The Ted Race Team: Because Racecar

[Ted]

How does this work? Maybe the engine speeds up?

Thanks.

When you have a vacuum leak, you're drawing air in from the outside. When you spray a combustible liquid on that vacuum leak, it will get sucked in too. This changes the air/fuel ratio of the engine.

So depending on what the air/fuel ratio is, the engine RPM will change (either increasing or decreasing). Most of the time, it increases since idle mixtures are generally failure lean. In this case, the RPM went down, as apparently the carb is jetted fairly rich and the starting fluid richened up the mixture past best power, to the point where the engine starts to lose power with more fuel. This makes sense in a race application, and @Half Fast had the carb jetted by a pro who knew how to jet the carb for racing (the jetting is the same as I haven't changed it, I just cleaned everything up).

 

[NealRomeoGolf]

You keep saying jet. I think someone is missing flying.....

 

[Half Fast]

When you have a vacuum leak, you're drawing air in from the outside. When you spray a combustible liquid on that vacuum leak, it will get sucked in too. This changes the air/fuel ratio of the engine.

So depending on what the air/fuel ratio is, the engine RPM will change (either increasing or decreasing). Most of the time, it increases since idle mixtures are generally failure lean. In this case, the RPM went down, as apparently the carb is jetted fairly rich and the starting fluid richened up the mixture past best power, to the point where the engine starts to lose power with more fuel. This makes sense in a race application, and @Half Fast had the carb jetted by a pro who knew how to jet the carb for racing (the jetting is the same as I haven't changed it, I just cleaned everything up).

Forgot to mention, though I’m sure you realized - if you idle for a long time you’ll foul the plugs. Sitting on the grid, waiting to roll out, I’d keep the revs up a bit, maybe 1200-1500, and it seemed to be okay.

 

[Ted]

Forgot to mention, though I’m sure you realized - if you idle for a long time you’ll foul the plugs. Sitting on the grid, waiting to roll out, I’d keep the revs up a bit, maybe 1200-1500, and it seemed to be okay.

Yeah, I don’t let it idle for long and when I pulled the plugs, they look good. I keep it revved a bit and I have the idle set on the higher side anyway.

 

[Half Fast]

How was the track night? Are car and driver reusable?

 

[Ted]

It was a good track night. This was my first real run of it with the manual brakes. Manual brakes do feel a bit different from power, but ultimately they worked really well.

Being the first time on track in 6 or so months and not having gotten enough laps in to know Heartland Park like the back of my hand, the first session was pretty strongly relearning the track, generally getting the feel of the car again, etc. That said, my laps were pretty consistent at 2:22-2:23 (with one 2:25 lap where I screwed something up). It came back quickly. My tire pressures were also a bit lower than optimal, and I bumped them up 2 pounds at each corner.

On the second run I forgot to start the recording app on my phone (Apex Pro) but I had the GoPro going and so going back I was able to check my lap times from that. Those were a bit less consistent, but faster - 2:16-2:22, although trending mostly faster (most of those laps were in the 2:16-2:18 range).

For this round at track night I opted to go in the intermediate class. I ended up only passing one car between the two sessions. But I also put myself at the very back of the pack, opting to be the last or second to last person on the track. This worked out well. The fast cars that came first got up. on my tail and I gave point-bys. That worked well and I didn't seem to annoy anyone. When cars did pass me and we ended back up in corners, those cars weren't getting away from me in the corners. Basically, this tells me what I already knew - the car can turn, and I can turn it decently (got a lot to learn of course), but for the most part these cars are going faster in acceleration.

My running issue does seem to be fuel related, and I played around a bit with the pressure regulator. That seemed to help, and before I pull the carb off I will probably buy another in-line pressure regulator and try that before I pull the carb and rebuild it. I am also wondering if the coils aren't producing a weaker spark that is having a harder time igniting a learner mixture. Those coils are old.

The other day before the track I went through the Lemons rulebook and put that against the car. There are a few minor items, nothing that looks to be a show stopper. The biggest item of note is that I will need to run the stock wheels (which will result in more or less the stock tire size) as the rules won't allow these tires that stick out a bit.

