Took the S13 to Buttonwillow Raceway for the first time!... Lots of PICS!

[Nikeboy355]

Last weekend I went to Buttonwillow Raceway with Speedventures to try out my S13 for the first time…

http://www.speedventures.com/

http://www.buttonwillowraceway.com/images/race_13_config.gif

Configuration 13 which is the same configuration used for Time Attack events… On April 28th, the Redline Time Attack will be held here and it will be great to see what times the competing cars run in comparison to how me and my friends did…

Mods on the car were:

Stock KA24E – dyno - http://photos.freshalloy.com/gallery/d/22159-2/dyno+040507.jpg
Test pipe
Buddy Club Spec 2 80mm exhaust
KTS coilovers
SPL solid aluminum subframe bushings
Energy Suspension bushings
17x9 +20 5Zigen FN01-RC all around
245-40-17 Bridgestone RE01-R tires all around
Hawk Blue brake pads
Welded diff

Cost to drive my car at the event(one day) came out to $210 which included a transponder (lap timer) and lunch…

Well it all started on Saturday evening where I loaded up the car on the trailer and got on my way to Buttonwillow which is about 3 hours north on the 5 freeway from Orange County… One of my friends and I split a motel room that costed $60 for the night… We had to be at the track the next day at 8AM for the driver meeting…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5529.JPG

Next morning we checked out early and made it to the track…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5540.JPG

A couple of our friends rented out some of the garages so we basically had the entire paddock to chill at…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5544.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5574.JPG

Some pics of the car…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5552.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5548.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5550.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5549.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5630.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5601.JPG

And some pics of Buttonwillow Raceway…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5573.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5580.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5578.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5577.JPG

This is where you enter the track… The way it works is that you are able to go on the track when it is your “run group”… Run group is determined by whatever skill level you say you are… So beginners run with beginners and advanced with advanced… I ran in the beginner/intermediate group where the rules are that you can only pass on the straightaways…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5576.JPG

And here is what the transponder looks like… It records the track time each time as you pass the start/finish line… After each run, they print the times and post them for everyone to see and analyze…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5596.JPG

I ran in 4 of the 5 sessions with my best time being 2:22 … Not bad for first time at Buttonwillow, one of the lowest HP cars there, untuned suspension settings, and me being a beginner driver…

The car took two laps to warm up the brakes and tires with the first two sessions of me learning the course… Learning the elevation changes, cones that mark where you should brake and clip the apexs, what gears to use in what area, and how well the car brakes and grips…

On the second session I made the mistake of pushing the car on the second lap and ended up going off course pretty bad at Lost Hill… I believe I was going too fast and too straight over Lost Hill which you have to go through blind because it falls off to the right and the car understeered off the track…

For the third session I slowed down to learn the lines better and sped up with each lap I went…

The final session I started first in line… After the warm up lap, I let a Miata pass me and began to chase him for the next few laps… By the 5th lap, my car(and the driver) had warmed up very well and the car was gaining ground on the Miata… No other car had passed me except for the Miata… Going into Riverside, the Miata gave me the OK to pass him and I tried to pass on the right and ended up not being able to make the long right and the rear of the car rotated around clockwise… I did a 540* into the dirt and ended up flat spotting the two front tires… I shouldn’t have tried to pass the Miata without any HP to pass him and should have waited for the straightaway… Very scary and when the car went off course, the dirt hit the windshield and blinded my view…

After I got back onto the track, I was running through the esses and something fell out of the car so I pulled off the course… The yellow flag came out and the emergency crew came to help me find out what happened… We walked out onto the track and found part of my clutch fan on the track… We opened my hood and found a mess of the radiator, clutch fan, fan shroud, and water pump… The car was pulled off the track by the tow truck…

Here is what the damage came out to…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5616.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5619.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5624.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5627.JPG

I guess this is what happens when you push a 225K motor at the track…

I turned the car on to get it on the trailer which was at the end of the day anyways… The 2 tires I will have to replace kinda sucks but at least the car was not damaged… Tires are easier to replace than bodywork…

