GT 200MPH Speed Day/Mojave Mile Update Thread
- Thread starter skyrex
- Start date
Has to be.
It's definitely worth doing. It's not nearly as chaotic as you think when you do it on the runway because you lose perspective of speed without objects for reference. The first time I hit 200 in a, uh, different venue, it seemed a whole lot faster than it did on a runway.
I know you had a lot going on as I went through it recently, but the next event you really need to try to make it. You will have a blast. As for what you interpret mentally it would probably depend on the individual. I know there is no better feeling of accomplishment than finishing a good run, pulling up to get that time slip and seeing that 200+ number on there. Unless you get spoiled like me. If you turn up the volume and watch the second pass you can tell as I say "holy sh&%" when I get the slip and give the ticket a toss as I was not real happy with the number, which was still a 226+. :lol
You really want to improve each time and the car allows you to feel stable enough to worry and the driving/shifting and not the car. Looking forward to getting a group together after my next upgrades and doing it again. Will post a results/pics thread and link this vid in with a better description of what I was thinking then.
BlackICE
GT Owner
IMO the runway in TX was a lot smoother and driving on it seem like nothing at all. At Mojave the surface is a lot bumpier, I think its the expansion joints between the different concrete sections. At Mojave the car moves around a lot more and feels less planted than at TX. Combine that with the much cooler air temperature and cold GY tires leads to an exciting starts for the standing mile. I tried one mile run on Sat and I was going sideways for the 1st 3 gears! I am sure if I wasn't on such a wide "road" that I might have panicked and lifted and made the wreakedexotics.com.
I rewired my TC before the event and it didn't work right at all.
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I don't want to say too much and let the cat out of the bag, so I'll be brief. I'm in the groove......and the Texas Mile is in the bag! :secret:
Chip
We'll, I never thought I'd hear the day Goliad was referred to as smooth. :lol
Too bad Oscoda or Miami are out of the question. Not even comparable to Goliad.
tmcphail
GT Owner/Vendor
Mullet
FORD GT OWNER
Very cool.
Guess we need a Houston boy to match up with you. Paging Mark Highdecker..............
Apollo
GT Owner
Ah glasshoppa, man with great number of passes needed to show you "the Path". :biggrinIMO the runway in TX was a lot smoother and driving on it seem like nothing at all. At Mojave the surface is a lot bumpier, I think its the expansion joints between the different concrete sections. At Mojave the car moves around a lot more and feels less planted than at TX. Combine that with the much cooler air temperature and cold GY tires leads to an exciting starts for the standing mile. I tried one mile run on Sat and I was going sideways for the 1st 3 gears! I am sure if I wasn't on such a wide "road" that I might have panicked and lifted and made the wreakedexotics.com.
I rewired my TC before the event and it didn't work right at all.
Actually, there was a smoother line to take that Tom discovered last time he had done so many passes. I forgot about it on a couple of runs and you certainly could feel the sections at speed. You probably noticed them more too because you were going 25 mph faster and your tires were cold. :thumbsup Good runs Clinton, especially with your TC issue :thumbsup
I think the Texas has many bumps but also has rocks. Aloha GT actually popped a tire on a rock last time he was there. Miami has the smoothest runway but still had a number of rocks. The big planes going down the runways at Mojave blow most of the debris off. Windy days blow stuff back on, but at Goliad and Miami, there are no big planes to knock it off. It seemed to me there was a lot more stuff banging off the wheel wells going down Texas and Miami.
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sandman
GT Owner
Wow, we go from a thread celebrating the GT speed day to a vendor telling a member that he’s trying to “justify his set-up to himself or others”. Mr. Heffner, Ed is the last guy that would tell anyone that his way is the only way. It’s the way he chose and as far as I know he’s happy with it. He really doesn’t have to “justify” anything to you or me.
Another vendor questions Ed’s qualifications to talk about road courses. Ed has more racing experience on two and four wheels than most of the members on this forum.
I walked away from the weekend impressed with all of the cars no matter what set-up or make and also the group of people. Sadly it doesn’t carry over to the forum.
Another vendor questions Ed’s qualifications to talk about road courses. Ed has more racing experience on two and four wheels than most of the members on this forum.
I walked away from the weekend impressed with all of the cars no matter what set-up or make and also the group of people. Sadly it doesn’t carry over to the forum.
BlackICE
GT Owner
If was about 10 to 20' on the right side of the line. I guess Tom knows better than anyone, since on one has more runs on that runway other than a pilot.
As did I - COMPLETELY. I think a few people were torqued (including me) when someone would say, "well, yeah, that setup is good for only one thing and my setup is the better all around car." Everyone has an opinion, and that's cool but I'd like to know more of what is behind such an assessment. I think Ed is a very experienced road racer and I respect his opinion a lot. In fact, with his experience as a road racer, I'm sure he has driven a turbo car a time or two and maybe didn't like the experience. But we all know that turbo cars are not created equal. To the best of my knowledege, many nay-sayers of the TT have never driven one, let alone had the opportunity to drive one on a track. As such, how can a blanket statement apply? Ironically, and I'm sorry to say that it is absolutely true, if a new client came up and asked me for a Whipple because he wanted to enter the car consistently in road race venues - I'd caution him against it. The overheating problem is a real one. Again, I am not trying to bash the Whipple. I have installed several of them and each time the owner has been tickled pink with the investment and performance. But, these aren't the clients that plan to road race the car.
