Yesterday I tracked my crappy old 232K-mile DX at NHIS in Loudon, NH. The roadcourse at NHIS is a short, technical affair with some decent elevation change. It is 1.6 miles long and uses a straight from the NASCAR oval as it's front straight. There are several possible configurations, but we were using both chicanes (or esses, if you prefer). You can see the track map and read a bit more about the course here: http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/New_H...ional_Speedway
I found the course to be nicely suited to the Protege (my complete mods are in my sig). My usual track car is larger, heavier, and more powerful, but it gets unwieldy on tight courses with a lot of switchbacks and compromise corners (and, in contrast, it excels at high-speed tracks like Watkins Glen). Low power is not much of an issue at NHIS because to be successful you have to carry speed through the corners. Straightaways are short and the corners come in bunches. I will say though, that 102hp is a problem even at this course. My speed at the end of the front straight was 89mph at best. :p
The most difficult section, in my opinion, is the esses--corners 1, 2a, and 2b--that carry you from the main straight to the back straight. Turn 1 is an obvious compromise corner. People use two lines: A "high" line that carves a more gradual arc to the apex, and a "low" line that darts diagonally across the track. Both lines, however, set you up for minimal track-out for 2a (the right-hander) that is even slower than one. You're doing a lot of partial throttle and careful braking here, trying to get through this smoothly without losing any speed. Turn 2b, which brings you back out onto the NASCAR oval for a moment, was tricky. I was using a very early apex for a while, which felt fast, but went to a later apex more along the conventional line later in the day. I think this was faster, judging by ground gained and lost to other cars. Either way, it's a fun corner to play with.
Turns 9 and 10 are a blast, I think (some people don't like them because the pavement is very uneven as the track rejoins and then again leaves the NASCAR oval). Once again, there are 2 lines for 9 (a wide, arcing line and a more pronounced double-apex), but either way you need to be tight to the left when you finish 9 and cut across 10.
The map does not accurately show what you're looking at when you get to this course. Approaching 9, there is grass runoff directly ahead. To your immediate left as you enter the corner is a wall of Jersey barriers perpendicular. On the track map, imagine this barrier as extending 2/3 up from the NASCAR oval line. And diagonally to your left is another wall--the actual wall for the oval. A huge lump of pavement juts out at the end of this wall; this is the apex for 10.
So, when you are tight to the left (as I said above), you are tight to a Jersey barrier wall. I was coming in here, straightening momentarily, doing a bit of braking to settle the front, and then ususally doing a bit of a 4-wheel drift past the pavement lump and out across the oval. There is a lot of track-out room here (some use it all, some stay mid-track to prepare for the quickly approaching turn 11 chicane), but it is wildly off-camber in spots. The Protege could fly through here. I'd have faster cars on me going into 9, and I'd be ready to point them by. Then I'd pop out of 10, indicate that they should pass, and find that they were in no position to do so. I'll throw some pictures up of this portion of the track later today so that people can see what I'm talking about.
Turn 11 was fun for a different sort of reason. It's not a very hard corner, but my friend and the guy manning the wrecker noticed that I was lifting the left rear wheel through here every lap. Picture is here: http://www.pansypatrol.com/people/cl...eTricycle2.JPG.
I was really able to toss this car around in a way that some of the heavier iron was not. Most of my run group consisted of Porsches, Elises, and Evo/WRX fare. There were a few Miatas as well and a Noble. I was able to pace a new Cayman for an entire session, something I'm pretty pleased about considering the differences in power and in the cars' handling and braking capabilities.
I think the Protege can definitely do more at it's current power levels. I badly need front camber adjustment (but don't want to spend the money on Cusco plates right now), and I need new struts because 3 out of 4 of mine are pretty much blown. My tires were dry-rotted, old, and half worn. Some new Ecsta MX or something similar will be a nice upgrade, but I don't want to do that until I have some camber adjustability. With proper alignment, better tires, and a better line through the first chicane and turn 3, I should be able to pick up some nice gains.
www.scda1.com is the track club that I run with, by the way. It's an excellent group and their events are very well-organized. If you're in the NE area and either have track experience or want to try it, the SCDA HPDEs are great.
