Maggie at Moroso Road Course -- What a Hoot!

**lou1355** · 03-01-2008, 07:32 PM

Dang! That road course stuff sure takes a different skill set than the drag strip. The Red October is a rather stout ride (and my instructor weighed 320) so my race weight was about 5100 lbs., but I seemed to get around the road course fine and I certainly learned a lot. I guess I have 40 years of self-taught driving techniques to unlearn if I ever want to be smooth and go fast on these road courses. At least I had another of the instructors come up to me and congratulate me for breaking under 2 minutes for a lap at 1:58. I have a ways to go though....

Stills:

Videos:

#1: "That thing is flying!" Front straight at Moroso--topped out at about 132 MPH going into turn 2.

Another shot of the front straight...

Three - Four shift down front straight....

Turns 8, 9 & 10 down and around the back side of Moroso coming out on the front straight....

Ran out of fuel (yep, a half tank wasn't enough for three full 25 min sessions) so I had to let the Corvette pass. Then I pulled off the track and barely made it to the gas station near Moroso. Yikes!

Well, now I have a new direction to take my 2 ton hot rod. Pretty fun!

**DeafCharger** · 03-01-2008, 07:38 PM

Glad you had fun! I was hoping to get a road course experience someday.

Got a question. What kind of drag rims you have on?

**SRT8U** · 03-01-2008, 10:07 PM

Told ya you would have fun...now we need to get you some coilovers and sway bars!
Glad you had fun Lou, are you going tomorrow too?
I will be out there running the beast in the AM!

**robsrt** · 03-01-2008, 10:08 PM

Looks like you had a great time Lou. You should see if Moroso has season passes as often as you're there. You're going to be like Norm from Cheers.

Also, Congrats to your engine builder. I know you've put that beast through the ringer the past few months with tons of quarter mile passes and now some road course time and it's still going strong.

**lou1355** · 03-01-2008, 10:52 PM

The rims on the rear are the 18x9 Voxx's I got from Tbyrne with my Nitto's. I'm hooked enough on this road racing that I think I'm going to go ahead and get a set for road course tires.

I also need an upgraded power steering fluid cooler and I just ordered redline synthetic fluid. (My fluid boiled and cavetated my pump, causing a loss of power steering and power brake assist at a couple of in-oportune times today.) I knew about the brake fluid and I purged and replaced with a hi-temp synthetic there. But I didn't really get the conneciton between the power steering pump and the brake assist. When you are barrelling down on turn 2 with 5100 lbs. going 130 MPH+ all that kenetic energy has to go somewhere, huh?

I just did today--not Sunday--but I'll do it again for sure. Now I want to run the course at Sebring!

My instructor is a great guy with 20 years experience--Rene' Gomez. He rode with me for all my sessions. Very effective communication and very helpful. He also took me as a passenger for a session in his Charger SRT8 and even with RSA's on he scared the stuff out of me, but in a good way. Our cars are heavy, but that doesn't mean they are slow. Rene' whipped that Charger around the track like it was, well, a 4700 lb. go-kart. He was fast! His driving gave me the insight that I can improve and hang with some of the faster cars.

It's a whole new perspective for me.

**SRT8U** · 03-01-2008, 11:02 PM

Awesome...glad you had fun. Rene' is a great guy too!
I am looking forward to see what I can do on the dry track last time it rained most of the day, but to me that was a good thing, it made me slow down and really learn the line.
We will see if how much I imporve over last time.
Are you saying your power steering fluid boiled?

I agree the road course stuff is addicting for sure...caravan to Sebring!!!

**Midnightsun300c** · 03-01-2008, 11:03 PM

Those are some great shots with the video camera. Thanks for sharing. How did your oil and transmission temps hold up?

**X E Ryder** · 03-01-2008, 11:13 PM

Hey that looks like a fun track!!

**SRT8U** · 03-01-2008, 11:20 PM

Lou what tire pressues did you run? You ran the D/R's?? How did they do?

**lou1355** · 03-01-2008, 11:42 PM

I ran the Nitto's despite concerns about sidewall stiffness because they just flat hook and i figured I would need that out of the turns. I ran 36 psi heating to 37-38 up front and 32 psi heating to 34 in back. I had some push when I was too hot going in but it definitely was not loose with the Nittos.

My oil temp got up to I think 279 on the first session, but on subsequent sessions it stayed in the 260's cooling rapidly with the fan override engaged. Rene's oil temps went to something like 330 w/o an oil cooler or fan override. Yikes!

Yes, I boiled my power steering fluid and lost steering and brakes on the approach to 7. Eyes wide open and trucker forearms and stiff legging it kept me on the track, but I seem to recall Rene going a little speechless after yelling Brake! Brake! Brake! and I responded with: "Ain't got no stinkin' brakes--no steering either! I'm busy right now!" Yuck, yuck, huh?

As far as transmission temps, hell I don't know if I even have a gauge for that. Do I?

My major problems:

Finding and staying on the "wide" line through 2a into 2b. Making that double apex line between 3 & 4 was also not a gimme for me. I felt comfortable coming out of 4 through 5 & 6, but I had to force myself to go wide out of six and then transition back to the right for 7a and I never really was happy with my turn in to 7a and transition wide through 7b. I think I could have been faster through 8a & 8b, but I just don't have the confidence yet to let it rip--I lifted slightly every time (of course, my motor is pulling like a mother at those particular rpms, so i don't feel all that sissy about it). I need to work on the right timing and amount of braking setting up for 9 and I could barely make myself go wide out of 9 setting up for 10. Now once on the front straight, my smile came back shifting that mutha from 3rd into fourth through the little jink there. Yipee! -- and then, Yikes! here comes 2a!

Another major hurdle I have is my hand position on the wheel. I've been driving so long that I didn't really realize it, but I'm a shuffle guy with left hand dominance on the wheel. My right had will stay on the shifter the whole time except for brief right-hand shuffles of the wheel to my dominant left in tight turns. This made Rene' just a touch crazy (concerned?). I understand the car control rationale for keeping both hands firmly at 10 and 2, but I have to consciously make myself do it and for now it's a bit of a distraction to overcome.

Gosh, maybe I need to go to the track more?

**SRT8U** · 03-01-2008, 11:56 PM

2a 2b and 3-4 are my favorite sections of the track and the part I immediately felt most comfortable with. The 7a/b was that bus stop turn I told you would suck lol...it is just hard to get it right. I need alot of work there. Last time I don't think we used 8a/b we used the bypass...hmmm I guess that will be new tomorrow! 9 and 10 are tough for me too. But the front straight rocks...I doubt I will touch your top end...I dont have that kinda power. What kind of speeds was Rene puling on the front stretch.

I take it you were manually up and downshifting?

Also how did you find out your lap times? Last time I never heard any times?

**lou1355** · 03-02-2008, 12:03 AM

Rene' was in the mid-120's down the front. Yep, I was shifting it, largely because I don't think I've ever used "D" in that car. I think 8a/8b IS the bypass--just a little juke left then right--some guys leave the pedal floored through there, but I didn't.

I didn't time any laps, but another instructor who ran behind me in a session (I think in a Porsche) found me between sessions and told me I ran a 1:58 and he was a bit surprised that a "station wagon" could do that.