Buttonwillow Raceway - New Personal Best

[cornerspeed92]

Originally Posted by Orange Crush 1LE

Man that does sound fun, but I just mapped it - 11 hour drive!
Tempting, but my plan is to run the new Thunderhill 5-mile course June 7 - 8 to get my big track fix

Maybe next year

Hey Todd, since this thread was brought back up, howdy :-) Anything positive with your motor? Yeah, this Utah drive is 10 hrs for me as well. My main focus for 2015 is COTA, this way it will be a 2 day drive for each of us, haha! But seriously, it would be cool to get a few of us and make the trek.

[damian559]

Was it Mike Manning who had the Viper ACR?

[Orange Crush 1LE]

Originally Posted by Balok

OC 1LE, thank you for this thread! I've learned a TON just reading everything. I'm a new Camaro owner and a total noob to tracking and ran in my 1st HPDE at VIR a couple of months ago. I'm hooked and am looking ahead and preparing for my next event in November. I'm so glad you posted pics of your trailer and hitch because that is the perfect setup for me too! I have a few questions though if you would be so kind as to indulge me, lol.

1) Do you remove the hitch while you're on the track or leave it on? It looks like it's only 2 nuts and one bolt to remove if it's this hitch?

2) Do you leave the camber settings like you mention all the time or do you set them back for street use assuming you drive that beast more than just going to and from the track?

3) You mention the tire wear, do you check temps after each session across the tire?

4) Finally, I want to purchase a dedicated set of wheels/tires for the track as well. Do you know what the best size/width would be for a stock SS? I assume you want as wide of a tire as possible for maximum grip?

Thanks again!

Reading your first track experience sounds a lot like what mine was. It's funny how I wanted to see what it's like to push a car on the road course, but really didn't expect to get hooked the way I have. I didn't know what hit me- next thing you know I'm looking for any opportunity to track. And for me, it just keeps getting better, so hopefully it'll be the same for you! Answers to to your questions:

1) Yes, that's the hitch, it a quality unit. I leave the receiver attached all the time, but of course I pull the drawbar/ball out. It's not that heavy and at least the weight is rear biased so it improves weight balance rather than worsens it. You do have a point though, it wouldn't be hard to remove it. It's just that I feel like I have my hands full already swapping track tires on, setting pressure, Etc.

2) I leave the camber set this way all the time. Tire wear is more rapid, but I'm okay making that compromise. I drive it on the street now and then but these days it's primarily a track car. I'm currently running -2.9 degrees front camber and will be increasing it since I'll be competing in NASA again once my engine is rebuilt. If you want a street/track alignment, I'd recommend Pete's alignment specs (formerly of Pedders): -2.2 degrees front / -1.1 degrees rear camber, 0.25 deg toe-out per side, front (a couple of people recommended less, more like 0.16 deg toe-out per side max), 0.10 toe-in per side, rear. That set up will wear tires a little more quickly than stock, but the car will come alive. Alignment is so important for track performance. My alignment guy slotted the mounting points for the front suspension to give this amount of camber, stock doesn't allow it. I've heard some people have camber plates that have camber marked on them, so that you can set them at the track. For me I keep it simple and just know that I have to replace tires more often.

3) Yes I have measured temp across the tire at the track, but you have to do it immediately after you come off the track, hopefully with not too much of a cool down. I'm going to have a friend waiting in the paddock for me during a session and I'll come off and drive to him right away to get an accurate measurement. It's on my to do list.

4) For tire size, that's a tough one to answer, it depends on how extreme you want to go. For most, I think a set of around 19x10.5 front and 19x11 rear with 305/30-19s would be ideal. But if you really want to go all out like I did, I'm running 315/30-18s front and rear, on 18x11 front and 18x12 rear. They do stick out of the wheel wells a bit, but I don't mind since they're track-dedicated wheels. At some point I'm hoping to get some Z/28-like fender flares to reduce lift/drag. I'd probably do 18x11.5 rear if I were to do it over again. The advantages on track are clear- it lowers the car 1.3" (diameter 2.6" smaller than stock), and the grip is just amazing. However, you must modify your front spindles to clear the tires. John at CCW can show you what needs to be done, and I can send you pics. You grind a way a non-structural part of the spindle, so strength isn't affected. The clearance between the wheels and suspension arms is so close in the rear that I have to ensure the wheel weights are not too close to the outer bead on the inside, or the weights will be knocked off by the suspension arm! So you have to really want it to go to 18s. Oh, and most 18s won't fit, John at CCW can set you up. Also, I have a small rub on the rear suspension arm at full compression so I have to run .19" thick spacers to avoid that. If you get CCWs, make sure they get the offset corrected from what they sold me. 19s are best for most people.

As an aside, the best upgrade you can make is to the nut behind the wheel, LOL. Fly into Vegas and take the Ron Fellows Level 1 class, you will learn so much and your confidence and speed on the track will improve dramatically. I'm a big believer, in fact I've taken Level 1, Level 2, and a 2-day private lesson.

Looking forward to reading about your future on track adventures.

[Orange Crush 1LE]

Originally Posted by cornerspeed92

Hey Todd, since this thread was brought back up, howdy :-) Anything positive with your motor? Yeah, this Utah drive is 10 hrs for me as well. My main focus for 2015 is COTA, this way it will be a 2 day drive for each of us, haha! But seriously, it would be cool to get a few of us and make the trek.

Hey Mark,

Things are moving forward on the motor, it's still early yet because the builder is trying to catch up on a backlog of work after moving to their new shop. I think it's gonna work out fine.

There's a small chance I could join you at Miller Motorsports in Utah since this year's NASA series is out the window for me. It's a longshot but if the motor is done and it works out, I'd love to join you! With that long straight I'd probably have to dial my wing angle way down. In 2015 I hope to be competing in NASA time trials full time, likely making it down to Buttonwillow a couple of times as well. So COTA is probably out, but never say never!

[Orange Crush 1LE]

Originally Posted by damian559

Was it Mike Manning who had the Viper ACR?

Mike Buckingham, you can see his bad ass ride in the background of the third picture in my first post.

[Spoolin]

Originally Posted by Orange Crush 1LE

As an aside, the best upgrade you can make is to the nut behind the wheel, LOL. Fly into Vegas and take the Ron Fellows Level 1 class, you will learn so much and your confidence and speed on the track will improve dramatically. I'm a big believer, in fact I've taken Level 1, Level 2, and a 2-day private lesson.

Last week I saw you mention this school so I looked it up and tried signing up for their July 9-11th Level 1 session but they are booked up so I'm on the waiting list.
Probably end up signing up for their August classes. We'll see!

[Orange Crush 1LE]

Originally Posted by Spoolin

Last week I saw you mention this school so I looked it up and tried signing up for their July 9-11th Level 1 session but they are booked up so I'm on the waiting list.
Probably end up signing up for their August classes. We'll see!

Righteous! You won't regret it. You can stay right there in a track-side condo for a reasonable price. Keep us posted on how you like it.