PART 1 (Friday)
A few ruminations on yesterday's track event:
First, I'd like to throw my two cents in on the "single versus twin" turbo debate. Admittedly, these are the observations and opinions of one who is not technically inclined. I just like to drive the car and leave such things to those who are. But to my thinking, the comparo is not even close. Yesterday was the first time I really had the opportunity to get on my car (on a home track with which I was very familiar). With the single turbo, the power deliver is much more linear and the peak curve much longer. I find myself shifting less and the car just going a ton faster, effortlessly. As long as I stayed above 3500 rpms (easy on the track), there was absolutely no perceptible lag. The car was an absolute rocket. Coupled with some significant suspension, alignment and camber adjustments made by Rob and Jim at Turbohoses and Hoover's fabrication of a functioning splitter, diffuser, and wing, I honestly felt what it's like to drive a "real" racecar.
And the proof was in the pudding/timing. On a relatively warm track session (about 85 degrees), I cut almost 9 seconds off my previous fastest time on that track. Obviously that is light years (one could easily say I must have been horribly slow before to take that much time off, and you may very well be right...I'm still learning to drive fast), but it was effortless.
There were a lot of different cars there yesterday, especially Porsches (it was a POC event, races are today and tomorrow). Sure, the Cup Cars blew by me (not Rob in DV!). But a $250,000 car with full trackside support from GMG should! However, the passing stopped with those cars. There wasn't a GT3 that could touch us. A GT-R was like a track cone, passed at will. There was a pretty fast Exige S that couldn't beat me through the corners, and on the straights, well it was again like one who brings a knife to a gun fight. My car outcornered the GT3s, and on the straight I could pass at will...It wasn't even funny. Bang for the buck, there is no car on the planet that performs like the Noble on any track!!!
I also had the opportunity to drive DV (as you saw in one picture posted yesterday by Zack). Not to smack talk on Hoover, but I didn't like it. It was just a monster, that if you let it drop below 4500 rpms, you were faced with considerable lag on corner exit. Of course once you got up there, the acceleration was out-of-this-world. The short power band also forced me to shift more often. With me driving, the increased acceleration was not enough to make up for my inability to drive the car properly.
Now, I will fully admit that Rob could drive it just fine, and very fast. He told me that he just scrubs off speed coming into the corners, spools up the turbo on entry, and let's it fly mid-turn. I guess that level of driving ability comes from decades of racing, but I sure don't have it! Give me the T28 over the T35 turbo (I think I got that right, but Hoover can correct me if I didn't) any day.
Unfortunately, my day was cut short by an incipient problem. When I first brought my car to Hoover (almost 6 months ago, I think), he told me that we were significantly down on compression in two cylinders. He told me that we could rebuild the motor then, or I could just drive the car until it went (which was inevitable). I took the latter. Frankly, I have 2 years of very hard driving in a track-only car, so I think I got a great deal of life out of that motor. Anyway, it started to smoke, I drew the dreaded meatball flag, and an oil-soaked plug confirmed that at least one ring had let go. So off we go to a rebuild, and I still think I made the right decision back then: I got probably 10 track days out of the car after he inspected it, and we're just gonna be doing the same thing we would have done then!
But here's the really exciting part. Before I picked up the car, Hoover had it on the dyno and we hit 496 rwhp. The powerband and deliver were out of this world easy and fast, and that may have been on only 4 or 5 cylinders. I can't wait to drive the car after the motor is rebuilt and see what it/I can do!!!!!!
And here's the happy ending. My nephew is a car nut who's never been to the track. He lives in Sacramento and is flying down tonight to go back to Fontana with me tomorrow and right-seat. I was therefore faced with the grim task of telling him to cancel his trip. Hoover, being the wonderful guy that he is, loaded up my car and gave me the keys to Darth Vader. Classy guy.
So, all in all it was a great day. I know that GMan is building a track car and planning to come out and play here in Southern California. Mark V. was at the track with us yesterday, and I know he's considering tracking his car as well. Brav runs his, and does so quite well. Anyone else out there, I'd encourage you to join us! It is so dang much fun, and there is no better car out there. Every time I go to the track, the car draws a ton of attention (especially after people see what it can do). It was really fun having another one there yesterday, and even more so, people were coming over to our pit all day long with nothing but wonderment at how the cars were performing. Come on out and play!!!
PART 2 (Saturday)
Thanks. It was fun! Today I drove DV all day, and I have to admit that I must back off on bagging on Hoover's car (it was clearly in part driver inability!). After four runs today, I was much more able to drive the car. It just took learning to keep it spooled up! Once I did, the car was a rocket. I shaved 3 seconds off my best time from Friday (1:53). That put me 3 seconds faster than everyone but one car (a fully built GT2 that hauled butt!). We had 2 GTRs, another GT2, a Porsche TT, 3 ZO6s (one heavily modified) and an assortment of other cars. It was a blast!!!
In fact, that time put us faster than any car in any class at the POC event other than Cup Cars (and we even beat two of them). And I had a passenger the whole time!
Yup, no doubt about it. Best car on the planet. Hoover, thanks for the loan. Take your time on my car.....I have another event next week!!!
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