Track Dog tested!

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Testing report.
On April 26, Track Dog was in Pahrump, Nevada for the first track testing. When we arrived (with 10 miles on the new engine), we discovered that we had the track to ourselves. It doesn't get any better than that. Before heading for the track, we put the car on the dyno for three runs. 255 ft/lbs of torque at 10 psi - not bad.

First, Rick Weldon took out his rental car to learn the lines. Bill Cardell rode shotgun as he is very familiar with the track. Dawn and Keith rode in the back. At the end of the second lap, Rick pulled the handbrake and one of the tires came off the rim. Whoops. Heh heh heh.

On to Track Dog. The goal for the day was to scrub in all three sets of tires and determine the basic car setup. After the first five lap session in the car, Rick was extremely impressed. The car is fast and fundamentally good! Over the next few sessions, we did some fine tuning of tire pressures, shock compression and rebound settings and rear sway stiffness. By the end of the day, our lap times were comparable to a C5 Corvette. This is shifting conservatively and with a driver that has very few laps in on the track.

The biggest problem is the brake bias. The Wilwood setup on the rear is just too powerful and even our proportioning valve wasn't enough to compensate. Rick figures there's 10 seconds in the brakes alone, as the car could not be braked hard and he had to back off very early for the corners. We'll be fitting a set of 1.8 Miata brakes with good pads on the rear.

Another problem is putting down the power. In the fast turns, the Torsen isn't doing the job. A clutch-type diff from Mazda Competition will likely be installed. The studs holding in the external wastegate loosened off twice, so that needs to be fixed. Otherwise, all we have to do is little details. Like turning up the boost to get another 150 hp. With the exception of the wastegate studs, the car was 100% reliable during the day.

The report from Rick Weldon:

"Bill,
This is all stuff I already bent your ear about, but I just wanted to reaffirm everything I babbled on about regarding our test day with the Track Dog.

Although this was our first time actually working together on a project, things went pretty much as predicted. We "clicked" as a team immediately -- you and Keith are wonderful to work with. Your expertise and all the advance preparations and hard work you'd put into the car allowed me to concentrate completely on my contribution to the effort in the driving and sorting department.

Now, about the car.
Wow!

You really hit a home run with this one! As I mentioned at the track (and I know some people think I'm crazy on this), but this car has a personality, one that wants to be a race car. The amazing thing is that the car isn't a high-strung monster to drive. I'm sure you noticed also. Heck, if it wasn't for the racing slicks it is docile enough that we could've driven it into town for that fantastic Chinese lunch we had........ At low speeds it drives like a well-mannered street car.

And yet at speed it's pure race car! Impressive torque and power and incredible handling. By the end of the day, we had a very, very confidence-inspiring race car. Sure, we had a couple of small areas to work on (but that's why we test, eh?), but overall one couldn't have asked for a better test day.

You've got one helluva car here.

Is the horn installed? Is it loud? I'm thinking there may be a few Vipers and Vettes I may be honking at. Looking forward to getting back on the track with you guys............

r."

Video
Quicktime
Windows Media (avi)

Pictures

Learning the track in the rental car.
Whoops.
The Track Dog.
In some fast transitions.

Pahrump is in the middle of nowhere.
Turbodog could not be at the testing in person, but he did attend in a way.
Rick gets debriefed as Dawn takes notes and Bill works on the wastegate.
Haulin' ass in turn 2.

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