Wednesday Night Drags

Infineon Raceway has weekly bracket racing events on Wednesday nights. The weather in California has been rainy for the past two weeks, so there were quite a few people who took advantage of the nice weather. Temperatures were up to 80 degrees, which didn’t help the DA, but made for a enjoyable evening. Unfortunately there was a 10mph head wind most of the night. I know I didn’t setup my car for drag racing, but I have been curious to see what it can do in the 1/4-Mile.

I headed to the track alone, but met-up with another G8 owner and a couple of his buddies. Having never raced at Infineon I was a little out of my element (I’m normally behind a camera at the racetrack). I figured things out fairly quickly and staged-up for my first pass.

This was the first time to the track after the extensive modifications had been performed. Specifically the supercharger and the rear end/suspension bits. Unfortunately, tires (drag radials) were not on my upgrade list… So, with the low-end torque from the Maggie, the 3.45 gears, and the stock tires, I knew traction was going to be a big concern.

For the first run I decided to just let the car do its thing (didn’t even air down the tires). I left the transmission in ‘Drive’ and left the Traction Control enabled. I launched at idle and the car pulled-out the best run of the night… A 12.98 @ 108.09 mph.

In the subsequent runs I tried launching from 1st without Traction Control, launching in 2nd at idle, and finally launching in 2nd at 1100rpms. I was able to get 60′ times in the 2.0x second range, but there was quite a bit of wheel spin whenever I jumped into the throttle off the line.

It seems all the rear-end bits did their job… As despite having traction issues, I never once developed any wheel-hop (which was killing me before).

While the times weren’t what I was hoping for, I was really happy to test out the car and try a couple of launching ideas I’ve been thinking about. I think any future trips down the strip are going to require a different set of tires!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Maybe it’s just because I’m getting “old” and needing some excitement in my life, but I have always wanted to attend a racing school… and I’ve made the decision that I’m going to do it. Today I signed-up for a 3-Day Bondurant Grand Prix Road Racing class.

The course includes time on the skid pad and on the track in a Corvette! The goal is to gain maximum car control. Exercises include heel-&-toe down shifting, skid control, braking techniques (ABS and non ABS exercises), accident avoidance, and weight transfer.

On track they cover cornering techniques, early and late apex points (the racing line) and the quick way around the track… all the way to mock starts, real use of SCCA rules, racing etiquette and racing flags.

The course is held at the Bondurant School near Phoenix, Az. I was looking at some of the local schools (Skip Barber at Laguna Seca and Jim Russell at Infineon Raceway), but decided I liked the course offered by Bonderaunt more (and the 25% off holiday sale didn’t hurt). I figure this is a great opportunity for me to get away and use the free airline tickets and hotel rooms I’ve been racking-up with all this travel for work! Now all I need is some time away from work to take the course…

Winter Test & Tune

My last two trips to the drag strip have been on less than ideal days. The session at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway had a DA of 4569′ which really killed my times. The previous session at the Sacramento Raceway was better, with a DA of 1247′, but when I heard that the DA today was going to be below sea level (a negative DA) I just couldn’t pass it up! After the Toys 4 Tots cruise I headed to the Raceway and joined-up with two other people who were running.

I had not planned on running when I filled-up with gas the other day, so I had half a tank of fuel when I reached the track… way more than I’d like. I lowered the rear tire pressure to 29psi (similar to where I left off at the last Test & Tune), but left all the stuff in my trunk (full size spare, jack, bags/camera, etc.). After going through tech I headed to the line for my first run.

I spun the rear tires to clean them off and quickly staged… the other car staged really quickly, so I tried not to lag. I launched from idle when the third yellow light illuminated (my RT was a nice 0.247s) and proceeded down the track very smoothly. I crossed the line in 3rd gear (Drive mode) and was really pleased with the way the first run had gone. I had reason to be impressed, as I ran a 13.44s @ 106.4mph (DA -172′)… which is a new personal best!

