This was only my second time racing with my car, the first was just a month ago at a local SCCA event. I am building a dedicated race car, so I figured it's about time I got my nose out of the books and got some real seat time! My GT's suspension has been gone through pretty thoroughly, and it really showed it at Waterford. I've got some new tires (Kumho MXs) that I got just before the race, and they made a huge difference as well.

I focused on following the instructor car for both sessions working on my approach speeds, braking distances, corner positioning, and just getting a good feel for the car in general. The instructor car I followed (a stock GT) was easy to keep up with so I could focus on the important parts of racing without getting too caught up in things. As a matter of fact, I'm the black GT in this pic:

In shaking the car down I learned (or verified, rather) a few things about the car that I need to work on. First, it had slight understeer once I got the tires nice and warm. This made the car very predictable (the good side of understeer), and judging from the tires it was due to not enough negative camber on the fronts. I'm already running more aggressive than I'd like to be for all the highway driving I do, so this will likely get worse in the future with a stock alignment (to preserve the tires), but it was good to know in the event that I ever get a wild hair and make a quick-adjust setup. I considered throwing my tool bag up front for the third session, as it weighs about 70 pounds and would help the understeer. We weren't supposed to have any "loose" items, so I probably wouldn't have done it even given the third session.

I also learned that the carbotech pads that I got from George Ryan work great even under high heat! I purposely rode the brakes a little longer than I should have (pre-heat the brakes before I really needed to get on it) to see how they responded to the heat, and they didn't degrade with heat at all. I didn't get a chance to run all out on the track to see repeated HARD stop performance, unfortunately. I thought we were going to get three sessions on the track and was waiting for the final session to really abuse the car and test my limits, but unfortunately we were cut short on time. The sessions didn't go as quickly as we estimated and we had to stop in the middle for a drivers meeting (all in the name of safety, I suppose)...so we lost out on driving time.

Lastly, I learned that two things I badly wish to do with my car in the future is install an auxiliary fan switch and possibly electric coolant pump when I do my engine swap. I used to use my A/C switch as the fan switch because my AC wasn't functional (no R134A so I removed the belt). I got it fixed before the trip up but started having a problem with the compressor about 300 miles into the trip, so I couldn't use the A/C to keep myself or the car cool. I would like to have a electric coolant pump because even with a couple of minutes of cool down driving, there is a lot of heat soak when turning the car off after driving that hard. My coolant temp gets to about the 240ish range if I just turn the engine off and let it sit; I've never let it get past that because it just bugs me. I ran the fan for a few minutes to get the radiator cool, then start the car up to get some cooler water into the engine, which at least gave me piece of mind if nothing else.

Ok, that's my dissertation on Waterford. All in all I would have loved more track time (who wouldn't?) and I'm now officially hooked. I was extremely happy that no person or car got hurt beyond a few egos and a little scuffed up paint and things went fairly smooth. My car now has 190k miles on it after making it up to Michigan, road racing, drag racing, high speed pothole-autocrossing, and driving back down to Alabama. I was also very relieved to have made it back without any hitches, makes all of that time spent replacing parts over the last couple years actually mean something!

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Bryce

*edit: typo*

[This message has been edited by Nashco (edited 07-21-2003).]

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Scott
86GT 3.4 turbo

Can't say which was more fun.... chasing Rob around the track or chasing Rob around the freeways Amir and I would still be roaming around Pontiac if it wasn't for him. Thanks Rob! Here's a (+) for NOT MENTIONING anything else you might know about that drive back to the hotel

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Next time.... She'll be running!

Paul

I was in the lead car, and Nashco was behind me. I had a front row seat for the show, and it was some scary stuff.

The important thing is, you learned from the experience. That's why we were all there. I'll bet you're a much better driver today. I feel like I am. Those driver's schools are great, huh?

Sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you. However, I did sneak a peek at your car. Dude, you are running a Lingenfelter! Very cool. Your car was very clean and professional plus the exhaust now down the front stretch.... well you get the point

I was glad to see you being agressive on the track. That's the only way to know for sure that you are pushing to the limit.

Paul

I knew quite a few of the good racing basics before going to Waterford, but it's one thing to know them, and another to apply them on the track with everything going on around you. It is a true 'art form' that I have a much greater appreciation for these days.