That looks like their short course. SCDA is looking at using this course:


PIT Long Course

Looks like a lot of MINI turns…

 

Yea the new side double the length, its pretty long and good straight's to get up to top gear. I got passed by many cars (V8s and V6s) in the straights but caught them in the curves. Coming off the hill on 14 turn its pretty straight and down hill. I was on it hard and caught up to most people.
So in my eyes the straights are long. But its not like a large circle track that you find in nascar, been on Indy and Charlotte speedway. Road America only has one big long that I was on coming over a blind hill.

 

Sounds like an interesting track.

 

Thanks for he info. Lots to think about.

 

 

Not been to PITT…..was suppose to meet Slinger at VIR way back in ‘10 or ‘11 but never went b/c my ECU crapped out the week prior to going. Was supposed to run the Grand Course which is their longest version. Lots of turns…

Anyways VIR would be about an 11hr drive for me and Pitt I’d say around 9hrs….

thise days are long gone for me….I live vicariously thru you survivors of this group. But I am presently at Sonoma with BW for SRO, so there is that.

 

Well, you still get to smell the hot brakes and rubber.

Sonoma - Wow that is a hike from CT. Hope it all goes well out there.

 

I'd give up track days in a flash to do what you do, S-Driver.

 

time for quali…

 

Nice!

And the hills in the background are green.

 

Well, my track season is off to an unfortunate start. Today, at end of the first session, something went haywire. Best I can tell, it's the clutch throwout bearing. Not a complete shock; over the winter it occasionally made a low, groaning noise before warming up. Fortunately, one of the shops I use is on the way home from LRP so I dropped it off. Stay tuned.

Something was also amiss with the track surface today. Experienced drivers were sliding off left and right and it wasn't due to the light rain alone. The slickness wasn't in just one turn or sector, it was everywhere. When I left, Elivan was working with the LRP track crew to figure it out.

 

Sorry to hear, but glad you didn't slide off into any immovable objects! Hope your car is back on the road soon, and that the track is grippier next time out...

 

That is strange about the track. Sometimes rain brings out oils in the surface, but that seems unlikely as the track hasn’t been used much lately. Another possibility is someone was leaking fluids. A little bit of antifreeze spread over the whole track would be a real mess. I was at an event at WGI when a Porsche leaked a stream of oil from T4 all the way to to pit in. So, that sort of thing can happen.

At least you weren’t involved in that. And as for car issues…. It will be interesting to hear what it is. Hopefully nothing major.

 

Unfortunately, the problem likely is major. It's a long story why I first thought it was a clutch issue. It's not. I appear to be running on three cylinders and I'm not sure why. No CEL. Did some diagnostics yesterday and there's no obvious answer. I'm going to get a extra coil this week just to confirm that's not the issue, but I doubt it will be as easy as that. I'm sure I'm looking at someone going inside to see what's wrong. $$$$$$$$$. Gotta find a good shop.

 

Other “simple” fix:
injector (may not be firing)
And can you do a compression test? Also check the wiring to both; coil and injector.

Not much more that it can be.

Oh, can you switch the tune back to stock?

Hoping that it is something simple.

 

PHEWWWWW! It turned out to be a bad coil. The mystery is why there was no CEL.

Yes, when trying to figure out what was going on, I did a compression test. Cylinder #2 is down a tad and I may need to look into that. Coincidentally (or not???) the bad coil was in #2.

One reason I was really pissed off about all this is that just last week I told my grandson, who was in from CA, that the MINI is his if he wants it when he gets his license next year.

 

Anyone out there looking for some open track time without a lot of traffic should check out the GVC BMW Midweek event at WGI.
GVC Spring Fling Upper Advanced Lapping

It's tough being a one day school, but Chin has that Monday and Tuesday if you wanted to make it into a 3-day event.
Basically as much you can run in 7 hours without wearing yourself or your car out first

I'm looking forward to testing out my new G-Loc R14 Endurance pads after getting my Ferrodo DS2500s chewed up in one day last year. I guess that's what lighter tires and more aggressive driving gets you!

