Gen 3 at Autobahn Joliet North Track

Check out the latest version of the Spec Racer! LBoth ligher weight and more powerful!!! Available soon, racing in 2015!
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Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2011 10:56 pm
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 10:27 am
Beau Martin and Peter J. gave me an opportunity to run the Gen 3 car at Autobahn in Joliet Illinois a couple of days ago. Mr. Davies was there and was truly interested in honest input about qualities/shortcomings of the car. I did two 20 minute sessions on the north track. I don’t have much track time on the north track simply because we prefer the south track. Track record on the north track for SRF is 1:11.8. 80% of my laps were under this time with a best lap of 1:10.9. I suspect that drivers with some practice and cars set up for their personal driving technique will go a full two seconds quicker than the track record on this 1.6 mile track. The Gen 3 is going to be a great car to drive but will require some improved technique on the part of the driver. We now have a car that is quite a bit more like a real race car than the 1.9 liter car. Second and some third gear turns are going to require some finesse on the throttle to avoid overheating the inside rear or looping the car and corners that used to be flat out no brainers are going to require a good bit more skill. Most of the improved lap time is due to better acceleration but with a lighter weight I felt the corner speeds were also a bit quicker. I had the opportunity to go through a couple of stable carousel type corners behind 1.9 liter SRF’s and there was noticeable closure rate. The lighter car is more responsive and much better balanced. I was under the impression that you could drive the car deeper into the brake zone due to its lighter weight but I think the brake points will be about the same because the higher terminal speeds offset the lower weight. I like the sound of the new motor, the way it pulls all the way to the limiter, and the mid six thousands shift point……. All very cool. I’m also going to enjoy learning to drive and set up the new car. I'm surprised at the performance improvement the new package makes. This is no D Sports Racer but it's an order of magnatude improvement for our class.

My wish list for the future: Closer ratios for the transmission so we can keep the motor higher in the powerband; Limited slip diff to help get the power down on corner exit.

My opinion of the new Gen 3 is this: I got out of the car, drove home, printed the order form and ordered my conversion kit that night. ‘Nuf said? If you sold your SRF and added $15,000.00 to the money you got from the sale, there is no more capable, safe, reliable or easy to work on car you could buy for anywhere close to the money. Order yours today before we hit the debt ceiling and the whole country goes to pot.

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