I emptied out all the stuff from my trunk and spent the rest of the day battling traction issues. I had several runs (in both lanes) where I just couldn’t launch without getting nasty wheel hop as I went into the power. I was typically able to get-out and back-on to salvage a 14-second run, but that wasn’t what I wanted. On the last run I was even breaking-loose as I was shifting from 1st to 2nd! Because of this I was unable to better the time from my first run… looks like I’ll need to spend some more time learning how to launch!

I had hoped to get into the 13.3’s (what I’d estimated I could run with a nice DA), but I was content with bettering my personal best. If I would have been able to hook-up, I’m sure I would have put down a better time. I think the next time I come to the track I will be sporting an upgraded suspension, a set of drag radials, and more than likely a nice power-adder.

Sacramento Raceway Test & Tune

After the drag racing experience at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, I have been wanting to get back to the strip to see what the G8 can do now that I know a little more about what I’m doing. I was feeling slightly disappointing with my times/speeds from Vegas, but understood that the elevations and temperature really played a big part in how I ran. When the NorCal Goats planned a trip to the Sacramento Raceway for a Test and Tune, I knew I had to go along.

Sacramento Raceway (elevation 30′) is a great facility to get the G8 out to. A group of us were heading-out from the Manteca area, so I drove the back-way over to Tracy to scout out the photo locations for tomorrow’s shoot. Several of us got together and then headed-up to the track. We arrived when the gates opened and had some time to relax and let the engines cool off from the drive. I also took the opportunity to empty my trunk of all non-essential equipment.

When the track get hot I headed over to tech (which wasn’t really an inspection at all) and then into the staging lanes. Having spent some time reading about different launch techniques, I decided to just let the G8 do it’s thing. I turned off TCM, left the car in drive, and launched from idle… the resulting run was the quickest pass I made all day… a 13.53s @ 106.4mph (2.12s 60′, DA 1021′). The launch was perfect (no wheel spin at all) and I accelerated all the way through the 1/4 mile… holding 3rd gear through the end (without hitting the rev limiter).

After the first pass I wanted to see how Sport mode would work, and to my surprise the run was slightly slower… a 13.64s @ 106.1mph (2.168s 60′, DA 1021′). I think the slower time came from the chirp that was caused when shifting from 2nd to 3rd. While it sounds cool, the loss of traction doesn’t seem to make for a faster time.

I then spent the rest of the afternoon experimenting with different launch techniques, but was never able to better my first run. The last run of the day I used the same launch technique as the first run, but had aired-down the rear tires to 30psi (they were at 40psi to start). The temperature had increased a little, resulting in a DA of 1247′, but I was able to pull-out a 13.62s @ 106.9mph (2.224s 60′). I think that if I would have run the same PSI with the colder air from the morning I could have squeezed out a tenth or two.

Spending time working over the numbers, I was really surprised to see that my times were very consistent. When correcting for the DA run, my best from Vegas was within a tenth of a second and 1mph of what I ran in Sac. Given there was nothing changed with the car, it’s expected.

I am content with the 13.53s @ 106.4mph (I even put it in my signature on the message boards), but I think if the temperature gets a little cooler I will be able to run in the low-13s. I don’t think I have been bit by the never-ending faster ET bug (yet), but spending time at the track with the rest of the GOATs is a blast.

After the day at the track, a group of us headed-out to Sacramento for some photography. The goal was to get a few shots for the NCG Calendar I’ve been working on, and I think things worked-out well. I’d share some of the photos, but they are a secret until the calendar comes out!

GoatRun’09: Day 2

Saturday was spent at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (elevation ~2,100ft). There was a ‘test and tune’ at the drag strip that allowed me the first chance to take the G8 out and see what it can do. We showed-up early (way early compared to the other NorCal folks who were recovering from hangovers) and registered for the day’s events.

I’d never been down a drag strip before, but I have been reading-up on the basics of what to do. After going through tech inspection (which really wasn’t an inspection as far as I could tell) I headed directly to the staging lanes. My dad was in the passenger’s seat and it turned-out that he didn’t need to get out of the car, so made the first pass with me (it was his first trip down a drag strip as well).

