stradman
09-11-2019, 04:18 PM
Hi Guys,
Well as some of you know, its been a bit of a saga or perhaps I should say a “journey” with my 9.0L after it came back from its mods at Prefix and which I have discussed on other threads. I’ve only had a handful of exploratory track days since the mods being marred by either getting kicked off track for noise or power loss from melted catalytic converters. All of which of course took a few months to figure out and then subsequently make some custom exhausts which would allow me to get access to some tracks. I was however very much looking forward to Spa this week to hopefully once and for all test the car and see how it performed.
Well, in the end, as I was playing with a mate in his 997 GT3 and I with my 996 GT3, I only managed to get just over 30 laps in the ACR. I’ll be honest and say that I started those laps with some trepidation and a journey of rediscovery with the car. I was so paranoid also that I would be struck with some bad luck again and that something would happen, that for about 20 of those laps I was treading gingerly, feeling out the car again and assessing a number of things that I wanted to understand and gauge. I also didn’t want to get kicked off for noise for a start, as I wasn’t sure how effective the custom exhausts would be, so was always short shifting over the start line for half of those. Ultimately, it seemed ok as towards the end I gave it full beans and didn’t get black flagged!
I was also constantly looking at oil pressure and temps as I was progressively building up the speeds, but honestly engine wise thankfully it didn’t even blink. It was all good as gold, engine running smoothly, and cooly and pulling like a train. On that last point, I was a bit more cautious than normal, as there is just so much torque, and instantly available, that a misplaced prod of that accelerator will quickly get that rear end out in no time-as I found out on a couple of occasions.
So after all was said and done, and traffic eased towards the end of the day I thought it would be appropriate to try a half decent attempt at a lap time to see where she lies. In the end I ran used slicks, saving a new set for when I was sure the car was 100%-next time I will. Interestingly I didn’t sense a huge difference with the used Pirelli slicks compared to say a brand new set of Kumho’s as some of corner speeds where not any different to my pre modification laps at the same circuit. Of course I’m sure brand spanking new slicks on their first say 15 laps will and should and will be quicker than the Kumhos.
So the best time I managed on my last 5-6 lap attempts, and where I gave it a sincere go was a 2:32.98. Although that’s a reasonable time, I do believe however a sub 2:30 is in order and is achievable. To put that in perspective, a Manthey prepared and run GT2RS with one of their racing drivers set a 2:31 at Spa. So not bad for an old amateur like me in an old analogue manually driven car like the ACR! I think I did the Viper community proud! However I feel there is still more to come and I'm back at there at the end of the month to set a sub 2:30 time. I will also state however for the avoidance of any doubt that, in my hands at least, and contrary to what I initially may have thought, I cannot see the car ever doing anything like a 2:25, which is what the current track king the Mclaren Senna has done at this track, and despite similar levels of grip.
Now I have to quantify this. The main limitation I can see is ironically, the manual gearbox. It simply cannot compete with the new 7 speed flappy paddles no matter how well you can shift. Much as I love my manual gearboxes, when you get down to those kind of lap times, and if you want to set the fastest laps in any given modern car, this can only really be done with an automated gearbox. Simply put, time is lost from upshifting and more importantly downshifting. I believe the ACR’s manual gearbox, although reasonably beefy, is probably close to its limit for track use what with an 800hp+ engine in front. I do get quite a bit of noticeable nibbling if the gearchange isn’t perfect on downshifting, and of course that loses time. I have changed the gearbox oil to Royal Purple Synchromax which has made a difference but still, you really have to be on your game when changing. I think if your gig is drag racing though it would be ok.
You realise the challenge on track when trying to optimally assimilate your late braking and corner speed entry-from quite high speeds with everything around you happening super fast, and yet you’re frantically trying to dance with 3 pedals, rev match and moving a manly gearstick lever at the same time-not the most effective way to manage your time! At the same time I’m trying to be careful not to buzz the engine with a misguided downshift! Sure its hugely interactive in a way no modern supercar can be with all the modern wizardry, but its simply never going to be as fast as the ultimate supercar like the Senna, if all you want to do is blast out a super fast lap time. Nonetheless, I believe if I can get to under 2:30 I’ll be content and I guess there are probably not many other manual gearbox, no nanny cars around that can do this.
The other thing I need to try to work on is trusting and using the aero more. This car has so much grip I really need to lean on it much more-but its hard for me, not coming from a race background and I’ll be honest I still very much am and regard myself as an amateur. I will of course be analysing my data more, as that is part of the fun of our hobby, but on first look there are certainly improvements to be had in a number of corners. I know by comparison I’m down 3-4 mph on some corners compared to the Senna, which although not insurmountable will require some commitment. Oh and I also need to adjust my new Tillet seat position. with the height and reach to make me more comfortable for fast lapping. It’s all a work in progress!
