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Arizona Motorsports Park Dec run

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Finally made it back to the track this past weekend and had a great outing at Arizona Motorsports Park. Temps were in the low 50’s in the morning, which made for some challenges – more power and less grip. First two sessions where very crowded, so I end up letting lots of folks pass. But on the third and forth session, I did most of the passing as I got into a good groove with lots of open space. Brake pads held up like a champ…I could have gone deeper on many occasions, but my rotors felt like they are warping (vibration). Lap times were very consistent, but I missed my personal best by about 1 sec. Still felt like I drove much better than previous outings.

Made several mods since the last time I was out: Adjust Koni suspension, Adj Eibach sway bars, bump steer kit and several safety upgrades (roll bar, 6-point harness and HANS).

Learned a bunch of new things:
1) Cold temps and cold tires equals trouble - I ended up keeping it on the track, but several folks spun into the dirt in the first two session with temps below 60*F. I started my NT01 at 30PSI (Hot 36) and dropped them another 3PSI to get them dialed in. Dropping a little more air ended that ‘greasy’ rear end feel.
2) Stiffen up the shocks and struts – When from 75/25 (soft) to 50/50. Firming up the ride one more turn made a huge difference in navigating corners and reducing body roll.
3) Keep the RPMS up – I tried to do less shifting and by keeping it near the red line into multiple, back-to-back turns. This resulted in pushing out of the turns much more quickly in 2nd gear.
4) Practice fitting into your gear – I should have practiced getting in and out of my new safety gear more prior to the event. I was a bit clumsy getting into the harness and HANS, adjusting my phone and GoPro, etc. I was getting better by the end of the day, but it took some practice.

Instead of posting my raw lap footage, I decided to do a few snippets of video I captured from my phone (Harry’s Lap Timer) and my GoPro mounted in a few locations, and mix it with a tune (turn down the volume if you don't like Metallica and haven't had 2 cups of coffee :D). I made the video for more entertainment value, since the raw footage gets a little dry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGA_x6ZbVyI
 

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