5.M0NSTER

Do you guys use some kind of cover for the duct openings on the street. Out here they patch asphalt by filling in the holes with loose asphalt and they leave it alone. You'd think they'd steam roll that ****, but they don't. As soon as you drive over it it unleashes a haze of small rocks. I always worry about stone impingement between the pad and rotor.

Or am I being overly paranoid?

Sweet trailer setup by the way! Good luck at Road America!

And redonblack, good luck and looking forward to your feedback regarding the front sway!

redonblackpony

Proactive thinking is a good thing. However it is unlikely that a small rock would make it all the way into the air duct and wedge itself.
I've never had any issues with my air ducts and I leave them full open all the time. I would think that on the track you're more likely to get something, i.e. Rubber marbles into the air ducts.
Never had a problem or never heard of anyone having a problem with this

SGwick

I checked in to RA and dropped off trailer (secured overnight) and passed tech :-) So far all the cars I've seen are Porsches, GTRs, Supras, Corvettes, NSX, BMW (TTs). Being at Road America is amazing, feels active even when no cars running if that makes sense :-) giddy. So just to clarify NT05s make noise at their limit?

SGwick

Well it's over, Road America track is amazing, you feel you're at somewhere special. Amazed at my mustang, when driven well is more than capable of reeling in cars (even with r-comps) and holding its own against better vehicles :-) Zero brake issues, even got the brake bleeders to bleed a little (saw it right after a session). My instructor lost his cigarette lighter in my car, came out of his pocket (he said it was g-force so he knows I was driving right :-) Plenty of race dedicated cars. Great feeling to get hard earned "point by's" throughout the day :-) I was thinking about a tune but is off the table for now :-) I'm still giddy from RA, amazing track layout and definitely tests your car and race craft.

redonblackpony

Very nice! Glad to see everything went well and you had a great time.
Track looks like it's pretty high speed. What was your speed going down the front straight before braking? Probably didn't even notice that.

SGwick

Honestly glancing down about 300ft from the left access road I was hitting 135 so I'm hoping I was hitting 137-9 before braking. This was the first time I really committed (put faith) to my using brakes full strength before the right hander (T1). I was very conscious of making an effort to try and hit 140 before braking, not sure if I did but it gets hairy as the corner comes up quick :-) so fun/addictive, I was really pushing our Stang and it didn't let me down :-)

5.M0NSTER

Awesome! Glad you were able to push it hard. Sounds like a great rewarding day. Post any pictures/vids if you have some!

SGwick

Notes for RA:
- I made conscious effort to shift at or hash line before 7K mark (6750 rpm)
- When always driving close to the 7K it's easy to hit and fuel cut on track (happened a couple of times) So busy focused on driving line and cars :-)
- You do power through the kink (seats rear/more traction) but you must brush brakes at 200ft (or earlier) prior to turn in. This required some time from me to commit but when I did was so happy for the rest of the sessions.
- 1st time using trailer (rented) sucked, bottomed out loading/unloading because of angle (met a guy familiar with trailer who gave me some pointers) - best investment "harnesses" could focus on driving verse trying to keep body upright

All in all a great experience at a historic track...great day :-)

SGwick

oh you better believe it 5.Monster, I'll post my GoPro vids when we get home tomorrow, actually fell asleep when we got back to our hotel room (so tired, probably just old) :-)

redonblackpony

+1 on the racing harness.

SGwick

At what thickness do your guys replace your race pads?

5.M0NSTER

I do around ~3mm. At that thickness the friction material is about start mixing with the binding agent which hold the pad to the backing plate. I play it safe though, I know people who go all the way to1mm.

5.M0NSTER

You're right. I've only seen one example of stone impingement under the pad. I'm probably worried for no good reason.

P.S. What temp are your front pads good to?? I have a theory as to why I haven't noticed the need for brake cooling...

redonblackpony

SGwick

Hey guys here's a link to my in-car vid from Road America. (watch in 720p60 if you can it looks better) :-) still giddy from driving

redonblackpony

That track looks like a lot of fun! Lotta fifth gear straightaways! Certainly on the front straight you hit better than 150 mph. You were in fifth gear for a long time.
Did the instructor ride with you all day? It didn't really appear that you needed him unless you wanted to spot yourself 200 pounds. He he.
I couldn't help but notice you like to downshift from 5th skipping 4th to 3rd. I couldn't tell if you were heel toe downshifting, sound was not good on my iPhone without headphones or speakers.
Great driving!

laserred38

Even in daily driving I tend to shift from 5th to 3rd. 4th doesn't seem to provide any meaningful engine braking...

SGwick

Instructor was with me all day, most of our beneficial discussion happened after, it was mostly technical driving improvements along weight transfer/timing powering out of corners/brake profile/moving brake application points further or closer (verses driving line). Some corners were from 5th straight into 3rd (not using 4th to engine brake, part of that too could be because I wasn't heel/toe shifting. Thanks for the compliment, really impressed with our mustangs :-) Committing fully (relying) on our brakes (short hard application) was the real change for me this outing.

5.M0NSTER

Nice work! Your line looked pretty good. That was well driven sir. Looked like you were carrying lots of speed in most corners.

I learned heal and toe technique on the street before applying it to the race course. Last season I would also go 5-3 and skip fourth, but I'm working on it this year. I want to be able to do 5-4-3 heal and toe and be smooth about it. The trick is to heal-toe 5-4 as soon as I start braking. Than the final heal-toe from 4-3 just before turn in. It's been a bit hard on my brain so far, but I'm trying to whip myself into the habit.

redonblackpony

Practice practice practice!
Repeat
It's getting to be second nature for me after hours of practice at the track and Street