Great day, indeed . The lead/follow laps under yellow were a tremendous help. Thanks again for those! I was a little nervous that I didn't watch enough videos beforehand, but the track is relatively easy to learn. However, it will be a while before every corner is worked out. By the end of the day I definitely had a rhythm going, albeit to a slower tempo than my fellow MINIacs on the track. My shoulder was sore this morning as well, but from a different cause: giving all those point bys! Eddie, glad you made it home safely; now time to swap out the battery and contribute to BMW and Keeler's profit margin...☹️

Palmer (counterclockwise) coming up Friday.

 

The battery will be a DIY project. I really would like to like Keeler, but there are somethings that they have missed on. But then, I have yet to come up with an Indi shop who can do the job right, either. At least with Keeler they have mechanics trained on MINIs. Whether they get the job done right or not is another question. Ugh!

An observation about the RE71R ‘Stones. They have clearly heat cycled out before they wore out, which has been an observation by others. They clearly have less grip then the Falkens had when I went the last time. Admittedly, the Falkens were fresher with only 4 track days on them. The ‘Stones are edgier than the Falkens, which has the car twitching more. For me, that would make for a great autocross tire, but not so much for the track. I’ll take the less edgy Falkens. With the rubber on the ‘Stones losing softness, they are wearing more slowly. Not sure if I will push them for one more day or call it quiets for them... It will be interesting to get a set of the Falkens on these wheels (15”) and see how they perform over time.

One reason I went with the 15” ‘Stones was to have the engine at slightly higher revs coming out of T15, the sharp left hand turn in the first chicane. In a turbo car it is a 2nd gear turn, to keep the revs and boost up. But the entrance and exit are both 3rd gear, so going to second is only for a very short period of time and the upshift lost more than is gained... So the thought was the less tall tire would help with that. But the small size tire didn’t help much there and there were places where I felt the gearing with the 17” was better for the car. So, I think the 17” tires are better suited for this track.

T12 garnered a lot of discussion. It is a falling away right turn with a pretty scary drop off into a bit of a tire barrier if you leave the track. The entrance to it curved, which includes the braking zone. This makes it tough to brake and downshift in that area, but both need to get done there. I tried heavy, late trailbraking through there but almost lost the back end (DSC saved me). A bit earlier and less aggressive trailbrake into the turn was better. I actually wonder if braking even earlier and lighter would work here? Hmmm Something to ponder.

VV - enjoy Palmer.

 

Yup, definitely physically demanding. I wish I had racing seats to hold me in place. On the drive home I was thinking how I felt in turns 9-11 and then how F1 drivers must feel going through Maggots and Becketts at Silverstone going 3X the speed. As for the LS3/Miata, check out this save he made (the video is low-res):


VV: You are supposed to remind me about the garage door opener!

 

That is a great video of a great save....

That is what happened to me, but the DSC caught it for me...

gkp - I am hearing a rattle/bang-itty-bang from your car when you go around corners. My guess is that it is from the right front wheel area where we saw the excessively worn tire and it may represent a significant issue ..... sorry to say that.

 

I heard that. I checked today and there's nothing obvious. I plan to take it in and have it looked at but appointments are 2-3 weeks out so I'm not scheduling any new days until I'm sure what's going on. I also want to listen to the outside towhook video — it may hold a hint. The rubber stuck to the inside of the wheel was shredded, not the usual gobs, so it still may be a case of the tire rubbing on the arch when going over the damn 'Wheelie Hill". We'll see.

On further reflection, and after looking at more video, New York Safety Track is a heckuva name for a track that has few tire walls or barriers, and in some places will put you in the trees if you go off track and hit slippery grass.

 

Agreed on the irony of the name, for sure. I guess New York Danger Track doesn't have quite the same ring to it. Nice save by the Mazda; my DSC kicked in there quite a few times before I adjusted my approach/brake point/and turn in. Thanks for the 'pine tree' tip, Eddie!

GKP, I thought the strict guys at tech would catch the garage door opener. Are you sure you didn't have a stowaway in the right front wheel well?

 

The truth is, this being a motorcycle track, they don’t like guardrails and the like. So, in that respect, maybe it is a “safety track”?

 

Agree. It's clearly a track built for motorcycles.

 

Based on the average age of the participants (about half ours) I think there might be twice as many drivers signed up for the New York Danger Track.

 

You're absolutely right, GKP! I have to say, though, that the level of courtesy on track was excellent. I got lots of waves as cars were passing me...

