Did my first open track event at Mid-Ohio...

[somethingclever]

Lots a fun.....this was my first event ever....NOR PCA (northern ohio region porsche club of America) was the sponsor...a guy at work here is an instructor with them.

Anyway...i was really happy with how the car performed considering it's rock stock brakes and suspension wise except for kenny brown matrix subframes.

I was of course in the beginners run group (d) and after my first 25 min session trying to learn the course and the apex's at each one...i was ready to get a little aggressive on the 2nd and 3rd sessions....there was only 1 car I didn't pass....an e46 m3 on track tires (this was his sixth event ever)...he couldn't catch me and i couldn't catch him... I did manage to lap a new corvette...twice in the same session...LOL

Now, if i could just drop 500lbs I would be set!! These terminators are just way too heavy. I think i need some coil-overs to keep the body roll to a minimum!!

[Mater]

sweet congrats

[shawnsvtcobra]

sweet congrats

+1

[Viper_ed]

+1

[Mater]

[Viper_ed]

#2!

[InTheTurns]

Another convert? MidOH is a tough course. Very technical. Where do you live? I would love to see some more Terminators on the track. I am instructing this weekend for a the Kentucky Porsche Club at Putnam Park in Indiana. I am hoping to ride in some expensive german equipment as it gets thrashed. It is always fun passing those $100K cars in my Cobra.

[Steve-0]

Sounds like a good time! If I had a car that handled remotely well, I would think about doing that sometime, cause it looks like alot of fun. Hopefully sometime soon I will! Glad you had fun!

#2!

Says the guy that isnt that far behind either of them!

[Pure Stock]

I must admit the 1320' will always be tops in my book. BUT, I would definitely be trying out the twisty's if the funds were there!!!! Good to hear the experience turned out to be good for you.

[Viper_ed]

Says the guy that isnt that far behind either of them!

At least my post make sense!

[Mater]

At least my post make sense!

[Steve-0]

At least my post make sense!

True that, more than we can say for some of our members.

[fx-man]

Lots a fun.....this was my first event ever....NOR PCA (northern ohio region porsche club of America) was the sponsor...a guy at work here is an instructor with them.

Anyway...i was really happy with how the car performed considering it's rock stock brakes and suspension wise except for kenny brown matrix subframes.

I was of course in the beginners run group (d) and after my first 25 min session trying to learn the course and the apex's at each one...i was ready to get a little aggressive on the 2nd and 3rd sessions....there was only 1 car I didn't pass....an e46 m3 on track tires (this was his sixth event ever)...he couldn't catch me and i couldn't catch him... I did manage to lap a new corvette...twice in the same session...LOL

Now, if i could just drop 500lbs I would be set!! These terminators are just way too heavy. I think i need some coil-overs to keep the body roll to a minimum!!

Aaahh someone else representing the 2% of mustang owners who use their cars in racing that involves "turns". (for drag racers that means you use the "steering wheel") Damn dude sounds like a blast. I haven't been to Mid Ohio yet but next year I'll make it a must. So the e46 coulden't pull you with race tires? His weight was 3400 (hardtop) or 3700 (vert) compared to your 3600 (hardtop) or 3780 (vert) which meens that your car (without gas and driver) was probably within 200lbs of his and you were hanging with a LOT less traction on street tires.
First of all work on the driver before you change the car. With one track event under your belt you are utilizing maybe 60% of the cars capability. Get another dozen track days and you'll probably be where you can't get anything more out of the car and need to start modifying.
Second don't assume you need coilovers to control the body roll. A good set of Koni's (the stock Bilsteins = poop) and a slightly larger swaybar will net you 95% of the cornering grip at 50% of the cost.
Also swap the squishy subframe bushings (this is a good winter project) and you woill notice a big difference in cornering "feel".
Also if you don't have them yet get some CC plates and align the car for 4.5 degrees caster -2.5 degrees camber and 1/8th" total toe out in the front, -1% camber and 1/8th" total toe in in the rear.
And then you'll be spankin most of the porsche/vette/andallodtheferrarri club.

