Summary:
The stuck tie rod ends from my previous post got unstuck. The good people (person) at DreamStreet Garage aligned the car (as best they could), and I took it to NCM, one of the most technical tracks in the country for a track day. And I didn’t die.
First session went about like this:
The last session ended with this:
Which a 2:52 is terrible. But awesome. I have a long way to go in the driver department. Nothing like a slow car to force a mediocre driver to get better.
I over braked everywhere. I was hitting the binders in the same spots I hit them when driving the Buick, which was WAY too early. To compare, I hit the brakes in the Buick going into turn 1a right at the start/finish line. Same spot I hit them in the Probe… but I was going over 30mph faster in the Buck at that spot. I could have stayed in it another hundred feet at least, and probably made it through the complex 10mph faster.
I pinched a lot of corner entries, and my vision isn’t good. I’m not looking far enough ahead.
What’s next? Well, today was cut short by a failing tire. I had cord coming out of a cut. No bueno. I have a new set of tires on the way. There’s also some issues with the rear alignment that will be addressed by some replacement toe rods once they get here. But the biggest issue is the idiot in the driver seat. I’m going to have to step up quickly.
The good people at ABI Photo also caught a lot of great shots of the car on track, here’s a link to the gallery.
In other awesome news, the Buick is finally home!
After six months travelling halfway around the world and back, it was delivered to me yesterday. The battery wasn’t quite flat, it still cranked, but it wouldn’t start. We ended up jumping it off Johnny Bravo.
She’s a bit dirty, but nothing that won’t hose off. My Optima DC-400 charger reconditioned the battery overnight, and she’s ready for action again. I’ll be stashing her at my Dad’s for a few weeks while I finish up the work on the red Mercedes in the background, then she’ll be back home for good.
