[turbophil]

Our first track day of the year was yesterday. Had a blast. This was my first time out with my new TVS setup and new Surge Tank. While others have enjoyed some of that on the track, this was my first official run...

A little bit of history. There are two turns on our track where my car would literally sputter from fuel starve if at approx half tank of gas or less, which is why I created my little surge tank setup. There are some basic pics in my shoplog thread. Yesterday, I ran my tank down to where it needed 8.5 gallons to fill and I never experienced even a hint of fuel starve:clap: Mission accomplished:up:

Next big change for the year was the TVS. It's making about 280whp vs my previous 230-240whp I had with my old M62 (a Katana with EFI running the engine). The extra power was so nice. Carrying 5th gear down both the front and back straights is great. So great that my brakes are over heating worse than ever. The power is so smooth and linear and never fades. The strong torque all the way to redline had me carrying more speed than ever into some of the tighter portions of the track- exacerbating the brake problem...

Next project is making some brake vents like Brent did for he and AJ. I want to keep my 15" front wheels and I'm hoping that Brent's mod will prevent the boil....

I didn't have my Nitron Triples installed for this outing but hope to for the next in a couple weeks...

The resident track pole-setter drives a VERY healthy 497whp C6 Z06. At the end of last season, he would pass me like I was up on jackstands and I would never see him again, as he just pulled too far ahead on the straights to catch up. This year, it was a bit different story. While I still couldn't pace him on the straights (I blame that on the wing), I didn't lose him entirely-- rather just fell back a 100 yards or so. I was then able to reel him in, in the esses. He's good enough that I wasn't held up by him in the corners by any means, but I was right there with him. Then he would walk on the staights again. It took a long straight for me fall much behind though, and that was key to us having about the same lap time.

It was great day to really get some seat-time in with all the improvements to the car from the long winter months, and the really cool thing is everything came together perfectly for the first day out:shift:

Here are some pics (I was instructing in some of these, hence the passenger)...

Best,

Phil

 

[TAILWAG]

The pics Andrew took are freakin' awesome!

The Lotus was moving pretty darn good out there Phil, definitely quicker than last year. So you think you were reeling me back in through the corners eh? I guess I will have to try a little harder next time. anic: :shift:

I might have to dump the run-flat Goodyear crappers and the stock pads and the stock fluid, see if that makes a little difference.

Fun stuff for sure...:up:

 

[Bgwilly31]

haha i love the friendly competition. Very cool pics phil. And gratz on the sweet set-up.

 

[the1sen]

damn that's awesome.

makes me miss shooting at the track.

 

[turbophil]

Hey Angel!

Glad to see you here:up:

Ya that was fun. I'm going to have to step up my game (AGAIN) if you put some better tires on there... You are certainly a monster on the track and it was great playing:bow:. Maybe some new pogo sticks on my little plastic bucket will help to off-set your new rubber???

I had thought about losing my rear wing to better keep up with you in the straights... Problem is that I would then go flying into the concrete from lack of downforce...

You going to be out there on the 15th?

See ya soon,

Phil

 

[mrcarcrazy]

Maybe some new pogo sticks on my little plastic bucket will help to off-set your new rubber???

That is by far the most hilarious thing I've seen in at least a week. thank you for that!

 

[turbophil]

That is by far the most hilarious thing I've seen in at least a week. thank you for that!

Hehe, you bet...

Z's are such interesting cars to me... They're just so damn perfect right out of the box for a track attack type car:wallbang: Of course most the Z06s are driven by slow drivers so it's easy to get overly confident about them when you see one on the trac....

Then you get a guy like TAILWAG behind the wheel of one and you realize just how stellar those Z's can be... The same is true with many cars obviously, but Z's can truly walk the walk if the right person is prodding them along:up:

Here I am modding the liz in all sorts of directions just to come close to keeping the pace of well driven Z without much at all done to it...Yep, the Liz is certainly a fun car to drive (perhaps the most fun of any...), but "fast" right off the showroom floor is one thing it's not. With that, Stock sucks Sorry Tim

Back to the daily grind...

Phil

 

[Jamolah]

Great pics, TurboPhil. I especially love the first picture of the car under full compression taking the right hand turn and the picture of the car shooting flames from the exhaust. Awesome pics.

 

[TAILWAG]

Hey Angel!

