Finally took the C5 to the track - pics
 

Finally got the car on the track; had to wait until the power
steering and oil coolers were installed, and got the car aligned. I only had the
street tires for this day. They are stock sized z06 goodyear supercar F1's
runflats; not the best track tire at all. Their age is unknown because I got
them off craigslist. Damn, I don't even think I got them balanced yet:mrgreen:

It rained earlier in the day so there was some standing water.
I shared the track with a few Ferraris; click here for pics
of them.

There was a vibration at WOT from the shifter and floorboards;
not sure what it is yet. I'm thinking clutch/pressure plate/flywheel might be out of balance, or the driveshaft bushings/bearings are bad.

Oil got to 253 degrees which isn't bad. Water hit 228;
stock radiator must be in good condition. Was out there for 30 minutes. 35 psi
front Goodyears (265-40-17) and 30 psi's in the rear (295-40-18) were the cold
pressures.

The car felt great. It was very balanced and predictable. It
got loose a couple of times. Hey, what do you expect with a wet track, run-flat
tires of unknown age and a loose nut behind the wheel. I think my best time was 2:54 which is good considering that its my first
time out with it on street tires. I'll put on the sticky toyo r888's next time
and try to get some 2:4x's next time. Some of the Ferrari's here today
didn't go that quick but some did. A Radical SR5 went 2:25 today and a Radical
SR8 went 2:21.

How's it compare to my old RX7? I'm not
sure which I ultimately like better, but this C5 is less twichy and easier to
drive due to its longer wheelbase and softer suspension. I like that (yes I'm
getting old).


http://209.177.55.37/images/c5images...06-12-2009.JPG

This is the start/finish line area:
http://209.177.55.37/images/c5images...06-12-2009.JPG

Looking down track from the Courasel:
http://209.177.55.37/images/c5images...06-12-2009.JPG

The Mushroom on the South Side:

http://209.177.55.37/images/c5images...06-12-2009.JPG

Matt - this is my favorite shot (he took the pics):
http://209.177.55.37/images/c5images...06-12-2009.JPG

The rest of the pics are here:
http://www.ponycars.net/maidenvoyage.htm

very nice! good luck with the new car. that mazda was sweet.

that looks like alot of funnn!

here's some pics of the new wheels and tires. was doing some laps on the "south" course yesterday:

http://www.ponycars.net/south0609.htm

I've heard that Corvettes have the rubber flex couplers instead of U-joints on the driveshaft, and these get worn out. My Volvo had this kind of front driveshaft too, these flex couplers wear a lot and make all kinds of interesting vibrations and sounds.

yeah thanks dude. i heard that too. I bought a pair of those rubber doo hickeys last week. The installation is a pain because the rear and tranny have to be dropped as well. with all those labor charges, I think i'm gonna save up for clutch, PP and FW because i'm right there. slave and master too. maybe rebuild tranny? it has a leak where it meets the diff.

Nice car, I have a set of Hoosier R0S03's that I am selling for $150. They still have about 2/32" of tread, and I would bet you could get at least 2-3 track days out of them. Let me know.

wow looks like fun.

like this? these were mine:

http://209.177.55.37/images/c5images/008.jpg

http://209.177.55.37/images/c5images/001.jpg

A few of the bolts that attach them were sheared off and flopping around inside the torque tube and knocked off the weights on the driveshaft.

Here's a vid of me doing the North course. Its about 1:34 for the lap:

right click and save as

Holy ****!!!!