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NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

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  • NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

    Pictures! http://vorshlag.smugmug.com/gallery/6220603_T6jYA

    The Vorshlag crew attended the Saturday races on the inaugural NASA weekend at Eagles Canyon Raceway. The track has been partially repaved/repaired and they deemed it ready for racing. 2.5 mile track with 11 turns and 70' of elevation change. A really fun track.



    Getting to the site was a bit of a trek into the back country, as it was ~16 miles off of any highway down country roads. The remoteness was probably to avoid encroaching development and looming noise restrictions, but it makes it difficult to leave the site to find food, hotel, parts, etc - its all 20 minutes away. Luckily they now have food on site, fuel (of sorts), bathrooms, a driver's lounge, a small bleacher section on a hill that overlooks most of the track (see pics), and almost enough paddock space for all racer to setup on pavement. They still don't have garages, landscaping/erosion control is a bit of a mess, they still need more paddock space (we parked in a gravel pit), and the track is pretty damn bumpy in two areas. There's some nasty runoff areas that could use attention as well. All in all, pretty good for what's really their first year of operation.

    OK, so Amy, Brian and I all signed up for the NASA event online - Amy for HPDE1 (beginner - she hadn't done a DE in 10 years), and Brian and I for Time Trial. We get there and had a bit of trouble finding the place, so that put us on site a bit late (7:45). To say it was a bit disorganized would be a fair statement - the huge tech line hadn't started to move yet, registration was a bit unsorted, but the beginner's class had already started so it was a bit of a cluster. We got the cars teched eventually but found out there were only 4 instructors for all of the beginner DE drivers, so I was "deputized" to be Amy's instructor. That worked out great and she and I had a blast during 3 of her 4 HPDE1 sessions. They also had 5 loaner transponders - we had rented 2 but only got 1, so Brian and I had to swap it out to both get times in TT. Several TT competitors never got a transponder on Saturday.


    Our paddock was on gravel, but we later just parked in a little used pre-grid area and left them there all day when not on course.

    We saw lots of folks out there - Jeff Wirtz kicking butt in his CMC classed 3rd gen Camaro (set pole in qualifying and won the first race). I'll let him give his updates in this thread. We worked out a deal where his car will have ASTs very soon, which we've been meaning to do this season.


    Wirtz' Camaro winning the first race Saturday. Race 2 - inverted start!

    We also saw Stuart and the Maxey's, plus Dave B, a forum member here. Dave was a big help all day and stepped in while I was on course to get the EVO aligned after Brian's first plow-intensive session proved it needed as much camber as the soft stock suspension would allow. Thanks Dave!


    The EVO X is a leaning machine...

    Again, I'll let Brian go over his impressions of the EVO X, running in TTB. The Alpha car ran in TTU and I had a blast driving it. My first session was fun and informative, but I quickly got stuck behind slower TTU and TTS cars for most of the first session. Still, it let me learn the track while forcing me to drive at 8/10ths. I finally had the (now charged) rental transponder on the car for session 2 and started near the front of the grid, so I got a clean track and 5 good laps in without seeing another car in front or behind, posting a few 1:59s and a best of 1:57 on the 2.5 mile course. I didn't run session 2 and 3 for the day but I think the closest any TT competitors got were 2:02's (a heavily modded TTS RX7-TT and a TTU C6-Z06 with mods) from what we saw of the printed results from sessions 1-3 on Saturday. No telling what they ran in session 4 or on Sunday, but I think my time was enough for the TTU win? Who knows when NASA will post results.

    I was very happy with the handling, brakes (ABS was fixed by replacing the ABS computer), and the power was adequate... right until I head a terrifying knocking sound at the end of session 2.


    The Alpha car was fast and furious... until it wiped a rod bearing

    We think its a rod bearing. Normally we run +1 qt in the LS1, as these motors need the extra volume on a road course, but I was lax and ran it with only the normal ~6 qts of oil (just at the "full" mark). With lateral cornering in the 1.5g range on long, sustained corners it must have sucked air and it wiped a rod bearing. I shut it down seconds after hearing the noise but the damage was done. Once the motor cooled off (oil thickened) the engine fired up and sounded fine, but we know its "not long for this earth" so we'll start a tear down immediately. Oh well, it was only a junkyard motor that has been abused for 2 years of racing. Now we have an excuse to do some power and reliability mods. Oiling system improvements are on order, of course.