Glad to see you here:up:

Ya that was fun. I'm going to have to step up my game (AGAIN) if you put some better tires on there... You are certainly a monster on the track and it was great playing:bow:. Maybe some new pogo sticks on my little plastic bucket will help to off-set your new rubber???

I had thought about losing my rear wing to better keep up with you in the straights... Problem is that I would then go flying into the concrete from lack of downforce...

You going to be out there on the 15th?

See ya soon,

Phil

Here is how you can cut your track times by about 5 seconds on your car...easily: per lap

1. Cut your hair
2. Shave your pubs -poke-
3. Stick your finger in your mouth and cause vomiting (or just look at a pic of Viper Dan...naked anic: )
4. Wear a t-shirt instead of a sweatshirt

Thank me later...:sheep:

I won't be there on the 15th...I will be in Costa Rica working...

 

[Frips_Girl]

NICE! Love the flames from the exhaust!!!

 

[darkSol]

1. Cut your hair

CHECK

2. Shave your pubs -poke-

CHECK (owie!)

3. Stick your finger in your mouth and cause vomiting (or just look at a pic of Viper Dan...naked anic: )

SORRY - JUST CAN'T DO IT - you guys just don't know Dan

4. Wear a t-shirt instead of a sweatshirt

CHECK

That's gotta be worth 3 seconds at least...

Nothing wrong with being in Costa Rica dude!

 

[TAILWAG]

Hehe, you bet...

Z's are such interesting cars to me... They're just so damn perfect right out of the box for a track attack type car:wallbang: Of course most the Z06s are driven by slow drivers so it's easy to get overly confident about them when you see one on the trac....

Then you get a guy like TAILWAG behind the wheel of one and you realize just how stellar those Z's can be... The same is true with many cars obviously, but Z's can truly walk the walk if the right person is prodding them along:up:

Here I am modding the liz in all sorts of directions just to come close to keeping the pace of well driven Z without much at all done to it...Yep, the Liz is certainly a fun car to drive (perhaps the most fun of any...), but "fast" right off the showroom floor is one thing it's not. With that, Stock sucks Sorry Tim

Back to the daily grind...

Phil

Z's are in fact great overall (unbeatable for the money). Their weakest linkS are in those 2 very things I mentioned: tires (Good Year runflats are the worst tires ever made - however, since they are so awful, you cna pick up a set with 100 miles for around $ 500...hell, you can ONLY buy one of those new for that much - so it makes a bargain for track tires), and brakes...they are HORRIBLE. Fortunately, Chevrolet has replaced my pads and rotors under warranty already, so I want to keep them stock as I am basically running for free on them...hard to beat.

 

[turbophil]

Z's are in fact great overall (unbeatable for the money). Their weakest linkS are in those 2 very things I mentioned: tires (Good Year runflats are the worst tires ever made - however, since they are so awful, you cna pick up a set with 100 miles for around $ 500...hell, you can ONLY buy one of those new for that much - so it makes a bargain for track tires), and brakes...they are HORRIBLE. Fortunately, Chevrolet has replaced my pads and rotors under warranty already, so I want to keep them stock as I am basically running for free on them...hard to beat.

Do your brakes fade? I know Mark said he was replacing his pads every other track day, which seemed crazy to me.
Our cars will make pads last for quite a while... That said, the lap where I stopped playing with you was due to my brake pedal going to the floor... Not an ounce of brake-eek- Pump once, nothing, twice, a little and that was enough to make turn 1 after Alpha zero... That boiled fluid was it for me for the day...

I've got to do some ducting to my brakes so that I can trust my brakes a bit more. I never know when my last stop will be. Fortunatly, they tend to cook where there's adequate run-off Forbid the fluid ever boil going into 8 and 9. That would be end of the road

CHECK


CHECK (owie!)


SORRY - JUST CAN'T DO IT - you guys just don't know Dan


CHECK

That's gotta be worth 3 seconds at least...

Nothing wrong with being in Costa Rica dude!

Dave- I fully expect you to weigh those items and put the weight savings on your webpage!

 

[serpent]

Awesome car, awesome pictures, awesome friendly racing.

 

[robains]

Awesome stuff Phil! Love the color and love the flames Who was taking the pics?

Passenger!!!

I see Hoosiers in your future when you get rid of the stock suspension. You'll have no worries with a Vette once you change tires. On the brakes is where you'll really kill the Vette (especially the big HP ones) and especially with Hoosiers. Surprised you cooked your fluid or had brake issues? What fluid are you using? SS lines? What pad?