 

It seemed that most everyone had a healthy respect for the track, by evidence of the lack of issues. It also seemed that the track did a lot on its own to even out the pace of the cars. A high HP car had little advantage in the twisty bits. Of course that all went away once every one hit the front straight... Even going up hill, top speeds on that probably rival LRP...

Here is a short video from my one session I recorded and from me being a spectator...

 

Speaking of 'Stones.......



My last two RE71Rs after Mon/Tues at the Glen with Chin. Held a small memorial service in the garage, not a dry eye in the house

 

Wow! How do you get them to wear so evenly?
That is amazing. With tracks like LRP, there is no way to get the front left to wear like that. Rotating and flipping them only helps so much. The edges go before the centers...

But the ‘Stones are officially no longer with us. Sad to see them go. With the price of the Yokos, Goodyears and Michelins, I wonder if Bridgestone lost money on the RE71Rs....

There are people who talk about getting a tire that wears longer, but may be a higher price, so they get a better “use” price. But I am not sure I like that idea for HPDEs where a tire will get a lot of heat cycles before they wear out, unlike the Champ car racers who will run them for one race of 6 or so hours. The R888s and ZIIs I had heat cycled out before they wore out. Some of these longer wearing tires more than 50% more than the Falkens... and if I am throwing them out due to heat cycles, I don’t see how that is worth it.

 

May they RIP...Retread in Peace 😁

I know @gbuff1's secret to even wear...I've seen him with a dull razor blade shaving them down in the garage when he thinks no one is watching!

 

Luck of the draw, Eddie, my tires almost never wear like that. I have to really monitor the outside edge of the LF and get it off the car before it cords. These were flipped once and were switched side-to-side ? times.

I normally do have pretty even wear on the RF but it gets really smooth faster (it's the one on the right that's not corded) as that's the one that spins in all the right-hand turns w/o LSD.......no, not THAT LSD . Rears wear OK but still have to watch the left side outside edge. Ironically, I could see how smooth the RF was getting (my garage neighbor in an uber-Cadillac sedan kept chanting "One More Run!" ) So I paid so much attention to that one that I ignored the LF and corded it. Of course, by that time they were both shot which fulfilled my goal for this event to toast them once and for all.

Handling with these tires was....interesting, but fast! On Tues afternoon before the monsoon hit it was still HOT and sunny and the car was just all over the place, even on the straights, but despite all that slip angle in the turns there was still enough grip to drive the track as I usually do (which honestly shocked me) and the lap times were the fastest of the two days. For the final run I put two nearly-new A052s in front to match the worn ones in back and was almost two seconds slower. Not really a fair comparo but still the RE71R was a GREAT tire and I miss it already.

Back to the Glen Fri for a weekend with PCA, then 12 whole days off before Mid-O. I'll lose my mind

 

You told me you'd never tell!! I think if I bought them shaved they'd wear better (and be faster outta the box) but I'm kinda fundamentally opposed to shaving a street tire. Competition, different story, but none of that here (except with myself)......

 

AFA heat cycles go, I've never counted/paid attention to them.....I see cars in the paddock all the time with chalk strikes marking the # of HC on the tire. I've always taken whatever grip they'll give me and drive them 'til they're shot.

I think this newer group of tires out now that is referred to as the "Super 200s" (the Falken, Yoke, Nankang etc) has allowed the marketers to differentiate them from the harder tires (though still 200TW in most cases) and to call them "endurance" tires (RS4, the new Conti, etc). For my money I'll take the faster tire all day long, but that's just me.

 

Oh, the Toe must be a royal pain in the ... with no LSD. On my first MINI, with no LSD, that right front was just a windmill through there...

The A052s were really almost 2 seconds slower? Wow, that is unexpected!

 

Forgot to mention this, Eddie, but I don't know if you remember Ike Neilson from GVC and TM--he was an instructor back when I was a student and also a champion clubracer for years with them before he relocated to Charleston, SC a few years back. He showed up to instruct for Chin Mon and Tues and Niagara PCA today (it was so great to see him--couldn't believe it) with his McLaren 570. He was out in Red group with us and was just so smooth and fast it was ridiculous. Pointed him by up the Esses, in the B/S, left room and away he went. Priceless.

Anyway, he was on the Goodyear Supercar 3Rs which I think I mentioned previously and he added to the number of people that have said that they are just the Kool-Aid 100TW and worthless in the wet, but if I could keep tires on my car clean enough (as in put some blasted camber in front, right, VV? ) to just bring 4 drys and 4 wets I'd try these in a heartbeat. They are actually available in a 205/50-15 and at $162 they are certainly not cheap but you only live once

 

Actually do slide through the Toe to the cutout but the car just dies going up there, especially in the heat. More like T1, the Carousel, T8 and T11; basically all the fast right-handers.

