As a heads up we found out the direct link will now allow you to enter a comments. We have emails and real names on the list so we should be able to cross referance the payments. -Robert
Ok Deposit Email has gone out, event break down has gone out. If you want to take part and havent recived these please contact me so we can fix any email issues. We also have some good stuff happening with vendors as well. -R
Ok Guys Heads up we have another email going out. It needs a response to a few questions, also has some of the rules for road racing. Guys the cut off for the deposits is Feb 8th, if we dont have the 40 deposits this will not happen. -Robert
I am now able to announce our first Major sponsor. shopHEMI.com aka Arrington Engines has agreed in principle to sponsor our road course event. We have some great ideas in the works. This is turning into a great event and will only get better.
Just got back from Florida so catching up on track stuff now. How lucky are we? We have a second major vendor on board. I am pleased to announce that Pedders Suspension is now sponsoring our track rental. Expect a new thread to be started soon with our event having an official title Thanks Pedders
yaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!! Pedders!!!! awesome news ... I still have a boner over their new xA's!!!!!!!!!
Cars and Stars Dan has done a terrific job of putting this event together. Pedders and Arrington are proud to support Dan as sponsors for this event. We are so excited about this event that we are bringing a couple of guests stars and cars. Eric Hurza of Arrington will have his Arrington Powered 440 c.i. HEMI Pedderised 300C at the track. I will be there with my Pedderised, ProCharged G8. We are looking for a box stock 5.7L LX and / or box stock SRT8 as well as a box stock G8 GT and / or box stock G8 GXP. We want to do baseline skid pad tests on these vehicles as well as benchmark them on the track with 1 warm-up lap and 2 hot laps per vehicle. While Eric and I both consider ourselves to be hot-shoe drivers (NOT!) we have recruited a couple of professionals for this testing. You may already know that Buddy and Joey Arrington have a four decade long relationship with NASCAR. I cannot name the drivers names at this time, but you can safely conclude Dan's track day will have a couple of NASCAR drivers on hand. If you can provide one of the stock vehicles I'll bet there is a photo opportunity at hand and maybe even a lap or two with a NASCAR Driver in the left seat and you in the passenger seat. Rick Bottom, a custom builder that has been doing SEMA vehicles for many years will is planning to bring his Pedderised GSR equipped ProChaarged for benchmarking too. Using professional drivers on the same skidpad and track surface will provide quality comparative numbers. We have some logistical challenges to address along with details regarding the drivers, NASCAR, team sponsors and driver sponsors. At this point I would say we are 80% there. We'll post final details as soon as we can. Rick and I are just hoping not to be embarrassed by Arrington and their Good'ol Boys Gang from NASCAR. I wonder if they have a fix in for the results? We'll know if they run better times, because if they win it must be fixed. After All, they are all Good'Ol Boys and we are strangers with a car built in the land of OZ. Excuse me, for a moment I forgot it is bench marking and not racing! Once again, we want to extend our thanks to Dan for doing an eXtremely professional job. Arrington and Pedders are really looking forward to this event with the LX community and a few Interlopers from brand X. Well Done Dan!
I posted this in another forum and Dan thought it might be of value here. Mike will post an LX Prep List here shortly. GTO Car Preparation for Track Use 1. Flush / Replace Brake Fluid 2. Flush / Replace Power Steering Fluid 3. Change Engine Oil 4. Flush / Replace Coolant 5. Rotors and Pads should be reasonably fresh with no more than 10K of use. 6. Upgrade radius Rod Bushes to Pedders EP9166. The OE fluid damped radius rod bush is NOT designed for track use. 7. Check every nut and bolt in the suspension and driveline to make certain they are tight. This would include the drive-shaft and half-shafts. 8. If you are not an expert technician, take you GTO or G8 to an expert technician before hitting the track. Your safety and the safety of others may depend on this. G8 Car Preparation for Track Use These are newer vehicles an I am ASSUMING you are under 10K on the clock. 1. Replace the OE brake pads with a more suitable track pad. The OE pads do NOT like the heat of track use. The OE pad tracked will crack and chunk. I will be using a new compound pad at the direct recommendation of GM engineers from Cobalt Friction with new factory rotors front and rear. 2. Change engine oil 3. The side loading fluid damped radius rod bushes on the G8 are not as bad as the GTO bushes. They are NOT designed for track use and we recommend replacing them with Pedders EP6560 4. Check every nut and bolt in the suspension and driveline including drive-shaft and half-shafts before tracking your G8. 