I know you like the 888's and they're a good tire for street/track, but when you're hunting at the track the Hoosiers will get the job done (R6 or A6).

 

[rams456]

wow those r some sick looking cars :up:

 

[TAILWAG]

Do your brakes fade? I know Mark said he was replacing his pads every other track day, which seemed crazy to me.
Our cars will make pads last for quite a while... That said, the lap where I stopped playing with you was due to my brake pedal going to the floor... Not an ounce of brake-eek- Pump once, nothing, twice, a little and that was enough to make turn 1 after Alpha zero... That boiled fluid was it for me for the day...

I've got to do some ducting to my brakes so that I can trust my brakes a bit more. I never know when my last stop will be. Fortunatly, they tend to cook where there's adequate run-off Forbid the fluid ever boil going into 8 and 9. That would be end of the road

Dave- I fully expect you to weigh those items and put the weight savings on your webpage!

Yes, brake fade will happen within laps with the stock set up. However, I would always take what Mark says and divide it by 10...that is usually an accurate recollection of the truth... :shrug: My first set of pads and rotors (stock) lasted me about 10 hours of track time - pretty darn freakin' good if you ask me. However, you will get fade within 10 minutes...so the 15 minute heats we get during track days is ideal.

I drove a Z at summit point in VA with 710's, carbotechs, SS lines and dot 5...jeeeezush! Going from a stock Z to a stock Z with brakes, tires, fluid and brake lines was good enough for a 7.5 second difference in lap times... -eek-

I really wish Chevrolet would have come up with a track Z edition...minus all the gadgets the car has (HUD, heated seats, power stuff, etc, etc...)...I seriously think they could have trimmed down the weight to 2,600 to 2,700 lbs....THAT would have made a HELL of a track monster.

What speed were you seeing at the end of the straight? I was able to get it to show 144mph at the end of alpha zero...then I had to be on the brakes...HARD...!:crazyeyes

On my way to Vegas with my girlfiend in a few hours...there goes my budget for tires and brakes... :thwack:

 

[jasper]

Great shots

Tailwag - 2 words for you - stoptech and hoosier

phil you've done some amazing work with your car but you're going to need more than just "pogosticks" to keep up with a well set up and well driven Z06, but all in good fun

Looks like a great track, by the way

Cheers

 

[robains]

Jasper,

My vette buddy (on his "street" car) runs StopTech racing brakes (15" rotors) and hoosiers (315's on 18" CCW rims front and rear) and he was cooking his brakes at the 15 min mark (sticky rubber just makes the brakes get even hotter) and he's only running 358 wHP. He dumped StopTech on his race car as they just weren't holding up to a 30 min races -- but for the life of me I can't recall what he replaced them with.

Anyway, he's doing all kinds of work on his "street" vette now, I'm just hoping I can keep up with him next time out on track. He insists it's still a "street" car -- with an aluminum kirky racing seat and back brace and headers and no cats and ZR1 intake and 1300 lb springs and ... hehe

Vette definitely has an advantage, you can bring them upto 650-700 HP without needing to rework the entire chassis. But it seems like Phil did pretty well with 500+ variant

Great job Phil, but please some video next time out so we can enjoy it.

Rob

 

[turbophil]

Rob- Next time, I'll remember to charge the camera and bring it out (and let some air out of angel's tires:evil. I should even have my Mac by then so l may even be able to make a video with the camera

Tailwag- Not sure how fast I got up to... 120ish maybe? What I noticed is that I was braking later than you going into turn 1 and turn 6 in particular and that's where I was able to gain the big ground that I lost in the front straight (100 yards or better). Then I would lose you on the back straight starting with the uphill out of turn 6 and through the kink----then find you again by late braking in turn 10 and turn 11 where we daisy-chain through the slow 12 and 13---then you waive good-bye on the front straight again... wash, rinse, repeat... then my brakes go to the floor and you keep driving while I limp in

Jasper, et al- Ya, I doubt I'll be in a position to pass Angel anytime soon unless he gets a flat or runs out of gas.... especially now that he has me atleast in a similar ballpark to him on the track.:shift: You know he's just going to step the game up another notch. The man is fast and consistant and there's just no other way about it... Having almost 500whp kinda helps too, but we all know plenty of turtles with 500whp, so that ain't it

The good take away for me is that work on the car is paying off:coolnana:

Phil