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Two GTUs invade Thunderhill Raceway! (Long)

Old 08-10-02, 01:29 PM
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Two GTUs invade Thunderhill Raceway! (Long)

Yo,


THE PLACE:

Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA. You can check out the track layout here:

http://www.thunderhill.com/Thunderhill_Map_hr.html

The event was graciously hosted by Praxis Racing (www.praxisracing.com) a Bay Area based Celica GT-S club. Many thanks to Sean Bradshaw (SeanBlader) for organizing this great event! All the members were friendly, even bringing a BBQ and selling lunch for great prices. I’ve been to open track events before and this was one of the best, a very small group of people, well organized and a relaxed atmosphere. Thanks again!

THE DRIVERS:

RarestRX (Kevin) and Rotary Racer (Dana). Veterans of numerous Auto X’s, drag racing, open track events and too many street rail sessions to count.

THE CARS:

Both Dana and I drive the 1989 GTUs RX-7, the “Turbo II without the turbo”. Both our cars are in varying states of modification; Dana’s is just a tad harder core than mine:

1989 GTUs, 170k Miles - Noble White
--------------Engine-----------------
Apexi Intake
Racing Beat spark plug wires
Flex-a-Lite Black Magic electric fan
Bonez down pipe pre-silencer
Racing Beat new style cat back
AC removed
Power steering removed and replaced with a manual rack from a 1987 base
-------------Suspension---------------
Racing Beat Sway bars front and rear
Mazdatrix solid adjustable end links
New front A arms with factory bushings
Rear upright toe eliminators
JIC FLT-A2 coil over suspension
------------------Brakes-------------------
Brembo slotted brake rotors
Bonez stage one brake pads
Bonez stainless steel brake lines
New front hubs w/bearings
------------------Chassis-------------------
Auto Power 4 point roll cage
Cusco rear carbon fiber strut tower bar (soon to be JIC)

See? I told you. My car:

1989 GTUs, 63k miles – Blaze Red
--------------Engine-----------------
GReddy Airinx Intake
Racing Beat spark plug wires
Racing Beat downpipe and pre-silencer
HKS 50mm cat back
-------------Suspension---------------
Tokico Illumina adjustables with matched Tokico springs
------------------Brakes-------------------
Bonez stage one brake pads
Bonez stainless steel brake lines
------------------Chassis-------------------
Racing Beat upper strut tie bar

The day before the event Dana helped me install his old Tokico’s in my car, and the Racing Beat upper strut tie bar. He’s recently gone to the crazy JIC Magic FLT-A2’s, which is the suspension I’ve been saving my money for. Until then, I’m getting his hand-me-downs. *grin*

THE WEATHER:

104+ outside temperature.
98 in the shade.
130 degrees on the track.

A typical day at Thunderhill. *grin* It would be a torture test for our cars, if something was going to break, split, overheat, explode, it would. Thunderhill is infamous for the heat, the strain on the cars.

THE HOT LAP:

Disclaimer: this was a lap in my car, with me driving. There is a ton more speed out there, and I tried my best to find it. This is not gospel.

Main straight- 3rd gear to buzzer, then shift to fourth. Salute the flagman in the timing stand with twin backfires. Get up to around 106mph, heel-toe to 3rd as you brake for Turn 1.

Turn 1 - Keep the car in third, let it take the sweeping left hander…gripping at 80+. One of the fastest turns I’ve ever been on. Feed in more throttle as you apex, then brake for…

Turn 2 - Scrub off the speed, then again let the car settle and grip. Tip-toe on the throttle trying to maintain adhesion. Big double apex, stick to the inside then let the car go wide, begin to set up for…

Turn 3 - Called “The Skidpad”, off camber right hander. Brake hard, then turn right and hold there. Car will be off balance, still in third gear.