5. If your G8 has more than 10K on the clock follow the same fluid, rotor and pad schedule listed for the GTO. 6. If you are not an expert technician, take you GTO or G8 to an expert technician before hitting the track. Your safety and the safety of others may depend on this. First Time Track on the track Advice This is not a race. There are no awards for finishing first or best spin. Go slow and get comfortable with the track and your car on the track. Knowing the track is essential. Knowing the track can save your butt. I like to run at Gingerman, because I know the track. There is a GM executive with so many laps at Mid Ohio he is almost untouchable there. He is a very good driver, but he is a better driver at Mid Ohio because he knows the track so well. Your performance will improve as the day progresses because you will learn the track better with each lap. No one will point and laugh if you are cautious. If they do they are absolute idiots and have no place at an event like this. Talk to the people who do this frequently. They will be more than willing to provide insight on how to safely navigate the course. If the speeds make you uncomfortable, slow down. You know your limitations better than anyone. Track days like this are a great opportunity to become a better driver. They make you safer on public road ways at legal speeds. EVERYONE should autocross and road course because you learn so much. The best most experienced drivers leave every track day as better drivers. So do the most inexperienced. Come on out and enjoy a great day with your car of choice, but don't get too excited or have too much fun. Restraint is the order of the day. If you have a fire jacket or single layer suit for drag racing, wearing won't hurt anything. Completely empty your vehicle. Leave nothing in it any where. Remove your driver's side floor mat. If you have a forced induction system do not get on the track with less than a 1/4 tank of fuel. A hard turn can cause fuel starvation and a lean burn. Lean burns are bad. Slower will frequently be faster. Over driving your skills, tires or brakes will slow you down. Backing off and smoothing things out will almost always result in better laps. Your tires and brakes will appreciate your restraint. I cannot take credit for this last piece of advice. A far more experienced racer gave it to me. Over the years I have found his statement to be absolutely spot on. Bring or buy the best brain bucket you can afford. I do not know a single person that has actually needed / used their helmet in an off-track or worse situation that thought they had spent too much money on a helmet. Spectators are welcome as are people that are thinking about driving at a road course event but would like to observe for a day before they sign up for the next event. Mike will post a LX specifc Prep List.
Whats the count of Pedderized vehicals going. I'm so on the fence supercharger on its way my local track schedule starts April 13. What to do What ot do????????????????
The track is Welcome to New Jersey Motorsports Park LX Car Preparation for Track Use 1. Flush / Replace Brake Fluid 2. Flush / Replace Power Steering Fluid 3. Change Engine Oil 4. Flush / Replace Coolant 5. Rotors and Pads should be reasonably fresh with no more than 10K of use. 6. Upgrade radius Rod Bushes to Pedders EP9166. The OE fluid damped radius rod bush is NOT designed for track use. 7. Check every nut and bolt in the suspension and driveline to make certain they are tight. This would include the drive-shaft and half-shafts. 8. If you are not an expert technician, take you GTO or G8 to an expert technician before hitting the track. Your safety and the safety of others may depend on this. These are newer vehicles an I am ASSUMING you are under 10K on the clock. 1. Replace the OE brake pads with a more suitable track pad. The OE pads do NOT like the heat of track use. The OE pad tracked will crack and chunk. I will be using a new compound pad at the direct recommendation of GM engineers from Cobalt Friction with new factory rotors front and rear. 2. Change engine oil 4. Check every nut and bolt in the suspension and driveline including drive-shaft and half-shafts before tracking your LX. 5. If your LX has more than 10K on the clock follow the same fluid, rotor and pad schedule listed above. 6. If you are not an expert technician, take your LX to an expert technician before hitting the track. Your safety and the safety of others may depend on this. First Time Track on the track Advice This is not a race. There are no awards for finishing first or best spin. Go slow and get comfortable with the track and your car on the track. Knowing the track is essential. Knowing the track can save your butt. I like to run at Gingerman, because I know the track. There is a GM executive with so many laps at Mid Ohio he is almost untouchable there. He is a very good driver, but he is a better driver at Mid Ohio because he knows the track so well. Your performance will improve as the day progresses because you will learn the track better with each lap. No one will point and laugh if you are cautious. If they do they are absolute idiots and have no place at an event like this. Talk to the people who do this frequently. They will be more than willing to provide insight on how to safely navigate the course. If the speeds make you uncomfortable, slow down. You know your limitations better than anyone. Track days like this are a great opportunity to become a better driver. They make you safer on public road ways at legal speeds. EVERYONE should autocross and road course because you learn so much. The best most experienced drivers leave every track day as better drivers. So do the most inexperienced. Come on out and enjoy a great day with your car of choice, but don't get too excited or have too much fun. Restraint is the order of the day. If you have a fire jacket or single layer suit for drag racing, wearing won't hurt anything. Completely empty your vehicle. Leave nothing in it any where. Remove your driver's side floor mat. If you have a forced induction system do not get on the track with less than a 1/4 tank of fuel. A hard turn can cause fuel starvation and a lean burn. Lean burns are bad. Slower will frequently be