LRP lap times old vs. new

[Andy Bettencourt]

Please Andy,

Don't take the holier than thou approach.

First I didn't imply it wasn't legal, I said IF.....meaning neutral playing field per the rulebook....ie; ITA Miata at 8-9/10ths build. You stated the facts +60#, -15 WHP Is that 10/10ths?

Secondly....YOU were the one saying [at LRP and NJMP] that YOUR head on last years motor wasn't legal, not me, so the implications of legality or illegality came from you not me. I imply nothing. It's simply not that important to me.

I was only stating the facts based on your on track performance relative to very well prepared and very well driven ITR and ITS cars. And the assumption that your car is only 8-9/10ths (because of the +60# and the -15 whp).

I never saw an 8/10ths CRX or 'teg dominate ITS cars like that. That's all.

I'm super psyched for fatherhood...especially after our struggles.

R

Then you really need to listen more when wee talk about my stuff. What I told you was the original head that I had built, assembled and installed out of state from 2006 (and lasted exactly one weekend because I lost the factory water to oil cooler hose and warped it) was illegal because it was improperly ported. The second head I had done was done locally and exacting specs were given. Should you like the rest of the story of my engine woes, you know where to find me.

I can't pretend to understand why some were slow that weekend. Why was Rob faster than me at last years Runoffs when I had all the power and 30 less pounds? You tell me. We have been saying that the track could be as much as 1-2 seconds faster now, yet I was .2 off my record. The numbers seem to work in my mind.

Either way, LRP is the only track up here a Miata holds a record at. CRX at Pocono and NX2000 everywhere else. Lead indeed.

[Doc Bro]

What I told you was the original head that I had built, assembled and installed out of state from 2006 (and lasted exactly one weekend because I lost the factory water to oil cooler hose and warped it) was illegal because it was improperly ported. .

Illegal none the less. Whether it lasted one race or all season it was illegal. I don't know how much more I have to listen. I heard you say that you had an illegal head on your engine.....how do my listening skills change what you said (and just repeated)? To quote you "I guess we see it differently". I see it as black and white, how do you see it?

I guess it's a good thing that the oil to water cooler hose warped it otherwise that head would've been on it all season....No?

R


Lemme guess your reply.....We're done here , enjoy fatherhood?

[Ed Funk]

Wish we had a twisted panties icon!! These boys both have theirs in a knot!

[RSTPerformance]

Wish we had a twisted panties icon!! These boys both have theirs in a knot!

Ed, the great thing about ITC at the pro IT was A) you Won and you only could get your own panties in a bunch!!! lol Actually we have listened to some interesting data in all the classes except ITC, how did you find the track??? Faster?

Raymond "Great thing about ITB/ITC (and ITS/ITR I guess) is that none of us currently are wearing panties to get in a bunch..." Blethen

PS: Ed we still have your extra tie downs... Will you be at the RAL weekend? I will be stewarding and will try to remember them. otherwise they are in the trailer if you see it at any racesstop over and greab them if we forget to go to you!!!

[StephF]

Ed, the great thing about ITC at the pro IT was A) you Won and you only could get your own panties in a bunch!!! lol Actually we have listened to some interesting data in all the classes except ITC, how did you find the track??? Faster?

Raymond "Great thing about ITB/ITC (and ITS/ITR I guess) is that none of us currently are wearing panties to get in a bunch..." Blethen

PS: Ed we still have your extra tie downs... Will you be at the RAL weekend? I will be stewarding and will try to remember them. otherwise they are in the trailer if you see it at any racesstop over and greab them if we forget to go to you!!!

That's the nice thing about thongs, they're harder to bunch up!
:eek:
(hey! at least we are wearing underwear as opposed to you.....)
Look out Raymond: I'm chomping at the bit to come back to B and harass you guys! Hope the VIN rule takes effect.
Ed keeps looking at cages for my Del Sol....I hear him mumbling something about "Aaaaayyyyyy...."

[Doc Bro]

There are no panties in a bunch here, and no witch hunt. I've no bone to pick with Andy.

It's just hard to read Andy's posts about +60#, unfamiliar tires, -15whp superimposed on such a dominting performance, clearly in his words the car isn't 10/10ths. If you caught the facts then why aren't you voicing concern? Is it because parity in ITA isn't important to folks in other classes? If IT parity isn't important then why does everyone have an opinion about the ITS e36 mess?

