Sutol
Platinum Member
Like to enjoy myself sometimes
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Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too?
- Thread starter N80
- Start date
ultrarunner
Epic Contributor
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2004
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- Tractor
- Cat D3, Deere 110 TLB, Kubota BX23 and L3800 and RTV900 with restored 1948 Deere M, 1949 Farmall Cub, 1953 Ford Jubliee and 1957 Ford 740 Row Crop, Craftsman Mower, Deere 350C Dozer 50 assorted vehicles from 1905 to 2006
I really miss my fully stock 68 Z-28 Camaro... it was red with the white stripes... I still have the original window sticker and brochure.
It was a kick driving it coast to coast bank in 1978... except for no A/C.
Ended up selling it when I needed money for school... a collector bought it and flew out from the midwest to California and drove it home.
It was a kick driving it coast to coast bank in 1978... except for no A/C.
Ended up selling it when I needed money for school... a collector bought it and flew out from the midwest to California and drove it home.
JDeerex300
New member
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2011
- Messages
- 4
- Tractor
- John Deere x 300
Is that your 67? I currently have two 65 impala's one is a 396 4spd ss the other 283 sport coupe. And a 2004 Harley Roadking
OP
N80
Super Member
Hi Guys. I'm the OP and I haven't been back to this thread in a while. I'm not sure if my last post was before or after I took my car to the track.
Anyway, a few thoughts on some of the previous posts.
To the guy who didn't see the point of sports cars. Well, me either. Until I got one I'd never owned anything but trucks. All 4x4s. I still have a 4x4. I never drive it unless its to my cabin or to haul something. I think you have to experience a good handling car. If you do, and don't like it, then back to your truck, because you're never going to get it.
Next, to really appreciate what a car will do I think you have to take it to the appropriate venue. If it is made to handle, you need to go to a road course. If its made to drag you need to go the drag strip. Check your ego at the door and throw away what you thought you knew about driving. Even if you have a modicum of talent (which I do not), you will be schooled, usually by better drivers in lesser cars.
As far as the debates about horsepower, handling, which car can do what, I think a NASA event is a real eye opener. You will see EVERYTHING. Miatas, old Ferraris (oh so slow), Honda Civics and CRX's, acres of late 80's BMW 325's, C5 and C6 Corvettes, classic, Fox body and new Mustangs, Trans Ams (for goodness sakes!) and in the hands of experienced drivers they are all going fast. Every preconceived notion I ever had about what makes a good track car went right out the window with my first track day.
In the HPDE classes you see everything too. Ridiculous Japanese luxury coupes like mine (pretty much just a long 350Z with heated seats), scary fast Mitsubishi and Subaru Awd hot hatches, BMW 3 series, lots of late model 'vettes and Mustangs, Vipers drivn by middle aged men like myself (usually spinning out of control in every turn), Acuras, Hondas, Toyotas, you name it. And the range of talent in HPDE is just as broad. A few first timers with natural talent. Some unteachable guys with overpowered cars they will never be able to control, and quiet a few talentless but teachable folks like myself.
Anyway, if I haven't said it before, find your regional NASA group and go to an event. It is addicting. Bad. So bad I just got a helmet for Christmas and I'm going back in February.
Many tracks also sponsor their own track day events and many clubs hold events, Porsche, BMW, Mustang, etc. I'm sure those are great too but it seems to me that at the NASA events you get to see a wide range of cars and talent, plus the actually races are a blast to watch.
Anyway, a few thoughts on some of the previous posts.
To the guy who didn't see the point of sports cars. Well, me either. Until I got one I'd never owned anything but trucks. All 4x4s. I still have a 4x4. I never drive it unless its to my cabin or to haul something. I think you have to experience a good handling car. If you do, and don't like it, then back to your truck, because you're never going to get it.
Next, to really appreciate what a car will do I think you have to take it to the appropriate venue. If it is made to handle, you need to go to a road course. If its made to drag you need to go the drag strip. Check your ego at the door and throw away what you thought you knew about driving. Even if you have a modicum of talent (which I do not), you will be schooled, usually by better drivers in lesser cars.
As far as the debates about horsepower, handling, which car can do what, I think a NASA event is a real eye opener. You will see EVERYTHING. Miatas, old Ferraris (oh so slow), Honda Civics and CRX's, acres of late 80's BMW 325's, C5 and C6 Corvettes, classic, Fox body and new Mustangs, Trans Ams (for goodness sakes!) and in the hands of experienced drivers they are all going fast. Every preconceived notion I ever had about what makes a good track car went right out the window with my first track day.
In the HPDE classes you see everything too. Ridiculous Japanese luxury coupes like mine (pretty much just a long 350Z with heated seats), scary fast Mitsubishi and Subaru Awd hot hatches, BMW 3 series, lots of late model 'vettes and Mustangs, Vipers drivn by middle aged men like myself (usually spinning out of control in every turn), Acuras, Hondas, Toyotas, you name it. And the range of talent in HPDE is just as broad. A few first timers with natural talent. Some unteachable guys with overpowered cars they will never be able to control, and quiet a few talentless but teachable folks like myself.
