I finally got to run Kay on her home turf at the NNJR SCCA's 9th event of the season. First thing I had to get sorted was increasing the front swaybar stiffness. After thinking over how she felt at the last event I knew it has to go up a notch. Thankfully Andrew and Tamra were kind enough to let me use their trailer so I could more easily get to the endlinks. I increased the bar stiffness from 3/5 to 4/5.
Adjusting front sway bar - 9-15-2018
I then opted to run higher rear pressures this event with a target of 31psi front and 33psi rear. I took one run to get used to the course and by the 2nd run I was able to get a nice lead in the class. She felt very predictable and no longer super pushy. I could chuck her into a corner then use the throttle to make her rotate and in subsequent runs where I tried to test her limits, when she gets sideways it's beyond easy to reign her back in.
In grid ready to run - NNJR SCCA - 9-15-2018
After morning runs I was able to keep her in the lead but my first two runs in the afternoon yielded no improvement and I dropped back into 2nd place. Before the final run, Mark Valera came over to remind me to cut my distance. It's such a fundamental thing but even after all these years I sometimes forget to focus on it. By doing so on the final run I was able to retake the lead taking her first win.
Yay for 1st - 9-15-2018
It's a local event so while I was happy for the win, I was even happier that I'm slowly figuring out how to drive her properly. If you watch the video you can see I've still got quite a bit of distance to the cones. I guess unlike Bumblestook, I'm not quite certain of where her corners are. The good news is that there was plenty more time to be had out there so I'm really excited to keep improving and finding more pace as we continue to progress together.
NNJR SCCA Autox - 9-15-2018
Of course, my GoPro 5 Hero Session continues to give me audio issues. Despite hooking up an external mic it recorded nothing so the video will have make do with the external window video.
I dropped Kay off with PeeJ Auto Detailing last weekend to get a similar treatment as Bumblestook minus the engine bay since it was already fairly clean and well, it's hidden from view anyway. My main objective was to get her corrected, polished and ceramic coated to make it easier to keep clean. Dark cars are the worst when it comes to this even when they're not black (remember, Kay is Atlas Gray).
Shiny Cayman - 9-6-2018
As usual, PeeJ did a spectacular job starting off with a nice wash a few hours after dropping her off to let the car cool and have some shade from the sun. It's a foam wash with Adams Car Wash followed by 2 bucket wash method. 1st stage decontamination using Optimum Ferrex then rinsed off. 2nd stage decontamination using claybar and Adams detail spray, then rinsed.
Foamy fresh - 9-9-2018
He then spent a few days correcting and polishing. There were quite a few swirls on the car and some microscratches that needed to be taken care of. 1st stage paint correction was compounding using Jescar correcting compound. 2nd stage paint correction was polishing using Sonax perfect finish. She was then wiped down with Optimum paint prep to remove any leftover oils from the polishes.
Up in the air getting polished
Once that was done, 2 layers of Optimum Gloss Coat ceramic coating and the results are once again astounding.
Concourse Ready - 9-6-2018
Concourse Ready - 9-6-2018
Concourse Ready - 9-6-2018
Mirror Finish - 9-6-2018
Obviously, he also cleaned up the interior which wasn't in bad shape to begin with anyway but noting it here for completeness. She was deep cleaned with leather master's strong cleaner and protected with Optimum leather protectant.