    I will edit the in-car footage from the Alpha car and get it posted. You can hear the poor motor's last death throws in the video, too.
    Last edited by Fair!; 10-13-2008, 03:20 PM.
    Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
    2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
    EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

  • #2
    Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008


    More TT competitors


    More TT competitors


    Left: Nissan GTR running in TTS, I think? (2:09 laps I believe) Right: Picture of the clubhouse building.

    Amy's drive in the E30 was very solid - she looked like a pro out there, nailing every downshift, braking point, and passing everything in her run group. She and I were joking through each session, and had a great time running together. Several times she was held up badly by a new DE driver in a very fast race car, but after staying glued to his bumper for several laps she finally got the point by and went around effortlessly. There was nothing in HPDE1 that could keep up with the power of the 318is! hehe. Another driver spun on track in front of her, but she passed him safely after he came to a stop. Amy never put a tire out of bounds but still pushed it into nice neutral drifts on a few hard laps.


    Left: Amy and I hanging out on the pit wall next to all of the instructors. Right: Amy tearing it up on track

    The rest of the time we usually got clear point bys (mostly from a ton of Spec RX7 racers and Miatas in her group) and she worked on her lines, braking points, and shifting. By day's end she was flat footing it through sections others were braking in, and out braking most cars into the big corners by 200+ feet. She was totally calm and picked this course up like she does any autocross course - quickly and methodically. She was ready for Solo by her 2nd session but I rode with her for the first 3, just so I could learn the course better and maybe point out a few things. We got a NASA instructor to ride with her for the very shortened 4th session and he agreed that she was ready for Solo. Next time we'll run her in HPDE 2 or 3 and try to get her signed off for her Time Trial license. Maybe she can run the E30 in TTE, if we keep it for much longer.


    More on track pics of Amy in the '91 318is

    She was on cloud 9 all the next day and she can't wait to get back out on track! We didn't sign up for Sunday's events, but instead did a brutal mountain bike ride followed by a day at the State Fair, so it was a jam packed weekend. Amy is out of town next weekend for the BMWCCA Eagles Canyon vent, so I might run the E30 in place of the Alpha car there. I will get the video camera set-up in the E30 to show off the road course awesomeness of the M42 power.

    I'll post the data we took in the E30 from the DL1 data logger when Hanchey has a minute to crunch the numbers. I didn't get a chance to time her laps but the DL1 will show us what she ran, what the grip numbers looked like, etc.
    Last edited by Fair!; 10-13-2008, 03:43 PM.
    Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
    2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
    EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

      Bejeesus! That Evo is huge next to the E30/E36!

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

        Excellent stuff! So is there a TT points system or anything? I would think with the lack of transponders this could make it difficult to do.

        Im going to have to look into this since I will not be able to get into a true wheel to wheel ride for a while.
        '06 Mustang GT
        VTPP!!!

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

          Great day at the track. Until the bearing issue the LS Alpha car was like a gun at a knife fight!

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

            Originally posted by John in Houston
            Bejeesus! That Evo is huge next to the E30/E36!
            We were aligning both cars and the track of the Evo with 245s is MORE than the 275s on 17x10s on the LS1 car!
            Brian Hanchey
            AST Suspension - USA

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

              Originally posted by John in Houston
              Bejeesus! That Evo is huge next to the E30/E36!


              Left to right: 3600 pounds, 72" track - 2350 pounds, 67" track - 2500 pounds, 70" track.

              We need to put the EVO on a diet...
              Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
              2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
              EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

                I drove an Evo, not MY Evo mind you. Boy, the last time I was on the track was in the LS1 car. The Evo in stock condition is no LS1 car. The body roll, ugh! The plowing, oh noes! It was definitely good to get a baseline in the Evo, but not what I'd call "a blast". It definitely gives us things to work on which is what we needed to know. So far I think it needs:
                1. More camber (got the drawing right here) It was plowing hard on every corner exit.
                2. More spring rate (fronts are built!), the LEAN is painful!
                3. More tire (it needs some 285s BAD, that 3600 pounds hurts!), overpowering the 245s bad. Checking clearance this week.
                4. More brakes (got the pads ready to go), fronts would fade if you worked them too hard.
                5. Mirrors! The blind spots are really bad. I couldn't see the apex on all left handers. The mirrors are HUGE.
                6. Exhaust, I can't even hear it on track!
                Finally, there's a major issue I won't discuss at this point. We'll be doing some checking this week for solutions.

