Saturday, November 26, 2016

Track Weekend Bro!

Seemed Like A Good Idea... 

Took the Miata out to my first ever driving even on the weekend of the 15th and 16th of October.

Driver's Edge was holding an event at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, TX and I took my all season tired, stock 170K suspension having butt out there to see what the car could do.

My plan was to drive the car down, beat it on the track and then drive home. No sweat, right?

I didn't go completely unprepared....I put new rotors and Green Stuff pads on all around. So I had that going for me.

See? That's me being prepared.

Seriously though, I went over the car as best I could.  Checked fluids, looked the car over on the underside, checked the suspension, made sure wheels were torqued, along with the brakes.

Heading Out..

This was going to be my first real road trip in the car, since I had gotten it, so just a bit nervous.

 I drove from Wichita KS, pretty much straight through to Plano, TX to meet a friend at the Mercedes dealership he worked at. We bullshitted a bit, and he threw a quickie alignment on the car for me, and then we headed out to Cresson, to check into the hotel for the night.

It's Too Early For This...

Got to the track as early as we could and staked out a spot for us and another friend who was driving his new M3. Once we got settled in to our spot, got checked in, attended my first driver's class and got the car ready for the day.

Nice Numbering Job, Eh?

Getting it "ready" consisted of slapping some numbers on it, emptying the trunk, adjusting the seat, doing a last minute fluids check and yanking the floor mats out.  Before too long, the call over the loud speakers came for the Green Group, and I was off to my first session with my instructor.

How Was It?

I had a blast! Definitely more intense than I was expecting At first I was very hesitant with the car, and definitely a bit stressed.  Lots of traffic out there, and a lot of information to process.  The track was set up for a full 3.1 mile course, so it was kind of a beating for my first ever track day. I got passed (a lot), but I enjoyed pushing the car once I relaxed a bit. Also the instruction I got from my instructor and the classroom sessions went a long way as well.

High Resolution Yo

Little Car, Big Track

Next Time...

I wanted to take the car out there mostly stock to see what it felt like before I started modding it with suspension parts, and different wheels and tires.

This is one tough little car.  I beat the dog snot out of the car, and it handled everything like a champ. Had a few close calls, but I didn't stuff it in the dirt.

Made the 6 hour drive back to Wichita on Sunday, without a real hitch, besides the one in my back.

Now, I really want to get some suspension and new wheels and tires for this thing.

Oh and improve the "loose nut" behind the wheel as well.


Alpha, Mike, Foxtrot....

No comments:

Post a Comment