:: Car Adventures ::

:: 13.12.02 ::

Second Official Track Day!

This time it was with the fine folks at Speedventures. I ownz T11.

Anyway, on to the good stuff. Here are the settings I used on my Illumina shocks. These settings didn't change the whole day.

Shock Settings	Left	Right
Front	2	2
Rear	3	3

Here's the tire pressures (cold/hot) and tire temps for the first session. The track temperature was in the low 50s moving up to the mid 60s during the day.

Tire information	Left (outer/inner)	Right (inner/outer)
Front Pres (cold/hot)	35/41	35/42
Front Temp	107/114	110/97
Rear Pres (cold/hot)	35/42	35/41
Rear Temp	113/107	110/108

And here are the times achieved:

4:07.016*4:41.239*5:05.748*1:59.6411:51.6651:52.6551:52.804* = I think these times are odd due to timing error. It probably occured on the front straight when I let people pass, and maybe the computer got messed up? I don't know if thats possible. But thats the only thing I can think of.

Oops, I forgot to get tire temps for the second session. In fact, I didn't take any more cold tire pressure information after the first session. Call me lazy. Here are my session two times:

1:51.2073:46.070*5:37.952*1:52.3521:52.1571:52.3041:53.732* = See above.

Session three info:

Tire information	Left (outer/inner)	Right (inner/outer)
Front Pres	40	40
Front Temp	124/120	116/118
Rear Pres	40	40
Rear Temp	115/112	110/111

1:53.3281:52.8743:47.188*1:54.4281:54.0161:51.0011:52.0931:51.654* = See above.

:: Hackfu 23:31 [+] ::
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Just got the car smogged. It passed of course, but here, for all of internet posterity, are the results:

Test Speed	@ 15 MPH	@ 25 MPH
RPM	1876	1808
Meas %CO2	15.0	15.0
Meas %O2	0.0	0.0
HC(PPM) Max	86	51
HC(PPM) Ave	21	13
HC(PPM) Meas	4	9
CO(%) Max	0.50	0.48
CO(%) Ave	0.06	0.05
CO(%) Meas	0.01	0.02
NO(PPM) Max	797	724
NO(PPM) Ave	168	152
NO(PPM) Meas	1	2
Test Result	Pass	Pass
Mileage	126574

- Some definitions:
CO₂ = Carbon Dioxide
O₂ = Oxygen
HC = Hydro Carbon
CO = Carbon Monoxide
NO = Nitrogen Oxide
PPM = Parts Per Million (How many particles there are per million particles)
Max = Maximum allowable emissions
Ave = Average emissions for passing vehicles
Meas = Amount Measured

:: Hackfu 21:49 [+] ::
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Things I did this week:
1) Put on a Maximum Mustang pinion snubber. What is a pinion snubber? It's basically a rubber bump-stop that prevents the differential from hitting the floor pan. Differential hitting floor pan not good. Anyway, the MM snubber is a lot shorter than stock, so it'll let my progressive rate springs do their job. Anyway, now I can drive without hearing and feeling that annoying THUNK whenever I hit a big bump.
2) Put in a 110lph fuel pump. Stock is something like 80lph, so I wanted something more. One day, oh yes, one day I will add larger fuel injectors. Not too much larger, probably just one step higher. Anyway, with a little over 125,000 miles on the dial, it's probably more for preventative maintenance than anything else.
3) Cleaned out Mass Air Flow sensor. Thanks to a link over at v6power.net, I was able to find a Technical Service Bulletin about contaminated sensors. Basically the MAF sensor gets too dirty to register a correct reading. I hooked up my OBD2 diagnostic equipment and checked ambient barometric pressure, and it was at 19 inches of mercury. That’s as if my car was at an altitude of over 11,000 feet! No wonder I was getting codes P0171 and P0174 (lean in banks one and two). So basically I just popped open the big black MAF case and took apart the little sensor from the metering tube. It uses T-20 torx bolts, but I used pliers and muscled them out. When I saw the sensors I was shocked .They were both covered in a thick layer of grime. I used contact cleaner and large chunks of the sludge flew off, but there was still more crap. I then resorted to drastic measures and used a Kleenex brand tissue and gently rubbed the remaining deposits away. One more dousing in contact cleaner and then I blew on the sensor to let it dry. After I bolted everything back together, I reset the barometric number by disconnecting then reconnecting the MAF as the engine was idling. Almost immediately the barometric number rose from 19 to 27. Basically I dropped from over 11,000 feet to 3,000. Not quite at 200 which is what it should be at, but close enough. I’m sure with a few more drive cycles, it’ll settle down. Regardless, before I drove home I reset the computer. No CE light yet but then again, I’ve only completed one drive cycle.

Conclusion?
After all the modifications and general maintenance, I must say the car responds a lot more to throttle. In fact the motor has a lot of pep. I’m seriously starting to think about doing the 4.2L cam swap. However, I still need to do the clutch swap.

:: Hackfu 01:53 [+] ::
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Finished installing the following yesterday (car had about 118,200 miles on the clock):

1) Tokico Illumina shocks (all four corners)
2) Tokico Springs (all four corners)
3) Power Slot slotted rotors and pads (fronts only)
4) New passenger side ball joint
5) New passenger side brake caliper mounting bolts (the bolts that mount the caliper itself to the caliper carrier)

All in all, a very productive upgrade. It took a long time to do this because of the difficulty in removing the steering knuckle and ball joint. The trick is to use heat!

