First Track Day: Time Attack at Wilby

So with the car now running correctly again I was very keen to book in another track day.

Fortunately the next round of the AWDCC Rapid Lap Dash series wasn’t far off and it was being held at a great little track only an hour away.

With the sun beginning to set I loaded up the 180SX the night before ready to leave early the next morning.

My wife’s Nissan X-Trail did a great job towing cars for the best part of two years — However I’m sure it’s relieved to know that it’s working days are finally over.

Last week I purchased a 4.0 V6 Toyota Hilux as a new tow rig and so far it hasn’t disappointed! Heaps of power coupled with a manual gearbox makes it ideal for the job.

Race day came and the car was brimmed with fresh 98 Octane BP Ultimate fuel.

I carried a spare fuel filter with me this time, just in case it decided to clog up again — But so far it was running perfectly.

The car passed scrutineering with ease and after signing in and listening to the drivers briefing I was keen to do a couple of test laps around the track to get a feel for it (as well as the car I hadn’t yet driven!).

Wilby is quite a short track with a hairpin at one end of the main straight and a long sweeper at the other.

It’s definitely more suited to high powered cars that can corner well — And there were plenty in attendance!

Due to having a 2 litre turbocharged SR20DET under the bonnet — My engine capacity gets doubled to over 4 litres for class purposes.

This places me in a group with LS1 V8 Holden’s and 4.0 Barra powered Ford’s among other higher capacity competitors.

Although the aim is to race the clock and try to put down the best lap time you possibly can — It certainly makes it fun chasing them down.

During the first couple of outings I found that the car had some grip issues and was suffering from snap over-steer a lot.

Especially around the sweeper where I ended up spinning out on my second lap.

I just put that down to my lack of drift talent and the car still having cold tires.

However on returning to the pits I quickly realised that I had completely overlooked the rear dampener settings. BC Racing coilovers have 30 levels of dampening adjustment and they were set as hard as they could go!

So I softened them right up for the next session and managed to take nearly a complete second off my previous time.

It was now behaving much nicer and I was able to control the rear end when it stepped out by simply planting my foot lower.

Here’s a video showing a few of the laps:

All in all it was a really well run day. The car had zero mechanical issues which allowed me to relax in between sessions and enjoy watching the other groups — Something I wasn’t expecting to be honest!

I guess that means it has officially passed the shakedown test. All I need to do before the next one is give it a wash!