I'm starting to crank out a few videos from Thunderhill. The camera was mounted to the top of the lid on the rear looking back. The first I made is only a partial lap and it starts out with a group of us just entering a passing zone following a slower car. I like the video because it shows several different lines. You may notice in the audio that the microphone sounds like it's in front of a fan. On my second lap, the fan clutch kicked on and stayed on the entire run and didn't turn off until near the final turn on my cool down lap. BTW, at the end of the main straight, the BMW dove underneath me. That thing was fast. I stayed close to him for about 1/2 lap and then he lost me.

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Here's another. It's a full lap run earlier in the same session, so the speeds weren't up there, but it is good enough to publish. I think I was driving a decent line.

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A few have already asked about my brakes and how they held up. I have Ruslows disks on the front and DOT 4 fluid. They weren't seated and/or ready for heavy braking until later in the day, so I had to go easy on them. As Dreamin mentioned at the track, my driving style was "throttle or less throttle." Yet, once they started to grab, I used them a bit more but still got off the throttle early. I didn't want to ruin the rotors the first day I had them. Once they started to grab better, I can honestly say that his disks work MUCH better than the stock ones.

A huge change and improvement in the handling was due to the panhard bar (by Ruslow). The rear end didn't wander and was very predictable. In a nutshell, it stuck where ever I put it.

I may have a write up of the other mods later this week, with commentary by Dreamin.

Later in the day, I decided not to run so I didn't get any videos from the front (damn BFG's). Hopefully the next time out, I mount the camera earlier in the morning and get different shots throughout the day

I played a bit with the next video. Some of you may not like it but I won't mind. I ran out of time and didn't have enough clips to make it better. I think it's cool, though. I may change it next weekend when I'm back from Thousand Bucks. If I do, I'll post something. It's is of my first lap after my warm up lap prior to the other two videos, so the speeds were slower.

Have you ever had a dream while sleeping where you were flying? And it was relaxing and exhilerating at the same time? With that said, relax and enjoy...
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Spike

BTW, air temp was 104 degrees and the pavement in the pit area was measured at 132 degrees. I ran with the heater on the entire time. The temp gauge never moved above normal.

 

Spike, you da man! Awesome vids!

 

Nice job....what a great way to start my day, by watching your videos! Looking forward to getting back in my truck and listening to the whine

 

Spike - so your tellin me after I get the hotchkis springs installed I'm gonna have to get a panhard bar also?

 

Most excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Spike goin' for the outside pass... I love this picture.

 

Thanks Spike

It's just what I needed! Do you use your camcorder directly or your remote camera for all your shots.

 

It's a little bit of both. I mount the camcorder in the cab, hooked & doubled up on the passenger belt. Typically, I'll use two microphones: one in the engine compartment and one in the frame. Once I build a simple line amp that will compensate for the dynamic range, I'll run a third to a microphone to my helmet for comments.

The actual camera is mounted remotely, held in place by duct tape. I can mount it almost anywhere.

Spike

 

Spike,

When's the next T-Hill day? I want to go when it is. What have you done as far as handling mods goes? What did you need to do for track prep?

Thanks

 

What do you use to view the videos? Windows media player said it was not a supported medium.

 

Quicktime. If you don't have it, go to http://www.quicktime.com and download the installer. It doesn't take long and is worth the download.

Spike

 

That was good stuff to watch. Impressive Beemer. Older M3?

 

Excellent Video!!
Do you have any looking out the front?
Excellent choice of Music on the last one..
Ah, who is the group?

David

 

Thanks. I'm glad everybody is enjoying the videos.

That M3 was fast. Dreamin' probably knows more about it than me, but I think it was completely gutted and setup for race only. On the lap that he passed me, I kept up with him for about half the lap, but I knew he was going to lose me after I saw how he was able to pass me on turn one with a bad line. On the first corner that he started to pull away, his right front tire was off the ground on a good portion of the turn. Into the next hard corner, he smoked all four tires in the braking zone and I thought I'd be able to catch him and keep him in my sights. Instead, he kept pulling away.

I wonder if he was surprised that I was able to keep up with him as long as I did...

Spike

 

I'm getting digital cable in a few days.