Willow Springs double Rational, Feb 25-26, 2012

Brian Linn

Brian Linn

Well-known member
Little bit crowded with our group of 41 cars, of which 19 are GT1, SP, STO, AS or ASC (stock car) - something with a V8 or bigger. Hopefully my mis-firing days are behind me.
H Prod looks like they could have an interesting race with four quality cars - they race with SS, IT and T1-T3.

E Production Jimerson, Tony 1983 Mazda rx7 Vallejo, CA
E Production Longwell, John 1997 BMW 328iS LEDfoot Motorsports Kittredge, CO
E Production Karlson, Roger 1963 Elva Courier Carpinteria, CA

F Production Linn, Brian 1990 Mazda Miata Hoosier Tires, Red Line Oil, Carbotech, Jesse Prather Motorsports Hermosa Beach, CA
F Production murph, gary 1970 Opel GT Wife Bellflower, CA

H Production Bestwick, Jamie 2012 Toyota Yaris Toyota/Hoosier/OS Giken/Monster/DK Bicycles/Alpinestars/Bell/GoPro Port Matilda, PA
H Production Wittman, Gary 1961 Austin Healey Sprite Tiodize/Venolia Costa Mesa, CA
H Production Verity, Neil 1966 MG MGB Sunnyvale, CA
H Production Isley, Jason 2007 Toyota Yaris Toyota/racer.com/AST/OS Giken Coto de Caza, CA

GT-Lite Fazzi, Michael 1994 Mazda Miata Mazda Motorsports, Mincomp Racing Newport Beach, CA
GT-Lite gilcrease, bill 1967 Mini Cooper MINCOMP~Mini Mania, Redline, Goodyear Costa Mesa, CA
 
BLinn":bjftqn4w said:
H Prod looks like they could have an interesting race with four quality cars - they race with SS, IT and T1-T3.


H Production Bestwick, Jamie 2012 Toyota Yaris Toyota/Hoosier/OS Giken/Monster/DK Bicycles/Alpinestars/Bell/GoPro Port Matilda, PA
H Production Wittman, Gary 1961 Austin Healey Sprite Tiodize/Venolia Costa Mesa, CA
H Production Verity, Neil 1966 MG MGB Sunnyvale, CA
H Production Isley, Jason 2007 Toyota Yaris Toyota/racer.com/AST/OS Giken Coto de Caza, CA
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The entry list does not reflect it, but I will only be racing on Sun, the 99 is being used by another driver for the Regional on Sat. :| But I am excited as we will be trying some new stuff on Sun. :mrgreen:
 
Jason, I suspected you would be running only one of the two days because your car was registered by two people. Now, I know which day to save my good stuff. :)

I am a little concerned about running with all the ITA/SM cars. I guess I will try to stay clear of mishaps.

See you all there.
 
Gary Wittman":1sc0kq53 said:
Jason, I suspected you would be running only one of the two days because your car was registered by two people. Now, I know which day to save my good stuff. :)

I am a little concerned about running with all the ITA/SM cars. I guess I will try to stay clear of mishaps.

See you all there.
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Take it easy on our newbies in the Sat race. :lol:
 
Neil Verity":396kkkdn said:
Gary, Jason

You guys watch out for the mahyem out front and I'll cover the rear.. See you this weekend!

Neil
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Come on, we know you are just a reliable clutch away from the front row. :lol: Did you find a reliable clutch yet? :wink:
 
Hi Jason,

Yeah... I can't use the clutch as an excuse anymore :lol: Problem was the shaft that the peddle hangs on had "egged out" its pivot points on the flimsy metal box it pivots in. Hence the master cylinder fluid flow was not correct in that a small hole was either not covered up or not uncovered. an 1/8th of an inch does make a difference.. No flow = intermitant clutch. Lots to do on the car still, but I'll be there...I'll give it my all to make it a 4-way

Neil
 
Not sure about the EP or FP action, but HP had some interesting twists... Gary did not Qual on Saturday due to a rumored "diff leak", but it did not stop him from charging from last on the grid to win. Neil picked up second and Jamie third.

On Sunday I got to drive the 99, we decided to try the Hoosier radials, and I did my fastest lap ever at WS in Qual, a 1:36.4, and got the pole. The .7 gap back to Gary in second would not prove enough to motivate him to join us on pregrid, he decided once again to start dead last (I think he was napping). I could not help but smile as I noticed him in my mirror about 20 cars back. :lol: I figured I could settle into the 1:38 range and keep him back there. All was going to plan until about half way when the handling went off on the car. I could not believe that taking it "easy" I had cooked my tires. :| It progressively got worse, and the Yaris felt like a drift car. :shock: Gary got by me and checked out as I tired to just stay on the track.

Neil retired just past half way with some type of engine problem, and Jamie claimed third place.

