Well I've been bitten by the bug. I went to an event in feb. and really enjoyed my self and my SRT-6. There's another event coming up the 22nd of march and if the weather is nice I'll be attending. The car is still stock except for a Needswings CAI but I have the first parts on order. Porterfield R4s pads. Stainless steel brake lines and better brake fluid. The first event I finished 11th out of 34 cars of all types. All that were faster than me had auto-x tires or other significant modifications. I ran the event with the traction control on and it killed me, or saved me depending on how you look at it, several times. This next event it will be off. Wish me luck, I'll be having a blast!

Here's a photo of the track.

 

Best of luck to you!

Be safe and have a great time

 

Les: Have a great time. That track looks great. But, don't get cocky; leave the traction control on. My first bad spin didn't happen until I'd been at the track 3 or 4 times. Take your time; become a good technical driver with your car; you'll be much faster that way.

Keep us posted and take pictures.

Jane

 

What's great about this track, for beginners like me, is it has no real high speed sections, lots of tight corners and nothing to hit. I don't know at what speed the car shifts to third but right after shifting to third gear it's hard on the brakes. The rest of the time I'm in 2nd gear. They only put 4 or 5 cars on the circuit at a time and space the cars out so it's rare to overtake or be overtaken. Now when I get the car better prepared, (and the driver) there is a track in Salinas that has a long high speed straight, but I'm not ready yet. I'll see if I can find it and post the layout. The weather for Sunday is iffy but they run rain or shine. I just don't know if I'm ready for water sports in the SRT.

Les

 

Salinas International Speedway. This is a NHRA sanctioned drag strip that also hosts track events.

 

Had my track day yesterday. It was raining all over the island except at the track so I feel real fortunate. I always arrive too early but had a good time talking to some of the guys I met last time at the track. Met a few first timers too and being a second timer, did my best to communicate my first time lessons. Driver's meeting is interesting. "You know what to do, if some one catches you signal them to pass. If no signal, don't pass. Stay on the course. If you go off don't bring any mess on the track when you get back on. If you break and ruin your day, don't ruin it for everybody else. Get off line and stay off line. You will be black flagged if your an a** and no intentional drifting please." etc. etc. We got started at 9:30 in the morning and by the time noon came around they took an hour for lunch, which for me was a good thing because I had to do a gas run. Then we had another short meeting to discuss a new points system and for the drivers that arrived late. We restarted at 1:15 and I left around 3:15 with a nice tan. I had the opportunity to follow the "One Link" race car with a Pro driver. He was warming up his tires and I was staying with him. But after a lap he took off but I got a good look at his line and style of driving. At this particular event when the checkered flag flies you can go around and get right back in line if you want to and by the afternoon there were never more than 4 cars in line so I did some hot lapping. I have to tell you that everyone comments on the car. "The car looks good going around the track" which I take to mean it corners flat and the nose doesn't dive much under heavy braking. And the supercharger whine gives grown men goose bumps. The flag man came over to ask if I was the owner of the car because I was driving it like it was stolen. I'm taking that as a complement, but I'm not positive because in the beginning I was trying to beat my previous best time and over driving the car. Braking too late, carrying too much speed entering the corners etc. I did remember the words of Jane at times during the day "drive smooth" and doing so I bettered my best time by 1/4 second. Soo ... synopsis. went early, had a great time, went faster and cooked the brakes. Yep, the hot lapping did them in. After returning the transponder and picking up my license I adjusted the air in the tires, packed up, started the car and when I put it in gear the pedal went to the floor. They pumped up and worked good enough to get home without much worry but no more racing until the new pads and fluid. They had a photographer at the event and when they are published I'll post some up.

Les

 

Here's a link to some of the photos.

