Track Report: Thunderhill West (2 Mile) on 9/24-25 in 100 deg heat

[RYU]

No chunking indeed. That's great. I have not seen those wheel hanger things. Good idea. Thanks for sharing the knowledge

 

[chrisn]

Are those pins the tools used to avoid damage to to carboceramics rotors?

Yes, although, more generally, they make it easier to deal with large wheels with low clearance when mounted with lug bolts versus stud & nut. Without these, you have to levitate the tire in front of hub and rotate it to align the five holes, while simultaneously getting at least two lug bolts started to hold tire in place--- all while you are paranoid about banging into your rotors (that prob cost $3K each or more).

Although definitely not impossible to change wheels without theses, its a lot harder (for me).

 

[docjohn]

btw what is procedure for flat tire......

 

[sca037]

Great track report, thanks!

Question on the C7Z06.........

I'm a OTD Instructor and have had 2 students bring C7Z's this season, 1 was a manual and 1 was the automatic.

The manual worked flawlessly on track, but after about 20 minutes on the same tight 'handling' course the auto went into limp-in mode due to high coolant temps.

Is this considered to be normal?

 

[chrisn]

btw what is procedure for flat tire......

I didn't get a flat, but there is no spare-- only tire sealant goop and a pump. I guess I assumed that the tires are run-flats, but I just took a peek and they don't say run-flat on them, so the procedure is "patch if you can, otherwise tow."

 

[docjohn]

the goop is sketchy at best.

 

[chrisn]

Question on the C7Z06...the manual worked flawlessly on track, but after about 20 minutes on the same tight 'handling' course the auto went into limp-in mode due to high coolant temps.

Ugh. Not sure if you're trolling me, but the overheat problems are well known, and mainly impact the A8 automatic. I have the A8. It overheats. If you leave the car in auto "D" mode, it (like the NSX) will select the optimal gear for TQ, meaning very high revs (higher than most humans would choose in a manual car). That is part of the problem. You can extend the run time by manually shifting at natural shift points, or even a gear higher than normal for manual car--- car does not lack for torque. Also seems to help to crank the heater on full (literally painful in 95-100 deg heat, but it helps). In addition to oil/water overheat, the power steering likes to randomly fail in high heat-- that is scary first time it happens, but you get used to it.

Supposedly, the 2017 models just shipping now have addressed heat issues and Chevy will eventually offer a "reasonably priced core exchange" program to swap out for the new cooling bits.

I should stress that you need to be pushing pretty hard to overheat in <90 deg heat. Most drivers will never encounter this, which is why the forums are full of overheat "deniers."

Another data point: I have heard that Z06 overheats more on the 3-mile Thill course (two 120MPH straights and 135+ MPH main straight) versus the tighter 2-mile course. I have not personally run the Z06 hard on a short course, so cannot confirm.

But, back to NSX, I was super pleased that in >100 deg heat, leaving car in auto-shifting in Track mode (crazy high revs), the NSX had ZERO heat problems (it got very hot, but no warnings from car). Of course, as I learn the car and stay on power longer and brake harder and shorter, my results my change but so far, so good! (And I worry that a more HP oriented track woulds stress it more).

 

[sca037]

No troll, this truly was a surprise / news to me.

Very happy to hear that the NSX has no such issues!

(I've yet to see anyone bring one to a OTD, but I'm keeping my eyes open ;-)

 

[Jinks]

Thanks to @RYU for pointing me to this video of a Golf R (perhaps with some add-on bits?) chasing me down.

Lol, you mean attempting to chase you down. Car looks great man and I am glad you are happy with it given most people are not. I sure would be.... love to see it sometime. I'm near Orinda...