THSCC Forums

Looks like there may have been rain late in the day (time trial?) I got a fair bit of work done without getting too cold, so I assume that the event went pretty well all in all (on Saturday).

Scott

It was a great day! Cold, but great! No rain, and grip was better than expected. Cold air = more HP. Tomorrow on the other hand may end up sucking.

I had my 2nd ever off on my last lap of the TT. Here's a clue as to why:



It's one piece of my newly fashioned 2-piece wheel (formerly one piece). I WAS DRIVING THE WHEELS OFF MY CAR IN THE TIME TRIAL!!!

Turning in for Roller Coaster and hearing "snap, CRACK! THUNK! GRIIIIND", then losing steering control and bounding through the grass is not something I will soon forget! Fortunately it gave up in a fairly low speed corner with lots of runoff room. One of the best places on the track for it to happen, in fact, since I was able to pull far enough away and signal a courseworker that I was OK, that my TT group could keep running.

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Looks nice. I guess Mike has a new item for the pre-event check list:

Magnaflux wheels...

Looks like the spokes held up and the center section stayed on the car? If so, did you make it out of the incident without suspension /brake damage?

Also, why not just keep racing on the 10-12 points I see there, I bet you still would have been fast.

Scott

Mike,

OEM?

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Dick Rasmussen

FS 50 2018 Mustang GT

Hey Mike that brings up an interesting point.

I was at KB's house the other day and I cleaned off my wheels in the driveway, I think he was reassured that he wasn't crazy for doing that with his wheels. Everytime I have my wheels off I try and clean (inside and out) them and inspect them to see if there are any cracks or other damage. I see alot of folks with filthy wheels and rarely give them a second thought, especially when a quick inspection can catch something like that. Dirt or brake dust will fill a small crack and you'd never see it otherwise.

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2006 Civic Si - #24 HS for 2015

2005 GMC Sierra
1991 318is Garage Ornament

Looks Like VIR might be getting snow today.

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David Teague
2015 Lexus IS 250c
1994 Honda Del Sol HS 39
2009 Dodge Journey R/T
http://teaguefamily.us

My story is awesome...

Had a GRRRRREAT time this weekend, and actually got Christine to agree that she's going to do this someday. Drove in yellow group on my second track day ever, corrected (most of) the mistakes that I was making last time, and ended up getting signed off to drive alone today. Woohoo! Also, Bambi from Shoot to Thrill Photo got a PERFECT shot of me (and I have VERY high standards), which I promptly paid for. Everyone else should definitely check them out next time.

Well, some people are aware that I had a mechanical problem during my last session today (when I was by myself). The shift lever got jammed as I was trying to downshift to 3rd going into turn 3, so I only had 4th gear and neutral. Drove around to the North Course cut-through after the bridge and pulled off (didn't want to drop transmission pieces on the uphill esses for the other guys in my group). Corner worker called for a tow, but after I cursed for a couple of minutes, I ripped the shift boot & surround off and checked the shift linkage. It looked like a teflon washer was the culprit, so I pushed really hard and knocked the shifter up into 3rd (shredding the washer) and I had all gears again. Got back on track and had one warmup lap and a "controlled aggression" lap before the checkered flag was shown - that final lap was worth the whole entry fee, btw.

Now... here's the good part of that story: When I got back to pit lane and turned to go through the gate, I jammed the shifter into 1st gear in anger (just so I could get revenge by hearing it grind). It went in smooth as buttah. Jim F. can attest that 1st gear in my car has NOT been a gear to shift into while over 5mph, but ever since the shifter jammed on track, if I push the lever toward 1st... I CAN HEAR THE FREAKING SYNCHRO SPINNING!!!!! I haven't heard that sound in a couple of years. I can actually rev-match and shift into 1st gear while going over 25mph now. Is that some kind of freaky shit, or what???



Also, Matt Nicholson drives like a crazy mofo - if you get a chance to ride, take it. Here's how good he is: we came to the bottom of the hill at hogpen to the sight of a debris flag - it was a cone lying on its side on the inside of the turn.

He stood it up.

VIR Full was a BLAST!!! For those who are not participating in the THSCC HDPE program, you are truly missing out.

This was my second HDPE and it didnt start out the best in the world. Got to the track early friday to notice my oil pressure sender leaking a bit, so I grab a wrench to "snug" it up. "Snug" turned into "SNAP"! As in I just broke off the brass fitting in the motor. After 5 parts stores and 2 hardware stores, we amassed what we thought would get it fixed. Got the broken piece out only to find that the new piece had the wrong thread for the sender. So we threaded it on there as best we could and got the car to the hotel. Went to the Advanced Auto just up the street and found a plug and just went sans Oil Pressure Gauge (Oil pressure dummy light still works.

Ok on to the fun stuff: My instructor was Brian Marks, great instructor, and super nice guy. I definitely didnt burn up the track but I had a great time. Brian told me I had drastically improved thru the sessions. It took awhile to get out of "autox" mode and smooth things out. Hogpen killed me all weekend, I just couldnt trust the line needed until day two after talking with Ron in class and Brian. Talk about a leap of faith.... I about pooped my pants in that turn twice on Saturday.

