2 Tracks in 2 Days! Part 2 of 2
Fresh off a successful trackday with NASA @ BlackHawk Farms where I took 1st in class and set a class record we were headed to Autobahn for the Redline event.
It was a short nap but I was just happy to be there. Sat had been so hot and frustrating. Heck, the whole week was a chore to get ready. As my car is prepped for NASA TTB, there’s a whole different set of rules for Redline Street class. I had to install new seats, a new exhaust for clearance, reinstall my center console and some other misc odd things to be legal in their ‘Street’ class.
Sunday I woke up and switched to my street tires, got teched and was ready for Street AWD practice. Because of the previous days issues, the car still had 93oct in the tank that needed used up before I could switch to 100 and up the boost. My best practice lap was a 1:39.9 I think on pump gas. Here’s some vid from practice:
I filled up with 100oct, switched maps, turned the boost up to what ended up being 24psi and was ready enough. For the first TA; I was gridded 8th of 15 in Street. They did not tell us how they were dividing us up, I just got pointed at and said go – even though I wasn’t even belted in! I frantically got belted in and to the start/finish where I had to wait for everyone else in the first group to do the same!
I ran a 138.3 which put me into first! But only because I was the first car to complete a lap…haha. The car was understeering badly in T2 and ‘patience’ and was running with 3/4 tank of fuel so I knew it had more time in it.
Put lightly, there were some issues in the other street TA session. You can read more about it HERE if you like. I was fortunate not to be in that group!
Getting ready for TA#2, I turned the boost up a few psi as I’m tuned for it. I made a few suspension changes, studied my traqmate data and was about to make some alignment changes when the rain set in. The track never dried out and all the times stood. I think with some luck I could have ran a 36-37 which would have had be challenging for 3rd perhaps, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
I ended up 4th out of 9 in Street AWD. I bettered my time time from last year by 3 full seconds but unfortunately just didn’t have the horsepower to challenge the top guys. If I had been at full tilt, my car puts down about 360whp @ 3250lbs, the top 2 cars I know put down 400whp (mustang dyno) and 525whp! Even if I wasn’t prepped for the series, it’s still great to get out and run and compare your car and laptimes to some of the fastest cars in the country. If only the Redline series made more than 1 stop within 16 hours of my house perhaps I’d build my car specifically for the series…
Super thanks to AMS Performance for the awesome tunes they have put on my car. I ran 2 different tunes at 2 different tracks this weekend and both performed flawlessly. I wish I had another session to run the remaining 4lbs of boost I had waiting but mother nature said ‘no’.
An extra thanks to Dan & the shipping staff for getting me a few go-fast parts shipped out so quickly! Appreciate it.
They did let Street go back out for TA#2 even though the track was wet, so I went out to try and set the fastest lap in the wet – 2:06 anyone – and then had some Drifto fun.