Also at Streets of Willow Options

[andys]

I was at SOW Sunday, 4/6, same day Aaron was there. I took my LS1 powered 914. Though I've done thousands of laps there, this was the first time in 12 years putting a car on the track, so lots of rust to shake off for sure!

Right from the start, I had this sudden twitch upon entry into the right handers right at weight transfer. Sure felt like a bad shock (Koni D/A's), so after the first session I adjusted the rears to max rebound, and about 3/4 compression; intentionally drastic for instant feedback. Second session was exactly the same, so I called it a day. Too dangerous mostly beacuse of the need to get off the gas at T1 (fastest corner when running CW direction), when other cars behind me are coming full bore (Advanced run group).

The good news is that the car did everything well, especially since this was my first track day shake-down run. Biggest fear was the reputed LSx oil starvation on long left turns, however this is why I chose to run the CW direction on Sunday for it's predominant right turns. The Camaro/Vette guys run an additional quart of oil for HPDE's, and I did the same, and oil pressure never dipped. Water temps were good. Tire temp profiles (Hankook Ventus V12 EVO) were perfect on the fronts (after a cold pressure guess), and the rears showed some inside bias....too much camber perhaps, but at 1.8 degrees I'd likely rule that out. Maybe the high camber gain in the trailing arm suspension? I installed new rotors and bedded-in some new Porterfield R4s pads; seemed to work well, but honsetly I never did get to the point where I could really attack the track due to that twitch. The gearbox (Audi 01E 6 speed) was nice, and the cable shifter worked better than I expected for on track shifting. Other than the twich (Shock?), my only complaint was a scuffed helmet visor adding to my already poor eyesight.

Andys