I did have an off myself and learned that you cant turn in for 11a and floor the gas! Even with AWD the car will spin like a top. Luckily I only hit nice soft AIR.

I got signed off for Solo and Time Trial (for next time). Too bad it started snowing and we had to carry instructors, but we didnt have the communicators, so it was "almost" Solo

I would like to give a big thanks to all the HDPE organizers for putting on such a high quality, safe and FUN event. I hope to be back at VIR South in April

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

I'd also like to say thank you to everyone involved in putting these events together!

This was my second event and it was a blast! Even with the mechanical problems that I had. I'm just glad that waterpumps are an easy swap on a 240. I drove back to the hotel, stopping along the way to let the engine cool, and we had the pump changed in time to get to the banquet.

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In need of car.

Kudos to Mark V. and everyone involved in planning/running this weekend's event. A tremendous amount of work went into this event to ensure its success and I want you all to know it was greatly appreciated. Most notably, Mark V, Stacy King, John King and Mark Cooper stood out in the cold for two days straight for our enjoyment. Things like this just don't happen folks! It was my first on track experience and don't know how it could have been any better.

I still get a big grin on my face this morning when I think about my last session on track yesterday. I can't believe I was able to accomplish what I did in such a short time. Thanks to Thomas Price for the great instruction. He did a great job in explaining what it took to get around the track properly. More importantly, he did a great job of building up my confidence in what the car and I where capable of doing. WOOHOO!

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“I feel safer on a racetrack than I do on Houston's freeways.” - A.J. Foyt

Kevin Butler
Mobetta Autosport Spec E30 #612
2003 C5 Z06 Corvette
AFR Miata, SM2 61, '93 w/200 SC'd RWHP - soon to be resurrected
Waaaay too many other projects....

VIR Full was my second HPDE too and I also had a blast. Mike Whitney was my instructor and we had a great time. I got faster and faster. I finally figured out I could exit 16, set the steering and floor it through 17 and 17a. Wow!

When Mike Whitney says "I must get me one of these WRXs!" I guess I (and the car) was doing something right!

No offs, no mechanical problems, lots of brake dust (thanks to Carbotech for some excellent braking ability). I was closing on 120 at the end of the straight and braking very hard at markers 3/2. Final session I seemed to be passing constantly and no-one passed me - not even the Countach.

Simon

My weekend at VIR this weekend was excellent. Thanks to all the THSCC HPDE Staff for all their hard work out in the cold. An extra special thank you should go out to several of them who worked the whole weekend and didn't get to drive.

I found out (the hard way of course) that having good brakes made life much easier without having to wonder if I could stop. Carbotech brakes rule! Thanks Matt.

I had fun, learned a lot (thanks Diane), didn't break anything, and made it home safe and sound. How could it have been any better? The only thing I can think of is getting more than 2 hours sleep on Friday night. Thanks Joel.

I hope to see you guys in April.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

Glad to see everyone had a good time. This is the first event I have missed in 3 years, so I was VERY bummed. But I will be there for April.

Glad to hear a fun time was had by all. Suprised no comments on
the "Carbotech Banquet"? Approx 120 attended the banquet exceeding
our execptations.

It was v.good to see THSCC members old, new and even more
Club

Weather was much cooler than origionally forcast on Sunday but
track conditions were good. Stacy and I made the judement call
to end early on Sunday at approx 1:30 just as it started to Mist.
Up to that point we sucessfully managed not to
bend any cars, many folks were planning on leaving early having
already pegged the fun meter and I could not see any sence in
pushing our luck. Lee did a recon lap in his truck was was leaving
a tire trail through most of the South end of the course through
hog pen, certainly to become black ice in a very short time. We
got most folks out of the paddock before the snow arrived, but it
was snowing as I pulled out. Just pulled in the driveway as the
weather started to turn ugly in Raleigh.

I will make sure the
two Sunday only students are treated fairly. VIR was extreamly
coperative in giving us accurate updates on the weather all weekend
and this allowed us to run as long as possible and practicle on sunday.
We did get a complete rotation, two student class sessions and touring
laps in on Sunday. The afternoon sessions and Sunday TT were
canceled. We will issue credits based on the credit received from VIR.

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Mark Vitacco
THSCC TT Chairman
mvitacco@bellsouth.net

Outstanding event. Those of you that missed it should smack yourself. Hard.

I was *stunned* at the level of grip the track had. I had more grip with FROST ON MY RA-1s on Sunday morning than I ever had last year, particularly in the summer months. Did they do something to "clean" the track over the winter? I doubt it. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around why grip levels were so high in the cold. I mean, it sure wasn't like the sun popped out to heat up the track or anything...

Best line: "My face is all tingly, like I've been hyperveltilating" - Kevin Allen after a few trips through the esses at a buck fifteen.