The Albuquerque Stripper - Who says a Mustang can't land a kickflip?

[PaddyPrix]

Quick update, was hoping for some great results going into Auto Club Speedway this weekend with Speed Ventures, because it was the first time ever going there with a front splitter. If I picked up 2 seconds at Willow Springs, and about 2 seconds at Chuckwalla... then perhaps that'd at least transfer there, right?

Well, there's a reason that it's called the Albuquerque Stripper, right?

Dammit, this again? It rained heavily Friday, and so there was a pool in the playground section near the end of the course which had a big standing pool of water, where you're usually taking a nice high G left turn and entering the straight. Instead, we had to take a really sharp and slow left across a portion that is generally never used. I'm guessing some combination of a pothole and bouncing caught the front lip and just ate it like Jaws. I'm somewhat used to driving this car without front downforce, so, alright, just remove it, nothing hurt more than the splitter.

Spent most of Saturday playing with Porsche GT Cup cars, a few McLaren 765LT's, and well, some 90s NASCAR. Not replicas, the real, bonafide, authentic ones that you and I grew up watching. I didn't major in English, so I'm having a hard time putting the words together properly, it's almost like meeting and playing with your childhood hero. Obviously behind the wheel isn't really Jeff Gordon, but that sure as shit is his car.



Being on a NASCAR track, chasing them down the straightaway and into the 14 degree banking is something I'll never forget, wish it could have gone on all day. As they entered the infield, they entered my world, and you can see me reeling them back in.

Sunday I was pretty much done with the tires, but yet somehow, on the 17th Heat Cycle, and despite missing the apex in the higher G turns, I was still able to put down a 1:49.088 which I believe is incredibly fast for a bald street tire, considering that all of the Vettes and Camaro ZL1 1LE I was with were on Hoosier, Michelin, and Pirellis.



I'm trying to avoid forward-looking statements, but if I can do 1:49 on bald street tires, hoping these Hoosier A7's will go even faster with the NASA SoCal this weekend. Can't wait, a really strong showing would be the best birthday present I've had in years.

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[bnightstar]

I'm trying to avoid forward-looking statements, but if I can do 1:49 on bald street tires, hoping these Hoosier A7's will go even faster with the NASA SoCal this weekend. Can't wait, a really strong showing would be the best birthday present I've had in years.

Sorry for your splitter. But looks like tons of fun to chaise real NASCAR cars. Amazing fun. I have a question though what is with all the jumping on the car especially in the infield and through one of the S-es. Looks like the car is to stiff and skipping maybe softening it up will help with your lap times ?

 

[PaddyPrix]

Sorry for your splitter. But looks like tons of fun to chaise real NASCAR cars. Amazing fun. I have a question though what is with all the jumping on the car especially in the infield and through one of the S-es. Looks like the car is to stiff and skipping maybe softening it up will help with your lap times ?

Yeah, sucks, already building another one as we speak. The car is jumpy because I've got some really high rate springs of 850F/1100R#, I want to drop it down, and should, but I keep breaking things so frequently that I don't get the time to make those fine tunings. I think going that stiff is helping me in the heavy banking, but hoping that things stay together for this upcoming weekend, I'll have more data to better prove that.

 

[PaddyPrix]

So built a new front splitter, which was good for another second. Added some rebound to the rear shocks which helped some of the bouncing, and pulled out a 1:46.767 in the second session.

I'll have to make a slightly thicker 3d printed holster, as my real time dash kinda just fell off because I was able to come out of that last turn onto the straight that much faster, touching 157-158 by turn 1. If you watch closely, you can see my whole dash bumping up and down at 150+

Felt real solid sustaining 135-140 in the banking, so some more comfort there and I'll further keep pushing it, perhaps 145. The splitter also activated the brakes, as my chest now hurts, pulling 1.8G on the stop coming into turn 12. So yeah, I'd say I fixed my braking problem.

