Last year wasn't a particularly great year for going to the track with Bumblestook. We had cooling issues, oil leaks, and I bought a house, all of which kind of put a damper on being able to get out on track. I didn't want to miss this year's season opener with S2K Takeover at NJMP Thunderbolt though despite the last minute discovery of a damaged intake cam that I was able to square away earlier this month.
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| Bang, you're dead LOL - NJMP Thunderbolt - 3-21-2022 |
With the weather still being pretty bad until last week (snow, salt, etc), it was impossible to actually test the car to make sure it was going to run correctly. I was able to give the car a proper drive the day before the track day and everything seemed to run fine. The valve train was a bit on the noisy side from what I remember but everything sounds noisy to me after the winter when all I drive are the comparatively quiet street cars.
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| On Track - NJMP Thunderbolt - 3-21-2022 |
The morning was still quite cool so I took it relatively easy the first session to give everything a systems check. The engine seemed to run just fine for 20 minutes at high rpms. Nothing blew up. The tires were holding up nicely. On the second session, I pushed a little harder. We did a 1:38 which was a bit meh but not too bad considering I knew where I was leaving time out there by not being aggressive enough. One thing I did notice was that the A052s really struggled after about 3-4 laps once you got them really hot. I feel like they're a fast tire but more like a qualifying tire. If you don't get a clear track in the first 3-4 laps, you're done. I tried to push really hard on my later laps and got nothing but understeer and lack of confidence that the front wouldn't bite. I still attempted a full send through turn 3 and found myself on the wrong side of the exit curbing. Thankfully I was able to just keep it nice and straight and return to the track with little fanfare but that incident made me a bit timid the rest of the day.
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| Waiting for the green flag |
After lunch we set off again but only a few laps in, we were all black flagged due to a few cars breaking down and needing a tow back so that was pretty much lost. We finally got a good 30 minute session in afterwards but I kept noticing that my oil pressure warning light constantly randomly blinking and I stopped really pushing as I wanted to preserve the engine. I didn't feel or hear anything wrong with the car so I thought maybe it's just a sensor issue. Still, seeing that wasn't comforting and distracting. I drove to the track, I needed to make sure I could drive the car home!
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| On Track - NJMP Thunderbolt - 3-21-2022 |
I was so worried I wouldn't wake up early enough to make it to the track on time that I couldn't sleep the night before. I was starting to pay for this in the afternoon so I called it quits and skipped the final session to head home. Glad I did as I was a bit delirious and barely stayed away for the 2.5 hours it took me to get back. After talking with Christian at the track about whether my valve train noise was normal, he suggested I recheck my valve lash. The valve train was definitely a bit noisier than it should have been so I had perhaps set the lash on the looser side.
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| Re-adjusting Valve Lash |
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| Taping over the OEM oil pressure sensor wire |
I checked under the car and there was also no damage from my little dirt excursion off turn 3 but it was quite dirty so had the car washed to get rid of all the evidence of hooning.
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| Getting nice and clean - 3-22-2022 |
Overall, I'm very happy with the event and how the car performed. I would've liked to be able to push harder and get my times lower. Hopefully I've sorted out all my issues for now so I can just focus on driving. I'm also now contemplating getting a separate set of track tires. These A052s are awesome all around and especially for autocross but I need something more consistent on the track. I'm going to try and resist chasing track times though for now because I know that's going to lead down a very slippery slope but I hate coming back from the track wondering what could've been had I been able to rely on consistent grip. Separate tires, means more wheels and we all know what that rabbit hole looks like.
A little cat and mouse with a fellow S2k owner
Maintenance Update:
Mileage: 60,587
- Valve adjustment (0.008" IN, 0.010" EXT)
- New valve cover seals (reused from adjustment made before the track day)
