20 replies to this topic

[Racehatch]

Hey guys,

I'm taking the torrie out for the first meeting of this year this saturday, because its a 1 day meeting it goes into the evening I'll be doing my first night race.... ! Should be fun, although I'm stuck on my crappy old A032R tyres so it could be bit slippery..

At this stage there will be me (Torana LH Sedan) and an LX Sedan plus a Hatch racing, we're all around the same pace so it should be fun.

If you come down, make sure you come past and say hi, its a orange and black sedan, number 11.

cheers,

Sam

Edited by 350LH, 22 March 2007 - 09:34 AM.

[Racehatch]

Just going to have some breakfast, load the car, and I'm off to the track. Its looking pretty unsettled outside, looks like there could be a bit of rain today, just hoping it stays dry for long enough for me to get a couple of laps in and sort the brake balance out (just installed a new dual master cylinder setup).

Kaz - thanks, as long as I keep her in one piece I'll be happy!

Craig - cool man, would be great to meet ya, best of luck to your partner, should be a fun meeting

cheers,

Sam

[Racehatch]

Hey everyone,

Well I had an awesome weekend, fair bit of rain on the friday practice, but still managed to get a handle on the new brake system, started off with a pretty hard unresponsive pedal, but swapped the master cylinders around (smaller to the front) and this seems to have helped the "feel" of things.

Saturday came, there was a bit of drizzle in the morning, but cleared up by early arvo. Had quite a few entries so practice/qualifying was pretty busy, managed to qualify mid pack, which was okay, but it was hard to get a clear run. First race, got a poor start, with lots of wheelspin :( Lost a few positions but as the race went on I manged to get some back, biggest buzz was doing a PB lap! Managed to do a 1.21.9, my previous best was 1.22.5 so very happy with that!

Second race was a debarcle.... Major crash in turn 2 on the first lap, ended up behind the saftey car for 4 of the 8 laps, made a couple more positions (mainly through cars breaking/smashed). Nothing too eventful though. The final race was the best, started at 8.30pm - was a real buzz running in the dark, absolutley loved it! Had a great dice with a escort, commodore and torana, manged to get past and was chasing the next guy ahead - but lost power coming out of the souther hairpin.... I'd had a minor fuel problem earlier on (crap in the tank) which was blocking the filter... I thought I got it all out, but obviously not.. grrrr So all the hard work went to waste...

Was pretty dissapointing, but at least there were no big accidents (for me) and no major mechanical problems. The new roll cage definately made a difference in the handling department, feels more stable in the high speed turns, which gives you more confidence.

A big thanks to Craig (Toranamuk) for giving me a relay to try (when I was trying to find the source of the fuel problem), your a legend mate, I owe you one!

Was also great to catch up with another Craig (HatchmanSS76), still looking a little bleary eyed (I think the hatchling has been keeping them busy!) Looking forward to seeing the night shots...

Thanks for the comments Pete, definately looking forward to the Phillip Island round at the end of the year, still working getting some interest from some of the other SA runners - we have a club meeting tonight, so I'll see how I go...

cheers,

Sam

[Racehatch]

Thanks for the pics Craig, I'll have to make sure I fix that flare so the piping doesnt come out next time...

The fuel system thing was a bit of a pain in the a$$.... Pulled the fuel filter off it when I got home and it was blocked again, so the tank will come out and get a proper clean.... It just typical how those little things cost you so much in a race... As mentioned definately learning more each time I head out, the adjustments to the braking system are allowing me to brake deeper and harder than before, and I think this has alot to do with the time I've made since my last outing...

With any luck I will have the new wheel/tyre package sorted by the next meeting (not 100% sure yet), and I'm looking forward to finally getting out on some new rubber. Should be able to make some good gains there, looking to get into the 20's and then eventually into the high teens.... But it does get harder to make improvements in times from here on in....I also want to measure and possibly uprate the front springs, and work on adjusting the steering to try and minimise the bump steer (is unsettling the car a fair bit over the bumps in turn 1) this will also lead to some re valving of the shocks to suit.

Its just the best fun getting out there and going flat out.. The red mist decends, ppl all around you as you go flat out door to door into the first corner... its pretty amazing! You dice with the cars near you, make a pass (or get passed) and by the end of it you are buzzing with adrenalin.... Its really cool when you are on your slow down lap, all the lap marshals clap as you go past the flag points, and when you come into the pits, spectators come up to the fence and wave at you as you go past... what a buzz

cheers,

Sam

[Racehatch]

Congrats Sam seems like you had fun doing your PB lap haha, have u sorted your fuel filter issues out yet? if you said u cleaned it out before, you might be picking up shit where your buying your fuel from. I take it you're category doesn't run on a controlled fuel brand? are you going to get new tyre's?

Cheers mate, and good luck for the rest of the season.

Thanks dude,

Yeah hopefully I've sorted the fuel pickup problem, it was more than just crap in the filter, looks like it was related to the new fuel tank that I had put in, been busy over the last few nights, pulling it out and making some mods to it. In a nutshell it wasnt baffled properly and fuel was moving away from the pickup on some of the longer corners. Made a hinged baffle that should fix it. We dont run a control fuel, and I usually buy it from the track, I just didnt clean the tank out well enough before I installed it...

Not 100% locked in for round 2, money has been a bit tight, and there's still a bit of stuff I need for the car.... I've organised 16" wheels, should have the tyres early next month. Just stuffing around with wheel spacers at the moment... Basically lots of little small things but they all add up!

[Racehatch]

Yeah its around -4degrees, I've got it written down somewhere, might be backing it off a bit as the A048's apparently like a bit less neg. When we measure it all up I'll let ya know

[Racehatch]

Running on slicks will be awesome, you wont believe the cornerning forces you will get compared to the regular tyres... soooooo much fun!

[Racehatch]

Yeah my car has the flares mounted much higher than they should be, they were that way when I bought it, I would mount them lower but the guards underneath are cut real high up too....

I dont actually think the ride height is that much different between the cars, and I'm not too sure what spring rate and shock setup he is running (or what bar for that matter).. Might ask him next race meeting.

I'll see if I can dig up the installed height measurement, time to get those notes in order....