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An Intensive Experience

Gerald Wilgus

Gerald Wilgus

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
I have never had a car that can handle nimbly, so last year bought a Toyota MR2 Spyder. So, today, finally got instruction on a road course, GingerMan Raceway. I have always been sensitive to a lot of information coming at me at once, but decided to give this a try. The instructors were great and supportive and I found out that not only could I maintain situational awareness on the track but could anticipate my marks for braking and turn in very well.

Actually, as I learned the track, situational awareness and handling the car assertively became easier. That small car is well balanced and I found that I could ask it to do far more than I thought it capable of. In turns I could brake later and accelerate sooner than more powerful cars so could outrun them there, but needed to "point-by" for them to pass in the straitaways. The day was both mentally and physically challenging and I learned that I am still up for breaking my boundaries.
 
Sounds like pushing the boundaries paid off.
A person I know takes his (race) car to Laguna Seca. It’s been a really satisfying & great fun part of his life. He drives a 2008 Ford Racing Mustang FR500S.
 
Gerald Wilgus said:
I have never had a car that can handle nimbly, so last year bought a Toyota MR2 Spyder. So, today, finally got instruction on a road course, GingerMan Raceway. I have always been sensitive to a lot of information coming at me at once, but decided to give this a try. The instructors were great and supportive and I found out that not only could I maintain situational awareness on the track but could anticipate my marks for braking and turn in very well.

Actually, as I learned the track, situational awareness and handling the car assertively became easier. That small car is well balanced and I found that I could ask it to do far more than I thought it capable of. In turns I could brake later and accelerate sooner than more powerful cars so could outrun them there, but needed to "point-by" for them to pass in the straitaways. The day was both mentally and physically challenging and I learned that I am still up for breaking my boundaries.
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I was schooled by a Bondurant instructor to groom me for roadracing at 18 but went the straightline route in NHRA instead because I was already street racing and owned the equipment.
\
He taught me Mark Donohue's trail braking technique in my '69 Camaro because he saw how hard I pushed it and didn't want to see me die :p
 
Nitro said:
I was schooled by a Bondurant instructor to groom me for roadracing at 18 but went the straightline route in NHRA instead because I was already street racing and owned the equipment.
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Either way, it is a totally immersive experience, isn't it? After my first solo run, my instructor asked my age as in the bleachers the instructors were discussing that it was great to see somebody my age come out on the track. Goes to show one is never too old to learn. I've kept on doing that . . . whitewater open canoe at forty, SCUBA diving at fifty, so what's next? I'm having a blast!
 
This was a brakejob I did on my '86 Toyota 4Runner:
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Factory rotors were vented and slotted on a Bridgeport series II vertical mill retrofitted with a Heidenhein CNC controller.
The slots are curved tear drop shaped to reduce the heat stress risers chance of cracking them to a catastrophic failure.
And yes, my WarWagon saw occasional forays to 110 MPH :D
 
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Nitro said:
Very.
I was involved in a SCCA GT4 class Datsun B 210 we ran that had a 175 horse output from it's tiny 1.4 liter pushrod mill
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Another light car, about 200 lbs less than my MR2. With that weight and the mid engine I found that I could brake and turn in later and accelerate sooner than the big guys. There was a combo of turns where I could make up about 6 car lengths on the Camaros in my group, but could not keep up in the straights. The Japanese made some pretty nice small sports cars. And more reliable than the English, who did so much to define the class. So much fun and it's perfectly legal.

To get that HP, I'd need to go to the 2ZZ-GE powerplant. But, brakes first.
 
Illegal as can be, streetracing straightline offers some unpredictable traction results compared to the slick surface on a dragstrip.
The strip is fairly predictable and the traction only varies with the temp, but not all that much.
The street is brutal on drivetrains because of the traction advantage.
The unpredictable part is when the surface is never the same on both sides of the same street. Lane choice is a roll of the dice.
It adds another level of pucker factor when the traction goes away when you need it the most :p
 
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Not just the car. I learned that while I thought that I knew how to drive, I had a lot to learn to be able to handle my car on a track. I found it to be true that many think that they know how to do things in other endeavors only to find out otherwise.

Canoeing is a good example where I gained an immense amount of skill taking lessons. Guys think they instinctively know how to canoe but that is far from the truth.

I think my attention to detail really helped me.
 
Gerald Wilgus said:
Not just the car. I learned that while I thought that I knew how to drive, I had a lot to learn to be able to handle my car on a track. I found it to be true that many think that they know how to do things in other endeavors only to find out otherwise.

Canoeing is a good example where I gained an immense amount of skill taking lessons. Guys think they instinctively know how to canoe but that is far from the truth.

I think my attention to detail really helped me.
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Correction... Snazzy YOU!!!!
 
Nitro said:
my '69 Camaro
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I had access to '69 Camaro SS (green, white stripes). Once we got the differential adjusted - amazing!!!

My SO also had a dump truck he used every day for work. Oddly, that was one of the best handling vehicles I ever drove - very tight. It was a winter tradition to do donuts in front of the police station at the first significant snowfall in that truck ;)

But the Spyder... That must be a rush ;)
 
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Suzette said:
Omg, I haven't seen / heard "snazzy" in forever. Thanks for the giggle!:)
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Sorta reminds me of the "jazz hand" wave you give a following car before entering turns to let them know that you see them and will point-by for them to pass at the earliest opportunity.
 
I lost most of the pictures of my gearhead machines in a 100 year flood.
What I have now are mostly images others had they gave to me.
I recently saw a picture of my '72 455 Get Tools Out ragtop my brother has and asked him to scan it for me.
 
There are no known to exist pictures of my '68 Formula S Barracuda
 
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Nitro said:
What exactly is the power to weight ratio of that spyder?
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0.063 hp/lb or 15.9 lbs/hp 0 to 60 @ 6.8 seconds, so it isn't a particularly fast car. Yesterday I was looking to be consistent with good lines and learning how to command that car assertively (while having situational awareness).
 
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