I headed on up to Limerock Park again this past Friday with SCDA for my third HPDE event. As a quick recap last time I went was back on Aug-20-2007 and I came out of it thinking I needed more work on the brakes.

So before going up I installed WayMotorWork's brake ducts, upgraded the front pads to Ferodo DS3000, and made sure to flush the brake fluid (Motul RBF600) right before going to the track. I also installed a rear seat delete kit (courtesy of 1nf3rn0), a Cobalt rear strut tower brace, and an OMP lower frame brace.

I was a bit worried about bedding in the pads but in the end I decided to slap them on before heading up there (2 hour drive) and bed them in at 5:30am on the Taconic parkway which was completely empty. No problems with stopping, even before bedding them in, so I was satisfied to say the least.

Got to the track around 7:30 and immediately go to work unloading the car.

Surprisingly having the rear strut brace in place made it easier to load/unload the wheels as it gave me something to slide the wheels on! Started with 34psi cold front/rear which was my first mistake. It was <50 degrees in the morning and I should have probably run 30psi.

I was bumped up to the Intermediate-1 group after my two HPDE's at Novice and had an instructor with me for the first two sessions of the day. We were the fourth group to go out and on the first lap of the Instructor's session one guy spun out TWICE.

Advanced went out next and then novice - one guy in a red Mustang spun out I think near the back straight and ripped his entire front end off! People were slipping and sliding all over the place as the track was just ice cold and tire temps were not up.

On my first lap going into the left hander I turned the wheel smoothly (I thought) and ended up FISHTAILING and going sideways for a second before I was able to regain control. (Running Toyo RA-1 rcompound tires and they just were not hot yet!)

Took it easy for the rest of the session just trying to test out the brakes and stay on track. The brakes were friggin awesome and I did not have any fade at all throughout the day. I probably could have pushed it a little more but I had started the day with these goals:

1) Be smooth
2) Look up and forward, not down
3) Be safe and drive the car home

So I ended up braking at "3" at the end of the main straight, with plenty of room to spare might I add. Last time I was hitting the brakes at "2" but I'll save that for the summer temps. Also on the ride home I just left the racing pads in there because it was getting cold and dark and they did seem a bit on the spongy side for the ride home. I'll be flushing the fluid, changing the oil, and maybe even change the tranny oil tomorrow....

I stuck to my "scenic route" line on Big Bend - taking the way outside line with the outer wheels on the asphalt. Instructor wasn't a huge fan of it but I was comfortable with it and had experimented with the inside line and wasn't too crazy about it.

After the 1st session I took down the tire pressures to 40psi hot......and by the 3rd session I had talked to a couple of hard core track rats that were both MINI owners but were driving Lotus Exiges and they recommended that I bring down the rears even further. One guy told me to run a 10psi differential between front and rear - so 40psi front, 30psi rear. I brought the rears down to 37.5 for the 3rd and 4th sessions just to ease on in to the difference as I had never run a different before. Those last two sessions were my first solo sessions ever btw.

After the 1st session the track definitely warmed up a bit and traction was better but still not as good as it was back in August for sure. I really tried to keep my eyes up and looking forward, especially when solo because I had to keep an eye out for any debris, accidents, offs, and flags. There was one guy who friggin came onto the main straight at full speed only to decide at the last minute to cut over and get off the track! He stuck his hand out quickly and thank goodness I had my instructor yell out "He's getting off!!! Back off!!". Otherwise I would have been up his **** waiting for the point bye. That was a big no-no on his part. He should have stuck his first out way before the turn and pushed over to the right side.

At the top of the hill I noticed that the DSC light was coming on. I turned DSC off after the 2nd session and still noticed that the wheels were slipping right at the top of the hill. If and when I need a new clutch I'll have to consider getting the Quaiffe LSD. One of the MINI guys told me to shut off the DSC because "you don't want anything to control the throttle but YOU".... Good advice.

Love the OMP lower brace as well. I felt a difference on the street immediately after installing it. Makes the front end a bit firmer and the bumps are just swallowed up. I think I had a bit of oversteer before with the stiffer RSB and now the OMP brace has brought it back to neutral. Very, very nice mod and highly recommended.

Overall it was a fantastic day. I met a bunch of great people and learned a lot about my car and how to control it. I'm looking forward to next season where I can hopefully make it to other tracks as well.

Here are some pics (click to enlarge)

Going into the uphill and flying solo!



Very fast Lotus up my butt





Z4 MCoupe that was just a monster and passed me all day long





Another MINI that I walked over to talk to FOUR times but could never find him/her!!!



Coming down the main straight - what the heck is that EB MINI doing??? This is my favorite pic of the day - shows just how crazy it can get with all these cars flying down the track at 110mph+!!!



VERY slow Ferrari Modena - I passed him a couple of times. :mrgreen:







Very old (and slow) Lotus something or other



At the top of the uphill

 

nice pics, i was there the next day, and it was frezzing out, took a long time for the track to warm up

 

Great write up, thanks for sharing.

That Lotus is a Europa

 

As you discovered, LRP is definitely a hand full when its cold.
I've seen quite a few people get caught out by that on the first few laps and wreck.

 

Yah I was glad the sun came out. It was pretty hairy for the first few sessions for everyone.....

Thanks! That thing is UGLY man!

I forgot to add that on the last session I ran out of fuel!! I looked down and saw that the tank was empty and quickly fumbled the OBC to get my range - 13 miles....so I said I'd see how long it would take to go down to 8 and a lap later I decided to pull in before it was too late! Had reset the odometer before going on track and had 89 miles to the tank!

Btw the pump at LRP is $4.85 for 93! ACK!

 

...I grabbed 100 octane without paying attention and the bill almost made me pass out!

Yes, DSC should be off as should any other slip device. If enough slip is detected while creasting the uphill, the brakes will be applied and if you've someone in your mirror they'll like bang into your backside right quickly!

 

Gotta love the convenience mark up at the track, atleast they have premium, at WGI you have race gas only @ $6.00 gallon (which be careful some of that stuff is leaded and will kill you cat).


LRP is a fun track , taking the uphill or diving turn with any kinda of speed definitely takes a while to build up the confidence to commit the car that much. I was there in april w/ NASA, very similar circumstances, cold morning and very slippery (some one stuffed a C4 vette, off of the left hander). definately have to give is a few laps to get heat in the tires and brakes