So that’s my update for now. Next Spa day is end of September so will see what happens then!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6FwXWVAYGQ
Well as some of you know, its been a bit of a saga or perhaps I should say a “journey” with my 9.0L after it came back from its mods at Prefix and which I have discussed on other threads. I’ve only had a handful of exploratory track days since the mods being marred by either getting kicked off track for noise or power loss from melted catalytic converters. All of which of course took a few months to figure out and then subsequently make some custom exhausts which would allow me to get access to some tracks. I was however very much looking forward to Spa this week to hopefully once and for all test the car and see how it performed.
Well, in the end, as I was playing with a mate in his 997 GT3 and I with my 996 GT3, I only managed to get just over 30 laps in the ACR. I’ll be honest and say that I started those laps with some trepidation and a journey of rediscovery with the car. I was so paranoid also that I would be struck with some bad luck again and that something would happen, that for about 20 of those laps I was treading gingerly, feeling out the car again and assessing a number of things that I wanted to understand and gauge. I also didn’t want to get kicked off for noise for a start, as I wasn’t sure how effective the custom exhausts would be, so was always short shifting over the start line for half of those. Ultimately, it seemed ok as towards the end I gave it full beans and didn’t get black flagged!
I was also constantly looking at oil pressure and temps as I was progressively building up the speeds, but honestly engine wise thankfully it didn’t even blink. It was all good as gold, engine running smoothly, and cooly and pulling like a train. On that last point, I was a bit more cautious than normal, as there is just so much torque, and instantly available, that a misplaced prod of that accelerator will quickly get that rear end out in no time-as I found out on a couple of occasions.
So after all was said and done, and traffic eased towards the end of the day I thought it would be appropriate to try a half decent attempt at a lap time to see where she lies. In the end I ran used slicks, saving a new set for when I was sure the car was 100%-next time I will. Interestingly I didn’t sense a huge difference with the used Pirelli slicks compared to say a brand new set of Kumho’s as some of corner speeds where not any different to my pre modification laps at the same circuit. Of course I’m sure brand spanking new slicks on their first say 15 laps will and should and will be quicker than the Kumhos.
So the best time I managed on my last 5-6 lap attempts, and where I gave it a sincere go was a 2:32.98. Although that’s a reasonable time, I do believe however a sub 2:30 is in order and is achievable. To put that in perspective, a Manthey prepared and run GT2RS with one of their racing drivers set a 2:31 at Spa. So not bad for an old amateur like me in an old analogue manually driven car like the ACR! I think I did the Viper community proud! However I feel there is still more to come and I'm back at there at the end of the month to set a sub 2:30 time. I will also state however for the avoidance of any doubt that, in my hands at least, and contrary to what I initially may have thought, I cannot see the car ever doing anything like a 2:25, which is what the current track king the Mclaren Senna has done at this track, and despite similar levels of grip.
Now I have to quantify this. The main limitation I can see is ironically, the manual gearbox. It simply cannot compete with the new 7 speed flappy paddles no matter how well you can shift. Much as I love my manual gearboxes, when you get down to those kind of lap times, and if you want to set the fastest laps in any given modern car, this can only really be done with an automated gearbox. Simply put, time is lost from upshifting and more importantly downshifting. I believe the ACR’s manual gearbox, although reasonably beefy, is probably close to its limit for track use what with an 800hp+ engine in front. I do get quite a bit of noticeable nibbling if the gearchange isn’t perfect on downshifting, and of course that loses time. I have changed the gearbox oil to Royal Purple Synchromax which has made a difference but still, you really have to be on your game when changing. I think if your gig is drag racing though it would be ok.
You realise the challenge on track when trying to optimally assimilate your late braking and corner speed entry-from quite high speeds with everything around you happening super fast, and yet you’re frantically trying to dance with 3 pedals, rev match and moving a manly gearstick lever at the same time-not the most effective way to manage your time! At the same time I’m trying to be careful not to buzz the engine with a misguided downshift! Sure its hugely interactive in a way no modern supercar can be with all the modern wizardry, but its simply never going to be as fast as the ultimate supercar like the Senna, if all you want to do is blast out a super fast lap time. Nonetheless, I believe if I can get to under 2:30 I’ll be content and I guess there are probably not many other manual gearbox, no nanny cars around that can do this.
The other thing I need to try to work on is trusting and using the aero more. This car has so much grip I really need to lean on it much more-but its hard for me, not coming from a race background and I’ll be honest I still very much am and regard myself as an amateur. I will of course be analysing my data more, as that is part of the fun of our hobby, but on first look there are certainly improvements to be had in a number of corners. I know by comparison I’m down 3-4 mph on some corners compared to the Senna, which although not insurmountable will require some commitment. Oh and I also need to adjust my new Tillet seat position. with the height and reach to make me more comfortable for fast lapping. It’s all a work in progress!
So that’s my update for now. Next Spa day is end of September so will see what happens then!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6FwXWVAYGQ