Just wanted to pop in and give you guys some updates on the project! It's been slow moving since SEMA and by slow moving I mean nothing has really happened, but I have been working hard outside of the garage to get this thing as far along as my tiny budget will allow before the Global Time Attack event in April.
First update, and I am very excited, is that I will FINALLY be getting this thing back on the track in a few days! Unfortunately, I probably wont get the opportunity to do too many laps though as I am going out there to do some coaching so my track time is limited. I also don't really have enough tire to do a full day considering I have to drive the car 350 miles home after the event. So maybe its not as exciting as it could be, but this is the first time I have had this car on track in almost two years and I feel it will prove as valuable testing before the time attack in April which will be at the same track.
Goals:
1. Test ducted 25 row oil cooler setup.
2. Test brake ducts
3. Test new Hawk Performance brake pad split compound setup
4. Test & tune alignment, sway bar, suspension settings
5. Get baseline lap time.
6. Figure out what areas of the car need to be focused on before April.
I don't quite know what to expect as far as lap time goes since it's been a very long time since I have had this car at this track and the last time I was out there the car was handling at its very worst. The last time I had this car at this track was just days after SEMA back in 2009. The car was in SEMA and I had lowered the ride height far beyond the range of optimal suspension geometry. Furthermore I didn't even have the time to re-align it after lowering it so the rear toe was all out of whack. I didn't do any at-track tuning because I was driving another car at the same event that I put all of my focus into instead. On the flip side, the car had probably 30+ more horsepower back then and perhaps the biggest advantage is that it had a limited-slip differential in it. Now I am back to stock HFC and exhaust and a burnt up stock LSD. Now however I have a better sway bar setup with the Whitelines, a much better alignment, and better tires (very very worn out NT05s back then vs. very very worn out RS3s now). I think the biggest difference will be the lack of a good limited-slip differential, especially at this track so I don't think I will be any faster than I was last time out, but a part of me is very curious to see if better handling and hopefully better driving can overcome the lack of horsepower and an LSD compared to last time out.
Here's the good news, by the time April rolls around, this car will have an OS Giken LSD and a fresh set of Hankook RS3 rubber at the very least so if I can get close to my previous best this time out I will be very happy knowing that the car should be quite a bit faster come April.
I will update next week on how it went.
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