We're looking at Lemons races for the year. There are a good number, getting all the dates to line up is a challenge. My guess is we'll end up with one or two if we're lucky, and I really can't wait. In the meantime, I'll do the track nights. I also have learned about some of the other track day experiences that Heartland and other local tracks offer, and I may try to do those. Some of them include a level of instruction, which would be nice. But, more than anything, I just need more laps!

 

[Ted]

Oh, and GoPro footage. That one is embarrassing. I got the GoPro mounted on the roll bar, but I didn't do test footage driving before the race. End result, you can't see the track at all from the angle I had the GoPro, just the sky. Oops.

It was enough to figure out my lap times, and knowing the track ok I was able to picture where I was based on time and what I was doing/how I was shifting, but I wasn't able to truly watch my racing line, other cars, things like that. I'll play some with the mounting setups and do some videos driving before the next track night.

 

[Half Fast]

The biggest item of note is that I will need to run the stock wheels (which will result in more or less the stock tire size) as the rules won't allow these tires that stick out a bit.

You might consider doing your next track night that way, then. The car will handle a bit differently and you might have to tweak a thing or two.

 

[Ted]

You might consider doing your next track night that way, then. The car will handle a bit differently and you might have to tweak a thing or two.

Agreed. And if I do that, I probably will go with higher treadwear tire since what I have now (100 treadwear) doesn’t meet the rule book for Lemons, 200 or greater.

 

[Ted]

The photo from last week's Track Night. I liked this angle! It was in the final set of turns before the front straight.

 

[Half Fast]

BTW, Ted, it occurred to me that you might want to start hunting for extra wheels if you’re required to use the stock ones. Might take some scrounging. You’ll need to have a couple of spare tires mounted and ready.

Does Lemons race in the rain? If so, you’ll also need wheels with rain tires mounted.

 

[Ted]

This is the first video I've done on the RX-7 on this car, about the manual brake conversion:

 

[Ted]

Another track night!

 

[TCABM]

Another track night!

View attachment 117400

I’ve done parade laps at COTA on the MultiStrada and my bicycle (Tuesday Night Bike Night).

You’re definitely having more fun.

 

[Ted]

Yesterday's track day was a last minute call. I didn't think I would be able to make it due to how many other things I had going on, but managed to get through those items and there were still open spots (a lot - the track was only about half capacity) so I decided to go.

In the end, I'm really glad I did. I had my best personal recorded lap time at 2:11.61 (according to Apex Pro on my phone). I also got much better video, so I will be able to post that. According to my iPhone, I was cornering in the range of 0.8-0.9Gs, with a few ticks going above 1.0G, but those weren't sustained and were overdriving the car if I'm remembering correctly.

I tweaked the air pressures a bit and was faster the second round vs. the first round. I ended up stuck behind a Boxster both times who wouldn't give me a point-by. That best lap time was catching up to him in the second session, after that my lap times were basically limited by him. That said, my best last month was 2:15, so 4 seconds is a significant improvement.

I'm reminding myself of some things I learned last season, and learning the track again. The car likes late apexes, and turns the best with the weight biased towards the back (so under power). Late braking has been a bit of my issue there, largely due to me still learning the track and my braking points, turn in points, etc., some of which I'm relearning since I haven't done enough laps of this track to know it like the back of my hand.

There are specific areas where I am seeing improvements. For those who haven't been to Heartland park, the front straight has a slight hill towards the end of it. I'm now getting to where I know the track well enough to confidently go over it at full speed (getting me into 5th gear, although not at redline). I'm also getting more confident at taking some of the corners flat out (if I've gotten my entry speed right).

I still need to get the fueling issue at the top of the primaries figured out, which is going to involve taking the carb apart I think. But I also found a good Amazon deal on an MSD Blaster 2 coil, so I got that coming just to see if the however many decade old coil maybe could use a refresh and some better spark (yes, it has 2 coils).

Something I'm consistently finding is that the only downside this car really has is horsepower. Heartland park is so much of a horsepower track, and so it doesn't take much horsepower to be faster on the straights by a lot. I almost never even lift when giving someone a point-by. There's nothing new about this, and it just is what it is - but it goes to show you how far cars have come with horsepower.

I'll get the videos together and posted.