Out of 101 cars I was one of the 8 lowest HP cars out there… Same for my straightaway trap speed… It was funny that most of the S2000s would go through three gears on the main straight where as I would go through 3rd gear the entire way… And with the Buddy Club exhaust it was one really long and loud straight line… My car was one of the loudest cars there which was fun except for the fact that I couldn’t hear when someone was trying to talk to me when riding passenger in the car…

Here are my friend’s cars and a quick overview of their times and modifications… My goal was to hit faster than 2:30 which I hit in my first lap… Through the day I ended up with a 2:22 which was consistent with many of the stock $30K sports cars out there…

I believe I would be able to hit 2:15 with this exact setup and a much more experienced driver or a mediocre driver with 200WHP… 92% of the cars running faster than 2:10 were running race tires and only 2 cars ran faster than 2:00… Average HP of the cars running street tires was 247… Average time of all the S2000s was 2:12…

Daryl’s S2000… 2:06

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5566.JPG

KW two way coilovers
Race tires
Stock engine
Exhaust
Voltex wing

Some videos of Daryl’s runs…

http://video.maxrev.net/Daryl/

-

Kel’s S2000… 2:01 with Kel driving it, 1:59 with Rob driving it

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5594.JPG

Similar to Daryl’s… ASM fenders

-

Evasive Motorsport’s S2000… 2:09 with Mike driving it, 1:57 with Rob driving it

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5569.JPG

J’s racing custom valved coilovers
255 race tires all around
Voltex wing
Stock engine
Exhaust

Fastest lap time of the weekend… Even faster than the slicked up brand new Z06s out there…

-

Rob’s S2000… low 2 minute range…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5593.JPG

Similar setup to Daryl’s… He is one of the best S2000 drivers out there and drove Mike and Kel’s cars to the two fastest times of the weekend… Check his website out…

http://www.maxrev.net/

-

Nasif’s Civic Si… 2:23

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5563.JPG

Stock with Tein coilovers

-

Albert’s Audi TT… 2:16

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5592.JPG

Turbo and AWD model
Stock except for 225 Bridgestone RE01-R tires

-

Jon’s S13… 2:20

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5565.JPG

Stock engine
Tein basic coilovers
Falken Azenis 205 tires
2 way LSD
HKS exhaust

He had problems with a 5K rev limiter the entire day…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5602.JPG

So that was my first time with this car at the track… I’ll be back and will keep you updated on my progress… Next event for me will be at the end of May at Streets of Willow…

Until then I have a todo list of things to take care of before then that is taped to the windshield…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/3IMG_5645.JPG

Here is a couple of videos:

Cars entering the track…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow 040807/Buttonwillow take off.AVI

Cars flying by the start/finish line…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow 040807/Buttonwillow fly by.AVI

My first lap around Buttonwillow taped from the Si… Notice the flame out of the exhaust at 1:21…

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow 040807/Buttonwillow S13 chase.AVI

And the Youtube version of that video at crappy resolution…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYQUGnxrBKE

[Dousan_PG]

looks like fun
sucks bout the water pump but meh
still a fun day

i LOOOOVE buttonwillow
off ramp! its the best!!!

[JDMClifford]

looks like you had a blast. i blew my motor from a clutch fan. sooo be carefull ;P

[zugoi]

Im glad you had fun. I just cant wait till i have money to bring my car to the track and tear it up.

[opponheimer]

Sexy exhaust nikeboy, love the specII. Nice car btw

[DJ_Sunrise]

looks like you had fun :) the closest thing that we have to a track in NJ would only be gymkhana.. unless i felt like driving 6 hrs and paying $300 for not so much track time at all..

-Bart

[Chez]

So in cali you can race wheel to wheel with just a drivers license and a helmet!? They make it so easy out there in ct I have to get a racing license, cage my car spend about $5k for those things and then its 400 bucks per event at the track near my house. Congrats on your first time at the track im really jealous. - Chez

[240trainee]

Nice dude, would love to be able to drive that track.

New water pump and some electric fans and you'll be good to go!! rockin the sohc

[swwifty]

great writeup.

do you guys have instructors?

also, got any videos of this guy rob driving the s2ks? I'm curious to see some. I watched Daryl's onboard videos.

