Mt Fuji overlooking the circuit
23rd was a public holiday so Tom, James and Simon (and his NSX crew) we all decided we'd give it a go. Seeing that it was a holiday we were worried about having to compete with too many cars on the track but in the end it wasn't too bad.
Tom and I wanted to start the day by attending the first 2 early sessions but when we proceeded to buy tickets we were told that these 2 sessions were for beginners only and one wasn't allowed to exceed 180km/h on the straight and have a faster lap time than 2'30''! Bummer !! Tom decided to skip these sessions and join the S4 instead(faster cars with roll cages etc) and I decided to sit them both out until a proper NS4 session at 1pm came up. I didn't last long. Seeing that I woke up at 6am to enjoy the day I wasn't going to sit on the sidelines and twirl my fingers so I bought the remaining beginner's session ticket and went out there.
DC5 in front of the main straight
It was a drag ! Drivers were truly inexperienced and I was forced to brake on the main straight just to stay above the lap time limit. The only good thing that came out of it was I'd been experiencing a lot of oversteer in that session and upon return adjusted my rear suspension damper which made a world of difference in the NS4 session later in the day!
My goal was to beat 2'11'' and I was truly going to push for 2'10''! As the video below shows I beat my personal best and arrived at 2'09''55 on 2 laps which were relatively traffic free ! I was extremely happy ! What a way to end the year !
Capturing the achievement here on my way home
Tom's Mazda next to yours trulys
The irishman who got me hooked up on racing !
It's been almost 12 months since I started going to Fuji. I came here and got my first ever lap time of 2'29'' something. Back then it was something, 12 months later I am down to 2'09''! I've learnt a lot ! I've experienced a lot ! And as Tom rightfully observed I was no longer just rocking up and tracking my car but spending a good hour or so prepping my car before a session, a sign of a truly dedicated racer he said ! :)
Hope you enjoy the video ! 2010 will see me tracking more at Fuji and Tsukuba and hopefully improving as time goes on ! I'll try to steal a lesson and a drive from one of them GT300/GT500 drivers to see what they can do in my car and attend some driver training here and there !
Happy New Year !
Rod - that is your best driving yet! Well done on your new record :-) Nice way to end the year!
ReplyDeleteThanks mate !
ReplyDeletenice time! I also own a Dc5 here in US, would you mind sharing your alignment spec? Is it still F-3, R-2 camber? 0 toe?.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Vince
that's right
ReplyDeletecamber is -3 in the front and -2 in the rear, toe is 0 all around. The car has been dropped by 3.5 cms
springs are 10kg in the front and 12 in the rear
I'd recommend 12 in the front and 12-14 in the rear if you're putting your car under heavy braking and cornering
Thanks for the respond, my springs rates are 8k front and 12k rear. Not by choice, but thats how they came with the coilovers. Do you have any plans for other power mod besides exhaust?
ReplyDeletenothing much planned power wise
ReplyDeleteNext modification (if you can call it that) will be light weight rims (Rays CE28N) and Advan A050 slick tyres
Oh, thats very nice! what size are you planning to get? perhaps wider tire up front?
ReplyDelete235/40-17
ReplyDeleteWhat do you reckon to the advans?
ReplyDeleteI have a dc5 in the uk and looking to run them in the summer and on track...
Don't think twice about Advan especially AD08!
ReplyDeleteit's an amazing high grip tyre which is excellent for track days and a very good performer in the wet also!