Anyway, I think the front of the car is a bit high, so I'm thinking about cutting half a coil off the front springs.

The car rides noticeably better. Way better. I also have a strut tower brace (put that in less than 2000 miles ago). On "5" all the way around, the car handles like a go-kart! Well, as close to a go-kart as a Mustang is gonna get at any rate. Right now, I have the fronts at 1 and the rears at 3. I'm thinking 1 in the front and 2 in the rear is the best. Right now the back feels too stiff.

:: Hackfu 13:52 [+] ::
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Okay. I've had those Kumho Ecsta 712's on my car for about 2 months now. They work fantastically. Very little sqealing noise. I'm running 38psi (cold) in all four tires right now. When I was running 36psi (cold) all around it was fine... but I'm just experimenting right now. I do notice that its a bit harsher and that the tires natural dampening qualities have subsided abit. When I go to the track, I think I'll drop the pressure down to around 32-34 or so. Oh well. I can't wait. The next track day is in April. I hope to have that dent fixed and some suspension upgrades done by then.

:: Hackfu 11:02 [+] ::
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Theres a track day going on today at the Streets of Willow course. I would've gone if it weren't for the fact that I don't have enough money for tires. Thankfully, there'll be another track day coming up in two months. Hopefully I can save up some money for new tires and cheap track rims.

:: Hackfu 10:54 [+] ::
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I hope to purchase Kumho Ecsta 712's soon. 255/55-16.
I think I'm gonna get some cheap rims from Pep Boys for them.
Hopefully I won't spend more than $500 for everything.

:: Hackfu 00:24 [+] ::
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My First Track Day

Its official, I'm a confirmed track driving addict. I'm trying to figure out ways to acquire additional "fundage" to provide for my track addiction.

Okay, let me tell you how this all began. Occasionally, due to my line of work, we'll be out at a road course testing something or other. During the course of the day, there are various lulls that allow me to go out and make futile attempts at driving my car as fast as I can. Usually, I have no clue what I'm doing. I just do what feels right.

Anyway, while I was out learning how to rock-climb with my ex-roommate, shooting buddy and good guy all-around BarnYard, I get a phone call. It's my co-worker, hell-raiser and good guy all-around Minime.

"Dude, my pops and I just finished a track day with POC (Porsche Owners Club) and you need to come out."

"But I don't have a Porsche."

"I talked to the lead instructor, Rich, and he says its totally cool… you need to come out!"

"When?"

"Tomorrow at seven"

"Um… okay."

The very next day, I'm out at the Streets track getting my car teched and paying my registration fees. They hand me a transponder and wish me on my merry way. I hook up with an instructor and head out when they call my run group (yellow).

I've driven on the Streets track before, so I'm familiar with the 1.5 mile-long circuit. However, I'm not familiar with driving my car at its very limit. Let's just say I need new tires.

Session Recap

Session One*
Getting Faster...
My first run was spent getting comfortable at speed. My instructor taught me a new way of handling a car. Instead of crossing your arms while turning the steering wheel, "walk" your hands across the wheel as you use slight movements to slide the wheel through your hands. I found that this aided my mid-corner corrections. The steadily dropping time reflects my increased car handling skillz as well as familiarity with the course.

Lap Time
1 1:35.495
2 1:35.878
3 1:36.209
4 1:32.444
5 1:32.187
6 1:30.695

Avg. 1:33.818

Session Two*
Dust Showers...
During the first lap of the second run, I spun out on the last corner (skidpad turn) before the front straight. The skidpad turn is a right hand turn that has numerous entry, mid-corner and exit points. I used an early apex turn and ran over the bumpy stuff located on the inside of the corner. This, combined with enthusiastic application of the throttle, ended up causing a horrid oversteer condition. I tried correcting it, but ended up over-correcting and sending it into another oversteer condition, this time the other way. This happened two more times before I just gave up. Off the track and into the dirt we went.

The other laps were uneventful as I still had confidence in my tires. I completed three good laps, and on my fifth lap I spun out again. This time it was purely my fault. There's a chicane in the track and most of the fast guys go over the curbing at the apexes. I tried it and found out my suspension and tires don't enjoy that kind of treatment. What made it worse was that I attacked the chicane faster than I usually did. This caused my car to be very unsettled. So unsettled, that I couldn't recover it from the spin out. We went off the track sideways but ended up pointing the right direction.

Lap Time
1 Spin out
2 1:32.111
3 1:31.290
4 1:31.250
5 Spin out

Avg. 1:31.550

Session Three
Pracktiss, praktice, practice...
I did the third session solo. I found the car to accelerate quicker, but it was more nervous going through the sweepers and not as planted through the slower corners. I need to get my car corner weighted and properly balanced. Combine that with my lack of confidence at my tires and the times begin to make sense. Instead of going for outright fast laps, I chose to work on consistency. I discovered a certain speed range where my tires wouldn't object too much and chose to work on car placement and braking points.

Lap Time
1 1:33.699
2 1:34.173
3 1:35.513
4 1:35.629
5 1:34.469
6 1:34.159
Avg. 1:34.507

Session Four, Time Trials
Consistency...
For the time trails, I really put all the stuff together to come up with those two laps. They're not very fast, in fact they were the slowest of all the time trail guys out there. I just wanted to be consistent. Oh well. I never said I was a fast guy. Just for comparison, Minime did a 1:21.62.

I can't wait till the next event!

Lap One 1:33.64
Lap Two 1:33.67
Avg. 1:33.655

* = Driving with instructor

:: Hackfu 23:04 [+] ::
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