GS430 Went to Talledega Grand Prix Racway
09-30-07, 07:20 PM
#1
GS430 Went to Talledega Grand Prix Racway
Hey everyone, I took the GS on the road course again. There was a track day a friend of mine put together this past Thursday in Alabama and I had a ball as usual. This time I had different springs (Tanabe’s), shocks (KYB’s), tires(, STB (Carson Tune), and a wheel alignment, items I didn't have the last time I was at this track. Oh, almost forgot headers (S&S).
I did pretty well at the track I think anyway. Here are the results of the performance parts I had. The car performed well especially in the area of acceleration so I really felt the difference the headers made (added HP and toque) coming out of the turns and on the straight-aways. As for the springs, it's definitely better than stock but NOT as good as the Diazens which is probably no surprise. In the hard and banked turns it wasn't firm and solid like the Diazens. They had some play in them that I had to adjust to, but no big deal. Hey I got the NF springs not the high performance ones. I could also tell the difference in the STB as soon as I put it on to begin with, but I noticed the difference. The nose of the car was firm and solid/flat going in and out of the turns.
The overall performance of the 430 was great imo and it is
. The car WAS running well before the radiator hose blew off down the back straightaway. I pasted a few cars on track. Mind you this was not my first time at this track by far, but also keep in mind that the group I was running with was the experienced group. You know, people that have driven road courses before. Considering what I just mentioned let me list the cars that were there.
Lotus Exige
Rx7 R1 (Upgraded Twin Turbo)
BMW MZ4
BMW M3 (x2)
BMW Z4
IS350
Mustang GT (Track setup)
CRX Turbo (Track setup)
SS Blazer (Corvette motor)
BMW Mini (Superchaged)
VW Corrado (Surpercharged)
BMW 320i
S2000
Alfa SR3
To top things off I was able to get a ride in the Lotus for a few laps. Man all I can say is WOW
for real. First I had to contort myself into the Lotus and then kiss my knees to put my helmet on. Can you say an enclosed go cart on steroids and methamphetamine? That car is soooo quick, agile and handles like crazy on street tires, it's not even funny. We were in one of the double apex turns and we were I thought at maximum radius when Mark just threw the car into a tighter right turn. Mind you everyone all while pounding the gas. I remember on one of the turns which we pulled a few gees, he was reaching maximum rpms and on the exit of the turn he shifted into third. Oh and reaching over 100 mph on the back straightaway. Also it was loud inside the car too, with a full face helmet on at WOT. 
. Man let me tell you we were FLYINNNNN 
.
Just when I thought my day couldn't get any better, I was able to get a ride in the RX7, the same car that was passing the Lotus earlier that day. Chris took me for a ride with the twins
and man, talk about HP!!! That car has it and he had on racing slicks. Chris can drive to begin with; the car was handling very well with all the right lines he was taking. Then when he applied the gas, it buried my helmet into the headrest. Keep in mind he only down shifted to 3rd gear and he was still powering out of the tight turns. Oh by the way, when he down shifted, the exhaust was spitting flames. How cool is that. This is the only time I ever felt scared in a car. He turned the car to HIGH boost (15 psi) and floored it down the back straightaway. I saw the hard left hand turn coming up sooo fast I couldn't hear the motor or the exhaust. We were well over 100 mph. NNNNIIIIIIIICCCCCCEEEEEEEEE .
After that I was tired and decided to call it a day after I had gotten a ride in the Rx7. Got on the road for the two drive back to the ATL and the fam. I will post up the vids later this week but here are some pics.
I did pretty well at the track I think anyway. Here are the results of the performance parts I had. The car performed well especially in the area of acceleration so I really felt the difference the headers made (added HP and toque) coming out of the turns and on the straight-aways. As for the springs, it's definitely better than stock but NOT as good as the Diazens which is probably no surprise. In the hard and banked turns it wasn't firm and solid like the Diazens. They had some play in them that I had to adjust to, but no big deal. Hey I got the NF springs not the high performance ones. I could also tell the difference in the STB as soon as I put it on to begin with, but I noticed the difference. The nose of the car was firm and solid/flat going in and out of the turns.
The overall performance of the 430 was great imo and it is
. The car WAS running well before the radiator hose blew off down the back straightaway. I pasted a few cars on track. Mind you this was not my first time at this track by far, but also keep in mind that the group I was running with was the experienced group. You know, people that have driven road courses before. Considering what I just mentioned let me list the cars that were there.Lotus Exige
Rx7 R1 (Upgraded Twin Turbo)
BMW MZ4
BMW M3 (x2)
BMW Z4
IS350
Mustang GT (Track setup)
CRX Turbo (Track setup)
SS Blazer (Corvette motor)
BMW Mini (Superchaged)
VW Corrado (Surpercharged)
BMW 320i
S2000
Alfa SR3
To top things off I was able to get a ride in the Lotus for a few laps. Man all I can say is WOW
for real. First I had to contort myself into the Lotus and then kiss my knees to put my helmet on. Can you say an enclosed go cart on steroids and methamphetamine? That car is soooo quick, agile and handles like crazy on street tires, it's not even funny. We were in one of the double apex turns and we were I thought at maximum radius when Mark just threw the car into a tighter right turn. Mind you everyone all while pounding the gas. I remember on one of the turns which we pulled a few gees, he was reaching maximum rpms and on the exit of the turn he shifted into third. Oh and reaching over 100 mph on the back straightaway. Also it was loud inside the car too, with a full face helmet on at WOT. . Man let me tell you we were FLYINNNNN .Just when I thought my day couldn't get any better, I was able to get a ride in the RX7, the same car that was passing the Lotus earlier that day. Chris took me for a ride with the twins
and man, talk about HP!!! That car has it and he had on racing slicks. Chris can drive to begin with; the car was handling very well with all the right lines he was taking. Then when he applied the gas, it buried my helmet into the headrest. Keep in mind he only down shifted to 3rd gear and he was still powering out of the tight turns. Oh by the way, when he down shifted, the exhaust was spitting flames. How cool is that. This is the only time I ever felt scared in a car. He turned the car to HIGH boost (15 psi) and floored it down the back straightaway. I saw the hard left hand turn coming up sooo fast I couldn't hear the motor or the exhaust. We were well over 100 mph. NNNNIIIIIIIICCCCCCEEEEEEEEE .After that I was tired and decided to call it a day after I had gotten a ride in the Rx7. Got on the road for the two drive back to the ATL and the fam. I will post up the vids later this week but here are some pics.
