October 24th - Heartland Park Touring Club - anyone?

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:56 pm

My BIL might becoming up to watch, it would be fun to be able to get him out on the track in one of the Corvettes or Vipers, or even one of the Elises............

Glad you're gonna make it Corey!

Post by **Laurie** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 2:54 pm

Glad you are coming Little Red! I guess I will see you guys at 1:00 at Montana's. I may be bringing my husband. It depends on his work schedule.

FYI, the Snell sticker on my helmet wasn't readily visible. I had to pull back the removable lining and it was under that.

Edit: What is the deal with this Montana's place? Someone at work just told me they serve Buffalo? Is that true? I don't know if I want to eat Buffalo then have to be in my car for an extended period of time. Do they have non-buffalo stuff?

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:40 pm

They have a full menu of all sorts of food, regular and not-so-regular like Buffalo. Oh, and they have bathrooms at the track too.......

Alex wanted to go there last time because of the lemonaide - which most people thought was perfect while I had to add 3 packages of Splenda to keep from sucking my cheeks in!

How many are coming for lunch and I'll reserve us a table?

Looks like 8, maybe 10 going to the track all together.........

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:58 pm

Weather for Wednesday right now looks like partly cloudy skies, 10% chance of rain and 60* - almost perfect!

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:03 pm

Lil Red, I called Ed Osment at the track and he said it should say Snell 2005 (different than the website) but that he would allow that helmet for this run, so you're good to go!

LittleRed · Post by **LittleRed** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 4:50 pm

Minidave wrote:Lil Red, I called Ed Osment at the track and he said it should say Snell 2005 (different than the website) but that he would allow that helmet for this run, so you're good to go!

Thanks for checking. I left him a message last week and never got an answer. That's why I posted the question here.

Count me in for Montana's!!! I'm so looking forward to this!!!!

OasisT · Post by **OasisT** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:14 pm

Just signed up! I will be taking off work a bit early, so, should arrive around 4ish.

hctiev · Post by **hctiev** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:19 pm

I'll meet up with everyone at 1pm at Montana's.

MiniDave - I have the camera installed so I should be able to provide some video. I'll also bring your flash drive.

This is sooooo much fun!!!

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:02 pm

OasisT wrote:Just signed up! I will be taking off work a bit early, so, should arrive around 4ish.

Great news!

Be sure to get there in time to get thru tech. You gonna run in the intermediate or advanced class?

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 12:06 pm

Last night on the way home from work I started hearing this horrible grinding noise from the rear brakes. When I got home I found the inside pads on the rear completely gone. I picked up some pads from Baron this AM and I'll put them in tonight, talk about last minute repairs! Seems odd to me that only the inside pads are worn out, the outside ones have plenty of meat left. Does the handbrake only work on the inside pad?

Any trick to backing off it off to insert the new pad, or just compress the piston the normal way?

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:02 pm

I made a reservation at Ted's for 8 at 1 pm.

Did y'all know that the Ted in Ted's Montana Grill is Ted Turner? I didn't!

Post by **Laurie** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:45 pm

I knew that. I just didn't know they actually served Bison!

After work I will be off to Shore Tire to have them check the air pressure in my tires so I will be all set for tomorrow! Yeah

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:23 pm

I'll have a pressure gauge with me at the track, you should check it there as the pressure will have changed after the drive on the highway. They also have an air hose there to change it if needed.

See you tomorrow at Ted's!

Edit: Found out you need this handy/dandy tool to compress the rear piston, it has to be turned as it's pushed in. On sale now at Harbor Freight for $19.95. I'll pick one up tonight on the way home, if anyone needs to borrow it in the future.

Post by **Laurie** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:38 pm

What effects, if any, would I have if I put regular air in my tires when I have them filled with Nitrogen already?

Post by **ragtopday Johnna** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:02 pm

Laurie wrote:What effects, if any, would I have if I put regular air in my tires when I have them filled with Nitrogen already?

A nitrogen/gas station air mix works fine. Air is 78% Nitrogen, so you haven't completed ruined the benefits of Nitrogen inflation. My biggest concern with Nitrogen inflation is keeping my tires at the right pressure. Most people don't have a way to adjust pressure with Nitrogen in their own garage or at QuikTrip.

Have fun at the track!

Johnna

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:37 pm

Got my rear brake pads installed, if anyone else needs to change theirs, you're welcome to borrow my kit..........

See you all tomorrow!

sliboa · Post by **sliboa** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 6:06 am

I'm about to head out the door for work. I plan to leave work at 12:30 to head up to meet everyone for lunch. We're going to have a bunch of MINIs and the weather looks to be good, so it should be a lot of fun!

sundance · Post by **sundance** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:03 am

I'll meet you all at the track. I am still swamped and really should be working instead of going to the track today but everybody needs a break once in a while right?

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:07 am

You bringing the GP again?

See you there! And yes, everyone needs a break now and again........

petek · Post by **petek** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:50 am

Ya'all be safe and have fun out there... looks like it's going to be a great day at the track!

(Wish I could have gone...but there is always next year!)

sundance · Post by **sundance** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:56 am

Minidave wrote:You bringing the GP again?

See you there! And yes, everyone needs a break now and again........

Yes I'll be in the GP. I thought about bringing the '03 because it has a harness but it's also currently shod in S-Lites and Goodyear All Season Runflats. Next year I'll break out the '03 aka Mule2 and shake her down once again. I wish I could bring both and do a back to back comparison.

See you all later today.

Post by **Laurie** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:48 am

I don't know about any of you, but I was totally exhausted when I got home last night. I actually could go back to bed right now!

I had fun, it was interesting. I would probably do it again (when it is warmer). I guess I can work on my skills in January at the go kart track.

I can't wait to see the videos. If anyone got pictures, I would like to see those too. I only took two!

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:15 am

Laurie I'm glad you found it interesting, and I hope you'll give it another go in the future - with the right instructor! It can be a bit intimidating the first time, with all the info coming at you so fast and so much to learn. But the next time will be better, and each time after that you'll have more confidence as your skills improve.

And yes, I'm a whipped pup by the time I get home after one of these days.........

It was 64* with a pretty stiff wind out of the north when we got there, by the time we left it was 50*! (I think I got 5 more MPH down the front straight just from the wind!)

They let us use the new track configuration on the back straight and it took me a while to "figure" that corner out, to get comfortable with my line, entry speed and braking point, but by the end of the third session I think I'd got it sussed......

The track was cold, so it took a few laps for the tires to hook up, but I think the engines liked the cooler air. I had a couple of fun runs with the red Shelby Mustang that was there last time - that car is really fast!
I also ran with a Carrera 911 with a 3.2 engine, surprised both him and me when he couldn't outrun me after I pointed him by, in fact at one point I had to let off to keep from running up his back at the end of the front straight! These cars are so much faster and more capapble than most people realize - in fact it's frequently a surprise to me as well!

I took video, but I forgot to tape off the mic, so the wind noise is terrible. I'll have them up sometime tonight, and I may get some pics up later this am.

Counterfit_Mini · Post by **Counterfit_Mini** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:25 am

I wish I could take Bumblebee to one of these. We'll see someday....

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:39 am

No reason why you can't, there was a Chevy Aveo 4 dr there last time, I'll bet your Mini could keep up with that!

The next event will probably be next April, you should have her sorted out and ready to go by then...........