Anyway, if I haven't said it before, find your regional NASA group and go to an event. It is addicting. Bad. So bad I just got a helmet for Christmas and I'm going back in February.
Many tracks also sponsor their own track day events and many clubs hold events, Porsche, BMW, Mustang, etc. I'm sure those are great too but it seems to me that at the NASA events you get to see a wide range of cars and talent, plus the actually races are a blast to watch.
OP
N80
Super Member
I also can't remember if I mentioned that I went with a friend of mine who took his 65 Mustang fastback. It is pretty much race prepped; gutted, caged, race seats, fire system. He did it all himself. He'd been tracking it for a few years and then got real, real sick and had been out of the game for a while. So he started in the HPDE-1 group (novices, instructor on board). But, say what you want about old, live-axle, front engine, leaf springs etc, but he was fast. And loud!
Also, I went for a ride along in my instructors C5 Corvette. Looks and sounds like a rattle trap. But scary fast. Straights and corners. Braking was vicious. Many people get sick on the ride alongs with experienced drivers. I expected to but did not.
Also, I went for a ride along in my instructors C5 Corvette. Looks and sounds like a rattle trap. But scary fast. Straights and corners. Braking was vicious. Many people get sick on the ride alongs with experienced drivers. I expected to but did not.
Sutol
Platinum Member
I know I'm not normal but for me its not all about going fast as possible and having the best handling car etc.
I had more fun in a soft sprung BMW straight six with standard brakes which overheated after two or three laps.
Had to come in and change drivers after 4 laps and let the brakes cool but we did over 200 track miles in a day with the old car.
The fun was in getting the car round the track and staying out in front of more expensive machinary and upsetting the fully kitted out drivers on the day.
Here's me as passenger with my son at the wheel
Miss that old car
I had more fun in a soft sprung BMW straight six with standard brakes which overheated after two or three laps.
Had to come in and change drivers after 4 laps and let the brakes cool but we did over 200 track miles in a day with the old car.
The fun was in getting the car round the track and staying out in front of more expensive machinary and upsetting the fully kitted out drivers on the day.
Here's me as passenger with my son at the wheel
Miss that old car
N80 -
I'm an instructor at some HPDE events. If you're a beginner I recommend you never go back. It will become an addiction that sucks away all your money.
Also I've seen the EBC YellowStuff brake pads used with good results on the various E30 cars, along with Motul 600 fluid.
It's a lot of fun watching a good driver in a Mini or Miata run circles around some cocky Viper driver.
I'm an instructor at some HPDE events. If you're a beginner I recommend you never go back. It will become an addiction that sucks away all your money.
Also I've seen the EBC YellowStuff brake pads used with good results on the various E30 cars, along with Motul 600 fluid.
It's a lot of fun watching a good driver in a Mini or Miata run circles around some cocky Viper driver.
OP
N80
Super Member
There is a growing 'movement' in the US with various names from crap can racing to 24 Hours of Lemons where the primary regulation has to do with the value of the car, many around $2k but some as low as $500. Safety equipment does not count against the value. It looks like a great deal of fun and the virtually none of the cars would fit anyone's notion of a track car, much less a race car.
But, the car in your picture certainly does not qualify as 'crap can'. That is a nice car and the straight six BMW's are a very popular and highly competitive group in NASA. Of course they usually do have modified suspensions and brakes.
And by race car standards my coupe does not have a racing suspension (on the street it rides as rough as a buckboard)
On the track it seems sprung heavily enough, it just needs beefier antisways to control body roll. I upgraded my pads to a EBC Yellowstuff which are a low end track pad and they did just fine.
But, the car in your picture certainly does not qualify as 'crap can'. That is a nice car and the straight six BMW's are a very popular and highly competitive group in NASA. Of course they usually do have modified suspensions and brakes.
And by race car standards my coupe does not have a racing suspension (on the street it rides as rough as a buckboard)
On the track it seems sprung heavily enough, it just needs beefier antisways to control body roll. I upgraded my pads to a EBC Yellowstuff which are a low end track pad and they did just fine.
OP
N80
Super Member
Too late! Already signed up for an event in February.
I had no trouble with brake fade or over heating with my Yellowstuff pads and my car is heavy and this track is really hard on brakes so I was pleased. They also run fine on the street. Very, very dusty though. I just used ATE brake fluid. It was cheap and I had no problems with it.
I could really see the difference that talent made when running with a higher HPDE group. It was just shocking how far the HPDE 2 Miatas left me in the corners. They could brake so late and carry a lot of speed in and would just pull away. I'd catch them just before the next turn but then they were off again.
But, I do have to say it is pretty amazing how slow they are coming out of a turn. When one of them would come up behind me in the turn I'd get through as best I could and wave him around (we only passed in the straights at first) and I'd literally have to coast to let him around. Whereas for a vette or a higher end Mustang I really did not even have to lift.
Just goes to show that most important performance part in any car is the driver.