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Tales Of The Black Box
During our fun at the track we were data logging the Camaro with our Racepak G2X GPS data acquisition system. We found out several interesting things. First, our Camaro was much better at left hand turns compared to rights. In left turns we were pulling over 1.2g while our right-handers were netting just over 1g. This was due in large part to the corner weighting issue we didn’t have time to resolve. Secondly, we could also see that we were running out of gear in several spots on the track. Because shifting to fourth takes time we were slowing 100-feet before we really should have been, costing us time. Since the event, we’ve raised the rev limiter from 6,600 rpm to 7,000 rpm. This should let us stay in it just a bit longer. During the winter we will be doing some calculations to see if we should stay with the 3.90 gears or go down to some 3.70s. On the big straight we were hitting between 112 and 114 mph, but the Racepak data shows we were near 100 mph in many of the sweeps, especially those to the left. After Action Report
The main problem with making so many changes to the car in the short two months we had was that some things just didn’t get done. One was the alignment, which we wanted to make a bit more aggressive, but instead it ended up at the same -.80 camber and toe of .02-inch, which is way on the sedate side. Messing with these setting would have certainly helped the Camaro get around the track a bit faster. The other must-do item that didn’t happen was having the new 402 LS2 dyno tuned. The install was finished on Friday and we had to be in Vegas on Sunday, so that left Saturday to get it done. Unfortunately, due to noise rules, Scott Brown of VanGordon and Brown in Upland, CA isn’t allowed to dyno tune on the weekends. So, we did basic tune and drove the Camaro from SoCal to Vegas. It wasn’t right and the car surged the whole 300 miles but it made it there. After the event we drove the car back to Vegas and because I didn’t feel like surging all the way back home we had Intercity Lines bring it back to our shop. To get the problem fixed we drove it over to Westech Performance and strapped it to their dyno for a baseline run. The first pull was a decent, but certainly lackluster, 389 rear-wheel hp and 393 lb.-ft. or torque. Eventually Ernie Mena found the problem. The spark plug on the number five cylinder was all busted up. It must have happened when we lifted the engine to fix the oil pan. A new plug netted us a gain of 94 hp and 79 lb.-ft. of torque! That extra torque would’ve certainly been welcomed at the event. With that sorted out we’ve already begun working on a plan for next year. We’re pretty sure that the competition is going to get tougher.
| Results |
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Fastest 2.2 Mile Lap Times
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| Name |
Vehicle
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Best Time
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David Pozzi
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'68 Camaro BP
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1:52.66 |
Kevin Sittner
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'68 GT350
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1:53.20 |
Steve Kepler
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'06 Z06 'Vette
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1:53.70 |
Mark Frazier
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'69 Corvette
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1:54.10
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Mario Matos
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'04 Porsche GT3
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1:54.20 |
Phil Gerber
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'70 Chevelle
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1:56.70 |
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Top Autocross Times:
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| Name |
Vehicle
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Best TIme
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Kyle Tucker
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'70 Camaro
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29.50 |
Mary Pozzi
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'68 Camaro BP
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29.52 |
Phil Gerber
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'70 Chevelle
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30.10 |
Mark Frazier
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'69 Corvette
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30.50 |
Ron DeRaad
 Rick Love of Vintage Air brought...  Rick Love of Vintage Air brought his recently finished ’70 Camaro out to the event for a little track thrashing. It didn’t have the fanciest suspension or the most powerful engine, but Rick drove the hell out the second-gen both on the road course and the autocross. Good enough to secure 6th place out of the field with a best run of 31.80 seconds. We’re pretty sure he’s hooked on autocrossing now.  Penny was hitting well over...  Penny was hitting well over 100 mph in the straights and knocking down consistent lap times. Here David takes the still-laughing Tyler for another 2.2 mile E-ticket ride around the track. David nailed down the fastest lap of the day with a 1:52.66 and that wasn’t just a fluke since Mr. Consistency put down all four of his laps within a second of one another. As David told us, “Through the esses Penny flat boogied, taking a pot hole dip in stride. I made a mental note to thank Bilstein for the shock setup—amazing! I was also amazed how easily Penny could change direction and get set quickly to take a corner. If not for the understeer, I could have charged into the corners much harder and gotten on the gas earlier in the turn, so exit speeds would have picked up making straightaway speeds higher. Adding a rear sway bar will certainly help cure the understeer issue.”  Camaro rock star, and 200-mph...  Camaro rock star, and 200-mph veteran, Big Red showed up to the party to put on a show. It’s nearly racecar status didn’t qualify it for the event, but when it fired up it was like the gates of Hell had been opened. Watching it whip around the track was a real treat for everyone, competitors and spectators alike. The altitude messed with the tune, so the Camaro didn’t turn in any great times, but it was cool to watch. Ray Young of Mead, Washington brought out his sweet ’69 Camaro just for the race. This ride was stunning and is a consistent show winner wherever it goes, even ending up in the top five for Street Machine of the Year at Goodguys. So it was even cooler that he was willing to trash it on the track. Unfortunately, a blown radiator took him out of the competition early on, but it was still cool to see it being used.
Kyle Tucker of Detroit Speed is good at a lot of things, but near the top of that list is wheeling a car though an autocross course. His ’70 Camaro is the companies test car and besides being fitted out with every turn-hard part in their arsenal, it’s also packing a 615hp L92-headed LS engine. His best time of 29.50 was enough to beat our ’68 by a razor thin 200ths of a second. Congrats on the win Kyle!
The only changes we made in preparation for the autocross was to drop six-pounds of air out of the tires. With that done, Mary Pozzi flung the Prowler Orange Camaro though the cones. She was the poster child for consistency with a 29.9, 29.5, and a 29.5 as her times. Mary relayed, “I ran my first run mostly in second gear, but applying the go-pedal didn't reward me with that ‘shot out of a cannon’ feel I had felt before. Without the torque, I lost the ability to use throttle to position and move Penny around, so I ended up running the next two laps in first gear. Penny handled and braked well yet I felt the car wasn't 100-percent.” Luckily for us the driver was 110-percent.
 To put things into perspective,...  To put things into perspective, Optima arranged for several “benchmark” cars to run in the event. One of them was the ’04 Porsche GT3 owned by hot-shoe driver Mario Matos representing Bowler Transmissions. Sporting R888 Toyo tires the German rocket knocked down a best time of 1:54.2. Fast, but there were four cars with faster times. Another newer car, this time actually competing, was a C6 Z06 driven by racetrack veteran Steve Kepler. It’s a freakin’ Z06 on Goodyear Eagles driven by someone who knows what he’s doing—now that’s a benchmark to shoot for. Still, two rides turned in faster times than the Corvette’s 1:53.7 best lap. One was our ’68 and the other a ’68 GT350 owned by Kevin Sittner. Kevin runs the Mustang in vintage racing events and was a real contender for the crown, but an engine oiling issue took him out of the competition early.  We’re all smiles at Team Bad...  We’re all smiles at Team Bad Penny. In addition to the first place trophies for fastest lap time, Ultimate Streetcar, and the second place autocross award, there were quite a few prizes including a Magnaflow exhaust system, Painless wiring system, BeCool cooling system, $1,000 at Detroit Speed, $500 at Ring Brothers, a gauge package from Classic Instruments, Bowler Transmission certificates and more than a few Optima Batteries. A spirited game of paper-scissors-rock ensued between Mary Pozzi, David Pozzi, and Steven Rupp over who got what.
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