What I learned September 6

[ZOO]

Another fabulous day at CMP -- despite the "all-day" rain that kept things wet and interesting. Here's what I learned:

1. "All-season" should mean "no-season" on tires. My student, Ward (who did a terrific job all day) brought a sweet, stock Miata on Cooper All-Seasons.
They were "okay" in the dry -- predictable, not too grippy), but as soon as the track got wet they were horrible. Scary, even. Running them at much
lower temps helped, but ugh -- what garbage.

2. R888s, on the other hand, are surprisingly grippy in the wet -- as long as there is no standing water.

3. There is a 5 to 10 km/h difference down Rocky Road with the top up in my Miata. Woot -- 145 km/h with the top up! For reference, I saw an indicated
180 km/h in the M3, and once 194 km/h in the Corvette. Rob M. apparently sees 230 km/h

4. I can lap for an entire 30 minute session, and the Miata never runs out of brakes, tires, or cooling. Maybe there are advantages to slow.

5. Shawn is "aggressive" -- but if you are in the advanced group you have to deal with it.

6. People never, ever listen to the important parts of the driver's meetings. Especially the part about pointing people by, and lifting off the gas to allow
them to pass you. Or, in the case of my Miata, lifting off and braking. Surprisingly, I can't outdrag a BMW. I don't even think I could outdrag a rescue
truck on track

7. I snore louder than my Miata at 2/3s throttle.

8. Bonnie and her staff rock!

9. Chuck, Pat, and Luke run a tight ship -- thanks for all the work beforehand, and your work to keep the day safe and fun for most. It's not always easy
being "bad cop".

10. Lots of terrific MCO spirit again -- people helping members with broken cars or other issues. I believe a huge shout-out goes to Guy for sharing his truck.

See you dudes and du-sessies on September 11th.

Rob

[GoesFilled]

Current score - Calabogie 2 - Miata Engines 1.

I'm going to have to try improving those stats for next year - or make a LOT more money.

Big thanks to Guy for loaning me his trailer, and to Greg for breaking in his new truck dragging my car back to his place.

Normal break-in procedures includes towing in the fist 1000kms right?

So - who wants to learn how to rebuild a Miata motor this winter? (Maybe 2 - then I can bring a spare to CMP for the next lapping day).

[rmicroys]

Normal break-in procedures includes towing in the fist 1000kms right?

I did that with my '03 F150, with less than 500km on it, I hooked up the trailer, racecar and headed to Mosport for a race weekend.

Back on topic:

Great day at the track. The Audi R8 could get a new license plate, maybe she should be called "GIGGLES" or something. Anybody who goes for laps in it simply chuckles and laughs for most of the session.

[schmoo]

1. Hankook RS-3 can't provide the ultimate grip that a set of new R888 do.

2. Playing chase with Shawn brings the best out of me.

3. Hitting 181kph on Rocky Road is a remarkable feeling. I can't imagine 230kph.

4. Catching an EVO X while driving cautiously, in the rain, is a good feeling.

5. Nothing phases Rally co-drivers.

6. Jeff has someone watching over him.

7. Greg C. from Peterborough is my kryptonite.

8. Age is a state of mind.

[Protege2886]

1. Greg's mustang doesn't have enough "holy-shit handles"

2. I'd rather be chasing Jeremy's car than be pointed at it going backwards down the track

3. Sometimes understeer is a good thing

4. 10 ft concrete walls are enough motivation for me to do anything..ANYTHING other than hit them.

5. Calabogie marshals and rescue crews are # 1

6. I have great friends in the MCO that enjoy hearing about me hitting a wall about as much as I enjoy doing it. Thanks for coming over to see if I was ok guys

7. I need to go to Church more.

[sfong]

1) I shouldn't go flat over crests in the wet anymore. Second time that has caught me out. At least my passenger wasn't phased by the 360 clockwise and 180 counter clockwise after Candy Mountain.

2) Both feet in keeps the car tending to the "grippy" track rather than the "slippery grass" and gaurd rail. (see 1)).

3) Learned how to bleed the cooling system properly (Thanks Bennet). Apparently jiggling around can introduce air in the system. (see 1)).

4) S2000's can double as tractors for plowing fields. (see 1)).

5) Water contrails are cool and prove a functional diffuser.

