Thunderhill West - upgrade/tire suggestions?
07-19-2014, 11:14 AM
#1
On The Tree
Thread Starter
Thunderhill West - upgrade/tire suggestions? Fresh back from Thunderhill West, and boy are my arms tired. Really.
1W thru 10W
The track is really quite a jewel. The more I drove it, the more I found neat subtle features, like on-camber segments in a flat area right where you need it. And tricky blind off camber stuff. And whoa nelly decreasing radii.
Top speed was about 90 in three places if I was really working it (wasn't generally).
Going into 1W, 3W, 6W....
The track is not as tight as it looks, but still has three second gear sections (I usually left it in third thru these). 7W, 9W, and 10W. I whaled on the poor Ellis and left in 2 thru 9 and 10 a couple times. Neato.
As expected of Thunderhill, there's loads of very safe runoff. The front straight is VERY short. I did the normal gauge-check while on the straight and wound up offline and in the wrong gear. Rather than attempt any heroics, I just ran into the dirt. Got hollered at a bit for that one.
I also whacked a cone coming out of 6W and took some paint off my bumper (needed paint anyway). Battle scars for the Caddy, I can live with that.
not my video, but something to see...
I had a lot of looky-loos (holy **** that caddy has a stick bro!) and a whole lot of compliments from other drivers (man, you do a good job moving that thing around!).
As a contrast to street driving, where I hate the clutch (stock), subframe bushings (squirrely), diff (noisy), the car really shone on track. No complaints about the chassis.
Sure would like to get more grip. At present, turn-in, braking, power seem great. I've got the front camber maxed (1.7*) and am running Hankook V12's (TW 280).
I have a feeling the solution is better tires, which sucks since the V12's are near new and a spare set of wheels is unlikely.
I would also love a harness solution, something like a Schroth Quick Fit. Did anyone come up with a solution for our cars?
1W thru 10W
The track is really quite a jewel. The more I drove it, the more I found neat subtle features, like on-camber segments in a flat area right where you need it. And tricky blind off camber stuff. And whoa nelly decreasing radii.
Top speed was about 90 in three places if I was really working it (wasn't generally).
Going into 1W, 3W, 6W....
The track is not as tight as it looks, but still has three second gear sections (I usually left it in third thru these). 7W, 9W, and 10W. I whaled on the poor Ellis and left in 2 thru 9 and 10 a couple times. Neato.
As expected of Thunderhill, there's loads of very safe runoff. The front straight is VERY short. I did the normal gauge-check while on the straight and wound up offline and in the wrong gear. Rather than attempt any heroics, I just ran into the dirt. Got hollered at a bit for that one.
I also whacked a cone coming out of 6W and took some paint off my bumper (needed paint anyway). Battle scars for the Caddy, I can live with that.
not my video, but something to see...
I had a lot of looky-loos (holy **** that caddy has a stick bro!) and a whole lot of compliments from other drivers (man, you do a good job moving that thing around!).
As a contrast to street driving, where I hate the clutch (stock), subframe bushings (squirrely), diff (noisy), the car really shone on track. No complaints about the chassis.
Sure would like to get more grip. At present, turn-in, braking, power seem great. I've got the front camber maxed (1.7*) and am running Hankook V12's (TW 280).
I have a feeling the solution is better tires, which sucks since the V12's are near new and a spare set of wheels is unlikely.
I would also love a harness solution, something like a Schroth Quick Fit. Did anyone come up with a solution for our cars?
07-28-2014, 02:39 PM
#2
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I recently put in a harness. I used the gforce cam lock on the H configuration. The H config has really long shoulder straps which helps for mounting. I used the g force quick release ends and clipped one to the rear seat bracket, drilled and put an eye bolt for the other. For the waist straps I enlarged the hold on the seat track closest to the trans tunnel and put an eye bolt. For the door side I made a bracket and bolted to the seat track. 5th point is bolted to a piece of metal thats under the seat. This setup works pretty good for being in a stock seat.
07-28-2014, 03:18 PM
#3
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I wouldn't use that setup for anything other than an auto-x. I wouldn't want to see how it performs if you're ever in a high speed off at a track event. Sounds like the lap belts should be fine but where does the submarine belt go? I'm assuming you didn't cut a hole through the seat cushion, so the belt is just routed around the front of the cushion? That's a no-no. And I wouldn't have much faith in that rear seat latch point as a suitable harness anchor.
07-29-2014, 06:51 AM
#4
The rear seat bracket is absolutely not designed for that purpose. It will tear out if you suffer an unfortunate incident. The eye bolt looks like it's in sheet metal. Even with an uber sized washer behind it, the metal will deform and/or the eye bolt will pull through. You'll be flopping around inside the car. You may feel secure from not moving around as much as the stock belt, but in an impact, the stock belt would likely provide better safety/support. Your ambition and ingenuity are much appreciated, but I fear you may be putting yourself in an unsafe situation.
Reread your post in the third-person.
Reread your post in the third-person.
Last edited by lubelizard; 07-29-2014 at 07:59 AM.
07-29-2014, 03:17 PM
#6
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Fresh back from Thunderhill West, and boy are my arms tired. Really.
Sure would like to get more grip. At present, turn-in, braking, power seem great. I've got the front camber maxed (1.7*) and am running Hankook V12's (TW 280).
I have a feeling the solution is better tires, which sucks since the V12's are near new and a spare set of wheels is unlikely.
I would also love a harness solution, something like a Schroth Quick Fit. Did anyone come up with a solution for our cars?
Sure would like to get more grip. At present, turn-in, braking, power seem great. I've got the front camber maxed (1.7*) and am running Hankook V12's (TW 280).
I have a feeling the solution is better tires, which sucks since the V12's are near new and a spare set of wheels is unlikely.
I would also love a harness solution, something like a Schroth Quick Fit. Did anyone come up with a solution for our cars?
work with the tires you have til they run out
there's link on CF for a schroth 4pt. not cheap but about the only alternative to the standard belt that i've seen other than doing the entire car up properly.
i'd try a CG lock that locks your regular seat belt. it'll be a good stop gap and worst case can add it to the passenger side if you decide on upgrading later.
GTR @ thillw
these are track notes by an AFMer but may work for cars
http://www.scarrottracing.com/?utm_c...ampaign=buffer
