MSR Houston

[Houston Kid]

Has anyone run at MSR Houston 2.38 mile course? I just registered through Chin Motorsports for the April 10-11 track days there. Anyone here happen to be going?

https://msrhouston.com/

It's just a step up from Grandsport Speedway. By a lot!!!!

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[gfcobra04]

I’ve run there before. It is flat no elevation pretty open with good run off in key areas.

I’m doing COTA 2/19-21 and eagles canyon 3/6-7. I haven’t planned on MSR Houston

 

[Houston Kid]

I’ve run there before. It is flat no elevation pretty open with good run off in key areas.

I’m doing COTA 2/19-21 and eagles canyon 3/6-7. I haven’t planned on MSR Houston

I am just getting started on road courses and I hope to get to COTA later this year or next. I will have to check out Eagles Canyon also.

 

[ZRacerLE]

Has anyone run at MSR Houston 2.38 mile course? I just registered through Chin Motorsports for the April 10-11 track days there. Anyone here happen to be going?

https://msrhouston.com/

It's just a step up from Grandsport Speedway. By a lot!!!!

I run there quite a bit. I'll be there in March. Hope to one day see you out there. Just missed you this time around.

Do you know which direction you're running?

 

[Houston Kid]

I run there quite a bit. I'll be there in March. Hope to one day see you out there. Just missed you this time around.

Do you know which direction you're running?

I wanted to go in March but I will be working out of town for three weeks in March and won't make it. I am sure we will meet up out there one day.
I do not know what direction.

 

[ZRacerLE]

I wanted to go in March but I will be working out of town for three weeks in March and won't make it. I am sure we will meet up out there one day.
I do not know what direction.

You'll LOVE the back straight with those 760 ponies. You'll probably hit 135+mph even as a beginner in a 500.

It may take some time to get comfortable going fast through carousel. It won't seem like it at first, but you can maintain 80+mph through it with your car.

If you're going clockwise, turn 17 is the scariest at speed (about 80mph), heading pretty sharp into a wall (not so bad the other direction at only about 50mph).

You might consider heading straight to the nearby shell station after each session. Gas at the track is $5+ per gallon.

 

[Houston Kid]

You'll LOVE the back straight with those 760 ponies. You'll probably hit 135+mph even as a beginner in a 500.

It may take some time to get comfortable going fast through carousel. It won't seem like it at first, but you can maintain 80+mph through it with your car.

If you're going clockwise, turn 17 is the scariest at speed (about 80mph), heading pretty sharp into a wall (not so bad the other direction at only about 50mph).

You might consider heading straight to the nearby shell station after each session. Gas at the track is $5+ per gallon.

I am certain on the Shell station. After averaging about 5 mpg at Grandsport, I know she is a thirsty girl. Speed is addictive and this car is so fun at speed especially with corners.

 

[BlackMustang690]

I haven't been out in my gt500 but I know one of the members with an orange Gt500, car is really fast down the straights hitting 140mph on the back straight. I run a zl1 1le out there. Be ready to hit the shell gas station quite a bit. I believe Dave (orange gt500) runs through 12-14 gal per 20min session.

 

[raidernixon]

My wife and I did a track weekend with NASA in late January at MSR Houston. We took both the CFTP GT500 and our 16 GT PP - it was a lot of fun and the GT500 does shine in a track environment. The technical parts of the track are quite fun and the straightaways are a reward for controlling the beast through those turns.

I'll echo the comment above, the GT500 will eat a LOT of fuel if it's run hard...almost to an unreasonable extent lol. We are still beginners and were not running the GT500 as hard as the other vehicles out there, but 8 to 10 gallons per 20 min session sounds about right for moderately pushing the car. We filled up about once every two sessions. We ran the 16 GT MUCH harder, and by comparison it burned through a full tank after 4 sessions/80 minutes/98 miles of track time.

Also - the GT500 does like to eat those Cup 2 tires. I'd be shocked if we get more than 3 track weekends out of them

Lastly - I'd skip participating with the GT500 if it is wet/raining unless you really know what you are doing. All things considered, the GT500 did ok in the rain but the Cup 2 tires were questionably useless if anything resembling a puddle was involved. I brought it in after 10 minutes because the car kept trying to kill me.

As a side note, I'm considering going for the VMP 81mm intercooler on the GT500. While the car did not exhibit any issues, it was a nice cool 50 -60 degrees outside and after each run, the car was noticeably hot (yes, the rain tray was removed). Given this observation and the cool ambient temps, I can see heat being an issue during a track weekend in the summer.

We are planning to be out there for another weekend March 6-7. I am not sure yet about Chin's event in April but it is definitely on the radar.

 

[Epiphany]

Also - the GT500 does like to eat those Cup 2 tires.

How much negative camber were you running?

 

[raidernixon]

How much negative camber were you running?

To be honest, I am not 100% sure, but it was however it came from the factory. I just did a rough measurement and the front seems to be around -1 degree and the rear seems to be a little more than -1.5 degrees.

Unfortunately I was unable to get the alignment adjusted to the recommended track specifications before this event, so it was left to the stock alignment. I'd like to have this adjustment done for the upcoming event to see if it helps, but am having trouble finding a place that I trust to do it.

 

[Epiphany]

While it'd be optimum to have settings based on temps, etc, for the car at a given track, I think it a fair assumption that the car can use more negative camber (up front at the very least) and that alone may help with the tire wear you were speaking to. Exactly how much negative camber, well, that's in the details and it takes the time and effort to do it right.

And I hear you about trusting someone to do the work for you. Why not grab the bull by the horns, and learn to do it yourself? I do mine and with some basic equipment you can become pretty proficient at it with a little work.

 

[raidernixon]

While it'd be optimum to have settings based on temps, etc, for the car at a given track, I think it a fair assumption that the car can use more negative camber (up front at the very least) and that alone may help with the tire wear you were speaking to. Exactly how much negative camber, well, that's in the details and it takes the time and effort to do it right.

And I hear you about trusting someone to do the work for you. Why not grab the bull by the horns, and learn to do it yourself? I do mine and with some basic equipment you can become pretty proficient at it with a little work.

The advice is much appreciated, thanks!

Funny you mention that, I really would like to be able to do this on my own and have been making an effort to learn how to do it - maybe I will give it a shot this weekend if the temperatures will ever become reasonable outside again.

So far I think I've got a good understanding of the string method for toe adjustments. I haven't started digging into camber adjustments yet but I am hoping it is pretty straightforward. It is also my understanding that camber should be set before toe. Assuming you have done it before, any advice/recommendations specific to the process of adjusting the CFTP GT500? Mine is a October 2020 build GT500 and it appears that it has the adjustable camber plate already installed from the factory.

 

[Epiphany]

Caster, camber, then toe. Since the S550 has plenty of caster as-is, you can leave it at just camber and then toe. I added CFTP springs to my Base '20 GT500 and did the alignment at that time (I think I shared a video of it on here too). I use two lengths of conduit, string, jackstands (to support the conduit at each end of the car), and an engineer's wood rule for toe. For camber I use a magnetic caster/camber gauge from Longacre.

With a Job2 car you have to remove the pins in your factory adjustable plates. You can find photos in this forum and an explanation on how people have removed them to allow for custom alignments. Beyond that, it is just a matter of reading up on the process and getting your hands dirty. First time around can be frustrating but that may be the best way to learn. Trust me, once you have done it yourself you'll know that somebody else isn't going to care as much about doing it right as you do.

 

[ZRacerLE]

Guys,

I highly recommend Sal's autosport for track day alignments in Houston:
http://salsautosport.com/

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