Laguna Seca!
- Thread starter Spike Engineering
- Start date
M
MJM
Guest
great video
were you running street tires or racing slicks?
MJM
were you running street tires or racing slicks?
MJM
Speedin Bob
INSANE Asylum Orderly
>>>>moving to Ro........ nah, just click the link.. 
Spike Engineering
Member
Re: great video
Video isn't posted yet. You just saw an old one(s)!
Some are on street tires, some are on slicks.
Spike
MJM said:
Video isn't posted yet. You just saw an old one(s)!
Some are on street tires, some are on slicks.
Spike
Spike Engineering
Member
Welcome to Paradise!
Laguna Seca Track Day
We drove down early Monday morning to meet up with a MR2 Club from Southern California. They're a great group to join for these events - they're good people, they're passionate about road racing, and are level headed, courteous and safe on the course.
Over the last few months, I've been making small changes to the Lightning and wasn't positive if the time and money I had spent would help on the course. It's been on my mind and could have been distracting, even though I had gotten positive feedback from Dreamin and Ruslow (thanks guys for the support!). To help get me in a good "zone" I listened to some relaxing music on the drive down. The sunrise was beautiful and the music was great, so as I got closer to the entrance, I decided to turn on the video camera and capture the mood as I entered the park. I was just holding the camera not really looking at what I was filming, but rather pointing it towards what I was looking at as I drove. Hopefully, you'll appreciate it because it's a part of the video I made and it's an interesting perspective of the start of the day.
As I've infered in prior posts, my biggest concern at Laguna Seca was braking. I've been trying to improve the Lightning's braking with two things in mind: low cost to upgrade and keep it streetable. So far, I've limited the upgrades to better fluid, better rotors, better pads and hopefully, better driving. Of course, there are better brakes available but when considering the cost, I thought it would be better in the long run to save the money, not give myself a crutch, and learn to handle the speed better. As Ruslow told me once, "if you don't have brakes, maybe you'll learn to drive the line correctly." In the long run, I think it has been the best approach for me.
The suspension upgrades have been gradual and the last change I made was the new shocks. This was the one area where I was hoping for good results. I've been thinking "is the 40/60 valving going to work, do I have it setup too loose for the track," and the list goes on...
I also had several last minute items safety items surface the day before but got them fixed. While some of the issues where being dealt with, I bought some good food for the day at the track: Shrimp, chips and different dips, several turkey croissant sandwiches, oranges, ceaser salad, apple pie and LOTS of water.
The events as they occured:
Tech Inspection: It's always good to have a few extra eyes check out everything for safety and mechanical operation. There were a couple items found (and fixed) on my wife's rental Mustang. The truck was fine, but as I said, I'm glad two people looked over the truck.
Driver's Meeting: All the course rules and safety requirements were discussed and confirmed by the drivers. The Starter reviewed all the flags, safety rules and noise requirements for the day. Then several turns were discusses in detail on how to drive them best. Since I was placed in the advanced group, I was somewhat concerned because the guys that are running in this group are excellent, fast drivers in fast cars. I didn't want to hold them up because I knew my brakes would limit my speed. Plus, I wasn't sure how much throttle I'd be able to use up past turn 5 where the sound booth was. So, I announced that I'd be driving the big red truck and would probably have braking problems. Everyone had a good laugh. Then, I mentioned that I would be checking my rear view mirror because I wasn't sure how long my brakes would last. I figured at least 4 hard corners. Again, most of the drivers chuckled. My wife was somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of information that was reviewed and asked if she could ride with me. Since the advanced group was running first and she was in the third run group, she was about to find out the "thrill" of road racing, quicker than expected.
Enjoy the first couple minutes as you enter the park. Get in the mood and put yourself in her shoes...
Lap 4, 1:55 (approximate lap time)
Laguna Seca, 6.4 mb, tinny sound, 15 fps
Laguna Seca, 37 mb, good sound, 20 fps
Laguna Seca Track Day
We drove down early Monday morning to meet up with a MR2 Club from Southern California. They're a great group to join for these events - they're good people, they're passionate about road racing, and are level headed, courteous and safe on the course.
Over the last few months, I've been making small changes to the Lightning and wasn't positive if the time and money I had spent would help on the course. It's been on my mind and could have been distracting, even though I had gotten positive feedback from Dreamin and Ruslow (thanks guys for the support!). To help get me in a good "zone" I listened to some relaxing music on the drive down. The sunrise was beautiful and the music was great, so as I got closer to the entrance, I decided to turn on the video camera and capture the mood as I entered the park. I was just holding the camera not really looking at what I was filming, but rather pointing it towards what I was looking at as I drove. Hopefully, you'll appreciate it because it's a part of the video I made and it's an interesting perspective of the start of the day.
As I've infered in prior posts, my biggest concern at Laguna Seca was braking. I've been trying to improve the Lightning's braking with two things in mind: low cost to upgrade and keep it streetable. So far, I've limited the upgrades to better fluid, better rotors, better pads and hopefully, better driving. Of course, there are better brakes available but when considering the cost, I thought it would be better in the long run to save the money, not give myself a crutch, and learn to handle the speed better. As Ruslow told me once, "if you don't have brakes, maybe you'll learn to drive the line correctly." In the long run, I think it has been the best approach for me.
The suspension upgrades have been gradual and the last change I made was the new shocks. This was the one area where I was hoping for good results. I've been thinking "is the 40/60 valving going to work, do I have it setup too loose for the track," and the list goes on...
I also had several last minute items safety items surface the day before but got them fixed. While some of the issues where being dealt with, I bought some good food for the day at the track: Shrimp, chips and different dips, several turkey croissant sandwiches, oranges, ceaser salad, apple pie and LOTS of water.
The events as they occured:
Tech Inspection: It's always good to have a few extra eyes check out everything for safety and mechanical operation. There were a couple items found (and fixed) on my wife's rental Mustang. The truck was fine, but as I said, I'm glad two people looked over the truck.
Driver's Meeting: All the course rules and safety requirements were discussed and confirmed by the drivers. The Starter reviewed all the flags, safety rules and noise requirements for the day. Then several turns were discusses in detail on how to drive them best. Since I was placed in the advanced group, I was somewhat concerned because the guys that are running in this group are excellent, fast drivers in fast cars. I didn't want to hold them up because I knew my brakes would limit my speed. Plus, I wasn't sure how much throttle I'd be able to use up past turn 5 where the sound booth was. So, I announced that I'd be driving the big red truck and would probably have braking problems. Everyone had a good laugh. Then, I mentioned that I would be checking my rear view mirror because I wasn't sure how long my brakes would last. I figured at least 4 hard corners. Again, most of the drivers chuckled. My wife was somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of information that was reviewed and asked if she could ride with me. Since the advanced group was running first and she was in the third run group, she was about to find out the "thrill" of road racing, quicker than expected.
Enjoy the first couple minutes as you enter the park. Get in the mood and put yourself in her shoes...
Lap 4, 1:55 (approximate lap time)
Laguna Seca, 6.4 mb, tinny sound, 15 fps
Laguna Seca, 37 mb, good sound, 20 fps
B
Bulldog
Guest
thank you!
:tu: Thanks for sharing!
Speedin Bob
INSANE Asylum Orderly
Spike,
as usual, excellent work!!!
The 400+ kbps download this morning was nice also..
as usual, excellent work!!!
The 400+ kbps download this morning was nice also..
