TheGeezer

If by a "normal" Yamaha tuned car you are asking if you have to rev the hell out of it to get anywhere, I don't really think so, no. It's got more immediate pull than, for example, an S2000. The main compromise in driving it around town is the lack of rearward vision and the wide, wide door opening when getting in and out. Makes backing up difficult, and getting in and out in tight parking spaces a contortionist adventure.

My car has the A048s standard - a good enough tire but you only see about 5-10K miles in regular use, less if you go to the track.

Doesn't really need mods out of the box to be damn fast on track, but, of course, the "standard" track mods (coilovers/tires) will make a substantial difference. Brakes are fine stock, which is nice.

For an "around town" car I'd recommend a sport-pack supercharged Elise - 98% of the capability and more streetable utility (fabric top, rear window etc.)

chris mccarthy

iTrader: (12)

so there are two choices, eh? what i meant by the 'Yamaha tuned' remark is that i know that the car is built as a serious sports car, just wondered if it CAN be driven around. 5-10K miles on those tires is about what we Evo drivers got out of the Advans (046s) which is dam good, considering the tread blocks our OEM tires had/have.
ok, you've interested me, but what about an all day affair, say you want to go to Corpus and see the ocean?
cmc

TheGeezer

If you want to go alone, you're golden. Chances are your girl or buddy is gonna be mighty irritable when you arrive, and driving back is gonna suck. The a/c isn't so strong.

chris mccarthy

iTrader: (12)

dam, it's a Europa 2 in disguise!
so, you're going to **** on my parade if you answer this question with a 'yes' but...is it going to make the nights stay at Corpus not worth the moola cause no action "i 'ave a headache (use your best South London accent)" from a jarring ride? or is it the seats are not up to it..?
cmc

TheGeezer

Yes. Sorry.

al3xx

iTrader: (1)

Geezer--for the backing out problem with parking, you could always reverse in. That's what I do whenever I drive my dad's Lotus. I find that any drive lasting longer than 45 minutes kills my lower back. You literally hear and feel every bump on the road.

Porkskins

Sorry about bringing an old thread back from the dead, but I tought this was funny.
I finally downloaded my AP logs from the HHR runs. No wonder my best times were in the 1:39's(from what I could tell from the vid my friend captured).

I rarely went past 60% throttle. Most laps show 50% throttle between turns 2 and 3(my fastest point on the track), and up to 50% in other turns...

Guess Im a wuss, but Im thinking the bawls will come with more track time. Any Austinites have input on places to practice threshold braking? During my rides with my instructor (Vorschlag Brian) I thought my brain was going to spurt out of my eye sockets.

DEVO330

iTrader: (1)

Do I hear 'trial and error?
MSR 1.7mi. is the safest place I've seen for that...
I'm not saying you can't get into trouble there, but I've been off-track at speed, sideways, backwards, spinning...you get the idea

goofygrin

iTrader: (5)

Since he's in Austin, MSR is about 8x a longer drive than HHR. And I didn't think the HHR "off" zones were too bad (well maybe a couple of them).

Isn't there a smaller, learning track there in Austin? I can't remember the name of it, but I think al3xx has been there a couple times.

Also... autocross. You learn really good car control. Of course, you don't get a lot of seat time :-/

fastdreams

Better to be cautious and learn to go faster. I have the opposite problem, I go all out. Can't help it! But that doesn't make for fast lap times anyway, I have to force myself to back off because I over drive the car way too much. I'd say it goes beyond courage and into foolhardiness.
It's the slow, noisy way around, with more wear and tear on the car.

I would say that you are on the right path, and what you need is more track time, to get comfortable with pushing it a little bit more each time. Seems to suit your personality.

I can't think of a great place in Austin to practice braking. I've used some empty streets at night for brake bedding, but nothing I would recommend. I've also "practiced" threshold braking with some late night fast drives in the back roads where coyote and deer like to appear suddenly. that's also good for slalom practice.

For me it isn't really about practicing it so much as feeling ABS actuate and slightly easing my pedal pressure.

goofygrin

iTrader: (5)

One other thing that's important is that the Vorshlag car has HT-70 brake pads in it. They are extremely good track pads and will suck your eyeballs out.

TheGeezer

Why would you do that? ABS is awesome. Just hammer the hell out of the brakes and steer.

Fair

Yep, these HTC70 pads rock up front. The rears are some Ferrodo pad, since Hawk doesn't make a rear EVO pad yet. Did a little data logging on the A048s and the car pulls consistent 1.15g braking. When we were giving rides at the 7 hour marathon MSR the riders commented that they were getting light headed under braking.

Even on stock suspension and stock pads it stopped pretty well. It looked comical with the stock ride height...


stock suspension + threshold braking = dive dive dive!

agreed.

Porkskins

Yeah, if I had the funds for HHR I'd be on it. Havent heard of another track in Austin, but will ask around. As far as autox goes, Ive been doing research and for what I want to do with the car I'd be stuck in Street Prepared B. Taking my budget into account (and driving skills) I wont be competitive, but just worried about having fun so no big deal.

Its kinda wierd. After spinning my Focus at 45mph a few years ago (slow spin but it was on the southbound Windsor exit off Mopac...pretty funky off camber 270° turn. Normally a spin here means youre in the guardrail, but I managed to bring it into the grass inside the turn. The spin made no sense to me as I did the same corner at the same speed a few times a week.) I think I have lost the nerve. Not sure why since Ive done scarier stuff in my teens and early twenties.

The first lap in the Vorshlag car truly amazed me. Not that the other laps were any less insane, but hot damn that thing can slow down! Also the feel of the car "hopping" 2-3 feet to the side in certain turns was new to me. Opposed to the gradual squeal and slide of my stock X this car just stuck and then occasionally jumped to the side. It continued to stick like glue though. Very nice!