Average Speed Per Lap

My Traqmate GPS data is good for a lot of things, probably a lot more than I use it for.  But one of the neat things it'll calculate is the average speed per lap.  So I pulled up pretty much every track that I have data for and here's how they stacked up.  This is using my best lap at each. 

• 74 mph - Gingerman (Old) - TTB setup
• 77 mph - BlackHawk Farms - TTB setup
• 79 mph - Gingerman (Long)
• 81 mph - Autobahn
• 83 mph - Mid Ohio (Club)
• 85 mph - Putnam Park
• 85 mph - Gateway Int'l - TTB setup
• 86 mph - Mid Ohio (Pro)
• 89 mph - VIR Full - TTB setup
• 97 mph - Road America

Note my older TTB setup is usually 2-3 seconds per lap slower than my 2011 TTA setup.

Road America!

The last scheduled event on the NASA MW/GL schedule is a crossover (aka combined) event at Road America this weekend. I'm signed up and the weather looks crazily great with highs in the low 70's.

So I'm headed the 6 hrs north for what will probably be my last event of the year. Wish me luck!  The car hasn't been touched since we left Nationals - and it's a great opportunity to use up the last of this years brakes and tires that are already on the car. 

Any guesses on my top speed?  Think I'll clear 145 or 150mph more than once per lap?

Autobahn Sunday - 07.10.11 - 1st place in TTA!

For Sunday I knew I needed to make a change. I decided the simplest was to pull the Kognition rear wing and put the stocker back on. The car felt much better when I was there in April and I ran the stocker back then. The Kognition was definitely producing downforce, but since I don't have a front splitter to balance it out, with my current alignment/settings it's just too much for this track right now I guess.

So I lined up Sunday with the stock wing and ran a 1:33.4. Car definitely felt looser in turns 3 & 4 where I had to left off the gas earlier. And the bandaid was still holding! Still though, I wasn't as fast as I was in April. I looked over my traqmate data and see I was loosing time in the braking zone of T1 of all places! So I set out to correct that in S2 and ran a 1:33.4 again! I assumed at this point the tires much be nearly shot.

I was going to run at least 1 more session and I wanted to make some change. Talked it over with a friend and I made a 1-click rebound adjustment - note this is the FIRST TIME this YEAR that I've touched the suspension settings on my new AST's since they were installed (they've been that good). Amazingly enough I felt the 1-click adjustment! The car rotated better through 2 specific corners and I was able to drop a 1:32.5 to end the day. That time held to win TTA for Sunday - although I wasn't able to reset my April track record of 1:32.1

Here's a good vid from Sunday. It's me and Jeff in his Evo; running nose-to-tail 1:33's.

Autobahn Saturday 7.9.11 - Working through Troubles!

Saturday I went out for the morning practice session with a passenger.  I lined up with my buddy Jarrod behind me as it was his first time in TT; 2nd time at the track and I wanted to show him the lines.  I ran a 1:37 and qualified 7th in grid.

I went to switch in 2 grippier tires for the first timed session, but realized an issue.  The car was covered in thick fluid by the driver's front tire.  I figured out it wasn't fluid, but axle grease - apparently from when I had my trans pulled recently.  I cleaned everything up as best I could and decided to go out for just 1-2 laps in the 11am session before the heat really set in as I needed a time.
I ran something like a 1:33.8 but the car was pushing in the turns; at turn-in and I had to get out of the gas more than once as it pushed mid-corner when I went back to the throttle as well.  I had the Kognition wing on and it set to the lowest AoA.  I also had some sloppy lines as I was bothered by the axle boot issue and was getting used to the new shiftpoints in my new longer 4th gear.  I was sitting in 2nd of 5 cars.
But the real fun was a very near incident during the session that caused me to take some evasive manuevering!  I was following another Evo; we were running 1:33-34 laps and we came up on a much slower Miata with a passenger.  The other Evo passed him between T4 and T5 and I was setting him up for an inside pass in T5.  While the other Evo was completing his pass, the Miata started to spin sideways mid-corner.  I left off to not T-bone him as he caught it.  But as I reached back for the gas, he jerked left again and I jerked left and went off-track to avoid him again.  The guardrail was insanely close at this point as well as an upcoming flagstand.  I turned right but the car kept going straight!  I brought the wheel back straight and slowly turned right and it took that input and I was able to avoid hitting anything.  Fun...  Vid below!

