Sunday 8/9 was another event at Big Willow. Typical hot and dusty track conditions, but all went well. The suspension on my first run was AWFUL. Using the previous streets of willow damper settings, the car was all over the place. Way too stiff. My first run was slower than my personal best with the stock suspension. No good. Once I softened the dampers 5 clicks or so all around, the car felt much better. The confidence was back, and I was able to set a PB of 1:45.5. To be honest, I was expecting a couple seconds faster than a 1:45, but it's possible that better track conditions could have settled that. The passengers front tire rubbed as well once the dampers were softened. I had the fender rolled and slightly pulled to get rid of it, and it didn't rub when stiffer. Ah well. It isn't bad at all, so I may just leave it. The brakes are finally on their last leg as well. The pad material is low enough to where the car set a brake warning/ABS light on the way home from the track. I've been impressed with the project MU HC 800's. They've lasted 7 track days, and probably 7 or 8 autocrosses with daily driving duties. Not bad at all in my book for BASE brakes and exceeded my expectations. I think it's time to upgrade to Akebonos though, as I'm looking for alot more stopping power.
Overall I'm now keeping up with some quick guys in the Challenge. I took another 3rd place by the end of the day, and we were all within 1.5 seconds of each other from 1st to 3rd. Big improvement from before. The gap is closing!
track!.jpg
track 2.jpg