Update time! Been a crazy few months to say the least.
Shortly after the last update, we decided to go to the Optima event at NOLA. Those of you familiar with the calendar will note that meant having the car together and ready for battle in just a couple of months.
We got things wrapped back up in early March and hatched a plan for maximum seat time and testing ahead of NOLA. This included a few autocrosses and more importantly a load of track time with NASA and an open track day.
Ready to rock with an extra gear, a rock solid rear end, and a fresh bullet
We hit a local club's autocross, where Dad got to drive the car for the first time and officially became HOOKED. Everything went well there so it was off to Motorsport Ranch Cresson for a NASA HPDE.
This proved to be an up and down weekend chasing some braking issues, but worked out well in breaking my fear of working on stuff at the track. I was also able to bump into HPDE4 and take a step closer to the crack of Time Trials.
We still had some time left before NOLA, and the stock spindle and bearing setup began the stick out as the last weak link in an otherwise strong chain. We sourced a set of C5 bearing spindles from CPP along with 5x4.5 pattern hubs from Detroit Speed and blew the front end apart again.
With a few weeks left, the schedule fell perfectly to get an open track day and two autocrosses in before leaving for Louisiana. This would be the perfect shakedown for all systems, as well as a significant amount of seat time.
We headed to Eagles Canyon Raceway with the goal of getting a few sessions in with no issues. It soon turned into 3 sessions, playing with shock settings and tire pressures and actually tuning the car for the first time in a while. We chased a push through the center of the corners, eventually stiffening compression on the rear shocks a few clicks and going up in tire pressure to get some rotation on throttle.
That thing where you're -that- guy at the track day
When all was said and done, we had dropped 4 seconds off the lap time from last year and felt fantastic about where things were sitting. There was an autocross that Sunday, and it was too good to pass up..
Hindsight being 20/20, we should have skipped it..
The event was being run at a lot known for being rough, and one section went across a ridge that fell smack in the middle of a braking zone. I had the unique experience of watching the car get broken, as Dad was driving it in a separate class during the heat I was working.
We loaded up and went home, and after a few days I had kinda sorta calmed down. Fortunately, I had the next Friday off and was able to rebuild the center section and get it buttoned back up for one last event before NOLA.
Better. Faster. Stronger. Save your templates, kids.
Just for giggles, we decided to make one last spring change, bumping the rear rate even further in an attempt to get some of that tail happiness we had before back and cure some other issues we discovered at the first event of the year..
The last autocross went without issue and provided some much needed tuning time for the new springs. With that, it was time for a quick wash and on to NOLA.