turn in the suspension on any car gets loaded up. If you turn in before it unloads you have way more grip than you would ever imagine. I have gotten to the point where I lift just before turn in and roll onto the throttle during turn in. On that turn in an AWD and definitely the MR I am full throttle *prior* to the apex - but probably only because I do that lift. My entry speed still is not maximized, knowing the turn will hold you and trusting it to hold you are two different things. But my exit speeds have gotten pretty good. Also helps that I did do a skip barber there in April and those guys really teach you that course well.

Oh I put the sequential pix up as evidence of which car was going which way.

Sorry for the lingo - we refer to pulling on someone to the point of a full pass as rolling them. (I think of pulling as drag racing, rolling as road racing.)

 

I was on the same run group and Bill(wtz) was right about the Ultima driver. He would hammer it for a few laps and would back off for a few. I have these on video that I'll post soon. It was fun.

 

Whether he was turning faster laps or slower laps he would always brake at the bottom of the downhill. The car didn't need it. He wasn't slouching on that run he was full throttle on the pass, if he didn't brake I would never have gotten close to catching him. Eveyone on the deck said he was ticked when I passed him - it wasn't something he was letting happen. They said I was the only one that passed him that session, though an instructor friend of mine in an STi with R compounds was all over him when they passed me together later in the session we ran the last three laps in line and he would pull away everywhere except the down hill we would reel him back in.

 

The Ultima is truely one of the fastest track cars available. It is very light with amazing power. There is nothing street legal, including race prepared street cars, that can keep up with it.

The driver, however, does have to be up to the task.

Check out this vid. Ultima doing 1 to 100 to 0 --- in 10.3 secs on street tires!
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/defa...p?storyId=8956


BTW -- great pics

 

Except the Macleran F1.

But nothing else at any price that is permitted on the street can touch it. Still can't believe that it can be prepared for street licensing.

 

I had alot of fun on Monday. Great to see all the AWD cars on hand especially all the Mitsubishi's. Who lifts on the downhill? I am usually behind someone and have to slow down for them. The few times no one was in front of me I tried no brake. While I had to make a mental note to check my underwear at the sessions end it was fun...


Flybyevo...

 

Nice! That GTR has some serious power for the straights. He ran 138MPH trap speed at Island Dragway on Sunday. LS6 twin-turbo

 

Not the best run with the heavy traffic but a rough idea of my line in my rwd race ka while I am screaming at a vette. Unfortunately had to brake or run the vette over.

My friend's video from his prelude of my ITA/PS2 classed 240sx:

Ed Hits All the Apexes- Right-click & Save-as <-- copy of my friend's link I actually still miss the up hill apex - still relearning a rwd car that doesn't push like a pig and I miss the apex by about 3'.

Only the third time I had driven the car. The day before I got my competition license in it at Summit Point though and ran my first competitive race there.

Note the turn 1 line is for when it is cold. When it is hot and dry the turn can be double apexed faster (rather than the single apex I take in the vid) on the concrete but it was slippery that day.

 

Whether with stability control or not, the Evo is so damn easy to drive fast it definately builds confidence in drivers that ordiniarily have no business driving at 9/10ths or even 7/10ths. For the novice driver it's like bringing a gun to a knife fight.

 

That is pretty much the case with all modern AWD - I have been saying for the last 25 track days the STi does a lot to save poor driving. But the stability control, ACD and LS front on the MR takes that to a whole other level, this could be driven really poorly and still be fast. But still not as fast as experience.