Is there a good explanation why GSC and AMS don't enter their cars in unlimited? Do you need a tire sponsor or something?

-Kent

 

They (AMS) do. They have cars in both classes. As an aside I'm not a big Lime Rock fan despite it's location to me.

 

When are the rest of the times going to be posted

 

AMS ran both, ran Unlimited at the EvolutionM.net tuner challenge, will be running unlimited this weekend at the NASA event..

For the Super Street Time Attack the car fits street class though, so....

Also, I love running onthe Toyos on the AMS car, and am very happy to have them on board.

Jon K

 

awesome!! Glad to see evos still dominating.. although that s15 was slightly faster. Does anyone have any specs on that thing? it must be quite a monster to take out the ams and buschr cars.

 

not sure on the exact specs on the s15, but it was about 500 lbs lighter than ams car, and was not hurting for horsepower. Shenandoah is a really tight track also. On a more open track I think the outcome would have been different. The car was quick. But it was a full on race car. The ams evo has much weight to lose reletive to the s15, and has a lot of room to go much faster. In the end, I am pretty confident that we will be much quicker than we are now. Stay tuned.

 

Have you tried running Hoosiers? If so, how did they compare?

You guys planning on doing stuff other than timed trials? In your region what groups can you race with and what group would your Evo fit in?

 

The AMS Black car will run in street at Super Street Time Attack? ...and nothing about Tyler's driving to land him in FTD overall? That was a good show he put on.

 

I never really got to see Tyler's driving as I was on track with him. The only time I ran near him on the track was in the first session on Saturday when we were both just learning the track. That is how I know the straight line power was about the same. He was pulling me on the straight quite a bit at that point, but we were having fluttering boost issues. I gotta assume he was driving the car very well to run the times he was running. He is professional driver, and I would think that would go without saying. It turned out to be a really good battle in the end, and .16 seconds after a 1:31 lap is a pretty close race if you ask me. I just can't wait to see what the AMS car will do when it is really turned into an unlimited car. (No, it is not prepared to what is allowed in unlimited. With the exception of the tires, and the headlights being removed, it is the same as in One Lap of America)

In the defense of the s15, it was originally built for drifting, and I am not sure what they are giving up by that. They did convert the suspension to a road race one, but I don't know if there are any geometry quirks with using a chassis that was originally built for drifting.

Mark

 

We have been on Hoosiers, and honestly I think that the grip level is pretty much the same, each tire has different corner-entry characteristics, which is because of construction I figure, but I feel the Toyo gives actually a little more margin for error there.

The newest Hooiser seems like it has a lot of longevity to it, but what I have liked about the Toyo over the Hoosier in the past is the Toyo lifespan, and the fact that because it is consistant over its life, a driver can be more comfortable on it.

I am 99% sure we are not going to the Road Atlanta Super Street Time Attack on the 14th, too much work and $ with NASA and the drag shootout this weekend. The plans are to go to California for the west coast challenge though. If the car is in its current form, I think we should slap the headlights back in it and run street class, if it gets closer to a true unlimited car then that would change, but as of right now, save for headlights, the AMS car fits the Super Street street class rules.

As for other stuff, a lot has been kicked around but this stuff costs lots of $, so venturing out of a set of events is tough. The car has been built with full on wheel-to-wheel in mind, and the car would pass safety specs for SPO in SCCA. Right now we are focused on a NASA national championship, and doing as well as we can at SuperStreet and Redline Time Attacks. There is an event in October I am working on getting us in, but it is all budget/time dependant, so we will see.

Redline is talking about more events, and so is GTLive! so if one of those can be the "pro" Time Trial series I think that's where we would end up, perhaps even with a couple of hillclimbs. Of course that is bigger $, so we would really need a major sponsor. For roadracing, I think that makes Martin nervous, though, I feel a full on roadrace is less dangerous than a NASA HPDE4/TT group.

Jon K

 

Thanks for the response. It's been awhile since we've retested Toyo's but we've got a set or two ready for just that.

Sounds like you've got a pretty busy schedule. It will be nice to see your car when your team swings out west. There were a few heavily modified Time Attack/Show Evo's at MOD(Mitsubishi Owners Day) that I've yet to see on a track but maybe that will change. None were prepped for roadracing or so it appeared.

I don't find roadracing any more dangerous than time trialing/qualifying. In some ways the latter is a bit more stressful in that you gotta really "hang it out" over a more concentrated period of time. The danger in roadracing, from my experience, comes from the other drivers on the track. It's tuff controling them....

-Kent

(edit-I I guess need to spellcheck before posting)

 

Kent,

Do you or any of the RRE team have any plans on coming out to the east coast for a race?

 

We wont be coming back to the North East this year. It simply isnt in our budget to do so this year. All of our sponsors agreed to helping fund a 4 event series in this first year. Next year expect to see a total of 6-7 events, with at least 3 events both east and west of the Mississippi.

Our philosophy regarding Time Attack differs from both NASA and GT Live! in some VERY important ways...... All of which will, in my opinion, lead to Redline Time Attack being the premiere time attack series in North America in 2007. We have alot of stuff in the pipeline and MANY companies interested in supporting us next year.

With the continued support of the shops, teams and racers who compete in our events, the sky is the limit! Thanks to all of you!

 

That's what I am saying, I think roadracing is safer than the TT/HPDE4 group in NASA.

This is for a few reasons

1) Mindset: Roadracing is everyone for the same goal, you know it, you know the goal. In a group with a mix of TT/HPDE people there are guys out there that are in DE mentality (which there is nothing wrong with, but is MUCH different from a competition setting) Sometimes people want to "play" close to their friends on track, or just want to drive 90%. I have heard the saying "Get your heart in it, or your *** out" Think if you were to go into a roadrace only planning on driving 90%.. not a good mix with people driving 100% and going for time.

2) Experience: In roadracing you know roughly the level of experience. In NASA TT/HPDE4 group there are guys who have been passed because they have a fast car, and maybe not that they are fast, maybe they were moved up cause instructors were scared to ride with them anymore, maybe they got moved up because they had "done their time" as it was described to me the reason for one of the guys in the HPDE4/TT group at Autobahn..

3) Speed differentials: In roadracing groups are put together with similar cars/speeds in mind. You wouldn't usually see a 600HP GT car with a 130HP stock Neon, in the NASA TT program, this isn't just possible, but right now it is the norm. I saw closing speeds of 70mph on some cars at Autobahn, combine this with the already mentioned mix of experience, and it is flat scary.

Now, before anyone thinks I am NASA bashing, I am not. It is a new program to them, and they know they want to break up the groups, and give TT its own run group. I think that for a national sanctioning body to undertake a national level Time Trial program is awesome, I am a longtime member of SCCA and wished they had done this a long tome ago, so I feel it's overdue. With the program growing I am sure we will see at least two of those above issues worked out, and a strong national "club level" TT program to lead into the Redline and other series "pro" level events.

Jon K

 

NO ONE in NASA norcal moves up to HPDE4/TT because thier instructors are afraid to ride with them anymore, or because they have "done their time". Maybe it's different back east. I feel totally comfortable on track with my cohorts in Time Trial at all times. Safety and curtosy abounds in our group.


Percy