[Nikeboy355]

So in cali you can race wheel to wheel with just a drivers license and a helmet!?
This isn't considered wheel to wheel because you aren't allowed to be aggressive in passing other cars... If you are, the corner workers will black flag you and you will eventually be pulled off the course... The point of the event is to get clocked with faster and faster times...

do you guys have instructors?
With Speedventures beginner group for $30 more an instructor will ride with you in the car and give you their criticism... That day they didn't have a beginner group but they did the day before... The group I was in was beginner intermediate...

also, got any videos of this guy rob driving the s2ks?
Let me see if anyone has them... There were cameras everywhere... I also have a 900MB video of my final run from the inside of my car that I am working to cut down in size so I can put it up here...

[exitspeed]

Looks like you had fun, minus the water pump part.

Good luck on your next one!

[OBEEWON]

Man. If I had a trailor and a truck I would be at every event in the NE, Looks like a nice weekend. Race tires cut times like madness.

[myriad]

Dood, friggin' thumbs up on tracking 225K. I am gunna take mine out when school finally gets out - if only there were awesome tracks like that in Indy.

225K+ Motor Members UNITE!

[SDS13COUPE]

Props for running the single cam. I can't wait till I do my first event.

[markyboi]

nice man, i love the fireball on the sohc


got a question, do passengers pay for them to be in the car with you, (for insurance)?

[Wei240]

for some reason i thought you had a dohc rebuilt...

did your tires rub your fenders with your set up? (since you don't have gangsta camber with fat tires and low offset rims)

nice write up

[JaeTea]

Wow those times with a KA are pretty impressive, especially compared to the S2k's out there.

[steve shadows]

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5616.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5619.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5624.JPG

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5627.JPG

I guess this is what happens when you push a 225K motor at the track…





Don't blame the car.

In all honesty didn't you take the whole thing apart and put it back together before the event?

I eliminate clutch fans on track cars (sure the clutch fan cools better in many tests), but I dont have overheating issues with my tiny little crappy autozone fan on my KA car.

sorry to hear about that.

[jdm538]

your new s13 looks like a replica of your previous car looks good man!

[burgy240]

+1, nice job. always cool to hear peps getting into racing there cars fo real. get that car back together and get back out there. Congrats

[SNC240SX]

Looks like you had a good time. Buttonwillow looks like an awesome track.

[ranger240]

+1 on a real clean car... and for 255k at a track.. insane

[OptionZero]

glad you had fun and stepped up to drive, unlike many zilvians

for some reason i could never get into a rhythm at buttonwillow, i can't explain it

at infineon, taking the proper line means every corner leads you to the next corner, and if you hit the apex you are in perfect position to hit the next one

at buttonwillow...maybe i just never really memorized the configuration, bleh

anyways, yeah, keep hittin the track, bro, then branch out and u can compare different layouts

[ZodiacSR]

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5565.JPG

Nit, who gave you consent to post my car on the web?? HAHAHA.. Just kidding! 5K redline all day sucks ass, it won't happen again now that the 5th gear sensor is in the trash, LOL. You did good out there for your first time!

We were the only 2 240's out there, we need more of you guys out on the track!

Buttonwillow Config#13 is my favorite layout. I'll try to get my in car video up as well if you guys are interested :ughd:

SPV Jon

[Nikeboy355]

Hey Jon... Glad you found my post... I'm a documenting maniac so anyone and anything within 100 feet will end up on my refurbished Canon digital camera...

I went for a ride in Jon's car and his car was a lot of "fun" to ride in... The car, piloted by Jon, just glides through the entire course without being jerky or off balance... I think it might be time for a little more power or a little more tire...

Jon was also in the car with me when I ate it at Lost Hill... We hit the dirt pretty hard and Jon had to smoke half a pack of cigarettes before he could talk again... Just before we went on that run, we also noticed that there was no lap belt on the passenger side... Jon, I put some extra long zip ties in the glove box for next time so you can strap to the seat... haha...

got a question, do passengers pay for them to be in the car with you, (for insurance)?

