EDness

nice pix!

Jimax

This was definitely a well-run event. It was organized, things were on time, instructors were great, people were safe but having fun at the same time.

I do love that track, and really THANK GOD for the large runoff areas. On the last lap of my last run, coming off the front straight into turn 1 at 118MPH, part way through slowing down, my brakes decided that they'd had enough. Pedal went to the floor, major brake fade, no bite, and I was way too hot to enter the turn. I chose to run off and ran into the grass by about 500 feet before the car finally came to a rest.

I've alredy done one brake upgrade. It appears I've outgrown it. The upgrade was good for my first two track events. But this event, I was definitely carrying a lot more speed all over the track, so I was asking a lot of my brakes. Looks like it's time for yet another upgrade. Yippee!

magnetic1

... fun drive home also. Except that Charlotte Cty cop was nabbing people again on the way back....

Will post videos soon. I think KJ has some great video from Red group of me, Drew, himself and David White (fellow BMW racer) going at it.

KJinDC

ACNA throws an awesome event! You guys/gals on the fence really need to come on out and enjoy!

-KJ

arob

and got a chance to see you and KJ "go at it" for a couple laps.

Whoa...

arob

Although I must admit that it was a lot to learn in such a short period of time, I found myself applying some of the basics about 90% on the drive home.

Jim and I stopped in Charlottesville to have dinner with Paul (dev1.8T), and he showed us some back road to bypass all of the traffic on 29. Being that it had just poured, the roads were not in the best conditions, and we were taking it extra careful. I found myself positioning the hands at 9 and 3 (with the occassional "shake loose", and definitely applied the "finish braking before turning" technique.

Thanks again for the great instruction. The one session with Reggie was very informative as well, and you can consider me signed up for November. Reggie - the biggest compliment you paid me was "at least you didn't scare me". )

Now I've gotta figure out how to remove the freakin' "****-eatin' grin" off of my face. ;o)

Jimax

My brother was telling me that when he went for a ride w/you at Summit last October, that you were using stock BMW calipers, but were using aggressive track pads. What kind of pads? Just curious. I'm looking for a solution where I can hammer on the brakes over and over again without worrying about running off like I already did.

magnetic1

TJ? that has half of KJ's name, which implies that I have half of KJ's slowness. No thanks

Im using Carbotech track pads. At this event, I was using their new XP12 line.

It really depends on your tires and setup... email me for more info. I give all the local guys a good discount

Jimax, sorry I dunno the screen name.. what were you driving?

Fairfax 4.0T

you're running more than 350hp or you are a race caliber driver.

I used Porterfield R4 track pads with the proper fluid in my A6 and never had any problems. Randy Pobst took 2 laps and pushed my car further than I thought it could be pushed, and he said he experienced no brake fade.

Your brake fade was likely due to boiled brake fluid or pads that could not take the temperature. What pads and fluid were you running. For that matter, what car/mods were you running?

absolutcq20v

Not from fear, but from pure exitement! I was EXHAUSTED last night, yet didn't sleep more than 2-3 hours...had half-asleep dreams of late apexes, throttle/steering modulation, and the smell of brakes.

I was amazed how well I was moving out there, as were my instructors...on sevral occations I was asked a second or third time "you've NEVER done a driving event or autocross or any sort of driving school?" and "this thing has just swaybars?".

I shot some in-car video of the skidpad as well as the track; video capturing is new to me so I'll have to work on it, so it may take a week or so. I also need to somehow compress them down (downloaded a 15 min session as a 3.1GB video). I'll get them compressed and posted somehow.

I had two times where one or all of my tires left the tarmac, as many of you saw/heard (damn word travels fast in the pits!!). :P The first one was during my 2nd session on Mon afternoon; I coasted off at turn 1 after carrying a LOT more speed than before (I got through hogpen very well). In hindsight, I didn't have to go off, but better to err on the side of caution. The second one was as I was winding out hogpen during my 3rd (and last) session on Tuesday...I dipped the rear-left wheel off but snapped her *** right back in line. Justin and Jeff/Ed can testify. :P After that, I decided I was satisfied and waved off on my last session.

I can type on and on and on, but all the words and pictures and video (coming soon) can't even come close to how informative and exiting that event was. If you've even considered attending a driving school, DO IT!! You will have NO regrets!