MSR Tx, What will it wear- break? (Page 1 of 2)

In our experience MSR eats head gaskets...

It's a fairly fast track, expect the usual brake and tire wear.

Fires, too.

Does this track tend to be hard on brakes.? - No .. but you might lock 'em up going into Diamond's Edge. Lots of teams ended up flat-spotting b/c of that turn.

If we are running Hawk pads on a BMW e30  will we need 2 sets?  - Probably not ... we ran all day Sat. & Sun. with the same set of porterfields and were fine. (Follow up question - which Hawks? Blues, HP+, DTC-60?)

Tires? in the past we run one set each day. The car tends to eat the outer edges of the front tires, even with added Camber. - One new set should get you through, though I'd have 2 spares ready. (Our driver's side wore a little quicker than the passenger side)

Cooling, It looks like the weather in Tx will be comfortable. Showing in the 60s  10 days out.  Since the track is fairly open I am guessing airflow is good and cooling is not an issue. - Wasn't in October. There's lots of straights to let the motor cool down.

Is there electricity in the Pit area? - Yes and no ... depends on where you set up.

I'll also reiterate what's been said before ... this track has two fairly long straights (plus a third mini-straight) where you can really wind it out. That being said, short-shifting might be in your best interest if you want the engine to last.

Tires last us 2 races, Dunlop Star Specs. Pads almost 2 races, front pad change on Saturday night of 2nd race. The track is fast, so you'll use brakes and tires but the surface is pretty smooth.

Weather can be from 30 to 80.

Our car last year was light, we ran the same tires and Hawk Blues(front) all weekend, just rotating tires after the first day of racing.  Tires had a good deal of life left and brake pads were doing fine as well.  YMMV.

Word has it they'll be running the whole track again.  I ran the short course last Feb, but didn't make it back for the Late '09 Race, where did they put the chicanes to slow down those back straights on the long course?

My favorite part of the track- running the short course clockwise, "The Launch", was just SICK in the old FB RX-7.  Crest the hill, loosen grip on the wheel and let it steer itself as the car settled in upon landing, then gradually add in steering as the rear rotates around.  Pretty cool feeling!

Thats scary we were reaching 95ish on the short course WITH chicanes!  I guess they want to thin the field as quick as possible

I don't even pay attention to the rain % chance until 2 to 3 days out.  I hope it is all nice and sunny like last year.

Yeah and even then, this is Texas, if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes!

Heckler, thats good to know!  Thrashing on the car now to get the cage done in time, but we're excited!

We are running a Lincoln Mark VIII, not quite as cut down as SpeedyCop's but it's still pretty fast.

I have some work to do to improve the brake cooling now that I think the head gaskets will last more than 4 hours.

Not excited about the snow we have here in Dallas today, I planned to test drive the car tomorrow

Here's my view of the track. YMMV

We race an 89 SHO, 220hp 3100lbs. These are the speeds we see around the track. Your BMW will be very similar. Going from the map posted earlier.

Sugar & Spice, 50. Gut Check to the Launch, 90. Keyhole, 40-55 depending on traffic. Bus Stop, 30-40. Sweeper, 60-70, Back Str. 110, Diamonds Edge, 40-45, Front Str. 90, Carousel 70. Let it Rip, 60. Pit Str. 90. We posted a 2:01 lap in Oct.

The Launch is the only elevation change, if you come in too hot you'll just go straight off into the weeds, nothing to hit out there. The only place where you could hit a wall is at Let it Rip.

Depending on how well you can get out of the bus stop and the sweeper, we hit 100-110 to Turn 6. Then it's hard braking to make the Diamonds Edge. If you have really good brakes, which we don't, you can brake right after turn 6. If you do brake after 6 there is no room for error. Maybe the smaller lighter cars can brake safely after 6, but we can't. Good thing is there's pretty good runoff there. We brake right at 6 and then it's just light braking for the D.E.

Sugar & Spice, The Sweeper, and The Carousel can be taken 3 wide, not every lap but sometimes. The Keyhole & Bus Stop are very close quarters, watch out for cars cutting you off at the apexs. The Carousel is fast but then Let it Rip tightens up, plus there's the pit entrance on the  left at the end of the Carousel. I like the outside of the Carousel best for passing.

That's about it.

Great idea on the spares!  We're hoping to bring out the MIG and plasma cutter so if you need anything cut and welded back together, track down car #91!

Arron

I am bringing an entire parts car, along with a couple more radiators, and clutch masters/slaves.  Anything that breaks should be a quick swap.