Fatherpain’s 2018 Type R

[OrchidFc3]

Love the broadway mirror! I didn't know they were still available, they use to be super popular back in the day.

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[fatherpain]

Big Willow Track day #2 report:

Woohoo!! crossed off one of my goals and took my older son, Logan, with me to the track... but only after some serious arm twisting and guilt tripping because he wasn’t interested and was apprehensive of my driving.

Arrived Friday 4/3/20 @730am and it was cool but not cold. Parked and unloaded our gear. Dropped tire pressure to about 31PSI. My son was doing the typical teenager routine and was sitting in the passenger seat on his phone, uninterested in what was going on around us.

The event was hosted by Speed District. The fee for the day was $210 + $30 park entry for me and my boy. Was impressed with the organizers. There was plenty of seat time and everyone was very cool. Everyone stayed a safe distance from each another

The sessions ran, every hour starting at 8a until 3p like this:

8am - Advanced
820am - Intermediate
840am - Beginner

First outing was tame. Our beginner group followed a pace car for the first 5 laps then were let loose for the last 3. Noticed my skills were improved and my confidence was soaring,

My son enjoyed the drive and was eager to go again @940a. Between sessions, we checked out all the cool cars and snapped pix. There was another Type R there and we talked about each other’s car and mods.

Was amped up for the 2nd session. Passed the red Ferrari and an Aston Martin and was feeling it. I was one badass mofo now and my son was beside me to witness my moment of glory!

Whelp...It was short lived

Checked my rear view and the Type R was bearing down on us hard an fast..

I was like... Hell Naw! I’d be darned if this other Type R got me after we took out the Ferrari and Aston Martin! So I did what any other adrenaline pumped idiot might do... I stepped up the pace!

Baaaad move. Exited turn (3) at about 97 mph, where I normally have done 80-85...Drifted wide and ended up going off the track into the dirt and rocks on the driver’s side

Kept my wits and somehow turned the car back onto the track, without stopping. The car fish tailed a couple times, but was able to regain control and kept on driving. Was totally nuts and stupid on my part.... Oh and the Type R passed us anyways

Suffered some damage to the plastic bottom of the driver’s side skirt.. might have to replace it, not sure yet. Will definitely need an alignment check, heh.

The lesson learned was:

Set ego aside, yield to faster drivers, follow them, learn and copy what they are doing and see how long you can hang.

Needless to say, my son wasn’t happy with me: “What the heck dad? I told you not to drive so aggressively! Are you trying to kill us?”

After that, the car felt like the rear end lost traction so we shut it down suspecting it may have sustained a flat. Inspected and all looked good...but there was no way in hell my son was going again after that sphincter puckering mishap.

Went solo for the 3rd session and the car still didn’t feel right so shut it down after (1) lap. Apologized to my son and was ready to pack up and go home...

My buddy Steve, then suggested trying again, with him following to see if there was any visible issue. Did the 4th session and the car held and I regained confidence in it. Suspect the car always felt that way, but going off track had messed with my head.

With my confidence restored, my son was ready to go again. This was now the 2nd to last run and the intermediate and beginner groups merged for an “open” session.

Noticed the temperature beginning to climb around laps 15, so turned the heater on and temps dropped back to normal the rest of the way..

On the “open session we did something like 20+ straight laps until the car got this scary turbo underboost code and went into limp mode, however am pretty certain the code was related to fuel starvation, not heat or a cracked turbo or solenoid... but will take it in as a precaution.

Our fuel gauge sucks at the track. Can’t trust it to read proper levels. Was showing 3/4 when we limped back to the pits...Then it nose dived to its true level of 3/8 a short time afterwards. I believe low fuel initiated the code and forced us off..

Weather was clear and reached a high of 70F. Thinking the J’s Racing grill and vented hood will help, especially when it gets warmer.

Was really happy to learn my son enjoyed the experience and wants to do it again, haha

 

[fatherpain]

Speed District includes photos with their track days but unfortunately they aren’t posted yet.

In the meantime, here is video of my car, taken by my buddy Steve. He captures us overtaking a BMW and red Ferrari before he blows past me.

 

[fatherpain]

Whoa... more track day fun!!!!

My buddy just sent me this link to a Road and Track Article and Youtube Video featuring the Corvette C8 vs a Porsche GT3. They were running on the same track as me. They caught me in the Video @4:10 and I stay in until getting passed @4:58


I’m the Type R with the black wing. There is another Type R driver in the video as well. He was a faster driver than me.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a32050983/c8-mid-engine-corvette-vs-gt3-rs-track-battle/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_rdt&utm_medium=email&date=040620&utm_campaign=nl19903403&utm_term=AAA -- High Minus Dormant and 90 Day Non Openers

 

[frtorres87]

You are single handily making me want to track my car.

