L8APEX

just watched the vid, it does look like the exit of 7 is a little rough now, hopefully they will take care of that.

I liked the part were it was all 3 8's, that was cool. car sounds good John, cna't wait to play lead follow next time I actually get out.

TA, how do you like the new 17's?

TrackAddict

STF - The car isn't skating. The suspension is pretty soft though. I am running Bilstein HD shocks which are a little more damped than stock but not much. My setup is really not hard core at all. In the new section where Onrails is bouncy, my car just gently follows the surface bumps. I am also on the stock rear sway. I think I could benefit from added stiffness but I am not changing anything this year unless it is free.

I played around with the entrance into 3 and settled on a turn in with a mid corner apex. During the course of the weekend I discovered that mid corner speed can be maintained if I keep a decent amount of maintenance throttle in 3rd gear there. On my hot laps Sunday I was shifting into 4th midway between 3 and 4.
Turn 8 has lots of speed left for me as does the kink. I am over slowing for 8 and I know it. I agree that a later turn in will shave some serious time. If I can pick up 5mph through there it means significant lap time savings.

The Kink - I am leaving a lot here too. But I am doing so knowingly. I just don't want to push that hard as the prize money won't even cover a box of tissue if I have a problem and burst into tears.

L8APEX - The OZ Superleggeras are great! 17X8 and low weight (not sure how low but a hell of a lot lower than the stockers). The overall wheel/tire diameter is not much smaller than the 245/40/18s I used before. I was on the Koni Challenge Hoosiers in the spec size of 225/45/17. I have a lot to learn to get good performance out of these tires. I think I was running too high a pressure in them. I need to back down off the cold pressures so they get to the right hot pressure and stay there a whole session. I found that they were at optimal grip on lap 2. By the end of 2 or 3 hot lap they started sliding. The slide was very predictable and progressive but it is a bit unnerving to be exiting 3 with a handful of opposite lock or coming out of 4 to set up for 5,6,7 in a similar fashion. I would like to try out some 245/40 Hoosiers. That would put me in TTD with +19 points.

OnRails

Here is another video for you. These were some of the best laps I had time wise. Best I was able to do was a 1:52+
My car would be classed in TTC as currently configured. Mostly due to the 275 width tires. I figured 21 points with my current setup. TTC cars were running in the 1:48 - 1:49 range.

This video is in WMV format and is about 37 MB. Right Click and download.

Best Laps 1

TrackAddict

Very nice! Looks like I am lucky to not have to run against you! I think you would be in TTC with 3 points.
Tires +14
Shocks +3
Springs +2
Intake +1
Cat delete +1
Header/Manifold back exhaust +2
To run with the TTC guys I would do a RB flash, add sway bars and see what additional weight can be removed.

OnRails

I forgot to add in the intake.

I figured it like this:

Tires +14
Shocks +3
Springs +2
Intake +1
Cat Delete +1
Catback +1

The exhaust part is confusing for me. In our car there is no difference between header back with cat delete (+3) and catback with cat delete (+2). Either way I am over the limit for TTD. 22 or 23 points.

I cant see doing any real weight reduction and sways are going to make the car too stiff IMO. I may break out the old canzoomer and do some tuning.

L8APEX

i voted for the new layout, because I want to try it in April. It will be the only time I go to CMP this year, so I would like to try the new layout.

dbright007

Yup, voted new also

olddragger

iTrader: (3)

Ta I found the best pressure for my 225/45/17 was cold at 33-34 all the way around. Course different setups may call for different pressures
Got a little more grunt coming out of the corner doesnt it?
OD

TrackAddict

It was hard to tell if I had more grunt or if I was just going faster than last time. The last time I was at CMP I would keep it in 3rd out of 3 reaching the top of the gear before slowing for 4. This time I was in 4th midway between corners. The diameter difference between 245/40/18 and 225/45/17 is under 3%. However, the OZ superleggeras are really light!

Stop&TurnFreak

TA, what size tires where you running? Also, is this configuration faster, and if so, by how much?

TrackAddict

Running 225/45/17 Hoosier Grand Am Cup tires. The new config is definately faster. I think it varies by car. It was significant in a low torque car like mine since it is one less braking/acceleration zone. I was about 7 seconds faster. Other classes were 4 - 8 seconds faster. Check out the time trial records pages and compare the "classic" config versus the new config for CMP.

Stop&TurnFreak

7s WOW.

What kind of tire wear did you guys experience there?

STF