Turn 4 - A quick right left right chicane, with the last right on the face of a small hill where Turn 5 resides. Start up the hill, still carrying speed but brake for…

Turn 5 - A blind left hander, aim for the left curb and hope there’s track on the other side. It’s kind of a baby “Corkscrew”, big elevation change. Car drops down, possibly can shift to second, but I let it bog in third. Feed throttle in once the car lands and head through…

Turn 5A - Quick right hander, revs start to climb as you speed up for…

Turn 6 - Left hander, lift and turn…feed in more throttle as the car goes wide to clip…

Turn 7 - Go wide onto the berm, still with your foot firmly planted. Revs are still climbing, still in third gear. 7800…7900…8000…BUZZER. The sense of speed now is huge, around 90+ in 3rd gear flying towards Turn 8. Resist the urge to shift to 4th, keep in third and try to sack up for…

Turn 8 - A gut-check corner, you probably can take it flat out…if you’re brave enough. I was not. *grin* Lift at 8000rpm, then flick the car left to settle it, then fire through the apex. Drift wide right as you go through, starting up the hill towards Turn 9. Again, third gear pulling up towards 8000rpm.

Turn 9 - My favorite corner. I would make up all kinds of time on people here. Touch the brakes to scrub a little speed, then clip the apex…and fire yourself up over the blind crest of the hill. No real reference points, just a seat of the pants. Up and over the crest, then downhill. Quickly get up to the buzzer again in 3rd at the bottom of the hill…start thinking about braking for…

Turn 10 - The braking markers are to the left, not right like they usually are. This would always confuse me and I’d remember at 90+mph that, “Oh, an almost ninety degree left…I think I’d better brake now.” *grin* No problem, get on the binders hard, and dump that speed. Turn left at low speed, go wide onto the run off, heel-toe to 2nd gear and set up for…

Turn 11 - Muscle the car to the left, then right, foot to the floor in second. You’ll hear the buzzer just as you hit…

Turn 12 - A flat chicane, drop the right tires onto the rumble strip as you upshift to 3rd. Nice little backfire as you accelerate towards…

Turn 13 - A simple left hander, let the car go out wide toward the wall and listen to your exhaust note as it sings towards 8000rpm. Quickly get up to the buzzer in time for hard braking for…

Turn 14 - You have to be confident in your heel-toe technique, because you will be dragging your car down to 2nd gear speeds from 90+. Shift to second and turn hard right, try to hit the inside berm and drift out wide to the runoff strip, then…

Turn 15 - A right hander, wind out through second gear as you enter the main straight. Drift out wide left onto the runoff strip then head down the main as you shift into third…then fourth…

That’s Thunderhill in a nutshell, I got approximately 38 laps around it (115 miles divided by 3) and was still finding speed out there. Here is another Hot Lap description with pictures: http://www.thunderhill.com/tracklap.html

Both Dana and I had a great time. We would have four 25 minute sessions on the track, broken up through the day. At 3pm, we had open track until 5!! That was almost another 2 hours of track time.

With the 4.30 gears in the rear end, the gear of choice was 3rd. This is where both Dana and I spent most of our time: in third gear at between 6000rpm and 8200rpm. For approximately 20 minutes at a time. On a track that was 130 degrees. Surely something would fail.

Nope.

Dana had absolutely no problems with his car, my only issue was my power steering reservoir was spitting fluid from the fill spout. I cut the fingers off a rubber glove and voila! No more problem. My temperature gauge creeped a little past halfway on one extended session, but that was it. Amazing.

Both Dana and I had spins on Turn 3, usually when one of us was pushing from behind. What’s a little friendly competition between buddies? *grin* It was really cool though, being behind his car as he would bark flames as he lifted, then I would lift at the same point just milliseconds later so you would get double backfires: first from him, then from me. Bang bang! It was hella cool.

THE SECRET WEAPON:

Yokohama AOO8R’s. Yep, R compound tires. Yep, they were 6+ years old and not too gummy…but I was going to use them. They were mounted on Old School Ronal 5 spoke 15’s. I loved them. They wore down and heated up…and stuck. It’s amazing what race rubber will do for your car. It would just grip and grip, with hardly any complaints. They did go away after 8+ laps per session, but I’m totally going to buy some real race rubber, maybe some Toyo RA-1s, or A032R’s, or some such. I remember dicing with a 1.8T GTI and he came over and looked at my car. He exclaimed, “You have R compound tires! No wonder!” *grin* Exactly.

THE PASSED:

Integra GSR
Nissan 300ZX (NA)
Toyota Celica GT-S
Toyota MR2 Spyder
VW VR6 GTI
VW 1.8T GTI

I was never passed the whole day. Well, only when I spun. *wink*

THE TIMES:

2:26.70 for me.
2:27.17 for Dana.