I was lined-up next to a fellow NorCal member, which was somewhat nice (the fact that he was in a 10-second car didn’t help my ego though). I spun the rear tires quickly (didn’t do a burnout with the stock tires, but just enough to get any dirt off) and pulled into the staging beams. I was in Drive mode with the Stage 1 VMS TCM tune (the mild one), traction control off, and revved the engine up to ~1,100rpms. When the light went green… off I went!

Run #1:
ET – 14.561s
MPH – 98.16

Not as quick/fast as I was hoping, but not bad for having a passenger and a trunk full of stuff. The G8 went straight down the strip and was very stable all the way.

For the second run I was alone and used Sport mode (still the Stage 1 VMS TCM tune). I again turned traction control off and loaded up to 1,100rpms.

Run #2:
ET – 14.083s
MPH – 96.83

While this was my quickest ET of the day, I didn’t drive all the way through the end of the 1/4-mile. I didn’t know where the finish line was (and was too far behind the other car to feel like I needed to push hard) and let-off early (hence the 96.83mph speed through the trap). I wonder if I would have been able to break into the 13’s if I’d gone all the way through the the finish on the gas.

For the next runs I wanted to load the more aggressive Stage 2 VMS TCM tune. The re-tune went quickly and I was able to get back to the staging lanes. This run was much closer to the car in the other lane (only lost by 0.1794) and was therefore much more exciting.

Run #3:
ET – 14.199
MPH – 99.97

I was only planning on doing three runs down the strip, but after being so close to a 100mph speed through the trap I just had to do one more run. The last run I tried to push things, and the track wasn’t working in my favor. Unlike the previous runs, loading up to 1,100rpm was just too much… and I left the line with a noticeable squeal in the tires. I think that a lower rpm (or maybe having traction control on) would have helped the ET a little.

Run #4:
ET – 14.225
MPH – 101.44

I thought about one last run, but after watching some of the other cars go down the strip I knew I wasn’t going to improve on my best ET. Cars that were running high 13’s were now in the mid-14’s.

Spending the day at the drag strip as a competitor (rather than a photographer) was definitely learning experience. I think I will need to go out an try the G8 at a strip that is closer to sea level, as people were talking about how the 2,100ft elevation was robbing some power. Not having a trunk full of bags, water, cameras, etc. would have probably also helped. Using a Density Altitude (DA) calculator for the time of my quick ET was like running at 4569ft… and a corrected ET would have been around 13.3 seconds. I’d really like to get into the low 13’s on the stock tires with this setup, so I’m sure this is something I’m going to have to do again!

After the test and tune, there was a BBQ and car show. I had really hoped to take some photos of cars as the sun was starting to set, but the location for the car show was less than photogenic. Also, by the time the light was right, my car was blocked-in and everyone else was enjoying the show… I felt that it wasn’t the best time to pull people away for photography.

After the BBQ people started to vote for their favorite cars and I went around getting some detail shots of NorCal cars. There was a raffle with some really cool prizes (like break rotors, a clutch, etc.)… while I didn’t win anything, several NorCal members did so that was cool. At the end of the night there was a ‘best sounding exhaust’ competition, which was taken hands-down by BillyGoatGruff (another NorCal GOAT).

After the BBQ and car show a group of us headed over to the enterence to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There are a set of tunnels that lead into the infield, and at night they are lit-up nicely (good thing I brought my tripod). I got my chance to be photographer and took several shots of several different cars. I think a few of the guys gained a better respect about the difficulties of being a photographer… we were constantly having to move cars around because of traffic, and the lighting conditions were difficult at best. While I’d have rather been at the same location shooting ~4 hours earlier, I think I came away with a few decent shots.

After the photo shoot I needed to drop my Dad off at the hotel, at which time I also crashed… it was almost midnight anyhow and I needed to be up early in the morning for the cruise (wow I sound like an old man).