Les

http://www.carrito.net/board/showthread.php?t=194485

 

The new stainless brake lines, pads and racing brake fluid are in. Tomorrow I'm bedding in the brakes. Eight consecutive 60 mph to 10 mph hard stops followed by 5 minutes of steady driving to cool the brakes and repeat the 8 stops. Sunday the 31st is the next track day and I'm really looking forward to it. On a side note my tires, the ones with 1800 miles are looking bad. I think I have something out of whack in the alinement department. Something else to get checked before next Sunday.

Les

 

Les: Great to hear your mods are coming along. You will find that you will spend money for mods and then have to spend more. Small mods lead to new things that have to be changed. Get better tires, my friend. Watch for bent rims that can give you some vibration. I've replaced everything, but still experience some vibration with braking. Now they think it's the rubber bushings which I'm not going to replace. I have good brakes and no wobbling tires or vibration, so I'm pretty satisfied with the car, finally. You, too, will get there. Be smooth, but drive it like you stole it and keep the traction control on. You don't want to hurt yourself or others. Having fun is also part of being safe. Let some air out of your tires. My tires go up by 7 PSI after 25 minutes on the track. My front Michelins Pro Sport cups only last about 3 days, but you know, with lowering the car and better brakes, I think I might get another day out of them. My best sticking pressure is at 30-32 PSI.

Me gusta mucho sus photos. Brutales! Buen suerte. Digame mas pronto.

 

way to go velociabstract!

It's good to hear about another XF owner representing Crossfires on the road race circuit

 

Gracias Jane! De verdad, me falta gomas que pegan. I'm trying to be patient and go slow (with the mods) Did you know I installed a Code 3 pulley? Now I can't go full throttle, even in a straight line in first or second, or its spin city. I'm thinking Phantom grip and I'm looking at dedicated rims and tires for the track too.

Right now I'm just doing this for fun. Fun and the challenge. Traction control has been off for a while. Last time out I really ruined a good run over driving the car so I did some drifting, I mean my time was gone so I decided to find out when the car looses the rear end and how it would react. It was exciting but predictable. I'm getting real comfortable with the limits. My weakness is braking and what I plan on improving next Sunday. (did you post pictures form Mid Ohio?)

Les

 

What kind a problems do you have with braking. I'm curious, as instructors are on me about my braking. Each instructor is different and they bring something to the table. Some want me to hit the brakes hard and then others feel I'm too hard and causing the car to be unsettled. I'm confused with these instructors. So, I'm interested in knowing your issues with braking.
I did put pictures on my Mid Ohio thread, although they are not the professional ones. I asked the photographer to give me smaller pictures, but he wouldn't. The pictures are too big to transfer to this forum. When I get my lessons on making them smaller, I'll put them in my gallery.
I had hopes of going to Gingerman in September, but doesn't look like that is going to happen unless God intervenes. So, I'll be back at Putnam once I get my boards taken at the end of July. After that, I'm looking forward to playing again.

 

No instructor lectures for me. I hope to entice one to ride with me on the 31st.
My way and observations only. I hit the brakes HARD and ease off nearing the turn in. I learned real quick that the front tires can't do 2 things at once. They are stopping or turning. It's better to brake early and too much and be under power in the turn because under power more weight is shifted to the back and off the front which also helps the Crossfire turn. Also because the Crossfire has no limited slip the more weight on one rear wheel the better. (it seems anyway) I ride up on the inside berm which really plants the back tire and I can get out of the turns much safer and with more throttle. What I do wrong is brake too hard engaging the traction control which is slower than just reaching the braking limit. I sometimes brake too late missing the best entry into the corner which really messes up the exit. What I mean about messing up the exit is if the exit line is off it's impossible to get on the throttle as early or completely.
I imagine the different opinions of the instructors has more to do with the different tracks and communication styles than how to brake correctly.

Distilled version. Hit the brakes fast and hard WITHOUT engaging the traction control. (super important) The unsettled feeling is the traction control modulating the brakes and making the car squirm under braking. When you and I learn to do that, well can you say PRO?

Disclaimer: All the opinions expressed are those of a rank amateur and could be wrong. Use at your own risk and only after 4 cups of Cuban coffee. Black naturally. Be sure to warm up your non braking leg before trying these techniques. The author is not responsible for cramping under braking.