I checked the car after the 11am session and it messier yet.  I decided to let it cool and try to figure out a fix (if there was one).  I was posting to facebook for advice and texting with Boostin Performance; who pulled the trans.  I got a few suggestions including tape, superglue, zipties, trashbags, more tape, etc.  I also sourced some fancy volcanizing 'fire' tape from the paddock area. 
I let everything cool and went to work on the car.  I started with superglue; let it dry; then went with electrical tape (sticky) and the fire tape back-n-forth.  Then 2 zipties at the end with some electrical tape over them!  I skipped the 1pm session as I didn't want to rush things. 

Well into the mid 90's by now, I lined up for the 3pm session with no other changes.  Went out and the track wasn't great but I put down another 1:33x and the car was clean underneath!  That in itself was a success for me!  The car pushed worse being things were hotter and greasier at this point.  I chalked it up mostly to the high afternoon temps and took 2nd out of 5 for the day.  1st was a 132.8 that went to the reigning 2010 TTA Nat'l champ who happened to put his car in the wall in the 3rd session.  We'll see if he can get it fixed for next weekend at Mid Ohio so we can battle again!

NASA - Gingerman - 1st in TTA - June 4th!

After driving up late Friday night (~6 hrs), got up Saturday, unloaded all the remaining crap inside the car, unloaded the car and did a little prep. This was the first time the car had been off the trailer since being loaded at Putnam Park May 15th! Only changes were a quick wash and I had installed a Kognition rear wing on the car since!

With the new wing set at the lowest possible angle, I lined up and ran a 1:43 for the practice session which put me #3 in grid for the entire TT group. Always strive to be in the first couple spots so I can get some clean laps right away!

For S2 (the first timed session) I was lined up behind the current TTA track record holder; what else but a C5 Vette! We did 3 laps hard laps and I could gain on him in a few spots, but he'd pull away in a few spots too. My best was a 1:40.0 - while his transponder didn't register. Sucks... as we had to be close!

For session #3 I made my 1st wing adjustment and fired a 1:39.3 which broke the track record for TTA! The car felt more planted and I liked it! Session #4 was at 2pm and it was starting to get pretty heated up. I made another adjustment and thought the car pushed a bit. Best was a 1:40x. Session #5 was at 3:40pm; hot hot hot. I backed the wing off 1 step and ran another 1:39x but not better than before as track conditions were degrading quickly.
The car was also sorta hopping in low speed turns under hard throttle. It did this a bit last year in 3rd gear corners, I assumed because the turbo comes on so quickly there. With the new 2011 alignment it's been better, but apparently it's back! I can drive around it, but it's not ideal so I hope to be making some adjustments down the road....

My 1:39.3 stood for 1st out of 6 in TTA. I also ended up with FTD of the entire TT group!  It was pushed hard all day through 5 sessions, high revs, high oil temps, high boost, etc and responded with flying colors.  Thanks as always to AMS Performance for a truely terrific tune!

Here's vid from the last session, looking backwards under the new Kognition wing; enjoy in HD!

Kognition Wing!

After running the APR GTC-200 wing for 3 weekends this year, we came to the conclusion that we needed a bigger wing.  I know it was helping keep the rear more stable, but I am just not sure how much of an improvement it is over the big OEM wing.  And with the NASA TT point system, a rear wing is +4 pts; so it better be working!

I pulled out my earlier research on wings; prices, sizes, claims, lead-times, etc.  I found a good deal on a trunk mounted option from Kognition and put in my order.  While it was a bit later than expected, it arrived a few weeks back and the Evo will be running it this weekend.  Codename 'Config 2K'.  And I'll be making a LOT of testing changes as this wing is pre-slotted for everything from 5 to 18 degrees AoA (Angle Of Attack).  I fully expect the car to be very push-heavy at some point this weekend; or else we'll be back to the drawing board!

FMIC swap!

FMIC swap time!  It's never ever fun to make your race car slower; but that's exactly what we did this week.  Because of NASA's TT point system, you have to pick and choose your modifications wisely.  And although my AMS FMIC is a work of art and adds a solid 20 whp/wtq, I believe the 4pts for an intercooler upgrade are better spent elsewhere (more info coming).

Therefore I pulled the upgraded AMS FMIC off and bolted the stock unit back in place.  Here's a pic of the update.  Man does it look tiny in comparison!