Not too shabby for guys who had never driven the track before! And yeah Silkworm, you /better/ be faster!! *grin*

I don’t know if these were our best laps, they just were the ones a buddy timed for us. What’s incredible is that Dana is a few hundredths behind me and he is on…Yokahama AVS Intermediates. A street tire. It just shows how good his chassis and suspension is set up. If he had some R compound tires, he’d be scary fast on the track.

THE MILEAGE:

8.75MPG

*snicker* Yeah, and I used a full quart of oil.

It was the first time I had used pre-mix in my car and I think I’ve actually got more midrange punch. I’ll probably use it every fill up for the insurance and…better exhaust smell! *grin*

I was also impressed with the Tokico Illuminas with springs. I had both front and rear set on “4” out of the 5 settings. The drop is about .75” and looks just right with the 16’s. Not to mention I got the hookup from Dana and he helped install them. The ride quality is excellent, stiff but not harsh. Body roll is reduced, and I’m very happy with them. I rode with him with the JIC Magic FLT-A2’s and they’re…stiff. That’s all I’m going to say about that. *grin*

IN CONCLUSION:

I had a blast. The car was flawless, no brake fade, no hiccups, no nothing. It just went and went. I’m totally stoked.

KS
1989 GTUs “Normally Aspirated.”
Old 08-10-02, 01:43 PM
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Sounds like fun, someday........................................... ...
Old 08-10-02, 02:00 PM
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Not to bad. I run 2'14"s on my gixx up there. You can go faster on turn one. That is where you can shave time.
Turn 2 sweeper sets you up for 3, stay in the center, let the car drift the off camber and keep on the gas.

Turn 8, you do NOT let off, let your suspension do the work.

Turn 9-10....definately a killer. You got it!

Turns 11-12-13, you need to practice more on that one. You want to straight line it as possible. Yes ....drift towards the wall on throttle....you'll get out of it.

Turns 14-15 is the fast way out. You want to stay in the inside to the out drift on throttle....

These are my notes for my bike. I will try it when I get my T2. Let me know if they have a schedule set for early next year. I would definatly want to go!!!!!
Old 08-10-02, 02:07 PM
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wooohooo, sounds like much fun man "Naturally Aspirated" those words just make you smile lol, wish i could have a run like that
Old 08-10-02, 03:01 PM
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Good job gentlemen. I'll have to attend the next one for sure.

Rishie
Old 08-10-02, 04:15 PM
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Very good. But next time take PICTURES!
Old 08-10-02, 04:48 PM
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Yo,


I got pictures!! They're inside the camera! *grin* I'll post 'em later when I...*gasp* get them developed.

Hey Rishie, welcome to Team GTUs!! *grin*

KS
1989 GTUs "I need a digital camera!"
Old 08-10-02, 05:29 PM
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SWEET!! I just got from the track event at Willow Springs on Friday. My TII didn't get much track time because of the crazy outside temps (105+degs) and track temp of 140degs.

But I did get to drive some guys' WRX STi replica. It had all the goodies from the STi basically. I'm guessing it had between 240-260 wheel HP.

Turn 8-9 is awesome. 100+ turn. I took it at 120mph with the WRX... WAHOOO!!

- Kevin
Old 08-10-02, 05:47 PM
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Originally posted by RarestRX
Yo,


I got pictures!! They're inside the camera! *grin* I'll post 'em later when I...*gasp* get them developed.

Hey Rishie, welcome to Team GTUs!! *grin*

KS
1989 GTUs "I need a digital camera!"
MF
1986 Sport "Yes you do!!"
Old 08-10-02, 06:12 PM
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we were there on tuesday, it was a blast. the gsl-se revs up past the point where the tach pegs in second, on some of the corners. i also didnt have one failure. on tiger paws it ran a 2:35 with me driving and a 2:25 with alex drifitng it. i wanna go again, i wish my commute to work was like that

mike
Old 08-10-02, 06:36 PM
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Makes me want to play GT3 w/ a fully upgraded FC
Old 08-10-02, 08:42 PM
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earning these was better

 
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Sounds like you had a good time! Also that was an incredibly well formated and easy to read post.
Old 08-10-02, 08:55 PM
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damn.............................................. ........................
Old 08-10-02, 11:15 PM
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Yo,



Pics! These were taken by Angelo, in a blue Focus. Thanks man!