 

[1 old racer]

Paddy, you looked really good out there this weekend. And nothing fell off. So it was a great track weekend

 

[PaddyPrix]

Paddy, you looked really good out there this weekend. And nothing fell off. So it was a great track weekend

Well, thankfully I had you (and some super strong duct tape) helping me

 

[bnightstar]

Well, thankfully I had you (and some super strong duct tape) helping me

It's not a race car without duct tape . Looks like your front is still bouncing though especially on the long infield straight. That with the fallen tablet was not cool. What are you using to get data on it ? ODB II cable or something else ? Good that the front splitter survived though. Nice lap as well though that left hander slide was scary. Not sure why you guys are pushing all the time through the whole session if you make a mistake (like with the missed shift on the streight) just back off let the car rest and cool down and run faster next lap. Though you guys are a lot of cars on the track and this does seams dangerous to me especially with the white car at the end of the video. Looks like another fun day at the track. Can't wait for winter to be over here and to be able to play on the track.

 

[PaddyPrix]

It's not a race car without duct tape . Looks like your front is still bouncing though especially on the long infield straight. That with the fallen tablet was not cool. What are you using to get data on it ? ODB II cable or something else ? Good that the front splitter survived though. Nice lap as well though that left hander slide was scary. Not sure why you guys are pushing all the time through the whole session if you make a mistake (like with the missed shift on the streight) just back off let the car rest and cool down and run faster next lap. Though you guys are a lot of cars on the track and this does seams dangerous to me especially with the white car at the end of the video. Looks like another fun day at the track. Can't wait for winter to be over here and to be able to play on the track.

Yeah, I started off with playing with the rear first, and it calmed down a bit in the later sessions. I use an Autosport Labs Race Capture Pro which has a direct OBD-II connector, and then communicates to the tablet via their Android App over Bluetooth.

As for the pushing, those cars are higher classes than me, and let's assume equal drivers. The Blue M Coupe weighs 1000# less, so hanging with him in the turns is helping me further push and find my cornering limits... and actually, that 3rd full lap where I had to correct and save that slide was pretty close to my PB. Had I not slid, I could have likely picked up another .250, who knows. Predictive said I had a 1:44.8 if I put things together, which are consistent with the w2s race cars I hope to join up with next year. This is only my 2nd year, so got to make up for lots of seat time against people who've been doing it close to their whole lives.

We had 35 going out at a time, so with a 20-25 second buffer, you've got maybe 5 laps before you start getting to traffic, and yeah, that's now going to be my sign to start my cooldown, not much to be gained flying through traffic.

Here's hoping your weather gets its act in shape soon, we're nearing the end of PB season where the temps start to rise, as our tracks are all in the desert where 100+ days are the norm and just brutal, moreso in cars without AC.

 

[PaddyPrix]

I'm famous!



... sorta

Done the off thing so many times now it's no longer scary, and until I upgrade from this non-PP LSD to a Torsen, I'll just have to keep living on the edge. On hard turns, the LSD just wants to drive the rear wheels straight, understeer I'd rather not have. Lack of front aero contributed, as did running brakes just a step or two above what I can put into them, operating temp on these is like 600-2400, and heh, getting them that hot takes a lot of downforce I don't yet have. That said, there were only a handful who could say they had better lap times, and plenty of higher classed TT1 and TTU were cars beneath me.

https://racehero.io/events/socal-nasa-aaa-speedway-march-2021/results/536871695

7th overall, 3rd in TT2... not a bad start.

 

[ice445]

This whole build is awesome

 

[PaddyPrix]

This whole build is awesome

Appreciate it, thank you.

Looking back just over a year into it, amazing to see what I've been able to accomplish in such a short time, and I guess proof what's possible if you apply yourself and plan out small steps towards a goal. Others have certainly done it before me to some varying degrees of being better, cheaper, or quicker, but I'm happy it all worked out and think I'm pretty high up on the bang-buck scoreboard, if there ever was one.

