New member

[skid]

Hello everyone,
I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Roe Cole from Kittery Maine and I am excited to join this club and forum. I have recently completed a 2012 Ultima Sports Ultima GTR and have been looking forward to some professional instruction on a track. Any heads up or tips for the event August 25-26th would be great. I am a novice on the track (although I feel a fairly descent driver) and wish to be able to drive my car to its full potiential some day. I have reserved a pit space for both days and was wondering what type of equiptment everyone usually shows up with? I will be bringing digital scales as well in case anyone would like to check their 4 corners. I look forward to any input, Best, Roe

2012 Ultima GTR
720hp LS7
G50.52 gear box

[962porsche]

welcome to the club . they are a great bunch of people in this club .
your time will be filled with class room and track time so do all your car prep work before you get to the track .
they have very good instructors so just listen to what they have to say . you don't have to be bullet fast just smooth and consistent .
one of my good customers has a ultima gtr great cars !

[962porsche]

welcome to the club . they are a great bunch of people in this club .
your time will be filled with class room and track time so do all your car prep work before you get to the track .
they have very good instructors so just listen to what they have to say . you don't have to be bullet fast just smooth and consistent .
one of my good customers has a ultima gtr great cars !

[grovefromnh]

Welcome to COM. I spoke with you briefly at a carshow in hudson. Did you fix the vapor lock problem? Looking forward to seeing the car on track.

[962porsche]

i had to fix the same problem on my friends ultima . i installed a surge tank and new pickup pump no more air bubbles in the fuel lines now .

[McMahonRacing]

Hint ..... don't bring the Ultima, as nice a car as they are I have been told they are a hand full esp. at speed and under pwoer ..... one of our members built one a number of years back, Jack Rosen, maybe they have improved and maybe not in either case there are things to consider:

1. the transitions @ NHMS are rough, esp. w/ low ground clearance cars ( ex. my splitter is set 1" inch higher than I would preffer to run and I still scrap it ..... I also know several GT40 / Corvette owners who won't run NHMS for just this reason )

2. high hp cars are really not the best to begin learning on unless you have some previous experience, for a very first time at the track I would really suggest something a little easier or much more familair to drive .... you will have allot to learn w/ an instructor in your other ear ( track, driving, etc etc ) and to that add a new build, big hp car it could be a bit overwhelming ( ex. I started COM w/ my Cobra, but I had been running it w/ another group on a much safer track (ex Pocono has plenty of run off and less things to bump into ) for roughly a yr. and between myself and my instructors we still looped the car 3 - 4 times before I was signed off and the car fully sorted .... as bad as it sounds I almost wish I had started w/ a Miata )

Short of that come on down and have some fun !!!!!

PS This is not meant to discourage you in any way, just want you to be well aware of a couple pit falls before hand so you can enjoy your time at the track rather than stress about it all day on your first day, bottom line it is all about having fun ... also, know several folks that went thru the liscense procedure w/ rentals too

[962porsche]

i agree 100% with learning to drive on a track with a low HP car . my 1st car i went to the track with was a 1973 VW bug when i was 17 years old . i think a very slow car has to teach you to be very smooth to turn any kind of a decent lap time .
as for splitters . they should be built to handle just about any thing . the splitter on my car just touches the ground when the suspension is at full compression and will scrap big time on the up hill at NHMS and some other tracks . the splitter is 3 years old and is holding up great . i don't like the aluminum ones at all for many reasons and one big reason is they can not handle any abuse . on the other hand so does my rear diffuser just hits the ground under the suspensions full compression and they should if they are to work as they are ment to .
but yes any high hp car is harder to learn on . my friend had an off at lime rock in bigbend went into the wet grass and hit the wall . that was another time i worked on his car things like that keep me in business .

[Chrispy]

I think the Ultima would be a handful even with one of our finest instructors behind the wheel. That car, on street tires, will be downright scary at NHMS. What's your daily driver car?

[brucesallen]

As an instructor for many years and an SPA winner in my "Lotary 7" kit car 13 years ago I completely agree with the need to bring another car. COM is "All Abut the Fast Lap" which means our goal is to win the Solo I time trial or at least get as fast a lap time as possible in that particular car. This means

1. braking at the threshold of lock-up and at the last possible instant
2. Entering the corner at just the right speed,
3. getting through the corner as fast as possible and
4. exiting the corners onto straights with best possible speed. Stomping on the throttle on the straight takes no skill.

Learning the car control that allows you to meet these objectives is what our instructors will be working on. So a car that slides at low speeds is the best one on which to learn these skills. It can be quite dangerous for a newbie to reach the unaccustomed high G linit of a high performance car. More likely you will get no where near the thresholds and therefore learn nothing about car control. Your instructor will not allow you to get to the limits until he sees good car control. So any car that handles fairly well is good. Power not important.

[962porsche]

i totaly agree with chrispy and bruce . i have driven my friends car many times with r-compound tires on it it is a very fast car . not my 1st pick to take to the track . my friend crashed his at lime rock because he was new to track driving .
to much car not enough driver .
i think many new drivers think they will be fast by getting them selfs a safe car . this is just not the case .
early this year i built a volvo s60r race car for a customer that has never been to the track before he balled up the car the 1st day at the track on his 2nd run of the day . the car is a total lose . i told him to go buy a 1200 dollar honda or nissan and get some seat time . he found a mazda 323 for 700 dollars and is now having the time of his life at the track .

[StephanAlfa]

Welcome to the Club! I will be your Classroom Instructor and all you need is to come with an open mind to be loaded with great information on and off the track.
Make sure you have the car ready ith all the information on the rules book (check website) so you can spend time in learning and not getting the car ready. So do check the rules book, get your numbers, check all mechanical things (brakes, tires, safety, suspension etc.), get you car completely ready PRIOR to the event and come with an open mind. Looking forward to seeing you there!

[naschmitz]

The OP said he just built an Ultima and wants to drive it on a track with some good instruction. He didn't say he wants to run for the class championship, win a time trial, or drive at the limit.

What if he just wants to drive his Ultima GTR in a safe environment? I think we are jumping to mistaken conclusions when we tell new guys to ditch their cars and bring a Miata.

[cuda6666]

The OP said he just built an Ultima and wants to drive it on a track with some good instruction. He didn't say he wants to run for the class championship, win a time trial, or drive at the limit.

What if he just wants to drive his Ultima GTR in a safe environment? I think we are jumping to mistaken conclusions when we tell new guys to ditch their cars and bring a Miata.

+1

[Mick]

The OP said he just built an Ultima and wants to drive it on a track with some good instruction. He didn't say he wants to run for the class championship, win a time trial, or drive at the limit.

What if he just wants to drive his Ultima GTR in a safe environment? I think we are jumping to mistaken conclusions when we tell new guys to ditch their cars and bring a Miata.

A agree!
Bring your car. Just be sure to listen to your instructor, be safe, and have fun.

[StephanAlfa]

I see Bert you shared my thoughts on M...MMMM... MMMia... darn! I still CAN'T mutter those words!!!

Look guys, he is not the only one who arrived here with a high powered car.
All advices taken on a friendly manner, and granted you'd want to start small and grown into something more powerfull and bigger ... but this is not sailing .. it's racing and learning.I'd be thrilled to be riding shotgun while our new beloved member decarbonizes the machine and learn it's limits ... gradually of course!