I really wasn't surprised by the slower lap times as when I had newish 71Rs on the cars they were always about that much slower until I beat on them for a bit I am noticing, though, how much softer the 052 feels in turns, at least when new(ish)--I have to turn in quite a bit more to get the car to, well, turn in. Really noticed it in the Carousel in particular. Going to try putting 2# more in front this weekend to try and stiffen them up a bit (which will probably put the hot temps at mid/upper 40s ).....

 

Can I talk you into doing the GVC event on 8/20-22?

 

I'm at Mid-O Aug 13-15 with PCA and then again with AutoInterests on Aug 23 so no GVC

I haven't driven with them in so long (20 yrs?) that I don't know where I'd slot in run-group wise......their system seems really complex with an advanced group, a solo group that you seemingly have to get "admitted into", SLIP categories, etc. PCA and other groups seem so much simpler, based on experience (not horsepower, unless it's a two-group lapping day with high and low hp groups. Niagara PCA does this, as well as some of the Ohio PCA groups I drive with). For example, Chin is great in this regard: Self-tech form (which I do or take it to Anthony C at Towne and he throws it on the lift and checks it out--easy), sign the form which includes a helmet certification. Don't need to get out of the car for tech, they trust you. Takes two minutes. Pretty much arrive-and-drive with a minimum of fuss. Pros and cons for this process for sure but it seems to work in my experience. You are always going to have breakdowns regardless of the tech process.

 

Darn... I was hoping we could finally get together on the track.

You would sign up as advanced with a check out for A-Solo (or S group). They do everything by experience (not HP), but they add the SLIP to aid in driver development. I think the SLIP is more for less experienced drivers and their education at a school.

Actually, GVC runs their events much like PCA. The GVC events have a lot of PCA members at them. Tech is pretty simple. I do my own and they mostly check for tail lights, brake pad thickness and cracked rotors... Takes 2 min.

A-Solo is a great concept. When I was signed off for A-Solo, the instructor said that his main criteria was whether he wanted to be out on the track with me. Seymour (you know him, with the race truck and now a stock car) was the instructor who signed me off. It is not about HP. It was about “track awareness” and how you handle traffic around you, your control of the car, that sort of thing. I am sure you would pass easily. In fact, you probably know enough instructors that GVC would have a few you know at their events.

The idea of A-Solo is to have a run group of drivers who are highly advanced, at the level of an instructor but not instructors. They would do their own sessions separate from from the other run groups, including the Advanced drivers. There would be no in-car instructions but there would be “coaches” available to drivers if a driver wanted some help or check out for “bad habits” that might have creeped in. How much better are the drivers in A-Solo than the advanced? Generally a lot. I have been in a mixed group session with Advanced drivers and those drivers were easy to pick out. Not that they did anything wrong, they were not as “polished” in their driving, not quite at the limits of their car. Subtitles.

With your experience, you would be an ideal candidate for the A-Solo (“S”) run group. Once you get signed off, you don’t have to do it again. With that, open track events, like this late August one, are available without further evaluation. Even the October school event will be available without further sign off. I am actually surprised that Anthony hasn’t talked you into doing the GVC events...

Think about doing the GVC event in October. That is on my list...

 

Yes, I know Seymour Prescott, one of the truck gang--he used to also drive with TM (maybe if he'd put a good word in for me with GVC I could forgo the check ride--he knows the Mini well ) Great guy. Also have a friend from the Buffalo area, (Dr.) Kevin Wood--I had my 318ti back then. He's still active with GVC (I think he drives an M2 Comp worked on here at Towne BMW) and whom Anthony knows quite well. Anthony may be going to pick up his NISMO this weekend (was in Ohio for a repair)--I hope so......

I do take a peek at MSR now and then just to see when GVC's events are and there is usually a conflict with one of the events that I've been doing for years and truly enjoy. Oddly enough, I will be in-between events (Sept 27 and Oct 8-10 at Mid-O) for that Oct 1-3 event but I'm booked for the rest of the year and if I try to do any more my wallet and cc will kill me in my sleep I'm looking at close to 40 days this year which borders on sickness but I'm just really enjoying myself, and at this point in my life (I'm taking being 65 hard ) I'm kinda treating every season as it could potentially be my last, especially with what's gone on recently

So, perhaps in the future....I do enjoy SCDA so hopefully we can do one of those at some point

 

40 days! Wow, that's a nice goal to shoot for....between me, Eddie and gkp put together

Your Justa is holding up really well considering all the thrashing you inflict on him/her