RX8 JET

Anyone heading to RA on the weekend of Apr 29th & 30th?

BlueRenesis82

what event?

RX8 JET

It's with the BMW CCA Windy City chapter. When I wnet in 2002, it was very well run and I had a good experience.

BlueRenesis82

Hope you have fun, with the new pavement it looks a lot better, but a lot of the navigation points have not changed at all, but there are some cool new buildings too

RX8 JET

Just wanted to share some info and ask a question to something funny (wierd) that happen to me.

Saturday was semi-good but Sunday was awful.

It rained all Saturday night and Sunday which made it cold, wet and very slick. The new pavement was OK for the most part. Truthfully, other parts of the track were slicker and more unpredictable.

Anyways, I was able to get 3 runs in Saturday in the dry. I had a couple of things happen that I am not sure whether to worry or not that I am hoping someone out there can answer.

I had out of balance front left which shook the car very violently around 85+mph. (I believe a wheel weight must have fallen off). I also had an engine warning light flash on and off periodically and then stayed on. This was after the first session. When I had a guy read the code off of an OBD-II, it said it was a cylinder 2 missfire. He cleared the code and I drove on the normal roads to see if it would come back and it didn't. There were no signs of any lost power or sensation during any of the track drive or highway drive.

For the second session I had moved the out of balance tire to the rear and now I got a seat jiggle drive. The engine light flashed on again but only periodically and never stayed on at start up like after the first session.

For the third session, I was able to get the tire rebalanced and there was no light flash at all.

My question is that could the vibration cause the engine to have misfired under those high rev / sustained speed times? Are they related?

Here is an OK pics. from Saturday.

BlueRenesis82

did you whack the rev limiter? were you able to rev the engine normally? What times did you run?


wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

RX8 JET

Yes I did hit the rev limiter warning a few times, but I know that did not cause my problem because the problem happened before I did it.
The engine rev'd normally. If you never had a light indicator, you would never have knwon anything was wrong. There was no power hesitation or interuption, no funny sounds, etc.

I pulled off a 2:54 while duelling with a V8 S4 and a E36 M3 (that did not look too stock).

BlueRenesis82

I have run a 2:54 before too, that is really hustling around there, what mods are you rocking?

RX8 JET

Just sway bars (Mazdaspeed) & springs (Eibach). I did have R's on (710's). For my ego, I hope you had R's too!!!

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Was that with the Turn 11 kink or chicane?

Matt RX8

Hi RX8 Jet, it was nice to meet you at the event. I was in the black RX-8 in another run group and we spoke for a bit.


Al,
that day was with the kink but they used an 85 mph (radar enforced) speed limit through the kink. The lap times would have been much better had we been allowed to go all out.

BlueRenesis82

mine with with the kink

BlueRenesis82

i was running a different brake pad, but I was on street tires. I remember I was hitching a tow from a s2000 down the front straight, so i was going quite a bit quicker than usual.

RX8 JET

That was with the kink but speed limited to 85mph through the kink (Windy City BMW rules).
I had to brake well before the knik to be at 85 just after a black patch (where they put the cones).

Apparent this was better that having to use the chicane. This was my first time back there in years. They apparently were using the chicane in previous years but it supposely had caused a lot of disapproval and some issues but I did not know what they were.

RX8 JET

Hi RB,

Came by before I left to say good-bye and nice to have met you, but I couldn't find you. I left early (around noon). My guy wasn't big on the wet and was nervous about the whole time. I thought it best also to start back earlier so I could get back to at least Ann Arbor, Mi by night fall so I could make the rest of my trip to Toronto easier.

Anyways, hope you will keep in touch. May be I'll see you in Mid-Ohio in July.

PS Did you talk to the other RX8 (red) guy. Unfortuantely he was never relly there when I was free to talk. If so, how did he like it?

RX8 JET

There goes my ego!!!!
Nice job.

BlueRenesis82

kink is a lot more fun if its not speed limited

Matt RX8

When you came to say goodbye I was probably huddled in the classroom trying to stay warm and dry.

I stayed all day but took it really easy my last session after two of my BMW friends put their cars into the wall at turn 14.

So far, in July I have only scheduled one day at Blackhawk Farms. I'd like to get back to Mid Ohio though. That track was a ton of fun. Next weekend I'll watch the ALMS race on TV from Mid-Ohio. Although after 6 track days already this year, I am getting a little bored with the HPDE stuff and might take a stab at Solo I (time attack) since I enjoy competition.

Didn't get a chance to talk to the Red RX-8 guy.

One of my friends in your run group (modded Silver EVO) mentioned that you looked really good out there and were carrying a lot of speed through the corners.

RX8 JET

Many thanks to him for the compliments.
The hair on my arms would agree. My instructor had me going pretty well, with a few different things I never would have thought of trying because it was pretty gutsy to try without any experience. Since he had seen other racers try it and got good results with it (since they were going faster than he in relatively equal cars).
I felt good that he was comfortable enough with me that he would offer this to me to try. He was really pumped that I was able to do it and even more so that what he had taught me actually worked based on how I was able to stay with higher HP cars.

Have you ever tried Solo1 before? How does it work?

Matt RX8

Solo I is high speed autocross. Basically similar to autocross but you don't have any cones and it takes place on a racetrack.
With the group I'll run with, you have practice sessions (basically open lapping) in the morning and then 3 timed one lap runs from a standing start. Your runs are about 45 minutes apart so your tires will be cold at the beginning of your runs. You compete against other cars in your class.

I don't have a prayer of placing first since one of my buddies holds many local track records and he races in my class. The same guy was turning laps in my own car about 2.6 seconds faster than me at Mid Ohio after I let him borrow my car after blowing his engine.

RX8 JET

How do they establish which class you are in?

BlueRenesis82

you prob have a base class, and then you move depending on mods. thats the way its normally done

Matt RX8

^ what he said.

The way this club works is our cars are classed as A stock so we compete against stuff like G35s, S2000s, E36 M3s, etc...

You get 2 points for mods before you move to a prepared class and then a few more points before you move to a prepared class.

R comps are 3 points, springs are 2 points, shock are free, etc.