BOSS Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[VoodooBoss]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unbelievable museum...just wow. All original cars with great history. No kits/clones.. I was like a kid in a candy store.

http://s1290.photobucket.com/user/Keavdog/library/Track%20Attack

Oh yeah. Who gave you the tour? I was in Monterey at the hotel where the GT 40 used in filming LeMans was sold during the Historics last August. There was applause from the crowd when $10M was announced. The next day at LS I ran into Bill and asked him about it. He was told that morning that a very special car was purchased the night before and to make room for it. I see it made it there safely. ;D My understanding is that is the most ever paid for an American made car.

 

[Fiddler49]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, stupid question time. I'm going next week (4/9-4/10), and I typically wear Sketchers with the rounded soles. For heel/toe stuff, would I be better off with flat soled shoes?

 

[Keavdog]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would think so

 

[Keavdog]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They gave me a beautiful Grabber Blue 2013 Boss. First day was a blast.

 

[Fiddler49]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like you're having a great time Keavdog! My turn next week...

 

[dabossinnne]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Bryan! Hope to meet you when I'm out there for BTA May 5-8.

 

[Keavdog]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On my way home. Now I'm jealous of all you guys who have dates booked.
Great time.

Fr500s. Mid day session. Almost a full lap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8rKG4I916s

 

[Boss2207]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just got back from Track Attack (Dinner on 4/1, Boss day on 4/2, GT on 4/3).

Did a "terrible" job the first day in the boss (Race Red #2), losing control a few times although recovering it before hitting the dirt each time. Instructors described my technique as basically backwards and needed to calm down. Scared the living crap out of myself and my wife in the driving guest GT caught me. How embarrassing, right?

Second day, we were both in the GT's while the rest (3) were in the FR500's. Did much better.