Les

 

I love it. Yes, we are rookies having fun and learning. The car does teach us, that is for sure. With my newer brake set up, I'm starting to get much more confident about where I need to brake.

Have a great time with the new mods and keep us posted.

Jane

 

First impressions of the new brake components is kinda blah. I expected to notice a larger positive change. On the street I find it takes more effort to stop, at least with cold brakes. The initial bite is better when jumping on them hard making it hard to keep the traction control at bay. That said, I'm a law abiding citizen and the real test will have to wait until track day. Hot braking at the track could be where the real difference - improvement appears. Oh, if you've never worked on Mercedes type brakes, they're nailed together. Germanic ingenuity.

Les

 

Here is the tough part about having a car that you want to race and yet use as a daily driver. As you probably already know, Racing pads or higher performance pads aren't that great on the road because they have to get warmed up to work better and they are noisy. So, Les, you might as well buy another SRT6 - one for racing and the other for daily driving. What did I say? One change begets a lot more changes and expenses. I feel your pain, my friend.

 

Jane, you evil temptress. How could you even suggest such a thing! Of course you know what your talking about, as do I. And if I was in health care (still doing good I hear) and my retirement had not gone to the toilet with the market and if my business was doing as it was 2 years ago I'd have already bought another. Actually I'm intrigued by ACR's (can't remember his complete screen name) Aero Blue SRT-6 roadster, or the Toy's car. But alas, I guess I'll go to my grave not knowing what it's like to have 2 SRT's. But don't cry for me; I have a 300C for the weekend with 6000 miles, an Intrepid that goes to war every day and looks it too, and my toy, my joy, my fantasy, my SRT-6. So as you can see, the Crossfire is not a daily driver. If the little woman liked the car I would drive it everywhere. But alas, she's perfect with one little Crossfire strike against her.

The car brakes fine cold, just not what I expected. I expected a firmer, a harder pedal with the stainless steel brake lines. And I expected less dust, I don't know why but I did, and I have more .... so far. But I'm feeling good right now, I just washed the car and talked to all the admirers at the car wash. Now to the track para curarme y quitar el estress!

Les

 

I know, I looked at those two cars for sale very carefully. I really would like a roadster, so ACR's was very tempting. Healthcare is so so, as my side business of lecturing and consulting is down the crapper cause the FDA isn't approving diabetes drugs right now. So, I've really had to cut back and not splurge. But damn, if I had $20,000 K, I'd go after that roadster. Can't race a roaster, but I'd take it to the tail and have a great time.

What kind of racing pads did you put on the front? I've been very happy with the R4 Porterfields. Just removed them and they really didn't have much wear with all the racing I had been doing. Cause I'm not a guy, I really don't give a crap about the dust. Just tip the guy at the car wash a bit more, and he gets them clean. Just ask Pat I am Fink about me and washing my car. It's low priority. Just let me drive and I'm a happy, happy girl.

I wish I could get back to PR as I'd sure look you up. I'd expect a great tour of the island, of course.

Jane

 

Visits are always welcome ... just not for the 4th. I'm visiting family in Tennessee. (Yup, Tennessee boy) I wash the car every week so the dust never gets a chance to build up too much or get cemented on. So its not a big deal for me, just a surprise to see more of it.

I got the Porterfield R4S pads front and rear. Goodridge stainless lines and ATE Blue (the only fluid I could find locally) I made a real mess bleeding the brakes, being blind and working in a dark, hot, damp, frowning passersby basement. But living where I do has its advantages. Easy to find sand to soak up the mess. All that is left to do is sweep it up. Tomorrows problem. Tell your mechanic that I said Crossfires are fun and real easy to work on. He should be paying you for the privilege.

Les

 

Why don't you come to Knoxville at the end of October and I'll pick you up and take you to the Dragon, unless you get car sick. Then you'll need to rent a car. LOL.