NUFAN Posted May 4, 2004 Report Share Posted May 4, 2004 I know that I posted this in the member announcement forum already, but I don't see too many threads about racing on road courses.I spent monday at thunderhill raceway, about an hour and a half north of Sacracmento, California, with the local chapter of the volvo club of america. The high for the day reached 100 degrees, and by 7am that morning when we showed up to the track it was already 75 degrees out. I was actually surprised at how well my car did in that heat. No signs of overheating throughout the day, and power was still plentiful. My brakes held up fairly well, although during my first two track sessions they had a tendency to shudder(both front and rear) once they had heated up after only a few laps around the track. This led me to believe that they had warped but after letting them cool down after every session, the shudder was always gone for the start of the next session. Maybe they just needed a heat cycle or two to really get going as my afternoon track sessions did not produce the same shuddering that I experienced during the morning track sessions.We ran in 3 groups, 1, 2, and 3, with 1 being the beginner's group and 3 being the most experienced group with a race prepped P1800 and 740 Turbo running in it, these two cars just flew around the track.My tires took a pretty hard beating over the course of the day, I have the bridgestone S-03's. They really helped with handling I feel, but if I intend to do anymore racing, a set of track tires are going to be necessary as the S-03's seem a little too soft for the track.Around the track, my car behaved pretty much as I expected. The tendency was for it to understeer, and judging speed was important in being able to hit the apex and turn exits on the right line. A few times I found myself coming into corners a little too hot and this often led to me missing the apex and trying to avoid shooting off the tracking while the car exihibited heavy understeer. I was really pleased with my suspension and tires though as I was able to make it around the track pretty fast and controlled, which I know is a lot better than my stock suspension and wheel set up would have allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hum Jim Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 I had a great time. Thanks to Lee and everyone at the track that made it go so smooooothly. I got alot out of the day and only ran of the track one time oops....I'm hoping someone got photos of my car on the track, I would love a copy.By the last two runs my tranny was getting so hot the upshift light would start blinking before the end of the run. It didn't show at all on the drive home(I hope it's ok) I think i'll try a different ATF next time I flush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DougK Posted May 5, 2004 Report Share Posted May 5, 2004 Very cool Micheal, thats how you learn We'll go out an do some serious moutian racing together... we'll have fun ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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