man, it was a comedy of errors and bad luck this wkend.

i thought i was all prepared, so i didnt go for a real test drive before the event, which i should have done b/c i have a few new mods that i didnt have last time. on the way to the track, i noticed a SERIOUS driveshaft vibration.. there was a slight vibration from my driveshaft so i read somewhere that you can sometimes cure this by rotating it 180* on the pinion yoke. apparently, this wasnt the case, b/c anything over 120 kph was buzz-buzz city. i should have drove faster during my test drive to check it out...

so i get to the track and the new aluminum jack i just bought (but didnt test, go figure) broke at the saddle. so i had to break out the scissor jack that comes with the car and crank away. my dr says i don't get enough exercise, so i guess there was a good side to it. anyhow, the front wheels (i bought a set of 10 spoke's with r-compounds) go on w/o a hitch, but the rears wont fit for some reason. these are factory gm wheels.. what gives? i found out later after doing some reading on the net that earlier 4 gens had slightly larger rear hubs than the front, which require you to slightly file the inside of the hole to fit. had i tried it on before, i would have known and did the 10 min fix. DOH DOH DOH.

since i had the front r- compound tires on anyways, i decide to run it this way with the stock 16" all seasons on the back. i figure, what the heck, i'll just take it easy and the increased front grip can only help, right? i tried to catch this sti along the back straight, and late braked going into turn 1.... fronts were fine, but then oh crap! i forgot about the crappy tires i had in the rear! the back end came around and swapped ends. mowed the lawn, but everything seemed ok. however, later on, i developed a clunking sound from the rear that only happens when cornering - ill have to diagnosis what it is later. any clues of what to look for?

one of the positive notes is that the power steering cooler i installed seems to work. no more whining from the pump.

Yikes!

Gotta hate days like those.....

I can't think what your clunking might me....time to crawl under her for a bit...

....and I thought my track days Monday and Tuesday were bad because I had my first spin ever (after about 30 track days).....and it was only a 180. Think it was the result of debris from the pits on the inside line under braking.....guess that's what happens when you go 3 wide down the straightaway!

Popped your "spin" cherry! I think I've spun out on just about every turn on my favorite track!

...try to stay out of the.....

SPIN CYCLE

Dennis your not supposed to go 3 wide going into Big Bend!!!!!!!!! I think the closest I've come to having a spin was the Down-hill at this same track. Car for whatever reason wheel hoped really bad all the way down the hill, but I did save it though. Later John

John-
Yeah....that's why I was braking so hard....trying to get ahead on the straightaway so that we wouldn't go 3-wide into big bend. Sounds like too much braking on the downhill ....just a tap is required, if any brakes at all! Brake hop requires significant braking.....how fast are you going that you need to slow down that much on the downhill?

-Dennis

It was my first lap at that this track. Really didnt hit the brakes hard just tapped them very lightlyif you could even call it tapped, and the car hopped really bad!!!!! I was Like WTF is going on, its going to be a long day. After it did that I treid a couple more times with more brake and it never did it again though. Now if I can get the turn in point at the coner leading onto No-name correct and some braking issue coming down the front strech I might have a shot at your guys time's on my street tires. Later John