First DE event in the E!

brittbolen · 05-17-2005, 06:36 AM

Last weekend I did my first DE event with PCA. First Settlers organized it at VIR and it was an absolute blast. I got 5+ hours of track time with an instructor, and the groups were small enough that once all that modern crap passed me I didn't see anyone for 3-5 laps at a time.

I know everyone likes photos....

see more at http://eludicate.com/~bolen/me_at_vir/

The car ran great, I never saw temps over 220, it ran smooth, the brakes were great and even the 14" tires seemed more than adaquet for my beginner status, and I thought I was going pretty hard! At one point a guy in a new Pontiac GTO, which was wicked fast on the straight, tried to follow me up the hill and down the roller coaster (a very twisty section with no passing) where I went fast enough to make him need to back off cause he was getting a bit too loose.

I only had to fix the car twice at the track. I had a wire snap off of the coil and I needed to replace the connector (35 years of vibration finally broke it). Luckily it only started to cut off while on the track and I was able to get back to the paddock before it broke off while trying to find the source of the problem (i had at first thought it was lack of fuel in the turns).

On the last day before the last session the car wouldn't crank (everything else seemed ok, just no cranking) so we roll started it, drove onto the grid, and did the session w/o trouble. With the session over I left the car idling in the paddock, loaded up my junk and drove home. I was paranoid I'd stall it on a hill in traffic, and I did, but the car cranked right up without complaint. So I have no idea what would happen if I tried to start it today. Several folks thought it could be a connection problem with the batteries, I'm going to do a trunk clean and POR-15 application project in there soon.

VIR really is a great facility. The North Course (where we ran) is really fun in a slower car like mine as you end up with more twisty bits and less high-speed bits, which also allowed me to not have to worry about shifting more than 2 times per lap (front straight in 4th, the rest in 3rd) though I did succeed in figuring out how to hell-toe downshift on a couple of laps. The food is also fantastic, they have some really good eastern carolina style 'cue.

In conclusion if you haven't taken your P-car to a track for some instruction and wide open driving you don't know what your missing!!!

Britt

lally911 · 05-17-2005, 06:46 AM

Sounds great Britt! VIR is such a great track - check out Tracquest over July 4th (tracquest.com) if you want a lot more VIR track time. Soon you'll be passing those modern cars :-)

Jim Richards · 05-17-2005, 06:56 AM

E's rock! And VIR is a sweet track to take it out for a little exercise. Nice trip report and pics.

I'm wondering if your CDI box isn't starting to break down. If you can't find any other source(s) of the problem you described, you may want to find a spare CDI box to take with you as part of your spares kit.

brittbolen · 05-17-2005, 07:05 AM

Jim, would the CDI box cause the starter not to turn over? My cutting out problem was definitly a broken wire as it ran perfect after I fixed it...

B

Jim Richards · 05-17-2005, 07:10 AM

Ooops, I missed the not cranking. I somehow was thinking it wouldn't fire. Sorry! Instead check your ground and 12V connections at the starter.

brittbolen · 05-17-2005, 07:11 AM

A few more notes from the weekend...

I was not the oldest car there, a 68L beat me on that score.

I think I'll want a few equipment upgrades if I'm going to keep doing this.

For starters I need better seats, because there is little more distracting than having the seat back fall back a notch or two going around a corner. During two sessions I went from a good seating position to Ferrari straight arm way too quick. I really like the BF Torino Nurburgrings but I don't know if they'll fit my computer geek physique. I tried out a couple seats and the only ones I really fit were Recaro Piloti SPG XL. Which is a wider seat. Anybody got detailed dimensions so I could compare to the BF Torinos?

I wouldn't mind newer seat belts, I'm not sure how much I want to trust the originals, but I also don't won't retractables, so maybe some new belts would be a plus, at least they'll look pretty stock.

The giant steering wheel got in the way at times as my hands hit my thighs but on the other hand the steering effort was really light and managable all the way around so I'm not sure I'll change anything.

As for wheels/tires/suspension I'm not going to change a thing anytime soon, I'm nowhere near the limits of the current setup.

Britt

-- edited for spelling

porcupine911 · porcupine911's Garage

that first shot is stunning. vir looks to be a beautiful track. nice car too.