MS3 at New Hampshire Int'l Speedway
So, I made it back in one piece. I should have photos ready to post tomorrow and video sometime in the next week for you all. Bottome line: the car is good, but not "great" on the track. I should preface this by saying NHIS' road course is notoriously hard on tires and brakes. It's essentially a large autocross course compared to places like Limerock and Watkins Glen. The stock Bridgestones and stock brakes SUCK after about 15 minutes. I made 4 runs (2-20 minute, 2-25 minute sessions). Each time, I got to a point where the car would get really squirrely from overheated tires and fading brakes. i'd have to back it down for a lap to cool them down. I never had this problem with my GTI, but I had Hawk Blues, racing brake fluid, larger brakes and Pilot Sport tires (man, do I miss those tires and brakes....).
Being in the Intermediate 2 run group, I normally would be one of the faster drivers. Not yesterday. In my group were: 2 Ferraris (including one Challenge race car), 3 Porsche cayman S', a brand new, GORGEOUS red 997 Turbo, a brand spanking new RS4 driven by a kid that was MAYBE 25 and 3 Lotus Elises. Yeah, so I was pretty much the slow guy of the group. There were some others like a Mini (which spanked me..he had R compunds on and flew around the corners) and a few BMWs, which I was actually able to hold off depending on the driver. It was also nice to never get lapped by an R32 for once....
I recall reading in R&T that when they test drove the MS3 at the track, they couldn't find a better combo of brakes (pads/fluids) than the stock setup. I don't know what the **** they were doing, but they fade like hell after getting very hot. I just hope someone comes out with a track compound for our car. Or I'm going to have to invest in some Brembos, which isn't going to be easy to justify with the wife.... The tires, well, I don't know what to do. I'm not happy with them, although they were very predictable and let you know when they were being pushed. I wish Mazda had a more common size than the s*** they have now, as I can't get Pilot Sports for this car, which pisses me off. The selection is extremely limited. And I can't really afford a set of track wheels and R compund tires right now.
Anyway, I'm curious to see how the car handles at Limerock or Watkins Glen. the problem is I don't know when I'll be able to hit either track this summer.
More to follow!
So, I made it back in one piece. I should have photos ready to post tomorrow and video sometime in the next week for you all. Bottome line: the car is good, but not "great" on the track. I should preface this by saying NHIS' road course is notoriously hard on tires and brakes. It's essentially a large autocross course compared to places like Limerock and Watkins Glen. The stock Bridgestones and stock brakes SUCK after about 15 minutes. I made 4 runs (2-20 minute, 2-25 minute sessions). Each time, I got to a point where the car would get really squirrely from overheated tires and fading brakes. i'd have to back it down for a lap to cool them down. I never had this problem with my GTI, but I had Hawk Blues, racing brake fluid, larger brakes and Pilot Sport tires (man, do I miss those tires and brakes....).
Being in the Intermediate 2 run group, I normally would be one of the faster drivers. Not yesterday. In my group were: 2 Ferraris (including one Challenge race car), 3 Porsche cayman S', a brand new, GORGEOUS red 997 Turbo, a brand spanking new RS4 driven by a kid that was MAYBE 25 and 3 Lotus Elises. Yeah, so I was pretty much the slow guy of the group. There were some others like a Mini (which spanked me..he had R compunds on and flew around the corners) and a few BMWs, which I was actually able to hold off depending on the driver. It was also nice to never get lapped by an R32 for once....
I recall reading in R&T that when they test drove the MS3 at the track, they couldn't find a better combo of brakes (pads/fluids) than the stock setup. I don't know what the **** they were doing, but they fade like hell after getting very hot. I just hope someone comes out with a track compound for our car. Or I'm going to have to invest in some Brembos, which isn't going to be easy to justify with the wife.... The tires, well, I don't know what to do. I'm not happy with them, although they were very predictable and let you know when they were being pushed. I wish Mazda had a more common size than the s*** they have now, as I can't get Pilot Sports for this car, which pisses me off. The selection is extremely limited. And I can't really afford a set of track wheels and R compund tires right now.
Anyway, I'm curious to see how the car handles at Limerock or Watkins Glen. the problem is I don't know when I'll be able to hit either track this summer.
More to follow!
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