 

[Zeldman]

I ended up stuck behind a Boxster both times who wouldn't give me a point-by.

One word:

Chrome horn.!!!


I know....

 

[Ted]

One word:

Chrome horn.!!!


I know....

At one point I actually turned on my headlights to try to get the point across. Nope, he didn't notice.

Something I could have done is gone into the pits and asked to get let out ahead of him, behind faster cars so I would've had clean track to myself. That's something I need to remember is an option at this event.

Looking through the data some more and, if my iPhone is correct, I'm seeing a good number of sustained turns at 0.9+G that I think weren't overdriving, just the car doing its thing.

 

[Spring Ford]

Something I'm consistently finding is that the only downside this car really has is horsepower.

Moar Rotors —

 

[Half Fast]

Something I'm consistently finding is that the only downside this car really has is horsepower. Heartland park is so much of a horsepower track, and so it doesn't take much horsepower to be faster on the straights by a lot.

Yep! It's a momentum car; you have to learn to keep the speed up through the corners because it's so hard to get it back. That rewards a good driver. People with tons of HP can just point and shoot, creeping around the corners and hammering it down the straight, but going fast in the RX requires some skill. Fortunately it handles quite well when set up properly. It's really fun to be outrunning a newer and supposedly faster car, like the Boxter, with a 40-year-old beat up Wankel-powered low-budget ride.

We used to say, "Anyone can drive a fast car, but only a few can drive a car fast." Sounds like you're getting yourself dialed in as well as the car.

At one point I actually turned on my headlights to try to get the point across. Nope, he didn't notice.

Were the corner workers showing him blue passing flags? They should be alerting him that there's a faster car trying to get by, and they darned sure should have done so when they saw your headlights!

Once in a race I ran down a Porsche 944 who was in a (theoretically) faster class. He could pull away on the straights, but I'd be all over him in the corners. The $#@!% workers never did show him a blue flag. Finally I was close enough to dive bomb him in a corner and get ahead, then I made my car wide for a few turns until I got away from him. But once I was past him, before I could build a gap, those same $#@!% workers showed me the blue flag.

Sometimes the workers aren't as attentive to what's going on as they should be.

 

[Ted]

Yep! It's a momentum car; you have to learn to keep the speed up through the corners because it's so hard to get it back. That rewards a good driver. People with tons of HP can just point and shoot, creeping around the corners and hammering it down the straight, but going fast in the RX requires some skill. Fortunately it handles quite well when set up properly. It's really fun to be outrunning a newer and supposedly faster car, like the Boxter, with a 40-year-old beat up Wankel-powered low-budget ride.

We used to say, "Anyone can drive a fast car, but only a few can drive a car fast." Sounds like you're getting yourself dialed in as well as the car.

Yes, that's absolutely true (as you know even better than me!)

The fact that I'm seeing cornering Gs that are >0.9G and that almost nobody is getting away from me in the corners is very encouraging. I absolutely see a lot of the horsepower cars that are basically just taking advantage of the straights. If this was a more handling course and less of a horsepower track, I would, without a doubt, be doing better compared to others.

Looking through some of the data, my fastest speed on the long straight before having to slow down was consistently 97-98 MPH. And what that means is I'm really annoyed at myself that I didn't hit a 100!

I shouldn't be, but I'm also looking at RX-8 engines. I could put one in under Lemons... a rear wing might also help as the car does clearly benefit from more force over the rear wheels.

But the best investment at improving track times remains gasoline used at the track.

Were the corner workers showing him blue passing flags? They should be alerting him that there's a faster car trying to get by, and they darned sure should have done so when they saw your headlights!

They didn't. They also looked to be really short on corner workers yesterday, in fact I think they only had 3 corner workers. So to be fair to them, I don't think they had the resources.

The guy came up to me after the first stint and asked if he was holding me up. I tried to be polite about it and said that he was in the corners. Maybe I should've been more direct. I also wanted to line up ahead of him for the next heat, but was talking to another fellow who also owned an FB RX-7, and so by the time I got in line, I was behind him.

What I should've done (lesson learned) is pulled into the pits and asked the worker to just send me back out in a bit.