2011 Hoosiers!

New stock of Hoosiers!  This allotment of 7 brand new Hoosiers was the remainder of my freebie contingency tires from 2010 that I had to order. 

All-in-all I have a total of 22 Hoosier tires in my possession at this time.  Of course, 8 of those are trash/used and the rest aren't all new...

Thank you to Hoosier for their generous NASA contingency program.  The 'purple crack' rocks.

Aug/Sept Track Vids!

Gingerman (old/short course) - new TTA record



Gingerman (new/long course)



Autobahn S



Autobahn S - new TTA Record (external GoPro view)

Double NASA TTA Wins & Track Record @ Autobahn!

The weekend started with a trip to Chicago late Thursday night; en-route to an 8am Appt at AMS Performance for some upgrades. Waiting at the shop was an upgraded 12 plate rear diff from Shep racing! Also planned was an AMS Moustache Bar Eliminator to further reduce unneeded weight and improve shifting.

Saturday

Rain overnight and into Sat provided wet track conditions until about noon. I personally love driving the Evo on track in the rain and knew it'd be a great way to get used to the new Shep rear diff. I also was debuting new front Girodisc 2-peice rotors and Raybestos ST43 pads all around.
I did 2 sessions in the wet, both with Dunlops on (I planned ahead) and had a freakin ball with the new rear diff and some oversteer for once! Around lunchtime things started drying and I mounted up the Hoosiers. Since I was playing in the rain I had the #2 gridspot and stayed up front (and out of traffic) all weekend which was nice.
I was a bit cautious in the first dry session to warm up the tires and really see what this rear diff would do in dry conditions. The ST43 pads were definitely different, they definitely took longer to heat up as compared to the Hawk DTC60's I have been running and also squealed like all he11 for a good 2-3 laps. Once they were warm it seemed they needed far less pedal pressure to stop. This took some getting used to throughout the weekend. Rear diff reacted very predictably and I had some slight oversteer in several of the turns, enough that I had to countersteer a bit. I loved it! I ran a 1:35.2 which equaled my personal best from the July event. The next session I let things fly and set a new TTA track record with a 1:33.9. That also put me in 1st of 8 cars in class.

Sunday

Absolutely perfect day. After missing the warmup session because I needed to bandaid an intercooler pipe that I bent, I went out in the next session just to put a time down. Ran a 1:35.6 which put me in 1st by just .1. The next session I let things fly again and broke my TTA record from the previous day - 1:33.1. That landed me 1st of 6 in class.

Along with the new TTA track record, I set a personal best by nearly 2 seconds. I did this with rear tires that had 22 heatcycles by the end of the weekend! The ambient temps were great, but with newer tires there's definitely more left in the car. Overall, the transition from TTB -> TTA (where I get 19 more 'mod' pts).

Huge props to John Sheppard for an awesome rear diff. Thx to AMS for the install and great/safe tune as always. Thx to Martin @ Girodisc for talking me through both the rotor purchase and especially the ST43 pad compound differences. Also thanks to AMSOIL & Hoosier.

2 Tracks in 2 Days Complete!

Crazy weekend so I'll try to be brief. The plan was to run Sat 6/12 with NASA @ BlackHawk Farms then drive the 2.5 hrs to run with Redline Time Attack @ Autobahn on Sun 6/13. Short story; it was accomplished but not without some issues! I'll go into more detail later but here's the highlights of the weekend:

Saturday:  I finished 1st of 3 in class and set a new TTA track record
Sunday:  I finished 4th of 8 in Street AWD.  We only got 1 timed session because of the rain, so no chance to make adjustments - and I had a ton of them ready to rock.  Sometimes that's how it goes!

April 17-18 - NASA @ Gateway

The first NASA Midwest region event was held last weekend
at the Gateway Int'l Raceway 'Roval' roadcourse.

  Saturday I won TTB and set the new track record with 1:08.75. Unfortunately there was some oil spilt on the track and we all had to take different lines through T2 to avoid the oil slick they put down so I feel there's more time to gain here.

  Sunday I jumped up 2 classes to TTS for a few different reasons. In the 4th session I was using leftover A6's from last year and actually spun a near 180 between T5-T6 which is pretty hairy to say the least.  I quickly decided to ditch the old A6's and go back to my setup from Saturday. So I put my TTB R6's back on climbed to within .012 seconds of the TTS leader - another Evo.  We both had to go out for the last session to try and squeeze out some more time and in the end I squeezed out a victory by .7 seconds.