[somethingclever]

Aaahh someone else representing the 2% of mustang owners who use their cars in racing that involves "turns". (for drag racers that means you use the "steering wheel") Damn dude sounds like a blast. I haven't been to Mid Ohio yet but next year I'll make it a must. So the e46 coulden't pull you with race tires? His weight was 3400 (hardtop) or 3700 (vert) compared to your 3600 (hardtop) or 3780 (vert) which meens that your car (without gas and driver) was probably within 200lbs of his and you were hanging with a LOT less traction on street tires.
First of all work on the driver before you change the car. With one track event under your belt you are utilizing maybe 60% of the cars capability. Get another dozen track days and you'll probably be where you can't get anything more out of the car and need to start modifying.
Second don't assume you need coilovers to control the body roll. A good set of Koni's (the stock Bilsteins = poop) and a slightly larger swaybar will net you 95% of the cornering grip at 50% of the cost.
Also swap the squishy subframe bushings (this is a good winter project) and you woill notice a big difference in cornering "feel".
Also if you don't have them yet get some CC plates and align the car for 4.5 degrees caster -2.5 degrees camber and 1/8th" total toe out in the front, -1% camber and 1/8th" total toe in in the rear.
And then you'll be spankin most of the porsche/vette/andallodtheferrarri club.

That's funny you mention c/c plates and stabbie bars FX-man....i was talking with a road racing buddy last night discussing coil-overs vs adding a few items first...we decided top of the list is C/C plates and a rear stabbie bar. Right now the car has a factory spec alignment...i was going to go -1.5 camber but decided against it last minute since it's 99% street driven and wasn't sure about the tire wear.

The m3 was a coupe and on his C/C plates he had a gauge that showed what degree his camber was...he could manually push to full neg. before an event and push back to street specs after...i don't htink i've ever seen plates that nice offered for mustangs..i'll have to look at the M/M ones.

I believe the main reason the car felt a little sloppy towards the end of the second and third sessions was due to over inflated tires...the pressure went up 6 psi all around on my Nitto 555's..i started with about 2psi more front and 3 psi more rear than street settings. I should've kept them street settings considering the 55 deg temps. Oh well...i'll know for next time.

Another convert? MidOH is a tough course. Very technical. Where do you live? I would love to see some more Terminators on the track. I am instructing this weekend for a the Kentucky Porsche Club at Putnam Park in Indiana. I am hoping to ride in some expensive german equipment as it gets thrashed. It is always fun passing those $100K cars in my Cobra.

Actually my co-worker said Mid-Ohio is one of the most technical courses in North America.

I live about 45 min south of Pittsburgh....near Washington, PA....

there were quite a few Toyota kentucky ppl there I was talking with....do you work at the Toyota plant by chance?


I think i'll try BeaveRun in the spring...then maybe Gratton later in the year. I hear Nelson Ledges isn't very forgiving if going off the track...i know FX-man can agree with that!!!

[InTheTurns]

I would suggest some chassis stiffening before suspension mods. Specifically frame connectors and a strut tower brace. I have some Kenny Brown "fixed" caster/adjustable camber plates I was going to offer for sale if you would be interested. I was happy with them but they would not work with my new coilover setup. They do work with stock struts and are 3 bolt so you do not have to drill a fourth hole in your strut tower. You may also want to consider higher rate springs as first suspension mod until you see how much you like the road racing scene. I am running -1.5 degrees camber but I only drive the car on the weekends. the shop where I got the alignment does a lot of racecars and they thought -1.5 would not wear the tires too much. Those CC plates with the bubble gage you saw sound nice. I would like to start dialing -2.5 in on track days.

I don't work at the Toyota plant. PM me if you want to discuss the mods or road racing directly. I will give you my number.

[fx-man]

I've been running -2.5 camber for a couple of years now daily driven car. As long as your toe is set correctly (no more than 1/16" out per side) you won't see excessive tire wear. Tire presure wise I set mine to 36 front and 31 rear cold, when they heat up they get to 42 front and 36 rear which works well with street tires.

[InTheTurns]

-2.5 without tire wear sounds great to me! that would help on the track quite a bit. I have to check my alignment sheet to see where my toe is set.

[fx-man]

-2.5 without tire wear sounds great to me! that would help on the track quite a bit. I have to check my alignment sheet to see where my toe is set.

That's just it, when you change the camber it will change your toe. You need to put it on the rack, get the camber you want, THEN adjust the toe. My mechanic thought it was amusing that I put the car on the rack and all specs were in the green and when I took it off everything was in the red.

[05SonicBlue]

I did the Skip Barber 3 day racing school this summer at mid ohio. What an awesome track.

At a different event I was able to run 3 laps at mid-ohio in my '05 GT. Definitely need to tighten up the suspension and try better brake fluid and pads for any serious track time, but overall was very happy with the car.

Turn 7 rewards bravery and turn 11 definitely gave me fits. No spins or off track excursions though . . .