Once in a race I ran down a Porsche 944 who was in a (theoretically) faster class. He could pull away on the straights, but I'd be all over him in the corners. The $#@!% workers never did show him a blue flag. Finally I was close enough to dive bomb him in a corner and get ahead, then I made my car wide for a few turns until I got away from him. But once I was past him, before I could build a gap, those same $#@!% workers showed me the blue flag.

Sometimes the workers aren't as attentive to what's going on as they should be.

I think that's one of the other problems. Like I said, yesterday was very short on corner workers (and drivers! It was nice, the track was fairly empty), and everyone knows that this is a slow car. I don't mind that part, but this was very much a case of a slow driver. Aside from the fact that a Boxster should handle better, he had about 2x the horsepower.

 

[Half Fast]

If you’re only seeing speeds in the 90s, you are nowhere near running out of revs. You could swap the 4.88 rear for a 5.12 and get better acceleration off the corners. Are you selecting the lowest gear you can for each corner?

That Boxter might not handle as well on the track as the RX if it’s on a stock suspension and using street tires.

 

[Ted]

If you’re only seeing speeds in the 90s, you are nowhere near running out of revs. You could swap the 4.88 rear for a 5.12 and get better acceleration off the corners. Are you selecting the lowest gear you can for each corner?

I'd thought about that too. And yes, I'm trying to keep the revs up as high as I can for the corners. In some cases I should downshift another gear and don't (as revvy and completely lacking torque as this engine is, it needs the gearing).

I'm also not revving it as high as you did and generally am shifting at the factory redline of 7k. I know it can go higher, but for now I've been taking that as a reasonable limit to try to be nice to the engine. There's one corner where I'll rev to 8k because otherwise I shift from 3rd to 4th and immediately downshift again.

That Boxter might not handle as well on the track as the RX if it’s on a stock suspension and using street tires.

True, I don't know what his setup was. It was a newerish one.[/QUOTE]

 

[Bill]

Dude also could have been afraid of binning his $100k car.

 

[Zeldman]

But the best investment at improving track times remains gasoline used at the track.

Wanna learn how to use methanol and get away with it.??

(not that I have ever done that...)

 

[Half Fast]

I'm also not revving it as high as you did and generally am shifting at the factory redline of 7k. I know it can go higher, but for now I've been taking that as a reasonable limit to try to be nice to the engine.

Just watch the temperature gauge. At high revs the water pump will cavitate and the temp will go up. If the temp stays good you’re not rev’ing too high and won’t hurt it. No cam, valves, etc. to worry about but overheating will kill the engine (damages the apex seals and can damage the rotor housing).

 

[Ted]

Dude also could have been afraid of binning his $100k car.

In which case he should've let me past.

Wanna learn how to use methanol and get away with it.??

(not that I have ever done that...)

For track nights I can literally do whatever I want with the car, including use methanol. The carb might not like it, though.

Just watch the temperature gauge. At high revs the water pump will cavitate and the temp will go up. If the temp stays good you’re not rev’ing too high and won’t hurt it. No cam, valves, etc. to worry about but overheating will kill the engine (damages the apex seals and can damage the rotor housing).

I can say that temp has been no issue with the work I've done, even on a 100F+ day last summer. She runs cool and happy.

 

[Half Fast]

I can say that temp has been no issue with the work I've done, even on a 100F+ day last summer. She runs cool and happy.

Then rev the snot out of it. Drive it like you stole it!

 

[Zeldman]

The carb might not like it, though.

Yeah, converting the carb is the expensive part of switching to methanol. But the difference in power is like night and day.!!

 

[Half Fast]

Yeah, converting the carb is the expensive part of switching to methanol. But the difference in power is like night and day.!!

Of course, then you cook the clutch. Next the tranny goes, then the diff,.....

Increa$es$ in HP on a converted street car require dra$tic increa$e$ el$ewhere.

 

[Ted]

Made a post in the Cobra thread that belonged here, hence why the reply points back to that thread.

Hmmmmm........ When is it you need more downforce? Are you spinning the tires while accelerating off a corner? (Very doubtful with Wankel torque)

If you want more rear traction while cornering, think about your corner speeds vs. straightaway speeds. A wing that will help in a corner will give you lots of drag down the straight, and with a low HP car the last thing you want is more drag. I'd chase suspension tuning and tire pressures before fooling with a wing. What do your tire temps look like? Are you getting good tire rollover (you chalk the tires, right?)?