                Brian
                Brian Hanchey
                AST Suspension - USA

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

                  Report from CMC, alot happened, sorry for the long post;
                  Ran the half day test session on Friday to learn the new track. During the second session while behind 2 other cars, it smelled like someone had a brake fire. Few turns later and I am past both of them.... and I can still smell a fire. While pulling in the pits and slowing down, smoke started to come through the firewall, so now I'm no longer thinking brake fire, and just thinking fire. Quickly jump out and pull the hood pins and find one of the alternator bearings collapsed and it is burning. A quick shot from a fire bottle knocks it out and there was only minor damage to the hood. Lucky, the wiring harness and the near by parts all surrived. Quick trip to Decauter and a new alternator later and back on track.

                  Saturday started with qualifying on the pole of 10 CMC cars. Race 1 was a standing start and I was able to get a great jump to lead into T1. I was able to open a small lead that I just then worked to maintain. Race 2 was inverted from R1. That race went terrible. I got caught up behind some cars and let myself get fustrated. In a poor attempt to get past, I let another car behind me get past. So I ended up 5th but more importantly the guy I was fighting for the year end points was able to sneak through and take the win.

                  Sunday I started 7 points down on the championship. I was again able to take pole for Sunday. In race 3, I was able to lead the first several laps. Then JB was able to get past me when I made a mistake. A lap or so later, JB ran wide and I was able to get back past him. Turns out his transmission mount had come loose so he ended up not finishing the race. With 2 turns to go on the last lap, I'm leading with James Proctor right behind me and we caught a lapped car. I mis-read the situation and caught the car right at the track out point in the final two turns, so James was able to get next to me and we did a drag race to the finish line. After crossing the line, neither of us knew who won, but it turns out James beat me by a front bumper covers worth. So going into race 4, I was 1 point behind JB for the year end points. He started first since R4 was inverted, and I started second to last. I had a great run and was quickly able to get through to third behind Glenn Landrum. That car slid wide at one point and I got through and then tried to chase down JB who had opened a decent lead. By the last lap I was within a car length or two of JB, and I took a run at him in turn 10. I got right to his rear bumper, leaving a slight blue smudge on his bumper, but he controlled the racing line and I could not really turn it into a fair shot at a pass. So ended second in the race and that sealed the deal for second for the year.

                  JB is last years National Champ in the class, so although I was bummed about the final result, I can't really complain about a great first year running with CMC. I forget the exact number, but the year end points total was ~1650 for first and I was 4 points back! I got some in car video from Sunday that I need to edit down and will try to post later.

                  Jeff

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                  • #10
                    Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

                    Nice effort, Wirtz, especially for a rookie.
                    -Sean Martin
                    2009 Pontiac G8 GT

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

                      Originally posted by hancheyb
                      I drove an Evo, not MY Evo mind you.
                      It wasn't yours?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

                        Awesome finish Jeff. We were just talking about the location of the transponder on Saturday. Maybe you should have stuck it in front of the car.
                        Brian Hanchey
                        AST Suspension - USA

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

                          Originally posted by Thinkkker
                          Excellent stuff! So is there a TT points system or anything? I would think with the lack of transponders this could make it difficult to do.

                          Im going to have to look into this since I will not be able to get into a true wheel to wheel ride for a while.
                          Yes, there is a Time Trial series and the classes are based on "points" for modifications above the cars' "base class". Its a bit complicated at first but quickly makes sense if you stare at the rules for a bit, and do the math.

                          http://nasatxracing.com/index.php?op...d=31&Itemid=44
                          http://www.nasa-tt.com/

                          TT is a great bridge between HPDE and Club Racing, and doesn't require the same costly safety gear as wheel to wheel - but there is open passing, so its not a "follow the slow guy" HPDE deal either. We've added most of the safety gear required for Club Racing and plan to continue to add every last bit so we can stay safe.
                          Terry Fair - www.vorshlag.com
                          2018 GT / S550 Dev + 2013 FR-S / 86 Dev + 2011 GT / S197 Dev + C4 Corvette Dev
                          EVO X Dev + 2007 Z06 / C6 Dev + BMW E46 Dev + C5 Corvette Dev

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

                            Here is a short video from race #4. This is the first 1.5 laps and the last lap. And so ended my season.
                            http://vimeo.com/1970381
                            You can expand the video out to full screen if you click in the bottom right corner.

                            It was good seeing you guys at the track and that will be happening more next year I hope. 2009 event #1 is only ~ 3months away!

                            Jeff

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: NASA-Eagles Canyon, HPDE/TT/Club Race Oct 11-12, 2008

                              Awesome video. What's amazing is how you don't even have to use the whole track to keep up with anyone. Can't imagine if you had an open track how bad you'd pull them.
                              Brian Hanchey
                              AST Suspension - USA

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