Disappointed may be to strong of a word, but let me explain.

I took my stock Boss out to GingerMan Raceway(short course) in Michigan last night for a track night with South Bend Region, SCCA. First session I went out with the shocks set at the factory "2" setting. Car handled ok with quite a bit of nose dive(duh) under braking. Second session, set the shocks to "5" as suggested and the car responded much better in corners, under braking, and accelerated hard out of corners. But then...

I took out my '99 Spec Miata. For those of you not familiar with the car: stock engine with about 128 hp at the wheels, coil-over shocks, thicker sway bars, Toyo RA-1 R-compound tires on 15x7 wheels. Even though the Miata had 300 less hp, it was a whole lot more fun to drive on the track at speed around this 1.88 mile course. GingerMan is the complete opposite of Road America; the emphasis is on handling and driver skill.

Conclusion. No surprises here, but to reach the full potential of the Boss another set of wheels with dedicated race rubber is required, followed by spings, shocks and sway bars. For me, this won't be an option as I will continue to get my jollies at the race track in my Spec Miata and my 2012 Boss will see low impact auto-x and street duty. Gonna stick with my initial plan to keep my Boss bone-stock and enjoy it cruzin around town with friends and family; can't afford to have two track cars in the family.

 

Jeff,

No surprise here at all! Any track built race car is going to be more fun then a street car on the track! I've had lots of race cars, Daily drivers/track cars and street cars that I have driven on the track and even the slowest race car is more fun. For whatever reason your more willing to slide it and beat it, plus you have a roll cage and R rated tires and such which make it great fun!

My Boss and My 1M are going to be stock street cars and fun to drive anytime. My E46 and Spec E30 will remain my track only cars and then will be beaten regularly, but I'll still take the Boss and 1M on track some, just for some fun.

Enjoy them for what they are!

 

I cannot help but notice that you did not list lap times between the two...

 

Apples and Oranges; that wasn't relevant to his post which was how much fun it was. Faster is not necessarily more fun. Ask your significant other.

 

Anyway, a track like Gingerman is always going to favor the smaller nimbler car as far as the fun factor.

Next time you go up there with the Boss, send me a PM and I may be able to meet you up there.

 

Wow, another Boss just 90 minutes south of me. Luckymotorsports, I think the Boss would be better represented at Gratten versus Gingerman. Gingerman, even the new addition, is still considered a slower more technical grassroots track. I've been there quite a few times with my ex-Evo (Motons, springs, bars, 140 tread, etc.) and prefer Gratten for the fun factor.

fyi- WMR SCCA will be hosting an autocross at Gratten on Labor day this year. Might want to consider. I have it scheduled as long as the weather cooperates.

Dave

 

K...

You're reading too much into what I asked. Just curious about if he timed his laps, and if so, what they were. No need to drag my wife into it. But I forgive you.

 

In short, no lap times.

While in my SpecMiata, a buddy of mine in a stock Boss was able to just barely keep up with me. Sort of an unfair comparison because I have over 1000 laps at GingerMan while my buddy is an accomplished autocrosser, but has limited track experience. Based on this, I would guess that I would be 3-4 seconds faster in my Boss than in my SpecMiata.

With that being said, there is no way I'll push my $43k street car as fast as a $13k race car. It's just not worth the risk.

 

Interesting comparison - thank you. Used to race Miatas myself way back when. It's a fun little car, and a great way to get into the sport for relatively "cheap" (as cheap as anything in racing gets...)

 

Nothing to feel bad about here, that is exactly what I think most people would expect, certainly at that track. Thanks for your impressions.

 

I've been to Gingerman twice, and those are the exact results I'd expect from that track. I've seen guys in stock 350Z coupes keep up with modified Vipers, simply because it's a technical track. If you can drive, you can drive it fast. Really, the only two places where speed wins over technicality are the two straights.

For the record, I freaking hate turn six (Deep Demon). No matter what I did, in over 100 laps, I never ONCE found a good line through that turn.

Is the 'Wall of Shame' still up in the clubhouse?

 

For the record, I freaking hate turn six (Deep Demon). No matter what I did, in over 100 laps, I never ONCE found a good line through that turn.

The turn 5-6 complex are the two toughest turns on the course. I have them figured out and can kill newcomers there. With that being said, I still only get it right about 80% of the time.

 

I love Gingerman, been there three times, but not a for a while now.

Hope to get back there next year.

 

Well duh.

 

I've only run a motorcycle around Grattan; I can't imagine cars running it! I've seen pictures, but it's still hard for me to imagine trying to best another car in the Bowl.. It seems synonymous with body damage, Lol.

 

LOL.

 

I enjoyed my track day at Gingerman but I have nothing to compare it to, it was my first track day.
I am going to Mid Ohio on Labor day weekend. I had fun at Gingerman but really loved Mid Ohio.
Audi club of Michigan is hosting a day at Waterford Aug 13 I was thinking about attending. Any Michigan Boss' interested?
Its my closest track and would love to NOT drive 2.5 hours for a track day.

 

No, no, certainly not in the banked bowl . Love the blind corners especially the one just before the front straight. I've seen a couple slide-offs up the bank and into the guard rail for carrying a little too much speed entering the front straight. Gingerman and Gratten are two completely different tracks and both have their unique character. I live less than 40 minutes from both.

Dave

 

As the buddy I can say this;
Miata was quicker in turns, caught up with HP and Brakes in straights and faster turns, stock tires were no help, bad line thru turn 5-6 complex was killer. Prior to this my road course experience was in enduro karts. But had much fun in the heavier but higher HP Boss - it makes nice noise.

In the second session as I was getting more used to the car on track someone told me I ran a 1:41 on his stopwatch. In the third session chasing Luckymotorsports (Jeff) I could say I was just a bit faster since I could somewhat follow Jeff's line.