My car, peep those 15's!!



Dana's car, you can almost see his naked 13B...




There ya go!

KS
1989 GTUs "I love my RB stress bar!!"
Old 08-10-02, 11:26 PM
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track days are fun as long as nothing breaks *Rare*
Old 08-11-02, 04:40 AM
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2:25 in the GSL-SE drifting it, holy nice stuffa

lol vosko, us N/A guys dont really gotta worry bout that

JC
1986 Sport "N/A's, fast on the road, more reliable"
Old 08-11-02, 06:30 AM
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my old N/A ran at 1/3 on the gauge unless extremely hot and me revving to 8400 rpm would only goto the middle. i miss those old reliable days
Old 08-11-02, 09:49 AM
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LOL Kevin,

Good times for your first outing.. Some comments:

1
PaulC
- I'm well into 4th (6500-7000) with my 4.10s down the straight, brake hard for 1, downshift to 3rd is the better option to get a good squirt out of 1
4 - braking? No need to.
5 - 2nd is better, but you'll have to shift on the offcamber stuff downhill..
8 - No can do without a bit of a lift yet, but no swaybars either I lift, point in, and go, no more than 1/2 sec or so. I'm in 4th going up the hill, but no torque, I may play with 3rd next time. 5500-6000 RPM. I definitely shift before 7K
14 - I think you're right, I was watching the in car, 2nd is probably the better gear choice for me as well, lugging down to 4K

I'm running 2:20 flat on the one lap I got timed, and it was a good lap.. I've got lots and lots of work to do getting 3-4 and 5-6 right, can't get through there to save my life Dave Allen ran a 2:09 in his ITS RX-7, so we've both got a loooong way to go.. When I have a few hours this week I'll get some vid caps uploaded and a race report out..

You missed a great weekend though, 85 degrees with a nice breeze
Old 08-11-02, 11:52 AM
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tuesday was nice, its was maybe 80 with a breeze, we totally lucked out

mike
Old 08-11-02, 01:16 PM
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Yo,


80 degrees?! You sissies! *grin*


Man, I wish it was that cool when we went. But actually, it's kind of good that I went through the torture test. Nothing broke, so I know it's good.


KS
1989 GTUs "Sack up for Turn 8!"
Old 08-11-02, 02:40 PM
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yessir, lemme know next time you guys go and i'll let you know next time we go, that way we can double our track time =)

mike
Old 08-11-02, 07:58 PM
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Ok I guess it is time for me to ring in here . There is not a lot to be said that Kevin has not already said. I would say most of the times that I lost out there were due to two reasons. One, race rubber or the lack there of. I had people asking me if I was running R compound tires like Kevin and I said nope, and just looked at the crazy amazement on their face. Its all about having a stiff chassis and JIC coil over suspension (hit me up if you want a set ). The other thing is turns 5 and 5A I lost it there early in the morning session and I had a complex from that point on . The day went great there were no accidents and only a couple of break downs (not us just the Toyota guys). Sean put on a great show I have to give him much props.

The whole day was a game of Cat and Mouse between Kevin and I. There was sessions where Kevin got his grove on and I could not catch up and time when I did the same. We followed each other deep into the corners, breaking harder and harder each time trying to out do each other. Left, right, we weaved through the curves the only obstacles in our way were other cars that could not keep up from the push of the twin GTUs’s. Twin backfires booming, cracking, they could be heard from miles away to prove who the real heroes on the track were this day. The faster we went the faster our gas gages went down and the lighter our cars got. The sensation of pushing your car, tires, and driving skills to the limit with out the fear of the crazy boost creep that will pop your motor in a blaze of glory. All hail to the N/A blitz for in the end turbo’s can’t survive.

P.S. You know I have love for the TII boys

Rotary Racer (gotz no ***** for turn 5 yo!)
Old 08-11-02, 08:02 PM
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its hard to push the pedal down coming out of 5, its not something your brain wants you foot to do. not lifting fo 8 is another

mike
Old 08-12-02, 01:10 AM
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kevin, i think i like those rims much better than the meshies you got lol
Old 08-13-02, 11:41 AM
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See, this is what I"m talking about.

Why can't the SouthEast club get a track day going? None of the tracks seem to let you on without 1) a racing license 2) $350/person to rent the track 3) roll cage 4) non turbo

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