Finally
we get to run another track besides Loudon! This was a time trial
sanctioned by EMRA
at the classic Lime Rock Park on November 11, 2000. We had great
weather, clear and not too cool. The trip down in the van was
long but nice, and we didn't get lost for too long before we found
our delightful bed & breakfast, the Cornwall Inn.
I had ordered up a set of Cobra R-style wheels from Performance Wheel Outlet and some Kumho Victoracer 500 tires from the Tire Rack, shaved and heat-cycled for optimum racing performance. Also I had ordered a Cobra Clubman Sprint seat from Sube Sports.
Meanwhile Nate snagged some high performance brake pads (I think they are Z-rated pads by Performance Friction) and installed those and a set of stainless steel front brake lines we already had on hand. I went up to Vermont the weekend before and helped Nate install the seat and load the van.
Unfortunately I also fell and broke my arm (again!) so the visit was not entirely a success. Because I couldn't manage the trailer with only one arm, we had to abandon plans to get a tonneau cover installed before the event so the Cobra's interior and that nice new seat would stay dry if it rained. We wound up wrapping the seats with plastic bags when it rained on the way home.
So we arrived at the track with the
Cobra in excellent shape but with me in somewhat less than optimal
condition. The fracture was relatively minor, and I had managed
to escape the ER with merely a splint, but still I couldn't use
my right arm for steering and had to be very careful while shifting.
Fortunately I only needed to shift twice per lap.
The changes we'd made to the car made a huge difference. The seat was wonderful; I found that I no longer had to clench the wheel to stay in place. Steering was much, much easier, and I no longer ended each session with my hands locked into a deathgrip around the wheel.
The brakes were the best they have been. The pedal was rock solid and high and firm, and stayed that way throughout the day, even though Nate and I made several back to back runs during practice in the morning. Nate isn't sure they will hold up so well at Loudon, which is very demanding on brakes, especially in the summer when temperatures get higher, but I'm sure they'll be better than before.
The tires were fantastic. They not only
had much more grip, but were far more forgiving. The peak of the
slip angle curve seemed much more gentle; if I got the car a little
sideways, it was very easy to bring it back in line. I felt much
more confident with the way the car handled than before.
Unfortunately I didn't feel as confident at the track, and neither did Nate. I had a lot of laps at Lime Rock when I raced in the 70's and 80's, but that was a very long time ago.
We had both run some laps in my Probe in the summer at the SAAC event, but the Cobra is a lot more intimidating than the Probe. It's lighter and much more powerful, and arrives at the corners a lot quicker. Then too, Lime Rock isn't the most forgiving of tracks; there are many places where a small mistake can have very serious consequences.
Still, we did far better than before. I managed a string of 1:08's at the end of the final practice session, and a 1:10 in the Time Trial put me 6th of 13. Nate was 11th with a 1:14, quite good for only his second time at the track.
We collected more data with the G-cube and also ran some laps with a GPS, which gave different but also very interesting data. Nate is working on a program which plots and analyses the GPS data, and he's even considering building a hardware interface that will allow us to collect data from both the G-cube and the GPS at the same time. That would give us some excellent information about what we and the car is doing on the track.
We found the EMRA crowd to be very friendly and
the whole event had an informal atmosphere that we enjoyed very
much. One of the club members gave us some very valuable information.
Near the end of the day, one of the folks we'd chatted with in
the paddock came over to tell us that he'd noticed our Cobra's
right front wheel was bouncing up and down, going as high as 4
inches off the ground over the bumps through Big Bend!
Nate took a look at the shock when we got home, and sure enough, it had destroyed itself. The top had unscrewed itself from the barrel, all the fluid was gone, and the barrel itself was ripped open.
This explained a peculiar rocking sensation I'd noticed the first time we ran at Loudon and which had persisted ever since. It was especially noticeable over the bumps on the straight at Lime Rock. I never figured out what was causing this, but recognized the reason as soon as I knew about the bad shock.
I ordered a new shock and Nate installed
it in preparation for the COMSCC event at Lime Rock a few weeks
later. We were hoping to further improve our times and also collect
more data. Unforunately we both came down with the flu and had
to cancel.
I've driven the car on the street with the new shock and it is much more secure and comfortable, particularly in corner entry. I'm sure the bad shock was hurting our lap times.
We are both eagerly looking forward to our events next year!