The Itty Bitty NOVA VW Committee

[ScottyB]

despite the tires letting out one loud screech around the entire track.

i immediately recognized the song of my people!


great job though, seriously. you're clearly very confident and that's a big part of things going well but connecting well with your instructor, as you said, elevates you above the rest of the class. good work keeping it safe and your pace was great considering what you're driving.

A girl driving a WRX made a stink in class about not getting enough point bys, so I just happened to grid right behind her in a later session. We got the green flag at the start stand and I was on her tail by the exit of one, all the way through the uphill esses and oak tree, to which I got a point by on the back straight, and my instructor and I are certain she flipped me the bird.

i'd have paid good money to seen that salty bitch caught on camera doing that. definitely post that clip up if you get the chance.

[Senor_Taylor]

99% certain my cam was too far forward to see the bird flippage, but you can see her mean mugging me hard and throwing her hands up. I'll grab the video tomorrow.

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[Jake]

One thing I keep hearing from these track stories is that there seems to be a lot of big egos at these track events.  That (among other things) would make me really leery to bring any vehicle I cared about out there

Welcome to motorsports?

Guys with 500hp+ come out and hammer it on the straights but don't push it anywhere else in the lower groups. That's where it's fun for people with lighter and lower hp cars that are pushing it. Taylor is out there destroying them and having a blast doing it. Makes me feel good that someone else is doing what I had fun doing :')

Well yeah, but racing is a more dangerous place to have egos than show car stuntin' like homeboy who is building up his Mini Cooper.  Or in other words, ain't nothing but a few egos getting bruised if vapebro calls you out for not having forged pistons vs. some Sally Speed Demon n00b flying around a track, flipping people off and being aggressive.  

Who was it, Jake that got smashed into by some dipshit in a Mustang or Camaro or something?  Like I said, I wouldn't bring a car I wasn't prepared to total to any track event with egos like that going unchecked.

I got whacked by two Spec E30s. Have almost been run off-track by others who didn't see me. I whacked a Spec E30 who turned out in front of me as I was trying to pull a stupid stunt at Turn 1. Ran the car into tires and trees. Stuff happens.

That said, HPDE is not racing and the egos are usually just as Ryan said, people with big power cars who park 'em in turns. Contact between cars and off-track excursions that end in contact with stationary objects are very few and far between for HPDE. They are almost always single-car incidents (i.e. not an ego showdown between two vapelords). And if you are that worried, you can indeed get HPDE insurance for an event. 

It's cute that Taylor got flipped off, but it sounds like that driver was otherwise not driving dangerously and merely expressing her frustration, which we have all done before (hell I honked at someone in a TT session once). If she stayed on-line, gave the point and allowed for a safe pass then there's nothing wrong there.

[Senor_Taylor]

Here is the video if anyone is interested. I didn't see the second "gesture" at the time, but my instructor said he thought she flipped us off. You can see this person being really slow through everything and I'm trying my best to hold my line and keep speed up without running up on them. She gives me a mean look in the esses and throws her hands up, which I saw in her mirror, then gives me a point by and decides to drag race me down the back straight. Congratulations you have a lot more horsepower than me, you're still slow.

[ScottyB]

i can't see the hand throw but the super-delayed pointby was satisfying. i don't know what she'd be upset about...you were locked on before you guys even got a 1/4 way through the esses. it should be obvious to her and everyone else she's being a roadblock.

[Jake]

I think you held back to a good extent (close enough to let her know you want to get by, without needlessly tailgating) - no reason she should do anything but a quick wave as a "I see you there" gesture. Always frustrating to have to take a point from a higher-horsepower car as the drag racing thing can happen. To her credit, she did eventually lift and let you get by, which you were able to do before the braking zone. Technically, it's all okay from my perspective unless she truly did flick you off... that would be a conversation for your instructor to have with Jack.

[Sijray21]

Technically, it's all okay from my perspective unless she truly did flick you off... that would be a conversation for your instructor to have with Jack.

This.

When I did HPDE1/2 I was much closer (sometimes uncomfortably so) at the instruction of my instructor. You were fine, but man did you catch up to her quick at the uphill Esses...

[Evan]

Yeah she didnt "do" anything wrong, the back straight was the next passing zone after you caught her. Its just really strange that she would get that worked up over it. The instructor needs to pull her in and calm her down. Unfortunately Ive seen instructors do just the opposite- get students worked up and hypercompetitive.

