zef
Drag Racing Champion
Long overdue update...
Beginning of September I went to Lime Rock for an autocross to hang out with Slip Angle Media and Modified Machines on their inside track. I got my hands on some used A6's and had a blast.
The following weekend I participated as a VIP for a broke.east meet at the Christopher Dodd memorial stadium in Norwich. I decided to go full track mode and threw my Hoosiers on for the event. I was blown away by how many idiots were chastising my car for having Hoosiers on the rear "of a fwd car"....
The very next day I drove down to Pocono for a SCCA Track Night in America event. Ran the east configuration (top and bottom straights and both infields) Got up to 140mph on the long straight and lap after lap the brakes took the abuse without complaint. Picked up 10 gallons of 104 octane for cheap from someone local and went to town. This is so far my favorite track (even though its about 6 1/2 hours of driving down and back).
Finally, the last event of the season was yesterday at Thompson Speedway. Car was running strong all day throughout all the practice sessions...found a much faster line through turns 3, 6, and 9. Then it came to the time attack sessions. I felt extremely confident that I would be able to improve upon my personal best. As I was crossing the start/finish line to begin my first flyer lap I quickly peeked in the rear view mirror to see a trail of smoke down the front straight. No CEL, no weird sounds, boost is normal...I thought "screw it, I'm sending it". I completed my 2 flyer laps and pulled into pit in and by this time the smoke was bad. I parked in the paddock, got the car up on a jack and saw fluid start to pour out from the side of the belly pan. Then took off the belly pan to see this:
I managed to crack the passenger side case of my transmission; likely from my Hoosiers causing excessive chassis flex despite having solid track mounts and several chassis bracing upgrades. It was the low pressure side thankfully, as the car was running 100% normal despite the smoke so the clutch packs should be intact. Despite all of that, I managed to shave over a second off my best time (with a smoking transmission) to a 1:23.4 which earned me P1 in class. Once the transmission is fixed, next will be safety upgrades (roll bar, seats, harness), some aero upgrades...then I'll be hunting for 22's.
I was also awarded a 1st place trophy from my time attack event at Palmer last month. Due to a classing error, a car that was supposed to be in Prepared ended up in Tuner. I was 2nd only a few tenths behind, so after he was moved, I was bumped to P1.
At the very least I'll need a new case, but for now the car will sit on jackstands until I figure everything out. Lots of other stuff planned as well for this winter, I'll make sure to keep you all updated as stuff progresses.
Beginning of September I went to Lime Rock for an autocross to hang out with Slip Angle Media and Modified Machines on their inside track. I got my hands on some used A6's and had a blast.
The following weekend I participated as a VIP for a broke.east meet at the Christopher Dodd memorial stadium in Norwich. I decided to go full track mode and threw my Hoosiers on for the event. I was blown away by how many idiots were chastising my car for having Hoosiers on the rear "of a fwd car"....
The very next day I drove down to Pocono for a SCCA Track Night in America event. Ran the east configuration (top and bottom straights and both infields) Got up to 140mph on the long straight and lap after lap the brakes took the abuse without complaint. Picked up 10 gallons of 104 octane for cheap from someone local and went to town. This is so far my favorite track (even though its about 6 1/2 hours of driving down and back).
Finally, the last event of the season was yesterday at Thompson Speedway. Car was running strong all day throughout all the practice sessions...found a much faster line through turns 3, 6, and 9. Then it came to the time attack sessions. I felt extremely confident that I would be able to improve upon my personal best. As I was crossing the start/finish line to begin my first flyer lap I quickly peeked in the rear view mirror to see a trail of smoke down the front straight. No CEL, no weird sounds, boost is normal...I thought "screw it, I'm sending it". I completed my 2 flyer laps and pulled into pit in and by this time the smoke was bad. I parked in the paddock, got the car up on a jack and saw fluid start to pour out from the side of the belly pan. Then took off the belly pan to see this:
I managed to crack the passenger side case of my transmission; likely from my Hoosiers causing excessive chassis flex despite having solid track mounts and several chassis bracing upgrades. It was the low pressure side thankfully, as the car was running 100% normal despite the smoke so the clutch packs should be intact. Despite all of that, I managed to shave over a second off my best time (with a smoking transmission) to a 1:23.4 which earned me P1 in class. Once the transmission is fixed, next will be safety upgrades (roll bar, seats, harness), some aero upgrades...then I'll be hunting for 22's.
I was also awarded a 1st place trophy from my time attack event at Palmer last month. Due to a classing error, a car that was supposed to be in Prepared ended up in Tuner. I was 2nd only a few tenths behind, so after he was moved, I was bumped to P1.
At the very least I'll need a new case, but for now the car will sit on jackstands until I figure everything out. Lots of other stuff planned as well for this winter, I'll make sure to keep you all updated as stuff progresses.
