Laguna Seca - NASA - January 7th

[Elv15]

We have a couple of folks signed up for the HPDE event at Laguna Seca on Sunday January 7th. I've never driven on this track, but it has a great reputation and I'm excited to be going there to try it out.

I'd love to have some more of our local se7ens commuity show up for this. I suspect it may be a bit chilly, but we have had quite a bit of good weather lately so maybe we will get lucky! ;) If not and it is cold, no big deal...if it is wet, well that makes for a good chance to work on driving smoothly...or perhaps just having some fun hooning around! :eek: :p :D

Ideally we would get a group of us and could coordinate a group dinner/barbeque or something.

Here is the sign up page:https://www.nasaproracing.com/nasa_e.../?event_id=454

SO, Who is up for it?!? Let us know what you are thinking! ...

[moosetestbestanden]

Too far far too soon for me. They have a noise test there don't they? I shudder at the notion of towing all the way there only to be told that I couldn't run.

[Elv15]

Noise limit

Hi Chris,

Sorry you will not make it - quite understandable this time of year! It's also a long drive for a single day event.

They do have a noise limit - but I don't expect that your car (or mine) will be loud enough to get DQ'ed.

[Elv15]

Laguna Seca - track day report

Ok, here is the summary first - the place is awesome! :) But, my car was too loud! :( Had a great time anyway! :D :D :D

Here are the details: I live just over an hour away from the track. We had a mandatory drivers meeting at 7:30am. I was up fettling with the car until midnight...fitful sleep for a few hours (the anticipation was keeping me up) and then rise and shine before the sun is even thinking about it. Pack the car and go to head out...the battery was dead. Arrrrrgggh! Push the seven out of the garage. Get other car and jumper cables. Undo the fancy terminal covers I just made last night (electrical tape!). Ok car started. Let's go to the track...

I recently fitted a pair of brookland screens. So, no side curtians. It was pretty damn chilly driving to the track. I had my helmet on and thankfully I had grabbed a pair of ski gloves and my turtle fur. Without those, I would have been an ice cube! Ok, so it's now 6:25am...I need to be at the track at 7:30... Thankfully there was not a lot of traffic at this early hour. The only previous time I had been to the track I went in the back entrance, which, as you might have guessed was closed. Which is how I found it when I got there. Arrrgggh. Now what? Ok, so now it's time for my drivers meeting and I don't know where the main entrance is...no problem "use the force, Luke" (not that I had much of a choice at this point!) I took some best guesses and found the entrance and the paddock a short stressfull while later. By some unknown circumstance the drivers meeting was delayed by about 15 minutes - so me arriving 15 minutes late worked out just fine. I walked into the meeting room and the meeting started! What service! <whew!>

Anyway, enough about my trip getting there. I was running HPDE 1 - (I'm signed off for group 2, but had never driven at Laguna Seca and thought it would be good to get some firsthand help with the line). I was pleasantly suprised to find my friend Pierre as my instructor. Yay!

Our first session out I took it pretty easy, the track is complex and requires quite a bit of concentration. I was worried about the run offs - or lack thereof, but it turns out that there were only a couple of spots I was truly concerned with. They have modifed the track to be more motorcycle friendly - this means that there are now sand traps right up to the edge of the track - and they are soft! You will probably not be able to drive out of one! The downside is that if you (or someone else) goes off or drops a wheel, the track can get gravel/sand on it very easily. I did not have a problem with traction because of debris, but it is something to watch out for.

We were lucky with the weather - it was a bit chilly in the morning, but we had a nice sunny day and no rain! I think the weather kept more folks from coming out, which worked to our advantage as there were so few cars on the track at a time.

The track itself is a ton of fun. The corkscrew is just plain crazy! It's like being on a roller coaster - but you are in control! (hopefully!!! If you arn't you're in for a bad time!) The corkscrew reminded me of one of those crazy streets in San Francisco, where you can't see over the lip and you just have to have faith that there is actually a road there! :eek: Or like those guys in Ferris Bullers Day Off. :D

There are a bunch of other corners that are very fun in a seven, number six is awesome. There are lots of elevation changes and the track did not seem very long to me - in comparison with Thunderhill. You could get quite a few laps in during a session.

On our second time out, I got black flaged for sound. 96.7 db!! The limit is 92db! I was passing someone right in front of the sound booth. I knew I was pushing it harder, but was not all the way into it. I figured I had been ok on the first session, surely a bit more would not be a problem. WRONG! So we came in and sat the rest of the session out. I decided to modify the use of the throttle to reduce my noise output - which worked fine for the rest of the day. However, I will need to change something if I want to be legal at this track. Possibly a new silencer...I don't know. The intake is quite loud and could be the issue.

The third session I went out by myself (no instructor). This was a great time too. I was taking it easy so I would not get meatballed again, but really worked on the line and being smoother with the throttle - squeeze it, not jab it! :D

The last session of the day I took Michael Murphy out with me. We had a good time getting the car light coming down the corkscrew and he had some good constructive criticisim for me afterwards. It really felt like it was coming together nicely for me. We did pit a few times during the day, to get space...the seven is so fast it was easy to get stuck in a pack of cars. However a quick pit, and then back on the track found us without anybody nearby. Awesome!!!

A couple other folks showed up, Mr Molecule (Dennis and his wife) stopped by - and were watching me - until I got pulled for sound! I was also suprised to meet a friendl chap - Alex - from the Walnut Creek area who had a nice BRG/Yellow Seven.

It was a wonderful day. It was a long day and I was quite tired when I got home (slept quite good last night), but I would gladly do it all over again! I believe I'll be investigating why my car was so loud so I'm ready for the next opportunity to drive there.

[slomove]

Tom, good write-up! Wish I had been there....As for the muffler, I know a certain Moosetestguy who has a Duratec side Raceco rotting away in his garage :)

Gert

[Elv15]

muffler

Hi Gert!

Thanks!

I'm sure that Mooseguy is going to need that fancy muffler to go along with his spiffy new engine. :D (Chris if you are not going to use it let me know!!)

[Capt. Molecule]

Good to see you again. I dropped a note on the other list.

So busy.
We showed more houses, around 20 to the same client total. Then the next day toured a sea coast house south of Carmel. REAL NICE at 10 MIL! Hard to realize there are people that have those kind of views.

See ya again,
Capt. Molecule

[moosetestbestanden]

Titanium neither rots nor rusts:D Nope, it just waits, patiently...