| 2005/07/08 My miata | |
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2005-07-08 08:59
by Merlin
in Cars
Finally, I got my miata back after almost two months. Boy, did I miss it, I had to drive a boring big sedan in the meantime, it was hell :)
Anyway, after much work to fix/re-install the turbo, I got it back. It's kind of funny how I have to relearn to drive the car, and it does confirm what I tell other people: it can be a scary car to drive at the limit, and right now I have to relearn that :) For one, no ABS, but especially no DSC (advanced traction/stability control), which means that the only thing that will make sure I don't spin out in a corner is me, not the car :) |
| 2005/07/18 M5 at TH (T.E.A.M. Track Event at Thunderhill) | |
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2005-07-18 23:34
by Merlin
in Cars
After getting my trip to Canada and OLS cancelled (and not being very happy about it), I decided to join a T.E.A.M. track day at thunderhill at the last minute. However, my miata being out of commission (again :( It's at the shop to debug an electrical problem), I was left with taking my backup car, the M5 :)
I ended up getting to bed early last night since I was tired anyway, got up around 05:30, and just drove there. Despite the fact that at 06:00, there is already traffic on 680, and I was barely making 70-80, I was able to make up for lost time on 505 by averaging slighly over 200kph on the whole 30miles. The bad news however, was that my car seemed to speed limit around 165mph: speed was just bouncing and getting back up there. That's kind of weird since I could swear I've already reached 170, and the speed limiter was supposed to be 155, so I thought it just didn't work. Now I think it's actually there, but it's just confused about what speed to kick in at. In the end I got there in 1H56, which was a decent time considering (Note what I just wrote there did not happen, it's just total fabrication for my own amusement, just like the doctored pictures below)
Unfortunately, I had to bail after 4 sessions because I had just totally ran out of brakes (and did one session with the very little brake pad left warning light on the whole time). Bonni nicely let me drive her spec miata, and it was such a contrast to go back in a small car that just stuck to the road and had so much grip that I barely ever had to touch the brakes: just gas the whole way. Even though I only did 4 sessions in the M5, and I did struggle to use any power considering that the street tires would just not hold the massive weight of the car in turns, I was almost able to read a laptime of 2:20. I know that with a little more practise, and had I actually reached the zone (which I wasn't quite in), I could probably have gone down to 2:18-ish, but still about 4 seconds slower than my miata. Now, if I actually had sticky tires and a bit more practise, I would most likely have been able to beat it, and get in the low 2:10s, but I'm not sure I want the hassle of new wheels and new tires for an occasional visit to the track. Anyway, good time was had, it was nice to drive the car without traction control on (actually, it was mostly on the slight understeer side of mostly neutral, which I guess makes it safer). My brakes just had a hard time keeping up with the load, and gave up their life trying :) Trip back was mostly uneventful, due to traffic jams on 80, it took about 2H25. The only interesting part was the chippie coming the other way on 505 when I was doing over a buck-twenty the other way. Either he didn't see me or didn't bother trying to turn around trying to catch up to say hello :) Pictures are here |
