Took the 98 Tibby out on THill today

[Valgar]

(Erm, mods, feel free to move this, didn't think it fit in the fastest car forum, figured it would fit in the RD forum, seeing as it is a 98 tib)

Most of the work I've done on the car has been in setting it up for autocross duty...

I got the chance to take it out today at ThunderHill Raceway, so I left it as is and ran with it (We didn't measure lap times)

And ran with it the tiburon did.

First off, it was the only Hyundai there (go figure).

In my group of 3 drivers it was my Tib, and two Acura NSXs....

So I got to play follow the NSX....

Was really interesting, and I'm pleased with how the car handled. There is still some body roll, even with the complete suspension work, so I need to figure out what to do about it.

I knew I was down on raw HP from almost every other car out there, but the tiburon really worked well in tighter turns, and rapid transistions (even with the roll). I found myself reeling in much faster cars as we entered the S turns and some of the more dramatic elevation change turns.

While it was a non-competition event, it was still gratifying to see cars that would walk away from me on the straights get pulled back in as I concentrated on hitting my lines and entry/exit points. Even more satisfying was seeing those same cars eventually pointing for you to pass.

At one point there were even a few group 3/4 spec miata guys out on the track with us. I pointed them past me on the 7-8 passing zone then fell in with them. It was a bit rough, but I managed to keep a good line and was a bit surprised to see them all in front of me as we entered the back straight (they pulled away at that point )

Amazingly enough, I'm still running the stock brakes, and had no issues with them (we ran about 100 miles on the track today) I did see a bit of brake fade towards the end of each session (and I also partially melted my rota rim caps (Faux carbon fibre, pretty stuff) due to heat coming off the brakes/wheels). I'll of course be looking into brake upgrades, but right now the stock brakes are working (lets not even talk about rotor warping.....pulled a stupid rookie mistake and set my parking brake after a session....ran down the paddock to put the chocks down and release the brake)..

With a little more work the RD could turn out to be an interesting track machine to drive....with a lot more work, it could be a truly fun track machine

(lets see if this image attachment works)



[Edited by Valgar on Mar 17, 2004 12:00 AM]

[MechaniX_034]

Well done!

[Red_AGT]

Keep us updated. I think Random (Tony on heere and HA.com) is doing something similar, not with his white turbo'd RD, but with his new (formerly his dad's) RD tiburon. It would be cool for you guys to compare notes.

[AUTOBOT]

Hey, I am moving up to the Bay Area (East Bay) in about a month. Maybe I will head up to Thunder Hill with you this summer.

[Valgar]

Originally posted by AUTOBOT
[body]
Hey, I am moving up to the Bay Area (East Bay) in about a month. Maybe I will head up to Thunder Hill with you this summer.
[/body]

For some reason....I am suddenly afraid....



I'm looking at upcoming NASA and SCCA events, but there are gobs more open events that are out there. Plenty of fun to be had up here

[Mad-Machine]

sounds like great fun.. nothing like an open track day to get the car and yourself a workout

[TibNRice]

sounds like fun.

the rotas look nice on the car they look like slip streams, first time i've seen them on a tibby.

[01IMPORTSHARK]

very nice.. fun stuff. i gotta find a track around here to play on..

[Valgar]

*sigh*

One little bit of fallout.

Went to get the car smogged today and it threw a CEL. Ran it through testing anyway.

Looks like at the very least, the rear O2 sensor is hosed (most likely fried). The NO emissions were enough that a smog station would have failed me. I also have a lingering fear that the Cat might have been damaged from the high heat generated by running so hard for so long. (Otherwise the car runs perfectly fine). Not really a big deal, I'll have to wait until friday to take care of it. Just another datapoint. I'm curious how a high-flow cat would fare in place of the stock one.

How hot was it?

Well the temp gauge was up a little more than usual, but not in the danger zone.

But look what happened in the engine compartment...notice any lettering missing? (Ignore the stains and splotches, that was from me futzing around checking fluids as fast as I could, then standing there with the oil stick in my hand gawking at the missing lettering) I think most of it was caused between sessions, when thermal creep sets in. No airflow, yet the engine is still exceedingly hot. Good idea to leave the hood up to allow some airflow in if you are between runs. (Haven't had this problem on shorter courses, or lower speed ones)



[Edited by Valgar on Mar 17, 2004 2:51 PM]

[Edited by Valgar on Mar 17, 2004 2:52 PM]

[tiburondave]

Damn, yeah definatley leave the hood up next time.