Nope... the car doesn't even have to be registered or insured... You break you deal with it... Including yourself...

for some reason i thought you had a dohc rebuilt...

I do but I couldn't finish it for this event... It's going in as we speak...

did your tires rub your fenders with your set up?

Not at all... I used an Eastwood fender roller and gained a bunch of clearance... I rolled them until they were as flat as possible... Camber was set at -2.5* front and -2* in the back...

In all honesty didn't you take the whole thing apart and put it back together before the event?
Yeah, I thought about that but there is only one way to put on a clutch fan... You really can't mess that up... And everything was still bolted together when it fell out... What happened was that something got the fan off balanced, caught on something (belt or shroud) and ripped out of the water pump... Probably just an old clutch fan with a lot of play in it...

[C. Senor]

thats awesome, i've been there but have never driven there. now seeing you do it i want to, i have a basically stock 225k sohc too....you're my new hero...lol, but yeah nice runs.

[Farzam]

I'm glad I read this thread.

Great way to learn experiences, and it's a good reminder for everyone to doublecheck your shit out before racing it.

[vincem]

nice video! is it your car that sounds loud in the video, or is it the s2000 whose recording?

[adrians_s13]

nice pics! Looks like you had a blast!

[swift_style]

man, that looks fun!! I've always wanted to autoX more than drifting somehow.

[forum04pl]

looks like a good day other than the water pump incident, and damn those s2k's are sexy!

[UfoZ8myCow]

Awesome man, hopefully Ill see you at the track in June when I start getting out there again! Im an instructor and Buttonwillow is my best track, so that would be fun.

Lost Hills is so funny- EVERYBODY makes that mistake there. Either they go in too hot and understeer off course, or overrotate the car coming over the hill and spin out. That's a bad place to pass unless you seriously outpower the car you are passing, otherwise you risk running out of room. I personally like running the Star Mazda turn instead of the Sweeper at the end of the dragstrip, a little more room to pass after Lost Hill. Your best bet with that Miata would have been to just follow him through the esses and Sunset and just pass on the front straight.

[Nikeboy355]

Look forward to getting some criticism from you on the track, UfoZ8myCow!...

Two things that I want to try different is to go straight into Offramp and staying tight to the inside... Using deceleration to glide up and to the right while I downshift, steer, and brake at the same time... I was going too wide and exiting slower than I should...

Also, I noticed that Sweeper has two apexes and I was treating it like a big half moon... You can straighten out in the middle and the cut in at the end... I watched a video of Tarzan driving the C-West S2000 and he did that...

What times have you seen S-chassis cars run through configuration 13?... Or what do you think they are capable of... My goal is to run as fast as the S2000s that my friends are running...

is it your car that sounds loud in the video, or is it the s2000 whose recording?

The video is taped from the Civic Si and yes that is my car making all the noise... My friends were saying that when they were driving behind me, they couldn't hear their own engines and exhausts...

You can also hear his tires squealing as he tries to follow my lines at some points...

[250sxdet]

hey, you know kel? haha he was a friend from HS.

[Daryl]

also, got any videos of this guy rob driving the s2ks? I'm curious to see some. I watched Daryl's onboard videos.
Maxrev taking a few laps in Evasive's AP2 (http://video.maxrev.net/Evasive/Rob%20In%20Mike's%20S2000,%204_8_07%23610F.mov)

1:57 Lap (http://video.maxrev.net/evasive%20s2000.mov)

[yarou]

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5594.JPG

i love daryl's s2k! definately the dopest track s2k on s2ki.com

[ZodiacSR]

Hey Jon... Glad you found my post... I'm a documenting maniac so anyone and anything within 100 feet will end up on my refurbished Canon digital camera...

I went for a ride in Jon's car and his car was a lot of "fun" to ride in... The car, piloted by Jon, just glides through the entire course without being jerky or off balance... I think it might be time for a little more power or a little more tire...

Jon was also in the car with me when I ate it at Lost Hill... We hit the dirt pretty hard and Jon had to smoke half a pack of cigarettes before he could talk again... Just before we went on that run, we also noticed that there was no lap belt on the passenger side... Jon, I put some extra long zip ties in the glove box for next time so you can strap to the seat... haha...

