Homestead Track Day, July 9th

[danpass]

UPDATE

Great track day

Car:
Very neutral at 9/10s. Beyond that the front tires lose grip and it starts to plow straight.

Engine:
No issues the entire time. It certainly doesn't have the power for the straights (so to speak) but no surprises.
I reset the mpg avg and hot laps resulted in 12.2mpg on average haha.
I timed myself a couple of times and was in the 2:11-2:12 range. Read further for top speed.

Powershift transmission, Gear Selector set to L:
Absolutely fantastic and even garnered comments from the instructor. It is very aggressive, holding the gear to at least 5k rpm at part throttle and redline beyond. It will strongly blip the throttle in the downshift yielding ultra smooth gear changes that absolutely do NOT upset the car under heavy braking.
I was also able to leave it in L the entire time. The highest speed achieved was 85.2mph according the GPS max indicator in the handheld.

Suspension:
A bit of body roll of course but coming off the straights it maintained its composure quite well.

Brakes:
Fantastic and fade free for the whole session. Instructor was very impressed with the brakes. Very powerful, consistently. Very slight wiggle in the rear end under 9.75/10s heavy braking. Durability did suffer haha as I noticed more brake travel on the way home.

Hankook tires:
Very nice grip at 9/10s effort. I was rather impressed with them actually even considering they are all-season street tires. Again though durability will suffer. But I didn't have spare rims and tires in order to preserve these.

ESC, Electronic Stability Control.
I never noticed it and I suspect that is the intent. I did keep an eye out at times to see if the ESC light came on but never saw it.



VIDEO: YouTube - ‪Ford Fiesta 2011 on Homestead-Miami Speedway 7-9-11‬‏



Pics:




























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ORIGINAL POST


Been a loooooooong time since I've been on the racetrack.

Most of my time has actually been on a CBR600F3 at Grattan, Gingerman, Road America, Mid-Ohio (what an incredibly crappy track surface ruining such a great layout) and then one motorcycle track day at Laguna Seca.

Only once on the track with a car (Grattan, with my 4-dr Accord lol)


Now the Fiesta ......

Trying to remember what I need to bring though. Fortunately helmet and lunch is included and so is ................. A GARAGE AREA! So no EZ-UP with ties downs and ballast needed


My list so far:
Cooler and ice
Water
Water
Water
A couple of Gatorades
Water
Water
Some snacks, probably Combos, beef jerky
A couple of folding chairs
Video cameras. Instead of extra batteries for one camera I have two compact cameras and a regular DV camera lol
Tripod
A lap timer. And if frowned upon I always have my G-Shock
Sunblock (or the garage)
Probably a change of clothes for when its over.
Torque wrench and some ratchets?





Test of the video setup:

VIDEO - YouTube - ‪DSCN2732‬‏

[grafxman]

I just watched the youtube video. Very NICE! When I saw the photos of the tripod lashup I didn't think it would stay in place but the video looked excellent, very smooth indeed. Good job!! What video camera did you use?

[danpass]

that video was with the Nikon P7000 and the music was direct from the car stereo

[GapBoyPCS]

I think you need one of these

Motorsport Racing On Board Camera: HD Motorsports HERO

[bneale]

Homestead in Miami eh? Interesting track. How did you find out about this if you don't mind me asking?

I can't wait to see your videos of your on track performance. I love seeing these from inside the car. Make sure you also post your results. Even if its just a for fun event, i'd like to see what the times are like compared to other cars.

Have fun you lucky guy!

bneale

[BrickinIt]

Go to Best Buy, you can get a Go Pro for well under $200.

[danpass]

Originally Posted by bneale

Homestead in Miami eh? Interesting track. How did you find out about this if you don't mind me asking?

I can't wait to see your videos of your on track performance. I love seeing these from inside the car. Make sure you also post your results. Even if its just a for fun event, i'd like to see what the times are like compared to other cars.

Have fun you lucky guy!

bneale

I went to Homestead Raceway's website to check their calendar and find the right event lol

[GapBoyPCS]

A lot of tracks and clubs hold events.

My one club promotes an event where we run out of Mosport International Raceway. I know other organizations do other well-known venues like Texas International Speedway, Sebring, and even VIR.

[wmussatto]

Cool idea about camera placement. I'd have zoomed it out a bit to isolate the front windscreen.
Watching the video brought back fond memories. I haven't seen so many Albuquerque City flowers in years. ABQ's city flower is the Orange Barrel, they have so many of them out all the time.

[danpass]

op updated