At this point I haven't measured much with initial tire temps, and I do have some more tire tweaking to deal with. You're right, of course, about the drag on straightaways. But what's interesting is that, other than the main front straight, I'm not going all that much faster on the straights vs. the average corner. Most of the track I'm doing in 4th gear, with a few areas that have downshifts to 3. I should be downshifting a bit more I suspect, but then you do have the time lost in shifting vs. the improved acceleration. I'm also used to torquey power plants, the opposite of the Wankel.

I have been working with tire pressures and I think I'm getting there.

Trail braking should help a lot with initial turn-in. The car, when it's dialed in, should oversteer while trail braking during turn-in, go neutral when you smoothly transition from brake to throttle, and finally push a bit under acceleration as you exit the corner under full throttle.

This is mostly what I observe. The car starts to get somewhat on the more tail happy side unless I'm full throttle through the corner (assuming I'm pushing it correctly). I think I still need a few more PSI in the rear tires, and fronts I have dialed in well, and that should help a bit further..

I also think the car would benefit from stiffer springs, at least in the front, but probably also in the back. Some of that is likely due to my POS KYB shocks that I put in there for Lemons purposes (although the Lemons rules would count spring changes against me), and better shocks would help (but also be counted against me in Lemons).

I suppose what I'm really chasing is trying to keep the rear from oversteering at all, which still tends to be its bias a bit. Some more rear tire pressure will surely help with that, and I can move the battery to right over the rear axle (instead of basically behind the passenger seat where it is now). At no point am I getting wheel spin on the track, and so far I haven't experienced any understeer, or at least not such that I'd notice.

I've been working on late apexes and at least for some of the corners I need earlier braking so that I can keep full throttle the whole way through (the car is definitely happiest that way).

Compared to others on the track, I am definitely braking later (and when right behind someone after passing them have to brake earlier because of how much earlier they brake) and then am able to push harder into the corners. I suppose the goal would be to have where I can do less braking, carry more momentum through the corners, hence the downforce bit.

 

[Ted]

Of course, then you cook the clutch. Next the tranny goes, then the diff,.....

Increa$es$ in HP on a converted street car require dra$tic increa$e$ el$ewhere.

Last night I was playing around a bit with the hypothetical of throwing the 4.0L V8 out of the Land Rover in (which was an idea for once I complete the diesel swap). With on the order of 190ish HP @ 4700ish RPM and some easy room to get a bit more out of it, it would definitely get the horsepower in a good spot. It also would have the polar opposite power characteristics of the 12A rotary, require a different transmission (a standard T5 would do), and would require changes to the rear axle since 4.88 gears with that setup would end up giving me a top speed of probably around 75 MPH rev limited. Ford 8.8 rear end swaps are doable.

It makes the idea of an RX-8 engine swap a lot more appealing if I were to go the route of an engine swap since its revs and torque characteristics are better matched, and if I got a donor car I suppose doing an IRS swap would be theoretically doable as well.

But for now, going to heroic sorts of efforts like that is not in the cards as far as free time.

 

[Zeldman]

Of course, then you cook the clutch. Next the tranny goes, then the diff,.....

Increa$es$ in HP on a converted street car require dra$tic increa$e$ el$ewhere.

But the fun factor increases with the more money spent.!!

 

[Half Fast]

I should be downshifting a bit more I suspect, but then you do have the time lost in shifting vs. the improved acceleration.

I suspect you're right. BUT, remember that downshifting shouldn't cost you any time if you're doing it right. The downshifts should be done when you're already under braking anyway (heel & toe). Upshifts should occur when you've run out of acceleration, which is probably a higher rev than you're using right now, and then they don't hurt as much as they help.

You might be able to run some of the track without shifting using a lower gear if you'll allow the engine to rev higher. Keep your eye on the temp gauge, but don't be afraid to rev the stew out of that engine. It's not like it can throw a rod or punch a valve. Wankels love to rev.

I suppose what I'm really chasing is trying to keep the rear from oversteering at all, which still tends to be its bias a bit.

