Phew. Got the first track weekend with the car done, very relieved. Thanks for all of you guys that came out to VIR!
The car performed without any problems all weekend long, 3 days and over 400 track miles. Just a short review on the car...
Engine: R engine is nice. Pretty good powerband, and revs to the moon. Makes good power, certainly more than i need right now. Burned a little over 1/2 qt of oil all weekend, which is on the light side for most ITR's.
Suspension: Neutral, with a bit of understeer when pushed hard into a corner without trailbraking. Under heavy trailbraking the car would rotate very well. I need to work on that more next time out at the track to take advantage of this.
Brakes: Kick ass. Carbotech XP8's and Motul 600 fluid - didnt even think about fading all weekend. This combo just rox (when you dont install your pads backwards).
Transmission: Shifter rocks, LSD rocks. Adding throttle tightens the line in Hogpen... not very intuitive at first, but its really sweet.
Tires/Wheels: Falkens - performed as expected. Good grip, got greasy when pushed. Still the best damn tire for the money, IMO.
Overall, I am very very happy with this car. It just works, and does everything well. Its faster than me now, and will probably be all year. I need more sack to flat-foot the uphill esses in it. No reason the car wont carry 100+ through south bend, but i think i want a bar and seats before i try that trick.
In the immediate future i will be picking up some Mugen pedals and Mugen thermostat/thermoswitch/radiator cap ( <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.kingmotorsports.com">www.kingmotorsports.com</a><!-- w --> ) - Will Harris (Willard on H-T) installed these before the VIR weekend and said it reduced his oil consumption and the car is running cooler. In theory, oil is cooler also since there is a factory oil cooler that uses engine the engine coolant. I will also probably run very little coolant (80/20 mix + Water Wetter) over the summer.
Next track event i will probably remove the power steering belt - the quick rack is pretty nice, but the steering effort is way too light.
Further into the future, I will be buying a rollbar and a pair of Sparco Evo seats installed in the car. One of my students had Sparco Evo's in his car and they fit perfect. When I get to that point I will probably replace the steering wheel with a non-SRS wheel and remove the passenger airbag as well.
I also have a set of Koni shocks that are probably in need of a rebuild. I got the fronts in trade for 2 tires (thanks Maeng) and the rears for $50. They will sit around for a while until I send them off to Koni for a rebuild and revalve, probably get them on the car late summer/fall. I will probably do some alignment testing later as well, the only thing i can change is toe settings though.
I would definately like a shorter Final Drive, but that will be even further ahead. My student had one in his car (4.785, stock is 4.400) and it was quite nice. Better acceleration in every gear, although you may have to shift more often depending on the track. The kit is around $300, but have to drop the tranny and take it apart to install. I will wait until the clutch dies