6) My built engine is strong. It survives after everything around it fails (see 1)). I declare shakedown attempt 3 a semi-success (see 1) and 2)).

[GoesFilled]

Steve - we await your video.

I was smart enough to charge the GoPro - get the extra fittings in case I wanted to mount it elsewhere - as well as the suction cup - and left the SD card in my computer at home.

[ddroger]

[quote="sfong"]1) I shouldn't go flat over crests in the wet anymore. Second time that has caught me out. At least my passenger wasn't phased by the 360 clockwise and 180 counter clockwise after Candy Mountain.

Maybe it didn't phase your passenger; but it sure phased me ! I had visions of you smiting armco on both sides & with both ends!

Geezer <flagger at corner 7>

[schmoo]

1) I shouldn't go flat over crests in the wet anymore. Second time that has caught me out. At least my passenger wasn't phased by the 360 clockwise and 180 counter clockwise after Candy Mountain.

Maybe it didn't phase your passenger; but it sure phased me ! I had visions of you smiting armco on both sides & with both ends!

Geezer <flagger at corner 7>

I'd love to hear the corner workers' views on our driving!

[sfong]

Steve - we await your video.

The only video is in my brain. Did record video year's back until the DV camcorder shook apart. I don't learn anything from it and it looks pretty boring when watching it. You can simulate the feeling by spinning on an office chair though

Probably check the engine and GPS datalogger files though. See if there is any interesting info.

[sb_600]

1. Fat starpecs are awesome, both in the wet and the dry

2. Being afraid to get snap oversteer, but then realizing it's smooth and predictable is very nice

3. My car would like more front camber - seemed to push more than before when on the old tires/alignment

4. Having Naresh chase me and vice versa was probably one of my favourite lapping sessions to date - Neither of us were able to pull away!

5. Thinking I'm about to get scolded by Chuck then having him tell me who cares is sweet

6. Top speed on rocky road in the rain with a good corner entry is 173 km/h according to my GPS, but car speedometer read about 180-185 km/h

7. Not having to point anyone by all day is fun (other than Naresh during the chase)

[rmicroys]

3. Hitting 181kph on Rocky Road is a remarkable feeling. I can't imagine 230kph.

The amount of time spent on Rocky Road in the R8 feels astonishingly short when one gets going that fast. If one has clear track out of easy and nobody to pass, in the dry, one can see 230. It's actually somewhat frightening how fast the braking zone 'vanishes' as you get to it. The aerodynamics in the car with the windows down also are rather annoying and the buffeting and pulsations are quite strong and shake one's head somewhat so vision starts to get distorted. I don't do it too often because there is very little room for error at the far end, and yesterday, the wet grass would not have been very forgiving.

[PMcD]

Many many thanks to all the workers and instructors who help us put these days on. We had I think 36 cars or so which tells us this lapping day date should stay on the schedule each year. Some folks were asking about doing maybe an HPDE weekend next year. With the extra time I'll have by not re electing I can put a lot more effort into our lappers and look at ideas and maybe get better with a great solid group of instructors that are at every event. Everyones ideas and comments are welcome to Chuck, Luc, and I.

I'm sorry we had to get a bit terse with some people also but there was some bad driving and some very poor car preparation. Its not personal, its about keeping all of us safe on and off the track.

Along with JP there was a BMW that ate its valves yesterday. Hope for a speedy recovery for that one Ken

What I learned? Toyo T1R's on a Z06 in the rain rock. Also I shouldn't have done laps in it. I'm not supposed to buy one for at least another year but......

[CulRidr]

^Any useful reminders and notes for those of us who weren't there in regards to poor car preparation?

[condor888000]

1. Jeff is one hell of a lucky guy. First almost running out a gas on the way to the track, then spinning in Mulligan's, then losing it in the Kink. And he was still able to drive the car home!

2. My car is really happy on street tires, in the dry and in the wet.

3. Shawn is scary fast, the adrenaline rush in the passenger seat is insane.

4. My car will use more than a tank of gas when we get 7 30 minute sessions.

5. Playing chase with a Mazdaspeed3(and keeping up) is awesome when you have about half the power and a third the torque, and are on worse tires.

6. It's incredible how much it is the driver and not the car (see #5).

7. Highway 511 is boring for the first 30k north of Perth, then it gets awesome and stays that way all the way to the track.