  Along with a pair of 1sts (TTB & TTS) and another track record, I debuted the new Forgeline ZX3R's, new Exedy Twin HD clutch, and new PowerSlot rotors.  Everything (save for the old A6 tires) worked out great.

  There's some tweaking that needs to be done to the suspension and alignment before the next event; but that's nothing new!

  Big thanks to AMS Performance for the powerful & safe tune & the new clutch install, AMSOIL for keeping the car cool and lubricated and Forgeline for help with the new wheels!

Video from Blackhawk Farms!

Mostly vid from S2 & S3 on Sunday. Turned my fastest laps in S4 but didn't have the camera on. A lotta fun running with Nic in hiw white 911 - click HERE

Start of the Saturday race - click HERE

Speedcasttv - NASA TT Video

SpeedcastTV was at the NASA GL/MW Crossover event in May at Putnam Park in Indiana. They shot some good footage on the progression of NASA from their HDPE program, to TT, to the race groups. Here's the vid about TT; check out the sweet blue Evo!

Video!

NASA Track Record & First in class TTB!

7/18 - 7/19 - NASA Midwest at Autobahn Country Club - South course. Great weather; great results! Video

Saturday:
First session of the day I mounted up a set of r-comps that I got used recently in order to save heat cycles on my Hoosier R6's. Unfortunately I overheated my brakes; lost them completely and suffered a pretty major off. I was pumping my pedal to the floor and using the e-brake to no avail. Yikes!
I came back in feeling extremely fortunate I still had a car. I did a complete flush of the brake system, completely removed my underpanel I had installed, tried to pull out all the weeds I could. I also mounted up my stickier Hoosier R6's while I was at it.
Only missing 1 session, I lined up after lunch with a dirty car and fired a first hot lap that pushed me to first in class. Making just a few minor tweaks throughout the day, my times kept coming down. I ended up with a 1:36.2 and 1st in class out of 4. I also had the 4th fastest time of the day out of 20+ cars besting several cars that were in TT classes higher than me.
Sunday:
Weather was again gorgeous. I studied my data overnight and decided to 'brake less' basically! lol. I also looked and I was .7 away from the track record Sat; so I was pumped. In the first session I had some whacko tire temps, but still fired a time close to Sat's best. Not many changes here. I corrected the pressures and tried to dial in more front camber. I set out looking for the track record. I came away with a 1:35.3 - setting a new track record!

Twitter!

Like the rest of the world - we're on twitter: http://twitter.com/boomn29

I'll try to post some updates from the event this weekend. NASA TT event at Autobahn just south of Joliet. This is the same course we just competed at last month with Redline! However, as compared to Redline we'll be running about 50whp less but much much better tires - Hoosier's vs street tires!
It will be interesting to see how the times shake down. Follow twitter for some updates.

NASA Driver Spotlight!

I'm famous! Well, a little...
Got an email from the head of the NASA organization today. I've been chosen for the spotlight driver for NASA Midwest over the next 4 or so days. It's not much, but it is kinda neat. Click HERE for the link.

On the right side, if you view my profile you can see some of my highlights, mods, and of course sponsors! So probably a good time to thank everyone that's gotten me this far which; especially AMS for helping tune such a reliable car for track abuse. Also, Muellerized for delivering me a suspension that actually turns the car w/o understeer!

NASA Midwest 2009

My main objective this year is to challenge for the NASA Midwest TTB Regional Championship. I will mix in some other events including test-n-tunes, instructing for the St Louis Region SCCA and possibly some Redline Time Attack (street awd). The car was unmodded and remodded with the NASA TT ruleset and points system in mind. With that being said, here are the Midwest dates, track info and state location:

NASA Midwest Schedule
April 25-26 - Road America - Wisconsin
May 16-17 - Putnam Park - Indiana
June 13-14 - BlackHawk Farms - Illinois
July 18-19 - Autobahn CC - Illinois
August 8-9 - BlackHawk Farms - Illinois
September 5-6 - Gingerman - Michigan
Sept 10-13 - NASA Championships at Miller Motorsports Park - Utah
October 10-11 - Putnam Park - Indiana