 

[PaddyPrix]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity... why do I even bother driving all the way up to Buttonwillow.

There are just some days where I feel as if the car is blackmailing me.



Hectic week, had Friday planned off, but the ineptitude of others meant that I was up all night to 6am fixing some stupid mess. Took a nap and instead of leaving at like 10am, I left at like 1 after getting some rest, the trailer, and loading it up. Hit a metric poop ton of Friday traffic through Los Angeles, and in such a rushed state forgot to grab e85, so instead of grabbing it on the way, had to take a 45m detour to Bakersfield and cut through, finally getting to the track at like 8pm, and most importantly missed Friday tech.

Saturday morning I was 2nd in like for the tech inspection, and they (rightfully) failed me because I didn't have safety wire or a cotter pin in my harness clip. Left the line, ran around and begged for safety wire which I thankfully found not too far away, but by the time I got it in, got into line, I was right at when we're supposed to go to the required 8am Driver Meeting. Got out of line, parked, ran across the track, got the bracelet and passes... then forgot to register and grab a transponder, ran back to registration, grabbed the transponder, tossed it onto the car, went back to tech, helped somebody else safety wire their pins, because they too would have failed, and finally got my sticker at about 8:50, 10 minutes before our session. Got in line, and since it was first come, first serve, I was dead last in line as we were released out.

... of friggin' 35 cars.

To those who have seen or done Buttonwillow before, doing so with 35 cars on the course is a stretch, and doing so with 35 cars that are from 7 different classes from essentially 4:1 P/W to 16:1 is madness, especially in the good ol' 13 CW configuration, which really only presents a passing area on the main straightaway, or getting others in and out of a few corners if you're considerably over-powered.

Kevin was in TT2 with me as well, but he was much smarter and went out first, but I was busy with all that mayhem traffic jam which really started on Thursday night by some dumb developer. Oh well, going to be an uphill battle all weekend long I guess. This wasn't helped out in any way by our Time Trial rule which is no passing on the first green lap unless pointed by. I get why they do it with the various levels of compounds, so for somebody running A7, I'm essentially ready on the warmup lap and just wasting away precious softness at 3/4 pace sitting behind some 120hp TT6 944. 17th, 11th, then 6th when I got to run with some faster cars and not coast for large sections. Running 18x11 square, I try to switch tires either at the end of the day if I'm doing 3 sessions, or at lunch if I'm doing 4.

Is that a lot of wheel weights? That's a lot of wheel weights.
Didn't so much notice it on Saturday as I was in traffic and that tire was on the rear left, but on the front right, I was chattering teeth the whole time down the single straight. Thankfully Buttonwillow isn't really a high speed place, but I didn't feel safe pushing it over 120, still had to get my passes in though.

Finished the day with a 1:57.1, which yeah, is a PB, but dead honest, with a splitter and less people, I am super confident in me and this having a 1:54, especially when I compare my corner speeds with the plentiful Buttonwillow videos, I'm as fast or faster in all those spots that 1:54-1:55 cars are. Ending on a positive note, it was still good for 2nd, but I'll get them next time.

Was going to toss the splitter on, and accidentally broke it, so ran into town and grabbed another board to start the fun over again. Since Reber loves the orange mallot, tossed it back in the shot.

Not feeling too confident about the setup, I figured I'd give it one shot on Sunday, play it safe-ish, get a few laps in, and shut it down.

Pulled 135 on the back stretch dogleg CW14+A section and just couldn't take it any more. I know I'm good for 145-150 back there which would have been crazy competitive, TT2 course record perhaps, but just did two laps coasting behind of the guys infront of me, and called it a day after just those two laps, spending the rest of the day cheering on my sworn enemy as they took a few swipes at the TT2 record, just missing it by 2 tenths, which through a strange turn of luck, they lost because some significantly slower car killed their lap on the last turn. Bud, welcome to my weekend.

