its working all the sim practice

Got an email from the instructor I will have later this month. I sent him the entire last session from Road Atlanta

" I dont really want to give you any input right now other than you are pretty dialed in for getting around the track consistently"

The consistently is real big to me and what I have been working on.

WOW, where did the time go, since my last post on Have done 2 more track events...
SCCA Track Night Wednesday at AMP Best Lap 1.42.37
and
JZill Saturday at Barber Motorsport Park.. Best Lap 2:00:49
But these were not done in the Z, they were done in my Type-R.
Interesting car to drive...
AMP, it was ok, since its technical track. Tyres are Yokohama ADVAN Fleva® V701 300 tread rating, also on 20 inch rims, not much sidewall. I was only 3.27 seconds off my best time in the Z. Just not enough tire.

Barber, it really came down into learning how to drive a turbo car. Had a buddy who was there and he said all he used was 3rd and 4th. So the last two sessions I did that, it was different, but trying to get the turbo going vs the Z and it's toque.

All and All it was a fun couple of events... :driving:

The most exciting item was my session with my Sim coach, we reviewed my video from Road Atlanta. Great feedback on how well my lines were, and he pointed out a couple of little items. All the work is paying off. (probably said that a few times). It was great having the Porsche in front of me, was a great reference on what not to do, and how I was able to gain on him.... YES. feel good

:happydance:

Z on the way to shop and again comments, from a trucker who really liked the car, it was fun he was on my right and half leaning over the passengers seat just talking up a storm...

A bit behind, but life keeps rolling on...
So since the last two track events in the type-r, will post the PB videos later.
I did Road Atlanta in the type-r on Friday. Was fun and not too bad. Best was a 1:56:35, 9 seconds off the Z, but it was enjoyable. Seems Road Atlanta and SCCA Track Night has a lot of incidents. One persons 911 engine locked up, a BMW found the tire wall, heard someone's wheel came off, there were also a couple more.

PB at Road Atlanta in the type-R

next event, is tomorrow at Road Atlanta again, but in the Cayman Porsche GTS..
cannot wait to see what that car can do, and more importantly, what I can do...
:happydance:

Lol. :happydance: Fun watching your speed, hearing the car. :rofl2:

Mr. Danegrey is a badazz.. :iagree:

thanks appreciate that....

thanks

Recap (lot of detail) of my day with a Porsche Cayman GTS

6/26, the day of the Porsche got there and the Porsche was all setup… John (the car's tech for the day) was there and Paul (my coach)was running late but it did not matter. Day turned out to be a wonderful clear day.. John had everything setup, car was ready, refreshments, donuts were ready… And a large fan under an awning. Paul showed up with his two co-workers who had never had been to one of these. They had a blast getting droves in all sort of cars. Paul seems to know so many people. John even commented he was great to see a coach so enthusiastic. So we/I walked around and it was mainly Porsche’s and Vettes and a couple of Miata’s.
-- First session was just to get use to the car, did not figure out how to put in manual mode. It was an automatic and did the shifting on its own so it was interesting, the brakes felt totally different, interesting my fastest speed down the back straight was this session was 135.
-- Second session was better and speed wise was the best of the day. it felt great and I seem too adaptive fairly well. Paul had suggestions.
-- Third / Fourth sessions did not really improve my time, but consistence was there, what that means, was the lap times were all close. Except when being passed or passing. Garmin Catalyst indicated my laps were mostly within 1% of each other. So in that regards mission accomplished.
-- Fifth session was a bit different. My Coach had wanted me to try to do left foot braking. Well I did it for the entire session. Worked my way into it. And was getting good at it. Then I had an opps, then another, nothing big, just little things. I told my coach, I’m done, no sense in driving anymore and then having a BIG opps.
-- End review, Paul said overall he got see the improvement, smoother, relaxed, hitting my marks, good on my point. Paul was my first coach back last September, we just hit it off so well.

In all did 49 laps in 5 sessions, which amount to about 2 hours of track time. It was all well worth it. And it had a wonderful sound.... so neutral and easy to drive....

The best lap of the day

133 mph on the back stretch..:eek::eek::eek::eek:

Fastest was 135 and I wanted to go faster :)

A bit of reflection from the events on Monday, I was a bit surprised that I wasn't a bit faster. It's a porsche cayman gts, this is not reflect on the day/experience for it was fantastic.

But more of me as a driver, now my coach for the day, said I was hitting my marks. My session with my sim coach said the say thing. There was a bit of difference between the two, but that is personally preferences.

So for myself, its more about self-preservation which I am entirely ok with. So I will work on hitting my points at the finally track days this month. And hopefully being able to go a bit faster..

Now the other amazing thing from June, I have driven 3 cars on 3 different tracks. And 3 cars all on the same track. A total of 5 events in 30 days.
A fun month.

And there are 4 track events left for the year.