Tight cars are slow. Get comfortable with controllable oversteer and learn to use it. The car will never be 100% neutral everywhere, for every phase of every type of corner. If you bias the car so that there is no oversteer, it will have excessive understeer. Understeer scrubs speed and wastes HP. The trick to going fast, especially in a low HP car, is getting it set up and developing the skill whereby you can control the handling characteristics with brakes, throttle, and steering to make the car do precisely what you want.

Visualize the traction circle. The circle is maximum performance. You want to keep the car as close as possible to being on the circle, not inside it.

​

Last night I was playing around a bit with the hypothetical of throwing the 4.0L V8 out of the Land Rover in....

A little unsolicited advice:

HP is expensive, difficult, and only helps with acceleration. Removing weight is usually cheaper, easier, and helps with acceleration, braking, and cornering. $1000 spent on HP won't get you nearly as much speed improvement as $1000 spent on weight reduction. Also, a bigger engine is usually heavier, which makes the car tend to push and not brake as well.

Does Lemons have a minumum weight for the car? If so, are you already there? If you're not at minimum weight, make getting there your first goal. If there's no rule, get the car as light as possible. Gut the doors, go to lighter wheels, a lighter battery, take out the dash board, replace the sunroof with a light aluminum panel, replace the hatch glass with plexi, etc., etc.

Once the car is as light as possible / legal, then chase suspension, then chase HP.

 

[Ted]

I suspect you're right. BUT, remember that downshifting shouldn't cost you any time if you're doing it right. The downshifts should be done when you're already under braking anyway (heel & toe). Upshifts should occur when you've run out of acceleration, which is probably a higher rev than you're using right now, and then they don't hurt as much as they help.

You might be able to run some of the track without shifting using a lower gear if you'll allow the engine to rev higher. Keep your eye on the temp gauge, but don't be afraid to rev the stew out of that engine. It's not like it can throw a rod or punch a valve. Wankels love to rev.


Tight cars are slow. Get comfortable with controllable oversteer and learn to use it. The car will never be 100% neutral everywhere, for every phase of every type of corner. If you bias the car so that there is no oversteer, it will have excessive understeer. Understeer scrubs speed and wastes HP. The trick to going fast, especially in a low HP car, is getting it set up and developing the skill whereby you can control the handling characteristics with brakes, throttle, and steering to make the car do precisely what you want.

Visualize the traction circle. The circle is maximum performance. You want to keep the car as close as possible to being on the circle, not inside it.

All good points, and of course I'm still learning the car. Yes, keeping the car on the circle is the goal. Although it doesn't have enough horsepower to ever be on the circle in a straight line.

A little unsolicited advice:

HP is expensive, difficult, and only helps with acceleration. Removing weight is usually cheaper, easier, and helps with acceleration, braking, and cornering. $1000 spent on HP won't get you nearly as much speed improvement as $1000 spent on weight reduction. Also, a bigger engine is usually heavier, which makes the car tend to push and not brake as well.

Does Lemons have a minumum weight for the car? If so, are you already there? If you're not at minimum weight, make getting there your first goal. If there's no rule, get the car as light as possible. Gut the doors, go to lighter wheels, a lighter battery, take out the dash board, replace the sunroof with a light aluminum panel, replace the hatch glass with plexi, etc., etc.

Once the car is as light as possible / legal, then chase suspension, then chase HP.

I agree with your point overall - reduce weight and add lightness. One of the issues with Lemons though is that the only restriction is on budget, and that car is already pretty weight-reduced as it is. I haven't found many other areas that I could attack, although certainly they're there. Because you're allowed to take credit for things you sell (or at least have a bill of sale for ) the 12A could be "swapped" for a Renesis and get more power but fall within the rules easier than things like expensive lexan windows or the like. I can remove the door windows and regulators which would save some weight, but really, you did a good job of getting the weight out. I could pull the dash but I see that as being more effort than makes sense.

Really at this point I'm just being an engineer - brainstorming ideas, throwing darts at the wall. Not going to do anything with those at this point. Although I might do the dyne-proven Engine Masters salad bowl for a few extra ponies.

 

[Ted]

Thursday's track night video is posted on YouTube, with my commentary:

It's long and basically unedited, but some of you might enjoy watching.