Thoughts:
1. Wish people would show up on time.
2. The first day track attack folks got a card with a 10% discount on merchandise in the store, but the second crew (us) didn't. The guy at the merchandise desk was very nice and gave us the discount anyway, but the instructors had no idea what the story was there. Rather confusing.
3. The take-homes for the boss drivers were awesome: Trophy, certificate, t-shirt and flash drive with photos. (We were also supposed to get gloves like the owner's kit said, but they only had small, medium and extra large. I received assurances that they'd mail a pair of larges when they got in.) The $1300 riding guests got... a bag of brochures. That's right, I got to spend that night with an irate wife who very legitimately pointed out that legally and on the insurance paperwork that SHE was just as much the boss owner as me, and that she went through the whole training and the Miller Motorsports school couldn't at least print her out a certificate of completion? That was on top of her complaints for the last two months about how she wasn't able to drive a boss the first day, not even as an option for the driving guest (like the second day everyone had the choice between the GT and the FR500S? Might have been nice to have the Boss as an option for the driving guest)
4. Second day was great. Different set of teachers (same message, slightly different delivery) and lots of track time. Was on the east track the first day and West track the second day. Had an absolute ball. Everyone got the certificates and t-shirts the second day. They also passed out placards, but they spelled mine and my wife's name wrong (funny since the certificates of completion which were handed out at the same time had our names correctly shown). We were re-assured we'd receive corrected placard images and it would be a simple matter for me to switch those out with a screw driver.
5. Bought track stickers, track attack stickers and a track attack banner. It was like Christmas!
6. Had a check-engine light and limp mode at the end of one of the runs, but the CEL was off by the time i got it back to the pits. Was too busy grabbing water to ask about it. Second time it happened, I brought the boss into the pits to ask an instructor (near the end of the day). By the time i got her into the pits, the CEL was solid. He poked his head in, asked, "Is the CEL solid?" It was. "Then it was probably a misfire. Nothing to worry about, go on back out."
7. The ride along the first day was mind probably the best part. After wrestling with the raw power of the boss all day, having someone with real finesse take the reins was relaxing.
8. OH MY GOD, I wish they had some kind of mod available for the boss for us tall folks. Was eventually able to find a position where i could sort of fit in the boss with the helmet on, but had problems turning my head with the roll cage and helmet not playing nice. Was better in the GT the second day because i could remove all the padding and basically sat my butt on the metal seats (still bruised but was worth it!).
9. Weather was great. For someone living in South Louisiana, the words "dry" do not do it justice. The first day it was dreary and rainy in the early morning but dried up by the afternoon and the second day was perfect weather and every knuckle on both hands dried out and broke open. Be prepared people!
10. I really wish they'd have had some 2013 Bosses available for us to drive. They said they had two, but the four bosses we were driving were all 2012s. Being able to play with the track apps on a real track might have been really awesome. I can do it here for a few hundred dollars, but I thought the point was to get to know our bosses on the track in a controlled environment?
11. Heal-toe shifting is harder than it sounds. I will need to continue working on that.
12. Did someone catch which BFGoodrich tires were advertised in the classroom? they were the same ones they had on the GT cars. Absolutely loved them on the track the second day. They had a reassuring "screech" which gave a good indication that you were approaching terminal traction and even at the end of the last 30 minute session the second day, they were predictable in performance (even if fading a bit). I want to say they were "Comp 2's". Does that sound right?
13. Would I recommend it to others? Yes, if you're lacking on track experience (like me). I would NOT recommend the driving guest unless they are seriously going to use the skills, because it's bloody expensive to bring someone ($1345 for the first day, not including limited liability, plus $1045 for the second day for the GT or $1445 for the FR500S, not including limited liability, plus airfare which was roughly $600 for each my wife and I and thankfully she likes me enough most of the time to share a rental car and a bed). I was trying to do the whole trip for under $5k and we came out just over $6k after food, rental car, etc.
14. Do not try and fly into Salt Lake "just in time," (there were a bunch of flights which promised you on the ground in salt lake an hour before the dinner). The airport does their best to stack flights incoming and leaving, but they seemed to be pretty far behind by the evenings.
15. Food variety in Salt lake is fine if you're in the mood for American or Mexican Cuisine and like Pale Ales. (I'm not much for Pale Ales, despite trying more than two dozen local specialties, I'm still not much for pale ales).
16. Would have really liked to have more time in the skid car the first day. It felt that as soon as I was starting to have a clue on what to do, it was time over.
17. The raptor assault folks were gushing over the fun they were having while we were on our second day, but it didn't look all that exciting to me. I noted that the F150's in lots around the track were all riding on stock raptor wheels.
18. Would have loved a spec sheet of the mods on the cars were were driving. When I was pressing for details, i got "They were set up 'like Laguna Secas' with the addition of a tune. a roll cage, 4 point shoulder harnesses, race compound break pads..." what else am I missing? Just would have been nice to know. I didn't get a chance to ask, but i think they were on the stock shocks, just dialed to most firm.
19. Would have loved the option to continue the classes with a third and/or fourth day track session. They said they offer 3 and 4 day training sessions which would result in professional racing licenses, but the thought of starting over basically "eating" the cost of what we've spent is dizzying.
20. The professional photographs are great. Would have really liked it if my wife's GT could have identified her on the windshield the way the Bosses were the first day (our last names were on the windshield on the passenger side). Were those windshield stickers expensive?
21. Didn't have any problem getting the trophy back through airport security. I had it in my carry-on bag.
22. The two tracks were depicted on all of the hand-outs, the class-room maps and in the way they talked *inverted* from how to tracks are depicted on the boss track attack poster that came with the owner's kit. The owners kit shows the tracks as they appear from space, with the start finish line "at the top" and the back stretches "at the bottom". As everyone who goes through the course will be exposed to, the Start-finish lines are shown as on the "bottom" of the track and the back stretches at the top. Not a big deal, but would have been cooler if the poster matched the maps at the actual track (also break out all the turns. We all treated the triple D's as a single big turn as much as possible, but the triple apex turn was labeled as Demon, Devil and Diablo on the track maps for a reason).
23. The museum was cool. Would have liked there to be more on the Boss, but i understand that Mr. Miller was a Shelby guy. (loved the book detailing the history behind each of the cars).
24. All in all, it was over too quickly. Loved the instructors. Loved the track. Loved the scenery. I learned a LOT. I know I'll be raving about it next week in the office.

 

[PJWANNABE]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It sounds like you and your wife had a great time overall. Since this program has been going on for a while and is winding down I imagine not everyone puts the same amount of enthusiasm into it as they did at first. If this was your first time driving on track it takes time to get the differences between driving on the street and driving on a road course. Everyone learns at a different pace, so don't beat yourself up about how you did. You will improve with more seat time. The main thing is that you had fun.

 

[cbj5259]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great review! Just a little over a month to go for me, can't wait.