Hahahaha... I thought the wheels were going to catch into the dirt after Lost Hill and roll the car! Especially with no lap belt and the automatic shoulder belt having malfunctioning problems! Everyone would sweat it too, LOL! All in all, you just need more seat time in that beast of yours and you'll be smoking all of us. Whats this I hear of the DOHC going in for the next event? Couldn't salvage the SOHC motor?

Thanks for the compliment, but NO on larger tires and NO on more power. I need to maximize my driving skill before I do anymore mods to the car. My in-car video is almost done, so please wait for it!

Hey Nit, are you going to Streets of Willow Springs on May 13th? Albert and I have already registered. Nasif got his rims so he's slapping on the A048's and last I heard he was planning on the May 13th event too. Anyone else going to this event?

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5594.JPGi love daryl's s2k! definately the dopest track s2k on s2ki.com

The picture you posted is Kel's car! This is Daryl's car, LOL! Its okay, both of there cars are awesome, I'd be confused too!

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5566.JPG

SPV Jon

[swwifty]

Maxrev taking a few laps in Evasive's AP2 (http://video.maxrev.net/Evasive/Rob%20In%20Mike's%20S2000,%204_8_07%23610F.mov)

1:57 Lap (http://video.maxrev.net/evasive%20s2000.mov)

nice vid. Makes me wish I was closer to that track! Rob had a great save at about 10:40mins.

Second vid doesn't work btw.

[Nikeboy355]

Whats this I hear of the DOHC going in for the next event?
I'm working on it right now... Hoping to have it in the car next week...

Couldn't salvage the SOHC motor?
I told myself I wouldn't spend any money on that motor... Even though it is just a water pump, pulley, and some belts, I'd rather save the $150 and get the dual cam in...

Hey Nit, are you going to Streets of Willow Springs on May 13th?
It looks like it... I'm hooked and too competitive of a person not to go...

Here is an in car video of one of my runs on the final session of the day... This is two laps before I ended up in the dirt and the clutch fan went out on me... I wish I had that on tape but I ran out of memory card space before then...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETbuf2rx7v8

[ZodiacSR]

Awesome, see you at the track!

It says the video is not available??

[Nikeboy355]

Here is the Google video link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6350134904416484037

[swwifty]

Here is the Google video link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6350134904416484037

Great video.

I know it was your first time at the track, but I want to offer a little constructive criticism. You could easily get on the throttle a lot sooner out of most thoose corners. Easily at the apex or before on most corners. Driving a low powered car means you have to be on the throttle pretty much all the time to be fast. Low powered cars are actually a lot of fun to drive because you almost never have to brake. In my track s14 (bone stock KA24DE) I'm on the throttle probably 90% of a lap. Watch some of the video's of rob driving that track, and you'll see in the s2000 even he is on the throttle pretty much all the time. Good luck out there, and welcome to the addiction :)

[ZodiacSR]

Yea, it was his first time, but his lines improved dramatically at the end of the day compared to the morning sessions. Good job Nit!

Heres video from my in car camera. I don't have any footage of you Nit (Nikeboy355). Its kinda long, 20min, but theres extra footage at the end of passing and stuff. Sorry, you could barely read the text in the video, I guess Google Video's compressed the video and it compromise the resolution.

Struggling from a bad 5th gear sensor that left me with a 5K RPM rev limiter all day.

List of Mods since you can't really read it on the video.

Stock KA24DE motor
NGK plugs and wires
HKS exhaust
C's short shifter
SP Ceramic 6-puck clutch
Nismo 2way LSD
Tein type Basics F:8kg/mm R:6kg/mm
Tanabe sway bars
300ZX front calipers
Falken Azenis RT615 205/50/15

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7278460150596901104

[yarou]

The picture you posted is Kel's car! This is Daryl's car, LOL! Its okay, both of there cars are awesome, I'd be confused too!

http://nitinj.com/Images/240SX2/Buttonwillow%20040807/2IMG_5566.JPG

SPV Jon



LOL my bad! i got the names mixed up! i meant kel's car :bigok: