USCA - Optima Batteries - NJMP August 25-27

[WayFast84]

Very interested in taking the WRX. Need to see if I can clear some scheduling things up first. Doing new pads/lines wouldn't hurt either.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by WayFast84

Very interested in taking the WRX. Need to see if I can clear some scheduling things up first. Doing new pads/lines wouldn't hurt either.

I think you're a bit late to participate, you can try to get in though. If the event has been sold out you could probably volunteer this year and get in next year for free

[PolarBear]

Looks like there is a good representation for third gens this year, I think there will be 4 of them.

[IROCZman15]

Originally Posted by WayFast84

Very interested in taking the WRX. Need to see if I can clear some scheduling things up first. Doing new pads/lines wouldn't hurt either.

if you are lucky you might be able to get in, but I'm pretty sure that they have a hard-line cut-off date that was more than a month ago. Big events like this usually don't allow day-of-show type walk-in participants. Sorry. I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure about their rules and registration stuff. I've read the rulebook a few dozen times already

[BonzoHansen]

https://clubregistration.net/events/...cfm/event/8097

You can still register it appears. $600

[BonzoHansen]

and you'd be amazed at the number of owners of moderately expensive cars that we talked to last weekend that said they are not going due to cost since they are outgunned by seriously expensive cars. one comment was "I don't like paying $600 to be a backup band"

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by IROCZman15

if you are lucky you might be able to get in, but I'm pretty sure that they have a hard-line cut-off date that was more than a month ago. Big events like this usually don't allow day-of-show type walk-in participants. Sorry. I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure about their rules and registration stuff. I've read the rulebook a few dozen times already

I am pretty sure you can't just show up

[OptimaJim]

Originally Posted by BonzoHansen

and you'd be amazed at the number of owners of moderately expensive cars that we talked to last weekend that said they are not going due to cost since they are outgunned by seriously expensive cars. one comment was "I don't like paying $600 to be a backup band"

That's not a new comment for us. We've had more than a few folks feel like they've brought knives to a gunfight. Some of the biggest servings of humble pie come from the folks who really know how to drive and end up smoking lesser drivers in heavily-modified vehicles or cars that they think should be faster than a nearly-stock, daily driver.

If someone is ultra-competitive and needs a trophy for everything they do, this is definitely not a good event to participate in, unless they are a very accomplished driver with a very well-sorted out car. We do have first-time winners every year- Bill Hudson won the GTV class at NJMP in his first-ever event last year, but they are more the exception than the rule.

The events are a lot of fun, you'll put a lot of miles on your car, may get TV and/or magazine coverage and you'll meet some great people. If that isn't compelling enough for folks, they may just want to spectate or watch the episode when it comes on TV. The event has sold-out, as they all do, but they often go deep into waiting lists when people can't get their cars put back together or other life events force them to change plans.

What you really need to know about competing in the search for the ultimate street car.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

[PolarBear]

Well, I am bringing a bone stock 4.8 with a 6 speed, lol. I have no aspirations about "winning" anything. I am only going to have fun since I will not be participating in any of the other events, so there is no chance at me winning based on points, and from attending past events, there is no chance at me winning individual portions of the event.
If people are really there to "win", in my opinion, they are doing it wrong

[WayFast84]

When I posted that they still had spots left. Unfortunately, I can't free up anything that weekend, and I'm stuck working the Giants/Jets game. These car events are the main reason I got my WRX and with my business, school, and other jobs I've never been able to participate.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by WayFast84

When I posted that they still had spots left.

I think they've been full for a while. Dave told me weeks ago there were over 70 people registered, was still over 70 yesterday

[IROCZman15]

Originally Posted by PolarBear

Well, I am bringing a bone stock 4.8 with a 6 speed, lol. I have no aspirations about "winning" anything. I am only going to have fun since I will not be participating in any of the other events, so there is no chance at me winning based on points, and from attending past events, there is no chance at me winning individual portions of the event.
If people are really there to "win", in my opinion, they are doing it wrong

* same here !!! * (not for the car/powertrain..but for the attitude)

I am participating again because I tried it out as a first-timer last year at NJMP and had an absolute blast doing the full 2 day event! I mean it, I had a lot of fun. I am not going to be competing for top spots in any portion of the events, but it is a chance to learn, meet people, be in awe of some of the top-notch drivers and cars, and to put some serious seat time in the car in a "controlled" environment. It will be fun, no matter what.

[PolarBear]

To anyone who may be considering volunteering

Hello Pro-Touring.com members! It's time for a big e-mail update on some upcoming events and news.

Coming up pretty soon are two Optima events that run on back to back weekends at different ends of the country. The first one is in NJ and the second one is in my back yard in Southern California. Shortly after that is Road American and then the big event in Las Vegas.

We still have volunteer spots open for all events and we would love to see you there. It's a great way to see the action up close, be a part of it and get some cool swag. Please e-mail me at larry.c@pro-touring.com for volunteer info.

[IROCZman15]

heading to the track tomorrow afternoon to go through tech inspection, apply decals, and setup my pit area for the weekend


it is time to rock'n'roll !!!


here is a link to some MORE photos from last years event. Billy (BTK) and I are involved

https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...cm_paging_fl=1

awesome.

[BonzoHansen]

You ought to have great weather you guys have fun!

[RamblerRacer]

Got my toes in the sand reading this. Jealous. Would.love to have run it. Was at Island anyway for last day of points. Finished 8th in Pro I believe. First year in points and cant.wait.to race in the Div 1 finals. Will be keeping.an eye out for.tbe debrief like you did last year. Lots of time thos week toread. On vacay down tbe shore. Hope all went well

JT

[Jersey Mike]

The media I was getting by phone definitely teased some good pics and stories to come! Looked like you guys Had a great time!

[PolarBear]

Well, I am back and had a blast. Since none of you came to support us, I won't be sharing any stories

[Blackbirdws6]

Originally Posted by PolarBear

Well, I am back and had a blast. Since none of you came to support us, I won't be sharing any stories

Great attitude to encourage folks to consider participation next year

[PolarBear]

My accounting won't be as detailed as Dave's has been in the past, but it was an awesome weekend. I was a little upset that I couldn't run with the other thirdgens because of something as trivial as the year of the car, considering it is the same as all the years before the cut-off date of 1989, but I spoke with Jimi about my issue and he said to email a compelling argument to have a rule change. They chose 1989 since some cars started coming out with "performance" mods such as ABS etc. but none of the third gens ever got that. I think the argument should be that a generation of car should be allowed in GTV (Vintage) so long as it is essentially the same as the rest of the cars from the start of the production. Really, the only thing my car has that earlier cars do not, is an Air bag, and that's not a performance addition.

So the whole time for Autocross, Road course and Speed-Stop I was always at the bottom of the list in the GT class, it did make it super easy to find my times There were three other 3rd gens there, one being Dave, another IROC and an 84 TA made to look like an 86-90. I compared my times to all of those guys and I did pretty well considering all of them had bigger engines than I do, and suspension mods. My car is essentially to WS6 specs but I have Koni yellows and Global west delrin bushings in the front A arms and I put on the steering brace that I bought a long time ago, but wouldn't fit with the stock dual TPI fan setup. I also only had 500 treadwear tires on my R15 wheels. I wasn't there to compete with those guys though, I was there to just have fun, it was just nice to see that I was doing pretty well against my "peers" and this was my first time competing.

Saturday the first event, again, was the Autocross. I have been to autocross before to spectate and have I have never been all that impressed with the "value" of it, but I had never been in the drivers seat. I can definitely say that I am a fan of it now. We got 10-11 runs in total for the day. I got 10 and from the beginning of the day to the end I dropped two seconds without getting any instruction/help/pointers from anyone. I think if I had someone that could sit in the car, or if I rode shotgun I could pick up some more time. Tires would definitely helped me pick up some time, they would get slippery when they got hot. Still the slowest of my thirdgen peers, but only by less than a second. Across the board I was fairly consistent though, My high time was 37.283 for my first run, and I was going slower on purpose, to a best of 35.213, but the rest of my runs were all in the 35.xx. All considered, I think I did pretty well and had a great experience. I did kick the Ford Torinos ass in the autocross though, lol and he had a high dollar build

The next event was the road rally. Nothing too eventful, just a ~35 mile ride down to the Wildwood sign and back. At the end of a (for me) hot day it was nice to just cruise with the AC blasting. It was so nice as soon as it hits your skin

Sunday was the Speed-Stop and the Road course. I was really looking forward to the Road course, and it didn't disappoint. I can't say much except I did way better than I thought I would. Again, I feel the tires held me back and not having a proper racing seat, but I also didn't know the line to take most of the time. The seat was a part of not taking the proper line. I was holding on to the steering wheel for dear life and I was using my knee to brace myself from not sliding. With my gearing I basically stayed in 3rd all the way around the track except the front straight, where I would upshift to 4th, then start braking at the crows nest and then downshift into 3rd again going into turn one. I couldn't believe how well that BONE STOCK 4.8 performed. I was going 110+mph by the end of the straight. During my first outing on the track I lost power steering though. All the RH turns I didn't even notice, it wasn't until I got to turn 7, the hard LH where I had a hard steering wheel. I thought nothing of it though until I came back into the pits where I had to muscle it to get around. Also, during the first run, I realized the moment where the tires were done in the 3rd lap, too hot and slippery, but I continued on as best I could. When I got back to the paddock, I checked the PS fluid, it was "full hot" and it wasn't foamy or look like there was air in it. I let the engine cool for a while and then jack up the front, nothing appeared to be binding, so I think I just killed the stock pump from overheating since there is no real PS cooler in the 3rd gen. I have that one return loop that goes in front of the radiator, but that's it. If I ever decide to take this car again, I will definitely put in a cooler for that. I was also impressed with the stock 4th gen cooling system, I am running a stock 4th gen radiator and fans, the radiator is actually Mike's from his pewter car and I bought a set of stock replacement fans. I would glance at the temp when I could on the track and I never got over ~220. I am actually also not running water based coolant. I am running Evans waterless coolant. I remember when I posted that I had bought it for the other car, someone said it can make the cooling system seem smaller than it is since it doesn't transfer heat as well, but that must not be the case since I never ran over temps that I would be in traffic. Between that statement and the stock sized cooling system, I was very worried that I would overhead quickly, but I am quite surprised and happy with the performance. I also have the "Torque" app on my phone, paired with a PLX bluetooth OBDII adapter, and I would check the temps afterwards, and I was only in the ~220 range still with all that latent heat. I would definitely recommend the waterless coolant to anyone.
Despite the loss of the power steering, I decided to go out on the track one more time. I was kind of low on fuel at this point, since i had done the auto-x, road rally, some speed-stop and driving to/from the hotel several times and I was actually 70 miles into the tank when I got there. I thought I would have enough even with the 70 miles out of the tank, to do the whole event. I was under/around 1/4 of a tank when I went out on track again, and I have to say GM really did a great job with the 4th gen fuel system. I went out there pulling some lateral G's and I didn't even have a stumble. I only went 3 laps the send time out, even though I was in NOVICE, there were some high dollar cars out there ON MY ASS on lap 3 and I felt like the tires were getting lose again, so after the long bowl (turn 12?) I came back in. If I had more fuel and hadn't lost power steering, I would have gone out for another session, but I wasn't about to put 93 octane in the car from the track at over $3 a gallon, when I am running 87 in the car otherwise, lol. It was OK though, I wanted to do more speed stop.

The Speed-Stop was also on Sunday. I actually pulled out of line from the first session of the road course, we hot lapped right out of the orientation on the road course, which was supposed to be only 2-3 laps, but I think they gave us 6 instead. The speed stop was a different format this year. Instead of going alone and only one "direction" they had two setup side-by-side and a left habd and a right hand turn. You would come in and do the RH turn course while you would go head-to-head with the person in the LH turn. They had a drag race tree with pre-stage and stage lights to drop the green light to start. You were a few feet behind the start timing light, so it was basically impossible to red light the start. After you did your RH lane, you would come back around the timing trailer and get in line for the LH lane. I hot lapped this course a bunch of times. This was another course where I didn't see what the big-to-do was all about, but once you get there it was a different story. I improved a little at first and cut my times down, but I was held back by the tires after a point. Plus my gearing may have hurt me a little. With the 3.45's and the gearing of the T56, I had to do the course in first gear the whole time, if I shifted into second I wouldn't be in a good RPM once I got to the turn to be able to power out of the last corner. So I was in a higher RPM and had to feather the pedal to not break the tires lose or drift the car towards the finish, although it was a lot of fun doing that anyway, lol.
This was another place that the cooling system did not disappoint, I hot lapped the speed stop a lot of times in the afternoon, with the low fuel tank! and I watched the temps the whole time, I wouldn't go over the ~212 mark where I have the second fan come on, I have the first fan set at 205 or something. This is also another place the GM 4th gen fuel tank shone, I was just above "E" after my second outing on the road course, Dave was having fueling problems with the low tank in the speed stop, but not even a hiccup for me.

Overall I had a blast, I did have two bad things happen to me though. I rolled my ankle on a rock and sprained it, plus lightly sprained the other ankle when I fell. Also, I burned my mouth eating a hotdog from the concession

I seriously think anyone interested in Motorsports should make the time to come support events like this. Even as a spectator there is a lot to see, and as a volunteer you get right next to the action. Even if this isn't your "thing" it may just get you interested. My cousin came out on Saturday to watch, he has been programmed from childhood to be a straight line guy and after Saturday, he says he wants to change his Chevelle to be able to participate in stuff like this.

I have learned a lot after my first event and has given me pause to re-consider choices I was going to make on my Camaro build. Even though I already got aftermarket seats for the car, I need a real racing seat and likely 5 point harnesses, I am going to go full "track" car instead of cruiser and I need a PS cooler for sure. I also need some 18 inch wheels and sticky tires.

Here are the results if you would like to look. If you want to see any of my times specifically, just scroll right to the bottom

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by Blackbirdws6

Great attitude to encourage folks to consider participation next year

After this event, I wish I had the time to take to do that track day you posted.

[IROCZman15]

I am back also; got back around 8:30 last night and had a ton of gear unpacking to do. I will do a write-up and a link to all photos/videos from the weekend sometime this week when I get a chance to upload everything.


I gotta say.. IT WAS FREEEEEAKINNN AWESOME

guys, something like this is a for sure "bucket-list" event.


...took the camaro to work this morning too.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by IROCZman15

...took the camaro to work this morning too.

If I hadn't killed the PS I would have too, lol

Also, A big shout out to Mike for letting me rent his trailer for the weekend. It definitely made the end of the event go better.

[PolarBear]

Originally Posted by IROCZman15

and a link to all photos/videos from the weekend sometime this week when I get a chance to upload everything.

I forgot, I will have some in-car video to upload too. Hopefully tomorrow I can start uploading.

[sweetbmxrider]

Great recap. Can't wait to see some media as well!