Clint
I found the course to be nicely suited to the Protege (my complete mods are in my sig). My usual track car is larger, heavier, and more powerful, but it gets unwieldy on tight courses with a lot of switchbacks and compromise corners (and, in contrast, it excels at high-speed tracks like Watkins Glen). Low power is not much of an issue at NHIS because to be successful you have to carry speed through the corners. Straightaways are short and the corners come in bunches. I will say though, that 102hp is a problem even at this course. My speed at the end of the front straight was 89mph at best. :p
The most difficult section, in my opinion, is the esses--corners 1, 2a, and 2b--that carry you from the main straight to the back straight. Turn 1 is an obvious compromise corner. People use two lines: A "high" line that carves a more gradual arc to the apex, and a "low" line that darts diagonally across the track. Both lines, however, set you up for minimal track-out for 2a (the right-hander) that is even slower than one. You're doing a lot of partial throttle and careful braking here, trying to get through this smoothly without losing any speed. Turn 2b, which brings you back out onto the NASCAR oval for a moment, was tricky. I was using a very early apex for a while, which felt fast, but went to a later apex more along the conventional line later in the day. I think this was faster, judging by ground gained and lost to other cars. Either way, it's a fun corner to play with.
Turns 9 and 10 are a blast, I think (some people don't like them because the pavement is very uneven as the track rejoins and then again leaves the NASCAR oval). Once again, there are 2 lines for 9 (a wide, arcing line and a more pronounced double-apex), but either way you need to be tight to the left when you finish 9 and cut across 10.
The map does not accurately show what you're looking at when you get to this course. Approaching 9, there is grass runoff directly ahead. To your immediate left as you enter the corner is a wall of Jersey barriers perpendicular. On the track map, imagine this barrier as extending 2/3 up from the NASCAR oval line. And diagonally to your left is another wall--the actual wall for the oval. A huge lump of pavement juts out at the end of this wall; this is the apex for 10.
So, when you are tight to the left (as I said above), you are tight to a Jersey barrier wall. I was coming in here, straightening momentarily, doing a bit of braking to settle the front, and then ususally doing a bit of a 4-wheel drift past the pavement lump and out across the oval. There is a lot of track-out room here (some use it all, some stay mid-track to prepare for the quickly approaching turn 11 chicane), but it is wildly off-camber in spots. The Protege could fly through here. I'd have faster cars on me going into 9, and I'd be ready to point them by. Then I'd pop out of 10, indicate that they should pass, and find that they were in no position to do so. I'll throw some pictures up of this portion of the track later today so that people can see what I'm talking about.
Turn 11 was fun for a different sort of reason. It's not a very hard corner, but my friend and the guy manning the wrecker noticed that I was lifting the left rear wheel through here every lap. Picture is here: http://www.pansypatrol.com/people/cl...eTricycle2.JPG.
I was really able to toss this car around in a way that some of the heavier iron was not. Most of my run group consisted of Porsches, Elises, and Evo/WRX fare. There were a few Miatas as well and a Noble. I was able to pace a new Cayman for an entire session, something I'm pretty pleased about considering the differences in power and in the cars' handling and braking capabilities.
I think the Protege can definitely do more at it's current power levels. I badly need front camber adjustment (but don't want to spend the money on Cusco plates right now), and I need new struts because 3 out of 4 of mine are pretty much blown. My tires were dry-rotted, old, and half worn. Some new Ecsta MX or something similar will be a nice upgrade, but I don't want to do that until I have some camber adjustability. With proper alignment, better tires, and a better line through the first chicane and turn 3, I should be able to pick up some nice gains.
www.scda1.com is the track club that I run with, by the way. It's an excellent group and their events are very well-organized. If you're in the NE area and either have track experience or want to try it, the SCDA HPDEs are great.
Clint
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