Sebring w/ SAFEmotorsports
 

This past weekend I had the oportunity to ride along w/ a fellow rx7 enthusiast Sebring International Raceway and took a few pictures in between sessions.

(sorry, camera phone was all I could muster on short notice)

The infamous turn 17.......and yes, those are puddles. But by the second session the track was merely damp, and by the third..... :D
http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...510857_319.jpg

When I pulled up to his house in the middle of the night, and saw him loading this onto the trailer, I couldn't help but feel like "Project D" was about to embark on a mission lol
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http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...10881_4959.jpg
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Some specs on the FD:
Real CYM, T-70 turbo (6 psi) aprox 250 - 260 whp, Microtech, custom borla exhaust, V-mount IC, recirculating BOV, SS brake lines, slotted rotors.

Brand new (read: driven 20 miles before tracked...) 18x10's w/ 285's all four corners, K-sport coilovers (unadjusted), custom alignment.

The best time of the day was a 2:47 which was a major improvement over his PB w/ the stock tires and suspension setup. But there is much work to be done still, and w/ some suspension tunning and practice, 2:30's should be possible.

The other car we rode down w/ (yes, z06) and that shit was fast! Ran a 2:36 stock (w/ DR's) compared to a 2:47 for the FD :(
http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/phot...10884_5526.jpg

Noble M400
http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/phot...10862_1265.jpg

Ferarri 355 (one of my all time favorites) it looked the part, and sounded absolutely magnificent coming down the front straightaway, but it wasn't really that fast
http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/phot...10863_1473.jpg

240's are like mosquitos, they're every damn where! But this one was lookin pretty nice and turned a 2:45 w/ only 200-220 hp (@2500 lbs and every suspension mod in the book)
http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...10877_4276.jpg

Can't see it in this pic, but that damn wing was so big that when they took it off and set it on the ground, it was damn near as tall as the roof line!
http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/phot...10879_4619.jpg


Even SPEED world challange cars showed up..needless to say these motha suckas were MOVIN!
http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...10865_1895.jpg
http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/phot...10866_2104.jpg

Now if only someone could explain how this car was riding the ass of that C4 SPEED car, that'd be great. It also beat it in a drag race down the front straight :shocking:
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This was one of the guys to beat (If I had 2 Vipers I'd do this w/ one of them too)
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These Last 2 were my personal favorites (tied for second after the FD of course)

E36 M3 Procharged
http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/phot...10872_3372.jpg
He was taking some pretty interesting lines, but they were effective, cuz he walked away from the FD and was trying to keep up w/ lesser corvettes
[IMG]http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/phot...10874_3624.jpg[/IMG]

EVO IX (or VII, but not very likely) rear = gutted, gull roll cage, didn't see under the hood
http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...10869_2739.jpg
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I really wish I would have gotten to ride in this car. When I was out w/ the vette, we slowed down so a car could catch up then we could chase it. Well it was this car that caught up. We tried chased it down the straight, then the EVO 3-wheeled it into turn 13 and left us....

Thanks for the pics, had a great weekend. Damn the gap between the fender and the wheels looks huge! (It looks much smaller in person). But that is what I get for installing the coilovers a week before the HPDE. Got the car aligned according to Rynberg's modified pettit long track specs and the alignment shop put each corner at 26.25 inches for me to go out. After I drive the car some more and the coilovers settle in a little further, I will get everything lowered another 1.5-2 inches easily and corner balanced.

I do not have slotted rotors. I actually believe the rotors on my baby are original with the car. Talking with other experienced individuals, I should be about 10 seconds faster then my current time. But hey, this was only my third event :scared:

Once I put some more trust into my tires and hone in on my heel-toe, ten more seconds will be easy. Hmm, I wonder how much Damian would charge to fly down and show me how to really drive my car :devil:

See you at the track,

~James

Thanks for posting!

I love an event where the serious hardware shows up.

p.s., the FD should be quicker... you need to turn the boost up to 10-12 psi. It'll easily run with that Z06.

congrats on puttin her through the paces. she is a beauty. A nicely equipped FD should at least hang with a c5 z05 if the driver is experienced. As you learned, the driver is everything in open tracking. Good luck on dealing with your new addiction :)