Phantom Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 Had an opportunity to get four 30 minute sessions at TMS a while back. Total of 15 cars on the track ranging from an Altima SER to a Ferrari Testarossa. Talk about a good time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NgoZ Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Very nice Phantom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 Smoked my brakes 20 minutes into the first session and then had to learn how to drive the remaining sessions with reduced braking. Got really frustrating every time I got a chance to pass the Lotus but realized I didn't have the brakes to slow down after I got past him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I had the opportunity to run there back in 1990 when stationed at NAS Corpus Christi, agree - it was a blast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domzs Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Awesome ! How do you get in ? Love to try it , I live close enough . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 Panoz had a driving school there when I did it. You might check and see if the school is still there or if someone else is doing it. They are the ones that periodically offer a "driver education day" which allowed some enthusiastic folks access to the track for a day. http://www.texasworldspeedway.com/programs/pds.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domzs Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Panoz had a driving school there when I did it. You might check and see if the school is still there or if someone else is doing it. They are the ones that periodically offer a "driver education day" which allowed some enthusiastic folks access to the track for a day. http://www.texasworldspeedway.com/programs/pds.html Cool . Thanks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Tell us about your brakes and what happened in more detail. It took smoking mine to make a believer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) I hit the track right after doing the LS1/T56 conversion. The car weighed 2830 lbs., 1400 nose and 1430 tail. It had a fresh but essentially stock suspension and the brakes were only slightly upgraded. It still had the drums in the rear but I had the Toyota 4x4 calipers in the front on the 10" solid rotors. I was running brand new, freshly bedded, performance pads on the front. They were 50% gone by the end of the day. I really hadn't learned how to performance brake properly so I had smoke roiling out of the front fenders 20 minutes into the first session. I voluntarily took the car in only to see the black flag out for me if I had tried one more lap. Once they cooled down I was able to go out and run the last three sessions but had to really watch things. The real culprit for the brakes was the 110 degree turn coming into the infield off the back straight - sharp turn while decelerating from about 110-120 down to 30 MPH for the sharp turn. Missing the turn meant plowing into a concrete abutment which was not an option for me in my pretty red Z. Anyway - learned how to conserve my brakes and still be relatively competitive. Right after that I upgraded to the 240SX caliper son the 300ZX rotors in the rear and 4 piston Willwoods on 12.2" vented rotors in the front. Brakes still aren't right but what I have now sure would have been better than what I had then. I've also upgraded to the TTT Eibach coil overs with Koni adjustable struts for the suspension. Still have some work to do there too. Z brakes were pretty decent for a 25 - 2600 Lb car back in the day but the higher speeds attainable on that track with the V8 and the extra weight of the 280 just pushed them beyond their, and my, capabilities. Had I just been running the infield track where I was only bleeding 20-30 MPH off going into a corner I probably would have been fine but that first one with the 80 MPH drop really heated them up and they just couldn't recover. Edited May 23, 2014 by Phantom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh817 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I wonder why I haven't seen you. I do corner working in Texas... We have tracks in Slidell, TX (10 minutes north of Denton then go 20 minutes west towards Decatur) called Eagles Canyon Raceway, there is TMS which is quite frankly a rather boring track being nearly symmetrical, and there is Motorsports Ranch in Cresson which is on 377, 15 minutes before you reach Granbury. ECR and MSR both host drivers edge events for several groups like Porsche Club, BMW Club, Apex Driving, etc. They all allow you to pay and play. I think its somewhere between $250-$350 for a two day weekend. Between those three groups, there are events nearly every weekend if you're dying for track time. Eagles Canyon will eat brake too Didn't have any pad left, literally, on my rear drums after 20 minutes. Granted, they were old breaks and I had the track to myself for the day do some ridiculous things took place. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domzs Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 (edited) I wonder why I haven't seen you. I do corner working in Texas... We have tracks in Slidell, TX (10 minutes north of Denton then go 20 minutes west towards Decatur) called Eagles Canyon Raceway, there is TMS which is quite frankly a rather boring track being nearly symmetrical, and there is Motorsports Ranch in Cresson which is on 377, 15 minutes before you reach Granbury. ECR and MSR both host drivers edge events for several groups like Porsche Club, BMW Club, Apex Driving, etc. They all allow you to pay and play. I think its somewhere between $250-$350 for a two day weekend. Between those three groups, there are events nearly every weekend if you're dying for track time. Eagles Canyon will eat brake too Didn't have any pad left, literally, on my rear drums after 20 minutes. Granted, they were old breaks and I had the track to myself for the day do some ridiculous things took place. Have fun! Great info . Thanks . I might have to check them out . Edited June 4, 2014 by Domzs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted June 7, 2014 Author Share Posted June 7, 2014 I wonder why I haven't seen you. I do corner working in Texas.. I left Texas several years ago and moved to Yakima, WA. Regular roads in the mountains are a lot more fun than what I usually dealt with in the DFW area. I ran once at Motorsport Ranch near Cresson when the Porsche club was using it. Opened their eyes a bit when I really got on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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