racer145

iTrader: (1)

Finally!! A race weekend without rain. First event weekend of the 2011 season that did not have at least one of the competition events spoiled by rain. This finally happened at the third event of the NASA season which was held at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, Michigan.


Friday the car was taken in to VS Motorsports for an allignement on the way over to Michigan. Suprisingly the allignment was still fairly close to where it needed to be even after the impact the car took at the previous event at Putnam Park when it struck a tire wall. After a few adjustments the car was dialed in and ready to continue the rest of the journey to Michigan. We arrived to our motel fairly early in the afternoon and was able to take it easy Friday evening and rest up for the big days ahead.


Saturday morning we arrived at the track and got things set up. The air was humid and it was obvious that it was going to be a hot day. For the first session of the day we decided to bed in a new set of brake pads and take the session very easy since this was the first event out after making a spring rate change on the front of the car. The Evo went out at the back of the pack and took the first several laps very cautiously. Things continued to feel good so it was pushed just a bit more. Mission was accomplished for the first session.
For the second session the car was pushed harder. A good gridding position was going to be needed if good times were going to be ran later on in the afternoon. A time of 1:45.8 was ran in session 2 which was still taking things quite easy. The third session was to be ran after lunch and this would be when the car would start to be pushed hard to see what the changes made to the car since last visit to Gingerman had made. Changes included changed spring rate, new splitter/wing combination and a new 5th gear in the transmission.
Third session came after lunch and a time of 1:44.4 was ran. This was good enough for a top 10 gridding position, but was third place in class in TTS. There were only three in the class this weekend and both of the other competitors are extremely talented drivers who also run in the ST2 competition class also.
For the fourth session some changes were made to tire pressures and a time of 1:41.5 was ran. This was the third fastest time of the cars running that session. It was going to be difficult to put down a better time in the fifith and last session of the day with the sun shining on the track and all of the rubber the race groups were puting down. Track conditions were deteriorating. As suspected the last session was a few tenths slower due to the track being greasy slick. The final standings for the day had me in third place, 2 seconds behind the leader in his Lotus Exige and 1.5 seconds behind Geffrey Sawtelle's Corvette. All in all it was a good day and the changes made to the car all seemed to be positive and helped push the car 2 seconds per lap faster than last time there in August of last season. The car was rotating better and allowing power to be applied a bit sooner in the corner.


Sunday morning we arrived to the track to find the weather considerably cooler and less humid. Unfortunately we had the first session out at 8:00am which is usally early enough in the morning that the track is still damp from the dew overnight and often slick to start the day out. Suprisingly this was not the case as we found out, however many of us still took the first session a bit cautiously knowing the track conditions would most likely be a bit better in the next session at 9:30.
The second session arrived and we knew this was the session to get it done in. The moring air was still cool and the track was warming up. Sunday was scheduled to be a double race day for the competition groups so we knew that track conditions would not be as good in the afternoon. Session 2 was the time to push with all we had. The session went well and track conditions were ideal. In the fourth lap of the session the R6 Hoosiers were at optimal temp and the VS Motorsports sposored Evo ran a time of 1:39.8!!
This was almost 2 seconds better than the day before and 4 seconds better than last year. This was considerable improvement.
Two more sessions were ran in the afternoon more for fun than anything.The track conditions were considerably slower and it was not worth over driving the car and making a costly mistake.
Once again the Evo took third place in the class for the day but some rather large gains were made and we feel the car is getting closer to where it needs to be. Sorting out a car can take quite a bit of time and this was only the third time of having the car on track so far this season. Track time has been very limited so far this season.


Final thoughts - the new splitter and larger wing setup not only felt faster but the numbers on the Traqmate data system tell the story. The combination of the spring change and the aero changes amounted to sometimes 3-4 mph faster through some of the high speed corners. That translates into big gains by the time you reach the end of a straight. This was all accomplished without a bumper or rear diffuser on the car since they were damaged at the last event at Putnam Park and had to be pulled off.
The new 5th gear also helped alleviate some of the lag created when shifting on the back straight last year. The reworked tranny has performed flawlessly.


Thanks to VS Motosports for their continued support and for my Father which helps make every race possible for me. Couldn't do it without you!!


Next event up is Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, IL on July 9th and 10th. In the next few weeks leading up this event the car will be taken in to the body shop for some cosmetic work to repair the damage sustained at Putnam Park last event. The car will be like new again soon.

boomn29

iTrader: (47)

Can you expand on the rework on the tranny? Did you only switch down the Evo IX 5th?

Seems a lot of us are redoing the trans this year - this month! lol.

Ludikraut

iTrader: (17)

Do you have a shot of the back of the car w/out the bumper?

l8r)

racer145

iTrader: (1)

Here's a shot of the not so glorious side....this is after spending lots of time pounding the rear trunk back out to get it looking half way decent for the Gingerman event. It was pushed in at least 6 inches or more.


Work done on the tranny was Shep's normal rebuild and adddition of the IX 5th gear. All other gears left the same. Installed the Exedy Twin HD as well while the tranny was off. Can't go wrong with that setup!!

Ludikraut

iTrader: (17)

Thank you.

l8r)

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

Likely got more mph on the straights without the bumper?

racer145

iTrader: (1)

I suppose that is a possibility. Unfortunately I don't have any numbers to back it up to prove or disprove that theory.

Before destroying the bumper I had the APR diffuser underneath so the bumper was not exactly open allowing it to catch much air. I'm sure every little bit makes a difference however.

Anyone want to donate a bumper so I can test the theory??

hamflex

iTrader: (18)

I think all three of us regular evos in nasa midwest rebuilt their transmissions this month.

Hell boomn29 and mine are at the same shop ( boosted performance ) as I write this! Haha