Another Track day tomorrow, Z at AMP
Will be over a month, since I had the Z on track, with running other cars.
I will have the Z out twice more this year....

If your in the area, drop by at Atlanta Motorsport Park.
My sessions are at 9:25/10:55/2:10/3:30/4:25 (this one is going to be a b1tch)

Also if your brave, you can do run along, just need to get a helmet and wavier signed.
if no helmet, one can be rented...

Just a thought
:happydance:

Lol Awesome. :gtfo2::rofl2::yum::eek::happydance:

Ohhhh! I love a good ride along as you know. :tiphat:

ballz to the wall brother.:icon17:

Man, when are we going to see you on national tv doing donuts after a checkered flag?:tiphat:

Wow, time flies. Brief review what happen at my last track event. It was hot, so the track was hot. At one point track temp was 165, so it was slippery. One point got some cloud cover for a session and I noticed the difference in grip. Best I could do was 1.40.99. Most important thing was the consistency of driving. Event with traffic, my lap difference was under 1%, which is excellent.

It's good to know all the hard work is paying off, when you get comments, I need to follow you, your fast, lines are good. Or the instructor tells that your best I have seen take turn 10. Or taking someone for a ride, boy he knows how to brake talking to friends


I did find out I had a coolant leak, must have been small, so the 2nd from last session it went into limp mode. Notice water temp was beg, oil was high too. So I simply assumed it got too hot. Wrong. I left and a couple miles from the track it happened again. So then I knew it was a bit more of a problem.
Pulled over to side and lots of people stop and offer to help. I said AAA was on its way, wrong. They cancelled my first call. But a person did stop and he gave me his phone number. So I don't know if he drove by again or what. He showed up a hour later with 3 gallons of coolent, drinner and rags. And we figured out no water coming out the back, no water in the oil, it was just a coolent leak. Filled it up with coolent and was able to get back home. Funny think I texted him and thanked him, last thing in his text was he had owned a 370Z Nismo and said it was a fun car.. 😆 It all ended well

Ok, got post track inspection completed, everything looks good.
Rotors/brake pads/tires/wheels nothing out of the blue. wear has been acceptable.

Thou I think next year, will require - new rotors/brake pads/tires to start out the year the right way.

Interesting stat out of the Garmin Catalyst -- 114 laps and 3.6 hours of track time this year.

Here is my best lap for AMP on 7-8-2023
not my quickest, not my slowest, but a fun lap....


I think it was 1.40.99, and it was hot as I mentioned track temp of 165.... at one point

Link isn’t working

Odd worked for me, try this
https://youtu.be/tQpj-_ySxpU

Track on Saturday at Road Atlanta, car count on Saturday for advance group is only 10 cars as of now.... Will be nice.... :)

Well track day, yesterday was one to forget. Had to be the most frustrating one this year.
First session was good, I got into a line of cars, we sorted ourselves out and I got into a rhythm, it was fun, just hitting the marks, car felt balance and was running well. It felt natural for me on the track. Set a time of 1:52:98

Second session no rhythm, a black flag and I seemed to be the slow one of the group. Running advance and people were in a hurry. So lots of point bys and being aware of folks. So this session was totally off. Really a wasted session.

Third session, similar to the second, with letting cars past. But this time I was the black flag. Similar to last time went into limp mode, seems the radiator sprung a leak. And out went the fluid. I had a note to check temps, I think what happen was trying to be aware of cars behind. It was a hot day, about 91.

Lessons -
Maybe Intermediate and only 3 point by areas, vs Red, where passing is everywhere. Really about comfort level and finding an open spot.
Turn 1, next time I go to brake deeper, forget about shifting, use 5th gear through.
Not sure about the failure, it is a 12 year old radiator, that has been punished.

I was a bit prepared this time, only because I now take coolent/water/something just in case.

So now I am looking for a radaitor with the A/C hookup also will replace the water pump..
Any suggestions -- hint, I might only have 1-3 years left of tracking..

just watched a video on the new Z, sorry but its not for me, performance version at 53K
I would have to look at Supra pricing. But really Nissan, a bit disappointed

Decided to do one more Track day in the Z, it will be on Oct 22nd. It will be Atlanta Motorsport Park, I have an extra large helmet, if you want to come for a ride.

Just let me know, more to come as the day approaches...

Ok, did the my last track event of the year in the Type-R, this ended up being an interesting day.

The Good
My car was driven by Thomas Byrne, in one flying lap he did a 1.48.27, which set my target mark for the day. Tommy Byrne is an interesting character, look him up

I did 61 laps for the day, with my 48th lap was my best at 1.47.26, so what I had learn from Tommy Byrne was put to good use.

Thanks to help on civicx forum, I got my tires pressures finger out. Front 32 / Rear 30 hot.

No problems with temperatures on the car, it was a cooler day, temps in the upper 60s.

Constant comments on the color, Tommy Byrne comment on the brakes and how good of a track car it was. People looking all over it. Got some comments on my driving too.