faster. Over driving your skills, tires or brakes will slow you down. Backing off and smoothing things out will almost always result in better laps. Your tires and brakes will appreciate your restraint. I cannot take credit for this last piece of advice. A far more experienced racer gave it to me. Over the years I have found his statement to be absolutely spot on. Bring or buy the best brain bucket you can afford. I do not know a single person that has actually needed / used their helmet in an off-track or worse situation that thought they had spent too much money on a helmet. Spectators are welcome as are people that are thinking about driving at a road course event but would like to observe for a day before they sign up for the next event. Lx Road Course Preparation! This thread is an attempt to round up all the good information to help you prepare your LX car for running a Road Course! Many THANKS to MattRobertson, X E Ryder, TTMR and the other great forum members who helped me round up all this information, while I'm preparing myself and my car for my first trip to the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course! (This is the first draft, so check back for updates, edits and re-takes!) *Check with the track you will be going to for their regulations concerning Driver Attire and Safety Equipment! Most tracks require at least: full shoes (no sandals or open-toed shoes), long pants, and a Snell 2005 Approved helmet (minimum). Long sleeves, gloves and fire-retardant gear is highly recommended, especially when you start becoming competitive with your lap times! Brakes: Do NOT leave stock brake pads on for a track day, they can't take the heat and will turn to goo, and your rotors will look like you spread peanut butter and jelly on em afterwards! Go EBC Yellowstuff , but even then be aware of the brakes fading. When they do, do Not just keep pressing harder on the pedal! Instead do a full lap without using the brakes, to cool them off, and either pull in, or see if your pedal is back. This should allow everything to cool and you will not ruin them, hopefully. *You can run the Yellow pads on the street for everyday use, but be advised they are a little messy, and if you drive mellow they will start squealing - a couple hard, hot stops will usually bring em back in line though. The squealing comes from being used at too low a temp for awhile and they get a sort of buildup going.* It takes a little practice learning when your brakes are "going away" and all the little things like, when you pull in, do not use your brakes if you can-- shift to neutral and coast to a stop in the pits if possible. Do not set the parking brake, and after a few minutes, push your car 18 inches or so to get the part of the rotor out of the caliper area to avoid hotspots on the rotor. Do this a few times. You can use the Wilwood BSL6 calipers and SRT rotors. The SRT rotors are the "El Cheapo" alternative that give you big brake kit performance (14.2") with the peasant price ($65 or so each). THEN you can get some serious pads on. You want the Wilwood H pads, and you put them on at the track. They will trash your rotors otherwise but there is nothing like them for hi temp performance. I have a set that have lasted two full days at Laguna and are good for one more. And they work no matter what. The W6A Wilwood caliper is far better than the BSL6 but I don't think it fits under an 18" wheel...? And do the Wilwood 570 fluid. Down the road, get stainless lines and you will get a nice pedal feel out of it. Thats the poor man's brake upgrade: fluid, pads and lines. When you get in after a track session, NEVER just stop the car and park! Right when you get off-track, do the 'paddock parade' or something like it: Drive around slowly (at idle is fine) staying off the brakes and the accelerator. Do this for about 3-5 minutes. Longer is better. What it does is let the rotors cool off and keeps the pads from hot-spotting the rotors when they are worst-case hot. It might help cool the motor too since you will have fluids circulating with no load. You will probably see many other drivers doing the same thing themselves. Just remember your car is bigger and heavier and you are generating more heat, so if they go in and park you stay out for a minute or three longer. Cooling: The Ultimate LX Cooling Guide: FRANKENCOOLER!! http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=56863 Note: Some of the steps below are specific to the 5.7 and 6.1L V8's, and are not applicable to the V6 engines. (But we might figure a way to work around that, anyway...) 1. I'd do the p/s cooler no matter what. Its cheap and the problem is known and could be catastrophic. 2. If you haven't done a tstat, put in a 180. 3. Read your tranny temps at the track (Aeroforce Interceptor Guage or DashHawk can display temps, unless the EVIC reads it). If they go high, get the franken-tranny cooler. Autocross will probably not be bad enough to show a problem. No matter what put the stock cooler and the aux-cooler in series with the aux in first position. 