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I just wanted to share a few photos of my first NASA HPDE track day with the 1996 SS that I found on Craigs List a few months ago (https://www.camaroz28.com/forums/lt1...-me-do-886946/). We were out at our local track, Sear Point just north of San Francisco.
I drove the car on Saturday the 16th in Group 2 and my daughter drove the car on Sunday in Group 1 (beginner with an instructor). The car ran great all weekend, not is single issue, just churned out torque to get going and stopped in a nice straight line! It did have a loose rear end (over-steer) though and I am not sure that is normal but it probably is as the car appears to be very stock and all original.
The one real excitement was due to this loose set up. I had felt it from the first lap that I took and was pretty wary about turn 4 which is an off camber downhill right hand corner that you usually take at about 50 mph. I drove around the problem on Saturday until my third run when I lowered the rear tire pressures and the problem seemed much less troubling. My daughter had ridden with me the last two sessions and I had mentioned my earlier concerns while we circuited the track.
Unfortunately the next day when my daughter took the car for her first full speed run she spun the car at turn 4! It didn't hurt anything, just a little dirt on the tires but it was a tough start for my daughters high performance driving day! She was a trooper though; she finished her session with some good laps and after a little post run decompression and a good talk with the instructors she went back on her last two runs (20 minutes each) and had a blast.
I am going to see if I can sort the suspension balance a bit before our next track day in May. I will put a up a post in the suspension section when I have something to share about that. Actually I think the spin was a small mercy as I have tried to warn my daughters that cars sometimes don't go where you want them to go. I keep telling them that they need to drive with care, especially in low traction conditions. My oldest who experienced the spin first hand now has a solid understanding of how fast thing get out of hand and a strong memory of what a slide feels like.
Here is a link for more of the NASA track days if you want to check it out https://nasaproracing.com/events. It is a lot of fun to drive and also hanging out with fellow car nuts is a blast too.
Last edited by squarehead; 03-19-2019 at 12:40 AM.
Reason: clarification
Awesome - thanks for the update and pictures. That's EXACTLY what I have in mind for my car this year (as well as the odd Autocross event). I bet you came away with a list of things to do to the car! How did your brakes hold up? I'm told that's a weak point.
I am glad you like the photos. The car is still a beater but it ran pretty well. The brakes were good, zero troubles but the disks were new when I got the car and I had installed Hawk street performance pads and changed the brake fluid before going out on the track. To be honest I was not pushing too hard anyway: it was a shake down run for the car and I had not been on track since 2007 and was getting back in the groove one step at a time. I used to run in group 3 and I am sure I can again soon but this weekend I enjoyed the pace of group 2. My goal at this point is to get into Time Trial (TT) later this year or next year.
The looseness of the rear end is the only thing I am planning to work on. I am thinking of pulling the stock springs and shocks and installing a Ground Control set up similar to what I am running on my street car. It features Koni's which I prefer and they really have the balance dialed in on their kit, very nice steering feel and very little body roll.
Thanks Cathead! I really like the look too except for the funky finish/paint on the two fiberglass SLP parts, the front hood and the rear spoiler. Both have a crazed appearance and the paint is shot. The rest of the car is pretty nice with good GM paint and only a few imperfections. I figure if it survives the next race season or two I will get the fiberglass fixed and have the parts resprayed.
I am running the BFG G-force T/A KDW tires that came on the car when I bought it used. They were originally a tread wear 200 type tire but they are old now.
My SS is number 209 for 1996.
Put a few photos of your car in your user album, I would love to see it!
Last edited by squarehead; 04-13-2019 at 03:47 PM.
Reason: spelling
Just an update about the latest track day action. I was out a Sonoma raceway last weekend in NASA group 3 HPDE event and had a blast and the car ran beautifully; no oversteer! I had changed the springs and shocks back in May to a new coil over set from Ground Control; 600 #/inch front and 260 #/inch rear. Back when I did the change over I did a group 2 track day but it rained a lot and I never got too much speed on the track to see how the suspension was working out.
I also changed the bump stops on the car to increase the distance before the axle contacts the snubber. I think the stock ones (especially with the SLP spacer) were contacting the axle too soon and may have been contributing to the loose condition I wrote about in my original post. Right before the track day I also replaced the old BFG tires with some tread wear 200 Toyo Proxy R1R tires. They ran great, nice and sticky!
