So, long interesting weekend is over... some of the highs/lows
- diffuser doesn't add much value as far as times at this particular 1.6 mile ROVAL track... on the OVAL I was drifting constantly and not getting much aero download vs. running the wing, if any at all... bottom line, save your money on diffusers and put $ into more wing - at least until someone comes up with a more proven design
- more details on diffuser... best time with it on and no wing was in mid 1:11's... best time with no diffuser and wing only was 1:09.29... best time with both on was low 10's... as for driver feel, I couldn't tell it was on... just a theory but I think one error we may have made is the steep angle where we made it taper to the rear fascia, as opposed to just having a flat diffuser that dumps air off the back directly
- my time of 1:09.29 was my best yet at this track on Nitto's, and in fact beats my previous best time on Hoosiers!... this time should be the winning time in my class for the weekend, but unfortunately I achieved this time on the same session that I had an off, and thus DQ'd
- why are my times improving?... If the Hoosiers are worth 1.5 seconds or so, I think that means I picked up 2.0 seconds at the track through a combination of weight reduction and the MOTORDYNE intake manifold... special thanks to Tony at Motordyne for becoming a part of my build and creating the part that Nissan should have included from the factory... I'm seeing/feeling a noticeable improvement over the 3-7k rpm range
- another off? lol... I had several incidents of icing mode today... two of them could have put me into a concrete wall on turn 9 of PIR... the third DID in fact put me into the tire wall... so, there is no structural damage, no driver damage, but the front fascia is cracked in two places... strictly cosmetic... time to replace the fascia - will need to chose between a Stillen version or picking up an OEM fascia from our friend Lou Fusz
- brakes... overall, still v happy with the AP Racing brakes... bad on me for not replacing the pads sooner - I think that contributed to the icing mode today... the air cooling is helping but I had some smoke coming out of the front right given we were going counter clockwise... I need to check in with Chris at AP/Stillen about the new pads they have for the kit
- brakes continued... very seriously thinking about disabling ABS! maybe I can install a switch to defeat / restore it in the cabin? any thoughts on the best way to do that?
- traqmate... no data logging or video this weekend - got an error message of "No SU" from the display unit... and the power light is not coming on... possible I fried the unit during battery disconnect/reconnect - will send to mfgr
- rear diff... it could be in my head but I think I'm detecting some slight movement from the rear diff/axle... contemplating getting some stiffer mounts for the diff, but not sure if those are available... also, anyone know off-hand how many hours one should expect to get out of a carbonetics diff?
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