The facts are that an ITA car shouldn't dominate ITS and ITR cars when it ISN'T at 10/10ths. Those ITS and ITR cars are 10/10ths and very well driven, by driver's who have generous amounts of seat time this year. How am I wrong here?

As for the test day, sounds good to me.....you're saying that it's all driver (and not car)?

For the test day experiment let's have you, and guys like; Driscoll, Maynard, Harding, Leverone, Henderson and even tGA, all do sessions then, and your times will be fastest. Right?

(Or is it the car??)

R

[Ed Funk]

What about me? I'd love to be back in a rear drive car, I'm old but not dead!

[RSTPerformance]

Rob-

I can't base anything on this one race...

I qualified 11th with a 1:05.xxx out of 38 cars with an ITB car that wouldn't rev much past 5500rpm (it skipped the entire straight) ... The ITR and ITS cars should probably be under 1:00.000 in my opinion. I do think that some of the best ITS cars were on track but maybe they just were not perfect this weekend... My brother was turning lap times that if he didn't start from last after the first turn incident would have been battling for a top 10 (possibly 7th?) place finish. As it is he came ALL THE WAY through the field to 14th... in an ITB car???

Obviously some people took longer to learn than others, and some people had car problems (such as myself)...

Sure Andy's car is fast, real fast. Why wouldn't he be, it is a perfect car for the track and he has setup data from how many Miata's and how many laps at Lime Rock??? His car is fast at Lime Rock, but I bet Andy's car wont be as fast at tracks like Pocono, simply due to the track. I know our cars are almost untouchable at Pocono but are absolute pigs at NHIS. ITC cars are as fast as ITB cars at Lime Rock, but forget it at Pocono. My nly point is that many times it is as much about track as it is car and/or driver. When I see Andy or any Miata dominate like the CRX or Integra once did at every track then I will start questioning things further.

Sorry Rob, this probably doesn't help your frustration...

Raymond

[Ed Funk]

Ed, the great thing about ITC at the pro IT was A) you Won and you only could get your own panties in a bunch!!! lol Actually we have listened to some interesting data in all the classes except ITC, how did you find the track??? Faster?

Raymond "Great thing about ITB/ITC (and ITS/ITR I guess) is that none of us currently are wearing panties to get in a bunch..." Blethen

PS: Ed we still have your extra tie downs... Will you be at the RAL weekend? I will be stewarding and will try to remember them. otherwise they are in the trailer if you see it at any racesstop over and greab them if we forget to go to you!!!

Raymond, I should have gone faster at LRP on the 2nd, my personal goal was to break the itc record of 4.9, but for a variety of reasons that was not to be. I hadn't been there in 2 years (and LRP more so than any of the other 12-14 tracks I've driven pays big dividends to those with practice), I didn't have enough rear roll stifness dialed in so the car pushed everywhere, traffic was a bitch (especially for the slowest class OCIC), I was making an effort to stay out of the way, and my biggest personal problem---I couldn't find my turn-in and therefore the apex at westbend.

I did go 1/2 sec faster than my personal best, but still 1/2 sec slower than the record. I think I can get another 1 sec, with practice, set-up, and good conditions. Steph probably is not going to let me run the NARRC offs because in '05 and '06 her car came home in pieces! So that record may go to some one else. As our cars are probably going to become itb's with the VIN rule change, and I'm still debating joining the ita circus.

The reason that I think the faster classes will have bigger gains on the records is that a bumpy track causes more trouble for a car with power getting it down. "C" cars are not famous for power! I think of the throttle as being an on/off switch! Which causes me on occasion to doubt whether it's wise thinking about an "A" car, I'll have to learn throttle modulation!

And, yes we'll be at RAL, so will collect the tie downs.

[Andy Bettencourt]

I guess it's a good thing that the oil to water cooler hose warped it otherwise that head would've been on it all season....No?

R

It would have been on until the motor popped for sure. Since it was built in the winter of 2005 and raced for the first time at the NHIS opener in 2006, it would have been on there the whole time. As 'luck' would have it, I had to remove it and spend another $1200 on a fresh one. Would have been real emabarassing to have that head pulled at an event like the ARRC - mostly because the porting job was sloppy and extended further than 1" into the chanbers - but also because it had never been cut down to get me the .5 bump in compression we are allowed. A poor job all around really that didn't even net the most power.

If you would like to drive the car at the NHMS test day coming up, you are wecome to. I'll bring the stopwatch.