I think we will all have a lot more data points after the next rally where there will certainly be a large population of performance-enhanced cars and it will be interesting to see how they all perform!
BlackICE
GT Owner
I would say for 95+% of the owners a stock FGT will be just as fast as one with any power adders of any kind for most road course with the exception of those with many long straightaways. The person behind the wheel being the limiting factor. I would bet that Roketman or Gene Martindale with a stock FGT will beat the pants off of almost any owner of a Whippled or TT FGT.
The heat soak issue is real, but can be addressed as the owner in New Zealand has done. I believe he endurance races his car. Note that most non-racing open track events have a limited time on the courses such that heat soak may not be a real issue.
For a road track with a lot of corners, how well the throttle is connected to the torque at the rear wheels makes the car easier to control and balance. IMO normally aspirated cars win here, followed by screw, or roots blowers and then by centrifugal blowers and turbos. Arguing which type is better is pointless. If you aren't racing, then whichever system gives you the most thrills and smiles is the right system for you. If you race, the rules dictate what you will run. What I have observed is every owner is all smiles when driving their FGT and especially the TT owners when they crack off those impressive 220+ runs, time after time.
Another point, dyno torque curve hardly tell the whole story, they don't tell anything about the dynamic torque output. e.g. Rev the car to 6000 close the throttle and let the RPMs drop to 4000, now go WOT. The torque response of a normal aspirated, blown and TT car will all be different.
The heat soak issue is real, but can be addressed as the owner in New Zealand has done. I believe he endurance races his car. Note that most non-racing open track events have a limited time on the courses such that heat soak may not be a real issue.
For a road track with a lot of corners, how well the throttle is connected to the torque at the rear wheels makes the car easier to control and balance. IMO normally aspirated cars win here, followed by screw, or roots blowers and then by centrifugal blowers and turbos. Arguing which type is better is pointless. If you aren't racing, then whichever system gives you the most thrills and smiles is the right system for you. If you race, the rules dictate what you will run. What I have observed is every owner is all smiles when driving their FGT and especially the TT owners when they crack off those impressive 220+ runs, time after time.
Another point, dyno torque curve hardly tell the whole story, they don't tell anything about the dynamic torque output. e.g. Rev the car to 6000 close the throttle and let the RPMs drop to 4000, now go WOT. The torque response of a normal aspirated, blown and TT car will all be different.
Mullet
FORD GT OWNER
cobrar1339
GT Owner
The TT's were so darn impressive at this venue that is hard not to get your passion up if you are in that camp. I would not be too alarmed.
I agree Ed has plenty of track days and a bunch in a Turbo car ( Not a GT that I know of). But I will side with the poster that said give me an NA car for the road course. The turbos are super fun and just felt right in most every way. However, my old school experience (SVO, Rx7 TT Supra TT) with them in a competitive track environment is the reason I bought a NA Zo6 for a track dog.
These GT turbo systems may be way different, and are at least 12 years newer in in turbo mgmt ...that changes the game. But , for an old school racer, I like the predictability of the NA or the twin screw type induction. Until you have braked from 120 blipped and grabbed 2nd , then modulated the throttle through 2nd gear in a drift you can't really understand what I am saying. This was the weak spot for old school turbos. Personally, I am willing to go to school and look at the possibilities others have mentioned. Till actually experiencing that, the jury is out on that claim for me. I must say though that the mgmt systems Ryan showed me at the track are quite awesome. I am sill a bit giddy to think the turbo holy grail has been found. It"s really amazing what has been accomplished to date.
In the spirit of driving a turbo car of any make, I have to say they are the most fun and enjoyable cars out there. They just feel right, ("Woosh"). For the given purpose that brought this on though, 12 years ago I would be an NA guy without a doubt. I tried them all, Vortech, Kenne Bell, T3's, T4's, Esslingers. I gave up, and went NA and never had better days at the track. But I remain flexible and love the woosh in where I spend most of my seat time (fast track on the 91 fwy).
Miller's long config favors the TT, so those that are in doubt, don't be too surprised if traction holds and brakes are good, should be fun.
Congrats Again to all the GT owners who run what they brung at Mojave. From bone stock to TT you had the entire field green with envy on day 2.... and complete team support and real rooting on day 1 and 2. Kendall's thumbs up pic above shows the spirit and energy of the event from all the GT owners. While they may have been tweeking the a tape job, I can assure you everyone was listening and rooting for all the participants personal bests. Thanks again for a great weekend for all.
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Apollo
GT Owner
Ah, you beat me to my edit. Yeah, I was focused on other things and actually had the wrong line on my fast run. With that strong cross wind and cold tires, you could certainly feel the joints.
Triheart7
GT Owner
Me Too.
Ed Sims, Sandman and others are driving down from Northern California with a group of GT's and sending updates from the drive!
BlackICE
GT Owner
Easy, I won't say how fast I entered the starting line. I didn't know at the time, never looked at my speedo, but the Driftbox files tell the story. :biggrinI bet I could get up to 80 mph on the turn and into the triple digits by the start line.
But if you go "too fast" you will be given a stern warning. This has happen to someone that wasn't going any faster than some others, but who probably appeared faster due to the exhaust noise.
Triheart7
GT Owner
Sent from Ed's iPhone to mine. Not sure where they are in these pictures, but headed south. Cloudy sky's but looks like no rain.