 

[fbbob96]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 24&25 isn't soon enough for me. Damn, I'm excited. I know they say they have a photographer there and give you a flash drive with the pics of the day. Anyone know about how many they take?

 

[Boss2207]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

April 24&25 isn't soon enough for me. Damn, I'm excited. I know they say they have a photographer there and give you a flash drive with the pics of the day. Anyone know about how many they take?

My flash drive has a little over 300 pictures on it. There were 6 people on the track on day one, so I went home with roughly 50 pictures of each my wife and I in the car. Early in the day as we were doing the slow speed lead-follows to learn the lines, there were several shots with multiple cars in the picture.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone checked to see what tires the BTA cars are using? Are they the BFG Sport Comp 2's and if so how are the compared to the stock Pirelli's?

 

[Boss2207]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Has anyone checked to see what tires the BTA cars are using? Are they the BFG Sport Comp 2's and if so how are the compared to the stock Pirelli's?

I took a peek while I was there, but for the life of me, I can't remember for certain. I'm 90% sure that we were running on the stock Pirelli's on the bosses while the school's trainer GT's had the Comp 2's. Like i said above, I felt like the Comp 2's gave more audible feedback and consistent performance than the Pirelli's, but i'm much too much of a novice to be really definitive. I know that on the ride along, the Teacher's had little problem feeling the edge of the grip (although he almost lost it going into the Club-House which made me feel much better about my own troubles earlier in the day.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I took a peek while I was there, but for the life of me, I can't remember for certain. I'm 90% sure that we were running on the stock Pirelli's on the bosses while the school's trainer GT's had the Comp 2's. Like i said above, I felt like the Comp 2's gave more audible feedback and consistent performance than the Pirelli's, but i'm much too much of a novice to be really definitive. I know that on the ride along, the Teacher's had little problem feeling the edge of the grip (although he almost lost it going into the Club-House which made me feel much better about my own troubles earlier in the day.

I doubt they are using Pirelli's. BFG/Michelin is a the main sponsor for the track. I was there the second week of BTA in August 2011 and they were using Michelin PS1's. That was before the BFG SC2's were available.

 

[1fastang]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I doubt they are using Pirelli's. BFG/Michelin is a the main sponsor for the track. I was there the second week of BTA in August 2011 and they were using Michelin PS1's. That was before the BFG SC2's were available.

I was there Oct of 2012 and they had Michelin Pilot Sport on the Boss 302's and BF Goodrich G-force comp on the FR500's. i just checked some pics I took the day before my track day as i was there early and they were nice enough to let me walk around in the garage and take some pics.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was there Oct of 2012 and they had Michelin Pilot Sport on the Boss 302's and BF Goodrich G-force comp on the FR500's. i just checked some pics I took the day before my track day as i was there early and they were nice enough to let me walk around in the garage and take some pics.

They were supposed to start using the BFG SC2's. I wonder why they aren't unless they just don't hold up well. I'm looking for feedback on them as I'm considering them for street tires.

 

[PJWANNABE]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, stupid question time. I'm going next week (4/9-4/10), and I typically wear Sketchers with the rounded soles. For heel/toe stuff, would I be better off with flat soled shoes?

You want something with a narrow, flat, thin, soft rubber sole. That is how racing shoes are designed, which also have tread that roll up the back of the heel. If you don't want to spring for cheap racing shoes a worn pair of walking shoes would give you good pedal feel.

 

[Boss2207]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They gave me a beautiful Grabber Blue 2013 Boss. First day was a blast.

Did you get a good look on your 2013 spoiler? Did they paint it to match the stripes? Was it a sticker? Did they just paint it black to match the rear-decklid (between the brake lights)? This is a big question for me on how it looks because I'm looking into the GT/CS spoiler (like the Laguna Seca's have), but how to do the spoiler paint right is a question for me. Asked at a few dealerships and they either said, "Paint to match" or gave me a look like I'd grown a third head. "Really? You want to match your stripe?"

Do you have any personal pictures of the Grabber Blue boss up close that you took, showing the stripes, decals and the rest? I'm curious if it's the same way they did the 2012 bosses.

 

[Keavdog]

Re: Track Attack !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's all the on track shots the photographer took.

http://s1290.photobucket.com/user/Keavdog/library/Track%20Attack/On%20Track?page=1