[capt_and]

I am starting to get used to the car and able to drive it harder. On track, I am still using it in DTC mode and it seems to work ok for me based on how hard I am pushing the car on track (still mild).

Problem, whenever I turned the steering wheel all the way to near full lock, the front right wheel well would make a huge clunking noise. I thought it was just the springs settling in the perch. One day, whenever I went to change out the brake pads to my street pads, I noticed that a piece of the brake duct trim (the one on the wheel well) was chipped. After further investigation, I found that the end link broke!

The shop I used had a track day planned and invited me to come. They ordered the Ground Control end links for me so that I would have it in time for the track day. Well, needless to say, they didn't come. Shop owner went back to the shop and tried to find some end links that I could use in the meantime and came up empty handed. Oh well, I am so used to parts not coming that as long as the guys at shop tell me I can run, I will make the best of it.

Running without end links caused a ton of body roll, so much that my tires told the story. Whenever they finally came in, I scheduled an appt to have them installed along with a fluid flush, touch up alignment, and corner balance. The passenger front alignment was way off, as expected.

At this point, I already decided to join the track, Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, TX. Once my car was done at the shop, I drove over to the track to test out the car. Well, having a stiffer front end caused a ton of understeer. After only two 30 minute sessions, the front calipers changed color on me! (The front brake pads were getting pretty low as well).

I drove back to the shop right after the second session to have the guys take a look and they determined that I needed more brake cooling and bigger tires/more camber up front. In the meantime, the brakes are ok at current track temps (675*F). Additional investigation needed to determine exactly how much tire can be fitted up front.

We also discussed the seating position. The seat has a rake to it so that midgets like me (5'8") sit up higher. This causes me to hit my helmet on the headliner when going over bumps. We talked about different ways to lower the seat mounting positions to get an extra inch of head room.

Items ordered during this period:
Schroth Quick fit harness
AIM Solo 2 DL
Ground control end links