Vince in Montreal

<center><img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid75/pb5a0b386a46284d8f1bc0c68efb987e0/fb5b0d5e.jpg"></center><p>So we decided last minute (Tuesday) to run my EF Civic in a 2-hour enduro on Saturday at Shannonville. I would provide the race car and my race-buddy Eric would provide the Hemi Ram and trailer. We would each drive 1 hour of the enduro.

This was an EMRA event. We had no budget for this event, so we didn't run any of the sprint races and figured that 2 hours for 210$ (Canadian $ at par!) was the best seat time bang-for-the-buck.

We decided to leave Montreal at 3:30 am and arrive there for 7:00. I guess we weren't thinking too much, because we could have simply camped at the track for free on Friday night, and they even have showers at the track. Next year we'll know.

I had to have my car re-classified since I swapped in a D16Z6, moving from 92 hp to 125. I was disappointed that this resulted in 3 class bumps to ST1, but it was fair considering the 112 hp D16 is in ST2. The fact is that we were prepared nowhere near the limit of the rules for our class (my car is still street-registered and there are compromises all over the place). We didn't worry too much because we simply wanted to place well over all in the enduro and it turned out there was no one else in ST1 for the enduro anyway.

The enduro racers elected to run the full track (despite some misgivings about tire wear and the like) and we split the practice/qualifying in half. We were running about the same laps, 2:13 (not great considering I was running 2:17 last year with only 92 hp). We would have to play the consistency card. I decided to run on some half-worn Hankook Z2000's rather than my almost new Toyos because I paid 80$ for those Hankooks and 650$ for the Toyos. I figured that 2 hours would kill any set of tires, so might as well kill the ones that were almost free. Based on the times of other cars we knew, we figured we were giving up 2 seconds per lap. To save 600$, I don't mind. Those Toyos have got to last until the end of the year (only used them in rain so far).

We managed to qualify 4th out of 13, but there were some faster cars behind us who hadn't got much practice time, which explained their poor grid position.

I was to run the first half of the race, Eric the second half. I duct-taped a watch to the steering wheel so that I could come in at around 57 minutes for refueling and the driver change.

Right off the start, the first two cars, a Spec racer (Renault, I believe) and a nicely prepared Integra (2nd gen) pulled away from the rest of the pack. I became embroiled in a battle with an MR2, an IT CRX and an 86 Mustang 5.0. We were exchanging positions in the first couple of laps, and when things got sorted out, it was Mustang, MR2, me, CRX. I hounded the MR2 while the Mustang began to pull away and then the MR2 spun off the track in front of me. It was not his first spin of the weekend. I couldn't catch the Mustang and had the CRX on my tail. He was pressuring me for almost 10 laps and I was ready to crack. I just could not lose him. I would pull away in certain turns and she would catch up in others. I was cursing my tires, knowing I had the hp advantage but that she was running Hoosiers. Eventually, I choked, braking too late after the drag strip and not making the fast right hander. The area was flat, I just continued on the grass and rejoined the track behind the CRX. We were running 5th at this point. Things were uneventful after this, and I was dying for a drink. This was our first enduro (we did one last year, but it was red-flagged every 20 minutes and we got a total of 50 minutes of real racing in 2 hours) and I was having trouble keeping my focus near the end of the hour. As I got lapped by the Spec Racer at the beginning of the drag strip, I found myself in a position to re-pass him before the end of the straight. I started the move, then backed off, figuring it was pointless, he had a race to win. I eased right behind him and stupidly tried to brake when he did. Now that thing weighs 600 pounds less than my Civic and we were going the same speed. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to calculate that I couldn't make the turn. I went off for the second time in the same place, again uneventfully. This was an example of lapsing concentration. At 54:30, I decided I was starting my last lap. I concentrated on doing every turn as well as I could and I think I did a fantastic lap (altough it won't show up on the timing, since I pitted at the end of it). This made me wonder why I wasn't driving like that lap after lap. I guess I need to work on the mental aspect a little more before our next enduro.

The pit stop went smoothly and Eric headed out. I had been dying for water and will drink more before my stint at the next event or rig up a system to drink in the car.

Eric ran smoothly and consistently. I was told that when the CRX had come in, it hadn't refueled. I knew this was a mistake and sure enough, they had to pit a 2nd time to refuel. So we passed them due to this strategic error. Near the end of the event, the Integra, now 1st, blew its engine. The race ended shortly after and Eric came into the pits. He has a big smile on his face and when he got out, he said "I love this car!". I was surprised, because he normally drives a CRV-block ITE EG hatch. He loved the way the car could be adjusted with the throttle and attributed the sensitivity vis-a-vis his car to my lighter rotating mass (8 pound wheels, small brakes, etc.), theorizing that it was like having no flywheel effect with such little rotating mass, so that letting go of the gas had a greater effect on the car.

We were hoping that our performance had put us on the podium, but found out that despite blowing its engine, the Integra still had more laps than us and finished 2nd. We were 4th behind the Spec Racer, Integra and Mustang. We had beaten the CRX (they had a flat and made a 3rd pit stop, although we would have beaten them without it), a Spec Miata, an IT Nissan NX2000, a 200SX SE-R, the MR2, and others. I believe every car finished the race.

All in all, a great weekend, the car ran flawlessly. 2 of the tires we ran have lost patches of the outer shell, which made me glad I hadn't wasted my Toyos. They maybe would have got us a podium, but I couldn't justify the expense. So basically the day rewarded us with alot of track time, a new experience, not too much money spent and alot of sleep deprivation. We got a trophy (more for our 4th overall than our first in class all alone) and we'll definitely be back at this well-run and inexpensive event next year.

A6AvantRay

Congrats! Sounds like a lot of fun!

NASA racer

we averaged 6-8 hours on a set of shaved toyos if they've been heat cycled.

And yeah, you HAVE to have a water bottle that you can drink out of for enduros.

Liam in Montreal

do you heat cycle them yourself? or buy them shaved and heat cycled?

NASA racer

if possible...we get considerably less time on them if they're not cycled. We have no problem running a whole set for a 3 hour enduro (first time not cycled) and then running at least another 3 hour with them (especially because they've sat and "baked"). If we run them out in one continuous run (like a 6-hour) they get pretty torn up and we've never had the opportunity to cycle them properly at one event and put them away then run them at the next.

Vince in Montreal

So is it safe to assume I can do a 4-hour on one set of Toyos if I have them shaved and cycled? What happens if I don't shave them (I know the performance is crap in the dry, but what about durability?)? It would suck if I shave a brand new set and then it rains during the enduro... I'm trying to see how expensive it would be to do the Summit 4-hour "into the night" in November...

NASA racer

actually we found that an un-heatcycled set of un-shaved toyos ablades tread at a phenomenal rate...we think the flex in the rubber was too much for the heat we were subjecting them to. I wouldn't use them full-depth in a race unless they're heat-cycled and "cured". We did 7/32 enduro shave for the long races and (IIRC) 3/32 for "normal" shaved tires but yeah, you should have NO problem with 4 hours on a shaved set. Your car might even be a little lighther than our Civic was.