Awesome day all told, thanks to everyone who was there and helped put this on for us.

[rmicroys]

Here was the best part about the afternoon...

Knowing that the traffic in to Arnprior was probably backed up to the Calabogie turnoff on the 17 particularly due to the fact that it was the last day of a long weekend, I took a right at Burnstown, through White Lake and then in to Arnprior. Wow. What a huge time savings! Didn't even have to wait at the main light on the highway at Arnprior. There was almost no traffic coming in from White Lake, briefly slowed at the light to look to the West up the highway, had a good chuckle at all the cottagers coming home (and probably some of you poor bastards stuck in that crap), turned right on to the 17 and in no time was making great time on the divided 417 back in to Ottawa.

[condor888000]

Forgot about that! Thanks to JP for tipping us off so we took the same way back.

[Protege2886]

Forgot about that! Thanks to JP for tipping us off so we took the same way back.

Word - saved me a lot of frustration.

[Gryphon]

Here's what I learned after my first time out:

1. Rob's R8 makes my 911 feel like a chevette....a pretty one, but a chevette nonetheless.

2. Greg is really good at staying calm when he sees my foot heading for the brake pedal in the kink.

3. I need both higher spec brake fluid and smoother braking.

4. Taking my first solo session was on par with my first solo flight, and just as rewarding.

5. This lapping thing will prove to be highly addictive and I will be back.

6. My 85L gas tank was just enough for a day of lapping and the drive home.

7. You should check on the traffic before heading back up to hwy 17, especially if the route through Perth back home is a viable option. Idling in gridlock for 25 minutes is no way to end off your first track-day!

Thanks to everyone that helped make my day hugely enjoyable - big thanks to Greg and Rob for excellent instruction!!!

[luker]

Alternate route home: Turn left and head south on 511. Turn left at Wolf Grove Rd in Hopetown drive through Almonte.

Nice bit of road between Hopetown and Calabogie.

[Protege2886]

^Any useful reminders and notes for those of us who weren't there in regards to poor car preparation?

Nothing other than the obvious.

[Gryphon]

What I learned? Toyo T1R's on a Z06 in the rain rock. Also I shouldn't have done laps in it. I'm not supposed to buy one for at least another year but......

+1 on the T1R's; confidence inspiring for sure.

[el_torpedo]

Alternate route home: Turn left and head south on 511. Turn left at Wolf Grove Rd in Hopetown drive through Almonte.

Nice bit of road between Hopetown and Calabogie.

The one time I really wished I had a gps: 17 to Almont was a painfull drive. Not enough to detract from the day at all though - it was awesome.

I was a spaz in the morning, but Pat G's teachings seemed to soak in over lunch and the afternoon was terrific. I enjoyed driving in the rain and I think the slower speeds made it easier to learn the lines.
Also got to test the stability control on and off. It actually works quite well on the wet track, except for the tight bits around quarry to wilson - doesn't allow for throttle lift oversteer I am used to using to get rotation (which is why I always turn it off for autox). I wouldn't want to buy a car that didn't have the option of turning it off.

Steve's S2000 scares me. Added grip from the downforce doesn't compute in my brain; every corner felt like he was breaking the laws of physics.

[vwgolf2lwk]

Knowing that the traffic in to Arnprior was probably backed up to the Calabogie turnoff on the 17 particularly due to the fact that it was the last day of a long weekend, I took a right at Burnstown, through White Lake and then in to Arnprior. Wow. What a huge time savings! Didn't even have to wait at the main light on the highway at Arnprior. There was almost no traffic coming in from White Lake, briefly slowed at the light to look to the West up the highway, had a good chuckle at all the cottagers coming home (and probably some of you poor bastards stuck in that crap), turned right on to the 17 and in no time was making great time on the divided 417 back in to Ottawa.

Did the same, had no lag time in traffic at all.

Thanks to Chuck, Pat and Luc and all the dirver coaches for all the effort(s) this year, great fun!

[vwgolf2lwk]

Big thanks to Guy for loaning me his trailer, and to Greg for breaking in his new truck dragging my car back to his place.

Anytime JP, glad I could help....Greg was probably itching to try his new rig out on a tow! ....SWEET bow tie