Here is a shot of the car in the pits. You can see it is sitting maybe and inch lower.
Here are some shots of the suspension goodies that I had installed back in May. The last photo shows the revised bump stop.
I didn't get any on track photos this time as my daughter was not available to come out and get some shots with her long lens. Hopefully I get back out next month; there is another event at Sonoma on Oct. 26th. If anyone is interested in coming to the track you are welcome to pm me and I would be happy to give you further info. Bring a helmet and I'll take you for a ride you won't soon forget!
Last edited by squarehead; 09-10-2019 at 12:07 AM.
Reason: minor addition
Very cool - and thanks for the updates. I had hoped to get an HPDE event or two in this year, but our nearest tracks (Pittsburgh and Summit Point) are both around 2.5 hours away - so it's been Autocross only for my car this year. Hopefully next season!
Very cool - and thanks for the updates. I had hoped to get an HPDE event or two in this year, but our nearest tracks (Pittsburgh and Summit Point) are both around 2.5 hours away - so it's been Autocross only for my car this year. Hopefully next season!
Hi Pontiacs,
I am a lucky guy then; Sonoma Raceway is about a half an hour from my house. I am always getting advertisements to drive Thunderhill Raceway up in Willows CA but it is about 2 hours further and I have to drive past a perfectly good track to get there! I have driven it many years ago but the travel takes most of the fun out of the day.
One great thing I have noticed in the few days since my track day is that I am thinking and reading about how to drive faster instead of thinking about how to fix my car! It ran really well and I am sure I was the limiting factor so with any luck I can shave some time with better technique next time I go out.
One thing I did last event on my fourth run was to set up and use a GPS based timing ap on my phone called Track Addict. It does a good job of timing each lap and it records a video of the lap which you can watch afterward. The review video shows your speed so I think it will be helpful in maximizing corner exit speed. You just set your phone up on the dash so the gps is well connected and the camera can look forward, hit one button when leaving the paddock and the ap does the rest. Here is a photo of my set up.
Hi All, just another update from my last event of 2019 which took place last weekend at Sonoma Raceway (Sears Point). I ran in group 3 and my daughter ran in group 1 again. Next season I am going to move to group 4 so my daughter can move to group 2 and we can still share the car on the same day. The car performed well and I was able to improve my lap times through better concentration on my driving technique. Still lots of room to improve but I was pleased.
This was the first time my daughter had driven the car with the new suspension set up and she was much more comfortable with it and had no big scares. Her enjoyment of the day was much better and I think she is looking froward to next season.
Here are a few shots from the weekend: Looks good but he was passing me!
I just wanted to update a few photos from my track day season in 2021. I moved up to the highest HPDE class this year Group 4. This group has no passing restrictions; pass anywhere on the track that you can get by cleanly. I did three track days this year and all except one went off without a hitch. I had one breakdown on my last weekend in which my power steering pump failed on my second session on Saturday. I trailered the car back to my shop and changed the pump that evening and returned to a full day on Sunday with no problems.
The car looks different from previous photos too. I could not stand the faded, sun worn paint on the hood, fenders, and rear wing any longer so I had them repainted.
In preparation for a possible run at the NASA Time Trial program (TT) I had the engine output recorded on a dyno at the track; best pull produced 263 HP and 283 ft-lb of torque. Underwhelming I know, but old bone stock engines aren't too impressive. If I move up to TT I will likely be in the class with BMW 3 series cars that have similar power and weight.
I am still driving on my Toyo R1R tires from two years ago, no problems as they are still faster than me! I was using the Track Addict program for iPhone to record my runs and the best I was able to do was a 2:12.379 on the full course at Sonoma Raceway. Reviewing the data shows my cornering accelerations are good, lots of .9 G and above with a highest to 1.06 G. However it also shows lots of room for improvement in the braking zones. I rarely get to .6 G and the brakes (stock with hi performance pads) get very hot before my 20 minute sessions are over.
I hope others are getting their cars on track. Leave a comment if you are interested!
03-19-2019, 12:38 AM
