Ryan, those NT01s look kinda skinny. 255s?

Car looks good man, very serious.

 

Thanks Rich, it's getting there. The tires are 255F/275R.

 

Gotcha. Should be enough rubber w the 275s out back. I've been wanting to try them, but the sizes I wanted weren't available. I've heard good feedback from the Porsche guys who were running them at road race events I've been to over the years.

 

I've heard nothing but good things about them so I have high hopes for them. I should see a good increase in grip without a big hit on my wallet or the cars streetability.

 

EMRA Time Trial at Lime Rock Park 4/16/11:

I finally got out to the track to test out the car yesterday and luckily nothing fell off or broke which was a good start to the season. I ran with EMRA who puts on time trials throughout the northeast and run a good but packed event. The day was supposed to have rain from 12pm on and since the first session wasn't until one it looked like it was going to be a wet one. Luckily the weather held out for the first two sessions we got some dry testing in before the weather stopped cooperating.

-First Session-Dry: Since it was the first time out on track since a lot of work had been done I wanted to make sure the car was safe and there were no issues. Luckily the car was in good working order with the exception of the 99 spec lip folding in half requiring some more reinforcing. Unfortunately I had no clean laps because of the amount of slower cars in my group but for the first session I wasn't going for times but rather to shake the car down. Fastest Lap- 1:03.5

-Second Session-Dry: For the second session I wanted to push it a little bit more but I still was learning the car (which has much more grip) so I didn't push it too hard again. Again, the car performed great, the water temps are maxing out at 83C so I'm glad the radiator ducting seems to be working. For this session we played with the pressures and started to dial the Nitto NT01s in. Dropping the pressures helped a great deal and made the car much more drivable. Once again the traffic was a problem, but I managed to get some semi-clean laps which helped me feel the car a bit more. Fastest Lap-1:01.5

-Third Session-Damp: The weather held out for the first half of the day but it decided to start to drizzle in the third session. We again adjusted the tire pressures and went back out hoping the rain would hold out. The track conditions weren't terrible and it was just a little slick but I decided to continue to push the car a little bit more. As with the first two sessions there was a lot of traffic and I had no clear laps but even still I was quite happy with the time because of the damp track. Fastest Lap-1:01.8

-Fourth Session-Wet: Between the third and fourth sessions the sky opened up and the rain we were expecting came. I was actually excited to head out in the rain and see how the tires would hold up. We dropped the pressures and went out on track first. Most of the people did not head out for the last session due to the weather except for a Honda CRX, a Civic, an STi, and 2 Miatas. I must say, it was a fun to drive in the wet again plus the NT01s performed exceptionally well. Fastest Lap-1:14.4

Overall I was happy with the day, the car worked well and was reliable throughout the sessions. For the first time out with all the changes the times were okay but the car has several seconds left in it and the next time out at Lime Rock I'll be shooting for a 58 second lap but we will see. I wanted to set FTD but 2 Corvettes had something else in mind and I took 1st in class and 3rd overall for the event.

Here are some pictures from the day of the finished (for now) car:











Some videos of the fourth session:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRmlmJ7mByI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7b57...eature=related

 

I'm kind of really digging the front bumper.

Did you ran at the track with the muffler silencer installed?


Kind of topic but those are the faster wipers I seen on a FD. Mine really suck. Glad where I'm moving I will not need them.

 

Thanks, I think it looks pretty cool and yes I had the silencer in on track because there was a decibel limit that day.

 

Build looks great! nice videos....I really need a wing for my car....I bet the car feels pretty damn planted with the wing and front splitter....how's the overall balance at higher speeds?

 

That's good to hear that the tires worked out alright for you. I was curious because I'm running the same ones, but in 235 front and 255 rear on the stock 17" rims. I don't know if I could squeeze a 255 series tire on an 8" rim and a 275 on a 8.5" rim. I'm glad to hear it worked out good for you though.

 

Thanks, the car was definitely more planted and more stable while at speed. The APR wing is a great piece and definitely a great value for the quality and effectiveness.

You won't be disappointed with them, just watch out for hydroplaning on the highway during downpours...

 

Running with a silencer on track in an FD is like having sex wrapped up in a shower curtain..... you'll never catch me on Lime Rock. Car looks great Ryan, did you ever sort out the smoking issue?

 

Haha well if you did want to take it up to LRP and run uncorked, SCDA is holding an UNMUFFLED track day on July 1st. Thanks, the smoking issue is pretty much gone, I changed the oil back to the weight I normally would run and it seemed to fix it...

 

Car was prettu fast I was running the black/green STi pansie-footing around the track and trying to avoid the typical emra vette crowd. First time at LR, my ***** weren't nearly big enough yet with those walls that close. haha.

I've got a lot of nice video of your car passing mine and shooting flames. We shot some off the nose with a new gopro 3d. Will post more, but here is a teaser video if you have some glasses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J5FUyvrhEQ

May have to click through to youtube to actually see it in proper 3d...

Will we be seeing you at Beaver Run?

*edit - damn just realized my signature on this forum is from like 12 years ago haha.

 

I really liked the look of your car, those damn vettes on Hoosiers were quick... Yeah, those walls are pretty close, I had a moment in the rain on the uphill where I thought I may get better acquainted with them (3:05 mark in my in-car video).

Your video looks great, I can't wait to see the other ones since I didn't know my car spit flames haha, thanks for posting it. I need to get one of those GoPros I think.

Unfortunately I won't be at Beaver Run, its a bit far for me to go.

 

What neck restraint system are you using?

 

I'm using a HANS Device.

 

That splitter is big i thought mine was a little overboard

 

It's only extended 4.5" from the leading edge of the lip....

 

What's bridging the gap between the lip and the splitter?

 

It's a strip of rubber backed by some aluminum brackets. It was a rush job but it got the job done on track, I'm having a tough time finding the right size length aluminum or ABS strip to fill it.

 

I'm at 3, i had it out at 5 it looks a bit crazy

 

Hey, dont knock it till you try it.. this actually happened to me once while gettin busy in the shower and my gf at the time slipped and we both fell outside the tub, pulling the shower curtain down with us... we didnt even bother to stop, we just kept going, literally, all wrapped up in a shower curtain... was kinda cool!

anyhoo... great ducting work btw, I dont suppose you would be able to make a template to post?

 

Is your splitter adjustable length wise or did you just pull it forward to see how it would look?

Thanks, it would be tough to make one without pulling the duct apart, unfortunately I didn't write any measurements down.

 

Adjustable 3" is as far in and 5" is as far out.

 

That's interesting, I guess with the mounting system I have, mine can be adjustable as well, never thought of that. Thanks for sharing.