The Bad
I got the 'Emission and rev match system' failure/problem on track. Car went into limp mode and I nursed it back to the pits and done for the day. Then was trying to figure out what to do. OBD code was a P0087, which I cleared and then turn off the rev-limiter. Fuel was a bit low, but not enough I thought, considering at one point I was running with the low fuel light on at one point. I did after I found it was running ok, went and filled it up with gas. Fingers were crossed. Everything appear ok, was able to drive from Mid-Ohio to Morganton WV and then to Knoxville.

I have the rev-limit back on and no problems in normal daily driving. Just a wonderment.



A bit of excitement at the :)

My son put this side by side together. Interesting the comments that can be heard by Tommy, use the curbs.

https://streamable.com/dqyzze

Here a link to Tommy Byrned
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_...racing_driver))

Enjoy

I love the battle cry at the end :) In the last year I've had so many electrical gremlins that its almost become normal. Id be more worried if I got nothing lol

I understand that, my Z, seems to find something new every year. This year chasing a coolant leak... :(

well fingers crossed, that the Z will run all day Sunday.
Doing a track day, only because I want to make sure it runs without problems.
But in the morning going to be like 50, and my group is out at 9am.
So just going to play with a new line on the back area of Atlanta Motorsport Park.
Also its Sunday, not sure if sound is going to be any tigher as making sure limits
Thou I have not gotten Black Flag for sound yet. (knocking on wood)

Last Track Day in the Z (Maybe ever)
The good.
Car felt good and I got down to my best lap of 1.39.76 (about 3,38 seconds off my personal best). The tires grip was available quickly, tire presures were stable
at 36F/34R. Felt great, thou I was in the advance group, and by far not the quickest person, lots of pointbys to finally get
a lap or two clear.

The Bad
Coolant leak came back, but it was different this time. So on the way to Atlanta I ran into slow freeway traffic,
was watching the temps and it all was normal. Drove to the track about a hour away, everything looking good.
No Coolant leaks were seen. On track and it all went down hill. See I had bought a cheap HUD unit, the plugs into the
OBDII port. Temps were not accurate, but it gave me an idea. So the first ten laps it got up over 240 (please realize, not
sure how accurate the gavage was) The dots were moving. What was interesting is in the first session, they moved up and
and down. Sometime rapidly, sometime in a corner. Well first session ended and there was some coolant that had leaked out.

Hmm, ok, check the overflow tank, it was below minimum, filled it back up to minimum. Went out for the 2nd session. So
as in the first, watching mirrors and coolant temp. This time it last 4 good laps and was over 240, did a slow down
lap and did not drop much. Tried one more and no change and I came in. This time I saw lots of coolant as it was
coming from the overflow tank. very very odd. I let the car sit, filled it overflow tank with what I had left
and drove back the gf house. No problem. Next day drove from Atlanta to Knoxville and everything was working normal.
Temps would go up to 205, fans come on, temps go down to 185. Got home no coolant leaks.

So it only occurs on the track and outside temps was low 60's (reference point)

Lost as to what the problem is, Next step, replace the two radiator caps and replaced the water pump

Out of ideas, actually will probably sell it. Also at the point of not wanting to put a whole lot more money in it.

Why you might ask why, just tired of trying to do everything right and constantly having little things to fix or resolve.
When I compare it to the Type-R, which was built for the track, vs building a car for the track. Probably because I am an old man. :)

Thoughts/comments/ideas for I am out of ideas.

Have you taken it to a mechanic?
If it is parked and drips coolant - where is it? front, back, drive side, passenger side?

Coolant appears to be coming from the overflow tank, and yes, my mechanics have looked at it. Have done pressure checks no problems, looking at getting a better understanding. Might be a bubble, might be a head gasket.

Replacing the water pump, it just rough, for there is no real way to take it. so when the work is done, going to go on the highway and let it rev of course at the speed limit

The photo team, ByPoint, used my car in for an ad, for the 10/22 event.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx8kYw5RFxc/

Working on an Ad to sell the Z, I am all over the place on this, but it helps actually in inventorying all the stuff I have and why the garage is so filled. As we know getting rid of stuff is hard to do. :)

ok, update on the Z, still trying to decided what to do with it, but this is where it stands, Its at the shop, and the owner of the shop took an interest in the coolant problem and has been working on it, so the what is going to be done, is, lower thermoset tempature, catch can for the coolant. Also oil change, to make sure that it's just oil, then new spark plugs and check the spark plugs and compression check. No new water pump, if the water pump was going to be done, would have replaced the timing chain too. Lots of work to get that done. So time will tell. right now its out of sight, out of mind.

Last fast lap in the Z at my session in October...
It felt good, be it without all the cooling problems I thought I might get close to my best time last year

Track photos of the Z from 2023

https://photos.app.goo.gl/CyL8JZdfy3xnyeKQA

a few of many