Stepson and MSR

[MadMerv]

Shelley's son, Jason, spent the holidays with us, the first time we've seen him in a year(he lives in Houston). He's seventeen and has really grown up. Shelley had given him our Mazda6 when he turned sixteen and it only took him a year to wear it out! Of course, altercations with curbs, boulders, and who knows what else, certainly didn't help. His dad replaced the Mazda6 with a 2005 Acura RSX and he drove up in it...nice car, actually.

Now Jason is not very mechanically inclined, and he is pretty much a ricer....can't decide if it's a "show" car or a performance car. He thinks it can be both. I guess that's possible if he would choose the right mods, but what does this old guy know....... I asked him if he would like to go to mSR and he got very excited, so I took him out on Saturday, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I checked out the car and found a broken motor mount, which I fixed temporarily with a ratchet strap. Then we looked at the coil-overs he had installed. His requirements were "as low as it can go", and that's what he got. Can you say no shock travel. I would have raised it, but he didn't have the adjusters and these were way different than anything I had, so I figured it would be ok as long as he didn't push it too hard.....stupid me!!!!!!!

On the way to MSR, we had to stop and pick up Sunny, and the RSX was like a buckboard. He said it pulled to the right and had it re-aligned when the coil-overs were installed, so we talked a lot about suspensions and what to expect on the track. First thing I did when we arrived was check air pressures....hmmmmmm...fronts were 35/29. I guess we found the pulling he mentioned. Set everything to 32 and cleaned out the car.

We then spent some time in the classroom going over the track, turn-in, apex, and track-out cones, and what to expect at different places on the track. We were running CW, so I warned him about the hills and where he needed to put the car for those nasty right handers past the hills. His first session was to be slow, for him to learn the track, so on pit-out, foot to the floor and almost spun it. Turn-in at Big Bend was way early and center of track and it got worse. I was talking LOUDLY, but he didn't seem to hear me.... He was over-charging the tight spots and should have looped it several times, but each time he saved it. As bad as it was, I was amazed that he would save it each time.

I finally got him back to the pits, and we had a long discussion. First question fromme was "How do you think you did?". His response, "Well, I pushed the car really hard....." Next we talked about the cones.......He said" they just didn't feel right....". So we went over he most critical things with emphisis on LEARNING the track first, then gradually picking up speed. He agreed, so we went back out. First two laps were much better, until he got passed by a few faster cars and he reverted to the crazy driving. Afterwards he said "I figured if they could do it, I could", just as serious as he could be.

Between sessions, we worked on the map again, then I drove the beginning of the second session. Not fast, just smooth, hitting my points, and virtually no tire noise, all in 4th gear. Each lap was a bit faster, but he was learning. When we switched, he at least knew where he should be on the track. I had to put limits on him because he was only focusing on what was right in front of him.....no shifting worked wonders, keeping his hands on the wheel. Looking ahead was difficult for him. He was still over-driving the tight corners, the car pushing like a pig, but still catching it everytime he got sideways.

At lunch, we had plenty of time to go over everything and I had to tell him the story of my first time on a track(TWS). I think he related, because he said there was just so much happening. I talked him thru the track over and over and he asked if I would drive again. So, I did for the first ten minutes of session 3. I explained exactly what I was going to do, and why. First session was very slow and I talked the whole way thru it. Next lap was a quick one without shifting, then four more each getting quicker, heal/toe shifting and virtually no push. Now we were seeing/feeling the lack of shock travel, as the car would jump sideways during hard cornering.

When he got back in the car, he was much better. He was beginning to feel the car's reactions to his inputs and actually hitting markers fairly well. I then allowed him two shifts, which were now working. Dang, he was really learning........

The last session, I let him go solo, with me leading in Sunny. Had I had any grip, it would have been a good learning situation, but it wasn't meant to be. I went dirt surfing on the second lap, and third lap, exiting Little Bend. No where could I find grip so I finally gave up and watched Jason chasing an M3. He finally lost it in Rattlesnake and didn't catch that one, but other than he did really well.

I wish now, that we would have done this sooner, but I never felt he was ready. He still has lots to learn, but he's got some ability....or it might just be that "No Fear" mentality that kids have. It was, however, the best bonding we've ever had. Good job, Jason!

[Darron65]

Hey I'm still available for adoption! Why won't you return my phone calls, Merv?

Sounds like an excellent use of a beautiful day.

[MadMerv]

It was a beautiful day, and we got to do something we'll probably never be able to do again......
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Unless I build MSR-K!

[SirHustlerEsq]

Cool. When I was that age I could only play video games to get close to track action...then wait another 7-years to finally get on the track.