I remember an inverse situation early in my HPDE career. In HPDE2 a fireball throwing FD catches me in the uphill esses, I let it by at the next passing zone, the back straight. No big deal right. When the FD passes both the instructor and driver flipped me off, arms extended all the way out the window. I laughed out loud. My instructor made an audible cringe, I think he was embarrassed that a fellow instructor would behave like that.

[rherold9]

I remember an inverse situation early in my HPDE career. In HPDE2 a fireball throwing FD catches me in the uphill esses,  I let it by at the next passing zone,  the back straight.  No big deal right.   When the FD passes both the instructor and driver flipped me off,  arms extended all the way out the window.  I laughed out loud.  My instructor made an audible cringe, I think he was embarrassed that a fellow instructor would behave like that.

I know in HPDE2 when I ran a couple years back allowed passing from South Bend into Oak Tree. Maybe they thought it was the same?

By the looks of the video it seems like she just gave you another frustrated point by out the window to say go since she has to slow down for you. Seen it tons of time from being in my Miata. They wait to point in HPDE3 until the straights, point by at exit (which I'm already floored) then drag race, if I'm lucky they slightly lift throwing a quick frustrated point that I'm not catching up to them fast enough but most of the time they just keep flooring it and I'm constantly catching up...

It's like when they put their helmet on it squeezes their head so hard that they don't understand that a car like a Miata, or GTI in this case, with less hp should be able to blow by them in the straights if it's on their ass in turns..

[Senor_Taylor]

Passing for my group was Front straight, between 1 and 3, on the bridge straight,and the back straight. I never knew DE1 allowed so many passing zones, but I got lots of point bys coming out of 1 or really late going into 1 that I wouldn't have taken without having confidence in my car. It was great practice passing and entering off line.

For the girl in the WRX, I don't think she did anything wrong, I just think it was funny. I'm assuming she thought my car was faster than it was and got mad when I couldn't pass her flat out.

[Evan]

I know in HPDE2 when I ran a couple years back allowed passing from South Bend into Oak Tree. Maybe they thought it was the same?

No, no passing zone there waaay back then and it wasnt nasa

We also raced uphill in the snow. Now get off my paddock space.

[Senor_Taylor]

You were fine, but man did you catch up to her quick at the uphill Esses...

Jake can attest that I have no fear in the esses since the GTIs nannies keep it square and straight even when hopping the curbs. I don't suspect I'll be so fast in an E36.

In the GTI, my foot is planted from 5 all the way to South bend.

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[Kaan]

doesn't matter... HPDE1 is a "point by when you feel safe to do so"

thats real typical stuff in HPDE1 ... even the almost point by she stuck out the window.

[Jake]

You were fine, but man did you catch up to her quick at the uphill Esses...

Jake can attest that I have no fear in the esses since the GTIs nannies keep it square and straight even when hopping the curbs. I don't suspect I'll be so fast in an E36.

In the GTI, my foot is planted from 5 all the way to South bend.

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If you get an older car to track moving forward, please have more fear there. I don't wanna hear your number on the radio. 

[Senor_Taylor]

Got my windshield replaced by Safelite which was a mistake. There's shit all over it, all of the plastic trim is loose, they did a piss poor job of gluing my mirror back on and now my wipers turn on if I tap my mirror. The entire pane of glass sits a few mm above stock as well, so it doesn't look quite right.

A bad clockspring was the cause of my horn honking all the time by itself. "The part will be here tomorrow" - Service Advisor a week ago.

No word on the part, but that's no big deal. The kicker is my fancy screen in the middle of my dash decided that it was time for a whole row of pixels to die right in the middle of the screen, so there's yet another thing I need to get replaced. Also, my soundaktor is rattling like crazy now, which may have been the fault of the guy that replaced my windshield.

[rherold9]

Do you have the worst luck? Holy poop

[Apoc]

Is it pure coincidence that the guy who tracks his GTI I'd the only one who's having problems with his GTI?

[Senor_Taylor]

Is it pure coincidence that the guy who tracks his GTI I'd the only one who's having problems with his GTI?

I wouldn't say they're completely independent, but none of this should be happening from two DEs and a few autocrosses. Except the windshield.

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[Sijray21]

If the car can't handle some DEs that's an issue. I'm also assuming no off-road excursions. I can see hard excursions causing issues with fasteners, but I'd just keep throwing the car at VW to fix immediately... If I had that many issues I'd be looking at lemoning it if there were a scenario where it would be eligible.

[JPolen01]

Is Safelite going to fix their poor work?