It was not until I was unloading today that I think I may have discovered the reason for the odd handling. I guess they need more than 3psi.

I would like to think I might have been able to hold Gary off, but he is always fast at WS, and the -50lbs and Runoffs motor in his car this year really raised the bar. :p

418418_180808625365607_100003094128221_278713_147327837_n.jpg
 
Jason - try about 22psi-cold in the front next time. I'm sure they'll work out much better for you. :wink:
 
kruck":1gfgd7ix said:
Jason - try about 22psi-cold in the front next time. I'm sure they'll work out much better for you. :wink:
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What do you like to see hot? Same hot front & rear?
 
kruck":2l0dkr74 said:
Jason - try about 22psi-cold in the front next time. I'm sure they'll work out much better for you. :wink:
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Good tip. :lol: This one seems to have a leak, not sure yet if it is the wheel/valve core or the tire.
 
Starting from the rear two days in a row is not something I recommend. It was actually a lot of fun but also stressful knowing I had a lot of ITA, SS, etc. to get past to get up to my competition. I did not know if I could trust many of those cars and had to be somewhat cautious the first race on Saturday. During the second race on Sunday I knew Jason would be moving pretty fast and I threw caution to the wind and became a man on a mission. I knew better what to expect from the other cars after being on the track with them for a couple days.

I probably would have been napping if we didn't have to change a head gasket before the race on Sunday. I should have had enough time to get to pre-grid before the cars pulled out but people like to visit and I like to talk also and we ran out of time. I got to pre-grid as the last car was pulling out to go on the track.

When I caught Jason I knew he was having trouble with his car. Calling it a drift car was an understatement. I was surprised he was able to keep control of it. I had to draft him to pass on a straight because he was too wide in the corners since the car was almost 90 degrees to the track. We both got a big surprise as I was trying to make an inside pass at the end of the front straight going into turn 1. A T1 Corvette decided he should get in on the action too. The T1 went on the inside of me shot up right in front of me and immediately slammed on the brakes. I was already at the speed I needed to go though the turn and was full throttle in 3rd gear. I just knew I was going to plant the front of my car into the rear of the T1. Somehow I managed to get on the brakes and swerve to just barely avoid contact. The T1 also went up the track and almost took Jason off the course. I don't know what happened to the RX7 that was in front of the whole mess. It did end up to my advantage because I went back to the inside on my avoidance maneuver and ended up passing everybody. Unfortunately, Jason's ill handling car would not allow him to keep up to make it a good race like the last time we raced at Willow Springs.

Neil had no tires to race on. Goodyear stopped making his size tire and he did not find out until it was to late to get replacements. He was lucky to be able to get half way thought the race on Sunday because he started with no rubber on two tires.
 
EPrill":olz0s9ed said:
I like 28 front and rear
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For the radials, that is my target too. I start at 18-20psi, depending on how much that corner builds. I was surprised that Kevin starts at 22, but maybe it's a FWD thing. Curious what Kevin's preferred hot pressures are.
 
BLinn":1m7to040 said:
EPrill":1m7to040 said:
I like 28 front and rear
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For the radials, that is my target too. I start at 18-20psi, depending on how much that corner builds. I was surprised that Kevin starts at 22, but maybe it's a FWD thing. Curious what Kevin's preferred hot pressures are.
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Same here. 18-20.
 
I also start at 18 to 20 and look for 26 hot. Tried bumping it to 28 hot and didn't like it as well but I can't say I have a lot of experience at that pressure. It just seemed like the wrong direction.

It is funny to me that with all of the things that have changed on the car going from bias ply to radials, and all of the stories and tribal knowledge that seems to exist, I have ended up with almost exactly the same starting and finishing tire pressures as before with the bias ply tires.
 
BLinn":14u4l39c said:
EPrill":14u4l39c said:
I like 28 front and rear
Click to expand...
For the radials, that is my target too. I start at 18-20psi, depending on how much that corner builds. I was surprised that Kevin starts at 22, but maybe it's a FWD thing. Curious what Kevin's preferred hot pressures are.
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The FWD cars tend to like something around 32f & 28r hot. So that means I'm starting somewhere around 20-23f & 21-23r cold, obviously depending on track style and track temps.
 
I must of been the last person still using 15 x 8 Goodyear slicks. They are now no longer available (or so I have been told). With some modification (sway bar relocation, studs, spacers etc...) I can get 15 x 9, or Hoozier 15 x 8.5 to fit on the front. At least I got my moneys worth out of the last set...all the way down to the steel belts..

Gary and Jason are extremely fast! I have nothing for them, but was hoping to have a good dice with Jamie who was getting faster every session and out-qualified me on Sunday. I'd better get my act together or I'll be left behind....

Neil
 
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