Just wantet to share my expeirence with my car today! My buddy and I (he was riding his bike) went rolling around all kinds of back roads in KY. And i gotta give it up to the car and my new tires (Potenza RE-11) i was keeping up with him for the most part and he's a really good rider. He was througly impressed i could keep up so much, he was telling me how when he goes riding with a bunch of local guys that i'm faster than most of them. Gotta give huge kudos to these new tires though wow. If you are in the market for tires that are GREAT for auto X and twisty roads dont hesitate on the Bridgestone Potenza RE-11's they felt great and i thought i was pushing it hard but wow those tires were wanting more and more. Any of the local guys here in Cincinnati might know of Rabbit Hash KY and RT 22 (Great roads to go cruizing on). Either way just wanted to share my experience, seems like most people are just into the 1/4 times and what not but i am in love with the twisty's. Speaking of which there is a new bad ass track going in down in Glencoe KY called Blugrass Track i think, it's a 2.5 Mile track with a 3400 ft straight away, we rode by it but it was all locked up.

Take it easy guys!

 

Sounds great! I love the cornering ability of our cars too. There's a long sweeping 270* turn going both in and out of where I work and I've taken it going 40-50 and it stays glued like nothing I've driven before. I love going out to lunch especially because I'll do the 270 turn and shoot out right onto the highway... I look forward to it every day.

 

Twisties scare the **** out of me because 3 days after i got my car I did some twisties and dont know what im doing and slid into the dirt and missed a sign by 4 inches

 

WOW that was a close call that is for sure. You just have to be carefull and the car will let you know when you are pushing it to hard, start off slow and keep going. I'll tell you when you are at a track or doing crazy twisty roads, you get in the zone, all your skills are put to the test, heal toe downshifting, thorttle controll, brake controll, and most important self controll. Nothing gets your adriniline rushing like that.

 

Sounds like a fun run!! Thx for the info on the tires. I may need some after this summer.

My '09 SS has about 500 miles on it now but I'm taking a LONG trip this summer and it should have about 7 thousand miles on it by then.


As for the twisties... That's what this car was designed for. If it was meant SPECIFICALLY for the 1/4 mile they'd have made it rear wheel drive. The Nurburgring is not a straight...it's at least 172 corners (depending on which configuration they're using) and this car has the world record for a compact car there (8:22)

To me, the twisties are what defines a driver. ANYONE can drop the clutch and keep it pinned while banging gears... I repeat..ANYONE can do that..(well unless they're missing a limb)

It takes a REAL driver to be able to know the proper line through a corner, how to setup for a corner, how to utilize braking markers, etc...

I live in Arizona and put my son through the Bondurant school...he's 17 and he can probably out drive most 'drag racer' mentality MEN twice his age.

The twisties is where it's at!!

Great story, keep the twisty stories coming.

 

Yeah i love twisties there is a huge huge 180 degree turn to the left that slowly swoops in at the end to another huge right so imagine a gigantic smooth somewhat banked S curve around me all i am is lowered and i do about 90 around it and i stick but man its a great feeling going through it

 

enjoy the car, bro. i love mine so far. cant wait to auto-x it

 

Anyone can do it, but getting a quick time is another story. Anybody can drive a car around a road course. Driving it around a road course fast may be another story.

Launching a manual car at the drag strip is a bit more complicated than just dropping the clutch with the gas pinned if your goal is the fastest possible ET.

I never have understood my road course drivers have such a chip on their shoulder, yes you are more skilled as a driver by necessity. You also have a lot more at stake if you tag the tire wall at 80+.

 

If you're a 'road-racer', then you also must have the ability to do quick starts... Because in most forms of road course racing the starts are NOT like NASCRAP where they do rolling starts. They actually have a 'DRAG-RACE' to the first corner to see who can get the hole-shot. So knowing how to drop the clutch/keep max traction-accelleration is a must-know.

I don't have a 'chip' on my shoulder... It just a fact that running a car down the 1/4 mile is easier (until you get to the pro level extracting those last few thousanths) than road-racing...where even the average "I think I'm a good driver" person from the street won't even stand a chance against most amateur road-racers.

An to finish..it is a LOT easier to take your car to a Friday-night "Run-what-you-brung" at the local drag strip than it is to get in for a road course track day. Also a lot more affordable. That probably explains why it's the most discussed type of racing in car forums.

No dis-respect meant to ANYONE who runs the Q-mile... I enjoy a good rip down the 1440 myself once in a while.

 

But the start is no where near as critical in road racing as it is in drag racing. If you win to the 60' mark you are 90% likely to win the race. In a 50 lap road race being second to the first turn doesn't automactically mean you lose.

I agree, the reason drag racing is the most discussed is it is the easist and cheapest type of racing to do. Having to replace brakes and rotors on a regular basis can be expensive, plus entry fees are a lot more expensive for a road course event (I know autocross is pretty cheap). I do 1/4 track days with my 2000 Firebird Formula and I can assure you, that it is not as easy as you think to get a good 60' in a six speed. The car has gone 11.72 on a 1.73 60' at 119.8 mph. Not a great time, but the best I have been able to drive it to to date. Nothing like 6000 rpm on the line and pulling a 245/50/16 tire when you let the clutch go.

I'd like to try some autocross but I'm not ready to start killing cones with my brand new daily driver.

 

my parent made me race SCCA at 15 before i got my license to learn car control. it helps alot when learning how to drive. i will also make my kids do the same.

 

+1000
If you want to get to a whole new level of driving ability go do some SCCA autocross or track days. After just a few events you will be a better driver than 99.999% of the population. Be fore warned though, these events are very addicting, especially in a great car like this

 

Don't wanna offend anyone, but 100x the skill involved with autocross as opposed to to straight line drag racing a car.... still gotta love a good 1/4 mile time to get your e peen on.