4. Do the Mopar oil cooler. Its like $150. Without a gauge this is a bit of a crap shoot but for $150 its tough to beat. (Does not fit the 3.5L engine) 5. Monitor your water temps. Are they too high now that you are dumping heat into the motor thru the oil cooler? Look at Severe Duty II radiator to fix that. Its a big bump up in capacity. Before you go to the Maximum Duty you need to really, really want it and need it and the SevereII is probably fine. 6. If the oil temp. is still too high (I'd put in a gauge first) add in the frankencooler. All 6 steps above are way extreme and a lot of money but once you are done you are looking at 190-degree temps across the board, pretty much. I would think most folks who hammer their car would be fine after Step 4 and an immediate oil change after a full on track day (an Autocross is no biggie). Tires: Newly expanded tire section: Not to confuse anyone, but here's some of the tires that have been tried and used at various times by various people! Some are Race-Only, others are "trackable" street tires- for those who only run a track event occasionally, and don't drive like MattR! LOL As we gather more info. on tires, I'll try to get it listed here. Listed here are some examples of tire sizes and pressures used. The effectiveness of tire pressure VARIES according to temperature and condition of the track AND the tires! What works one day, may not work the next... even as one day goes by, you may need to adjust the pressures! Also- if you get a dedicated set of Track Tires/Wheels, you should consider upgrading your stock (cheap) Lug Nuts to something better: http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=150739 Hoosier A6 BFG G-Force R1 Bridgestone RE-050A Pole Position (MattR- 255/35/20 with 36 psi cold on a 60 degree day, with hot pressure having a 44 psi target.)** See Note from Willi below. ** Nitto Invo Toyo Proxes 4 Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta Yokohama Parada Spec-X (Ron380 on SXT/AWD Charger. 255/45/20 Wear is good, traction "okay" at Mid Ohio. 45psi in all 4.) *More tire-tests to follow in 2009!* For 20" rims, 255/35/20 tires seem to be the best size so far for our cars. For 18" rims, 245/40/18 has worked well for some. **I will be testing Sumitomo HTR Z3, 245/45/18's in '09 on my stock rims! More to follow... **Has anyone else tried different width tires of the same brand, and noticed any particular (or "peculiar") differences with regard to wear, traction, etc. ?? We'll need to keep an eye out for this! "Basic rule here, more pressure = better steering response, the car will be crisper as it changes direction as the tire deflects less as you turn. Less pressure = more overall traction as more tire is on the ground. Too high pressure = progressively less controllable! All you need to do is find the happy median!" One problem we are going to have is sidewalls. We have too much weight flying around for our sidewalls to hold up. Watch that. Especially since you will be sticking and thus dishing out more lateral g forces. Some folks are running 50 psi in the front, 40-45 psi in the rear. One Engineer for Yokohama has stated that, "UTQG is a better measure of lateral stickiness than traction rating, as traction rating is not a real-world measure but rather is a measure of lateral wet-road braking capability. A low UTQG tire is stickier, but will wear out faster." Quote: Originally Posted by willi Matt Robertson has recommended the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position that had rating of 140. I ordered the tires from Tire Rack which specified the 140 rating and the 280 showed up at my door WTF? I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with the Bridgestone engineer and...... The rating on the tire is now 280 but is the EXACT compound and everything else as the 140 tires!!!!! Just thought you all might like to know And I went with the 275/30/20 XL Fire Suppression System: Highly recommended for anyone who's getting serious with Road Course, Track Days and serious Power-Adding on their drag-racers! I've been getting more interested in these kits and will be finding out more information about them. Here is one example: http://www.paragon-products.com/prod...-liter-kit.htm Considering what we've paid for other mods, and the fact that a system like this could save your life, I think the price is not bad at all! It's also installed in the car, so you can't "forget it at home", either. I'm not up to this point yet myself, but here is some information for those who are running with the big-boys! More Road Course Info: http://www.chargerforums.com/forums/...ad.php?t=99675 MVP Track Schedule: http://www.chargerforums.com/forums/...ad.php?t=94848 Summary: Bear in mind that these are wide, heavy cars, and it will take a lot of work to run with the little, fast cars on an open road course. If you're just going to run a Track Day once in a while for fun, at the least upgrade your Brake Pads, use Synthetic Motor Oil, and change your oil, power-steering fluid and possibly Transmission Fluid soon after the day at the track! Here's what it looks like when it all comes together! http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=143370 Enjoy, Be Safe and Have Fun! Turn that wheel!! Eric's LX is fast!! As well as he has a complete TrackII Pedders suspension. It was set up for more drag race settings than road race settings when I was there. But this should be fun!! I think Pete's G8 has advantage due to weight, tires and suspension setup. But watching these 2 rocket ships go back to back, will be a trip and worthy of watching mike dms Here is some pictures of Arrington Engines.
Pete is actually doing the beta test today in Michigan! I think there will be some similiar settings for the LX as compared to other full size rides. For the G8 and GTO, a 14/13 click setting is pretty decent for aggressive street place, while 21/20 clicks is most likely good enough for track. There is no doubt, based on our experiences with GTO and G8, 29-30 is too firm for the track!. But there are lots of other factors involved here: sway bars, bushing packages, size of tire, and especially the new generation tires that are coming out with reinforced sidewalls. Setting them too stiff, will overwork the tires. We will get a report fromm Pete in 2-3 days. mike dms