 

That is great! Yes, strange it didn’t throw a code….

Not sure that I would worry about #2 be down a “tad”. What may have happened is, with the coil not firing, the raw gas may have caused the oil lubricating cylinder wall to be washed off and the rings are sealing a little less well. I would change the oil and drive it for a bit and then recheck it. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it.

Say what? That sounds like you might be thinking about giving up on doing the track thing? On the other hand - that is one lucky kid…

I saw that event come through in my email. A one day event at WGI is really hard to consider given it is a 3-1/2 hour drive to there. Although I have not ever run with Chin, I am not thrilled with what I understand their passing rules to be and how to qualify for their red group. I understand that passing is allowed anywhere, including the esses and bus stop, and to qualify for the red group you need to be able give point bys any where on the track such that you don’t hold up a faster car looking to pass. That would mean, if someone catches me in the esses, I would need to take one hand off the steering wheel and point them by. That’s not going to happen. That is a 2-hands-on-the-wheel section of the track for me. I’m A-Solo with GVC, but having to point by people to pass through the esses or bus stop is beyond anything I want to have to let happen. I’ve hit antifreeze once in the esses and thought I was going to pinball through them but was able to save it. That would not be the case with a car passing me. I’ve also seen instructors lose it in the esses and pinball on their own through there. So red group would likely be out for me. I have no interest in the intermediate group as they tend to be less aware and i have had frustrations being out with intermediate drivers. I like the GVC A-Solo format and the 3 day events. That all suits me and my MINIs well.

You are going to like the G-Loc pads. I have the Carbotech XP12s and they worked great. Did you get matching pads for the rears? Not absolutely necessary, but I found that helped to cut down on the rear end dancing under hard braking.

 

That's exactly what I'm planning to do.

I bought the car a few months after he was born. I always said if I still have the car when he gets his license, and wants it, it's his. Of course, I had no idea I would still have the car 16 years later. If he takes it (and I'm not sure he will) I'll figure something out.

 

A suggestion:
https://www.caranddriver.com/mini/cooper-clubman-jcw
Or used one…

 

I am signed up for 5/12 at LRP with SCDA. I’ll be meeting up with ZRE for the event. If anyone is interested, even to just hang out, feel free to join us…

Not sure which MINI I’ll take. Smokey is still in the garage waiting for springs and shocks to be put in. Maybe it will be Albert getting to stretch his legs. Either way, it should be a great day.

 

I'm not sure I would stick with MINI. So many good cars to choose from right now. But we'll see. I don't think MINIs are considered cool for teens these days so it may all be mute.
Unfortunately, I have to be in eastern CT on 5/12, then in RI for the weekend.

 

Eddie, Chin does now allow the use of turn signals so you can keep both hands on the wheel. They've been using them in Canada forever and as long as you don't forget to turn them off there shouldn't be a problem.

 

It is T3 that wigs me out even with both hands on the wheel. Between T3 and T4 is a shift area for me, so it is hard to think of pointing someone by there. But I could give a pass to someone going into T3 and out of T4. Maybe I could send someone off line to pass me as I go into T4….

How do they deal with the bus stop, like between the 2nd and 3rd curbs/turtles? It is basically single file going through there.

​​​​​​​Ugh! I suppose if you manage to do it, I could figure it out.

I like the idea of using the turn singles. On the MINIs they can be set for 5 flashes and will turn off without doing anything.

 

You just have to manage it, and check your mirrors often....when I come out of T1 I check my mirror and if a car is there my arm goes out. Go all the way track left up the Esses, plenty of room for both cars. Likewise, get the point done BEFORE you reach the Bus Stop, lift enough to get the car past you and go in single-file. Y-day I was there with NASA and the Bus Stop was full of oil-dry for a fluid dump and it was slick, would not have wanted to go side-by-side right then
Like you say, once you're out there you do figure it out