 

[SoonerAviator]

I think if you had kept the revs up a lot more going into the corners (with more horsepower available to you on exit) and stayed up on the Boxster's bumper he wouldn't have walked away quite so much on the straits and he probably would have gotten the hint a lot more. He was probably only looking in the rear view mirror once he got himself through the turn so he was seeing himself gain on you rather than you filling his rearview mirror. Sill no excuse on his part, but I think you could have pushed up on him for a lap or two to the point where he wasn't walking away on the straits. He took some pretty bad lines with his corners almost every time.

 

[Ted]

I think if you had kept the revs up a lot more going into the corners (with more horsepower available to you on exit) and stayed up on the Boxster's bumper he wouldn't have walked away quite so much on the straits and he probably would have gotten the hint a lot more. He was probably only looking in the rear view mirror once he got himself through the turn so he was seeing himself gain on you rather than you filling his rearview mirror. Sill no excuse on his part, but I think you could have pushed up on him for a lap or two to the point where he wasn't walking away on the straits. He took some pretty bad lines with his corners almost every time.

He has about 2x the horsepower on me (although granted about 50% more weight), so I don't think there was any catching up to him on straights. I'm definitely not getting all of the gears perfect at this point (which is all the more important with the non-existent torque curve on the 12A), but I don't think there was much chance of catching on straights regardless of what I did. And yes, his lines were really pretty bad. In some cases I was hanging back because I was afraid he was going to spin out ahead of me, and I wanted to make sure I had enough space to give myself an out if he did.

The guy's SA was very clearly poor, I agree he was probably not looking in his mirror to see where I was up on his tail.

My main takeaway is that I now have some extra tools and ideas for how to deal with situations like that in future.

 

[Half Fast]

Obviously the Boxter didn't want video on YouTube of a 40-year-old 1st gen RX-7 passing him.

It's great to see that old warrior on a track again. Watching the view out the windshield and hearing that soothing Wankel purr brings back some terrific memories.

If you're only seeing speeds in the 90s, though, you could be down on HP. The carb might be hurting you more than you know. I'm not sure if you were getting all you could exiting the turns, but at the end of that loooong front straight you should be getting well up into 5th gear and turning over 130mph, pushing 140. At the end of Sebring's back straight I was typically going 135-140 (calculated; the speedo is way off). Makes me wonder whether you're really getting full throttle, or if something is restricting the flow.

What air filter are you using? The engine wakes up with good air flow. I used a K&N and cleaned it regularly, but there might be something better available now.

That track looks like it would be easy on brakes, so you could probably be going deeper into the corners and getting back to full throttle sooner (but maybe you are and the carb is choking).

It might be worth making sure the brakes aren't dragging. I used to file and round rough edges off the tabs on the brake pads so they wouldn't hang in the calipers, and I used scotchbrite to polish the caliper pins and I greased them with a thin layer of hi-temp grease. When you come in at the end of a session, jack the car up and spin the front wheels and make sure they're very free. You have to check while they're still hot or it won't tell you anything.

Anyway, it looks like you're having fun and that's the whole point. Just use less brake and more throttle and you'll go faster!

 

[Half Fast]

He has about 2x the horsepower on me (although granted about 50% more weight), so I don't think there was any catching up to him on straights. I'm definitely not getting all of the gears perfect at this point (which is all the more important with the non-existent torque curve on the 12A), but I don't think there was much chance of catching on straights regardless of what I did. And yes, his lines were really pretty bad. In some cases I was hanging back because I was afraid he was going to spin out ahead of me, and I wanted to make sure I had enough space to give myself an out if he did.

The guy's SA was very clearly poor, I agree he was probably not looking in his mirror to see where I was up on his tail.

My main takeaway is that I now have some extra tools and ideas for how to deal with situations like that in future.

Try putting a paint scrape on the front bumper and a tire rub on the front fender, just to make everyone else wonder and become a teeeny bit afraid of you....

 

[Ted]

Try putting a paint scrape on the front bumper and a tire rub on the front fender, just to make everyone else wonder and become a teeeny bit afraid of you....

Ooh, I could put logos of various cars on the fender like enemies I shot down!