 

[fatherpain]

Frank, keep in mind my car took some damage and the driver’s side skirt ($350) may need to be replaced if I can’t glue the underside back together with JB Weld. The car will also need the alignment checked and the tires and brakes wear faster, so it’s not all roses,

Was super lucky I went off into some dirt and not into a wall, K-Rail or rough terrain, which would have been catastrophic.

You are single handily making me want to track my car.

 

[fatherpain]

Speed District posted the track day photos. Their photographer took some amazing shots. My car wasn’t washed and still looked pretty cool, heh.

Cross posted this to a couple other threads on the general forum, so apologies for the repost.

These are much better than what I usually capture on the IPhone.

The track was fun, but the photos were an unexpected and pleasant bonus!

Really love the styling of the Type R. One of my favorite cars ever and still fresh as the day I picked it up. for me at least...Still looking at it with the eyes of love, haha

Looking forward to hitting the track again, even if it’s just for more photos

 

[frtorres87]

Glad nothing serious happened and your safe now.

 

[thaiphob25]

Impressions of the 2V wing on the track?

 

[fatherpain]

Pulled the front bumper in preparation for the Morimoto/OLM headlights and the J’s Racing grill.

Found the intercoolerhad a bunch of dead bugs and small pebbles lodged in the fins.

Pictures don’t capture just how much crud is packed in there..Spent about (30) minutes removing debris with a pick, but there is still
more to go..

The straight pick was limited in its effectiveness. The tip is too thick and the shape isn’t the best for this sort of thing.

Pretty sure this will work much better: A paper clip straightened with one end bent into the shape of a hook.

Will make this a preventative maintenance item. A bit on the OCD side... but will help prevent degradation of performance due to air blockages of the intercooler fins..

 

[fatherpain]

Couldn’t tell any difference between the Voltex 2V versus the OEM. An experienced performance driver may feel the difference, but being a n00b, I don’t have the track experience to tell.

Will say the car felt great with the OEM wing in February and also with the Voltex 2V last Friday. I did go off the track briefly, but that was due to my own bonehead error. Despite that, I felt much more comfortable around turn 9 this time. Car felt more planted and didn’t have the feeling I might go off. This could be attributed to the Voltex 2V or how I approached the apex of that final turn, with a little experience under my belt, dunno.

At a width of 1400mm, Voltex 2V is on the small side, as far as BAW’s go. Don’t know how significant the change would be compared to something huge like the Voltex 5V GT wing @1700mm, heh.

The horizontal plane is deeper than the OEM by a good amount and the deflection is adjustable. Not sure what effect each setting has. It’s currently on the middle adjustment.

My initial interest in the Voltex 2V was for the look. Hopefully that doesn’t out me as some kind of poser, heh.

Impressions of the 2V wing on the track?

 

[OrchidFc3]

Looks like you had a lot of fun! Weird you didn't feel any difference between the two wings, I guess it's just for looks which isn't a bad thing.

 

[fatherpain]

Heh, I’m sure there is a difference, I just lack enough hard driving experience to tell the difference, which is praise for the stock wing...

If I ever graduate to becoming a track veteran, maybe I’ll swap the OEM wing back on to see. It’s easy enough to remove and install

The downside to performing an experiment like that would be the (2) rubber stoppers inside the rear hatch would need to be replaced. They seem to be single use only, as the white plastic retaining clips get damaged when pulling them.

 

[TypeSiR]

Heh, I’m sure there is a difference, I just lack enough hard driving experience to tell the difference, which is praise for the stock wing...

If I ever graduate to becoming a track veteran, maybe I’ll swap the OEM wing back on to see. It’s easy enough to remove and install

The downside to performing an experiment like that would be the (2) rubber stoppers inside the rear hatch would need to be replaced. They seem to be single use only, as the white plastic retaining clips get damaged when pulling them.

I hate the design on these. They are like $16 each plus shipping. I think the best way to remove these (next time) is to take a picture of the destroyed pair (for future reference) and use a clip removal tool and finesse them out. Can’t afford the $40 hit every time I remove a hatch panel.

 

[fatherpain]

With the bumper off to install the J’s Racing Grill, did some cosmetic prep work... Boosted180sx shared a style tip of spray painting the crash beam black so aluminum doesn’t show through the grill... Ever since he pointed that out, it’s been bugging me to do the same

Took it a step further and sprayed a light coat on the AC Condenser also. Masked everything with painter’s tape and plastic to prevent any overspray.

Also took the J’s grill center strap and mesh pieces to get powder coated matte black.

Center strap as received...

Powder coated

Mesh as received..

Powder coated