So, I guess that was easily the most disappointing 2nd place finish I've ever had, not that I'm not going to not take it Now with 10 sessions on the A7, they're certainly on the decline, but I might give them 4 sessions at the Super GT Cup... ironically also going to be at Buttonwillow on May 9th, and hope for some redemption, going to go fucking ham on the outlap. I'm pretty certain my vibration issue is from the rim, and with me swapping in the X pattern, it being on the front right makes sense, as while I love me some berms, we're generally hitting them at low speeds, except Auto Club's high speed 7/8 chicane which with my 3600# porker hitting it at 125mph isn't going to survive for too long. Talked to Cory at APEX and got some new stuff coming, but with that tag team of covid and shipping delays, it's going to be a while, so will have to try my luck with somebody local who's capable of repairing it a little better, but it'll always be sitting in the back of my mind when I'm mashing that throttle in. Next up after the Super GT Cup at Buttonwillow will be Willow Springs, where I'll be going for my competition license, pretty psyched about that, and perhaps a little more redemption at Willow Springs, where I threw away a 3rd place in T1 because of my brakes and having to make a quick decision.

3rd at ACS, 2nd for Saturday, and @flyhalf, I've got your ACS 2nd on me as well. I looked like an 80s rapper walking around with all 3 of them around my neck.

So entering May, that pretty much concludes our PB season here with our So Cal tracks getting into the 90s by the morning... not that my HF laser temp gun is brutally accurate, but track temp was 145 by the hot pit, got to be even hotter in the turns.

 

[Sivi70980]

As always, great read!! Appreciate you sharing and hope May turns out to be a great month for you!

 

[BeastAR]

Awesome read! Glad I read it all for the updates.


I do find it amazing, you are quite aggressive and the mustang just keeps on ticking (Sometimes missing pieces of course). Keep up the good work and updates!

 

[PaddyPrix]

As always, great read!! Appreciate you sharing and hope May turns out to be a great month for you!

Awesome read! Glad I read it all for the updates.


I do find it amazing, you are quite aggressive and the mustang just keeps on ticking (Sometimes missing pieces of course). Keep up the good work and updates!

I think there's a much finer line between aggression and stupidity than I'm willing to admit. Story goes that you can pretty much run a Nitto NT01 to its cord, and even pull out your best times at that point, but that thinking does not hold true with the Hoosier A7.



Starting the day off with cords was a difficult choice and day long lesson in car control. The slightest lateral movement would just end up sending me sideways, similar to the feeling when you've forgotten to take pressure out of your tire, it's just not feeling wide enough, and traction is difficult. In my case, just a few weekends before, I was going much harder, much faster, and it took everything and then some, whereas here, I was going 50%, eventually down to like 20% in the harder turns, and had to settle the car fully before applying throttle, as every turn became a drift, and adding wing and rear downforce to gain understeer wasn't working. Since I went off in the first two sessions, I didn't even have a qualifying time. 3rd session semi-coasted to at least get any time, and 4th session in the heat at its hottest, just went full hero lap with nothing to lose, last from these tires before they hit the dumpster.

Decent result, but could have grabbed first going nearly 3 seconds faster two weekends ago when I had to fight the pack from the back, but also shows the importance of knowing and feeling your tires, how you handle their management means almost everything. 14 heat cycles on an A7 is far past their sweet spot which is pretty much their first session, and maybe 3-5 after it. Performance will drop, you'll believe it to be other factors like track heat, or setup, but it's probably just the tire. Live and learn, I suppose.

Two weeks away from NASA at Willow Springs where I am somewhat out for redemption. I started the season off in TT1 and on that Sunday screwed myself out of a 3rd place with a 4 wheel off on what would have been my cooldown lap, but lost brakes. Since then, things have changed, I feel as if the car and I have gotten slightly better, and that's debatable, but the competition has gotten much better... and that's definitely not.

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