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Saabin’ at the VCOA track day (Thunderhill // Monday April 28th)
1 --- Myself in the 1986 900 SPG “Saabotage”
2 --- Paul Perry from Swedish Auto Factory in a race-modified Sonett and a newgen 900 with some Abbott parts.
3 --- Dick (no last name) with a 4-door c900, manual trans, motor ??
4 --- A spectator named Trevor in a 1987 c900 Turbo 3-door.
I was placed in Group C with Paul Perry and the other experienced Volvo drivers. The first two sessions were nothing but rain. There was standing water all over the course, and the rain was coming down like crazy! The lucky few driving on high performance wet tires were kings on the track (tires like the SO3 Pole Position). I was driving on the Hoosier R3S03’s that are basically slicks – and I was out of control. In the first session I was taking it easy and had ‘only’ one 80mph off-track excursion because I hydroplaned through the Turn 8 braking zone instead of, uh, slowing down. In the second wet session I went off track twice - once at Turn 3 and again in Turn 8! Then there was an on-track 360 spin coming out of Turn 5 (off camber down hill). This was a poor showing for me; but trust me there were plenty of Volvos in the weeds to keep me company!
Around lunch time the weather got better so I kept the slicks on. I had been considering switching back to the Nokian H-1's on 15" rims if the rain kept up. Fortunately, the sun came out and the track dried off! The remaining 3 or 4 sessions were basically dry race conditions.
Overall the car performed beautifully. I drove in every session and never had to let up, never had to service the car or repair any parts, and the car was still driving strong at the end. There were only a couple track-prepared 240/242 Volvos that could keep up with me, and we had a great time driving together. Overall I think the FWD 900 is a much better handling car than the RWD V’s because the stability in a corner is much better. For example while in a fast sweeper, I just hold the wheel steady and hold mid-throttle in a neutral drift, while the Volvos (at the same speed & line) are constantly losing and recovering the tail end…it looked like a lot of work, and it often resulted in a complete spin.
I had one issue from the motor: at WOT at <4000rpms, the initial build-up of boost would occasionally spike up to 20-21psi which triggers the overboost cutoff. The motor would burp and boost would drop and then recover. I ended up modulating the throttle a little when exiting the slower corners. Since boost control is completely internal to Trionic I don’t know what the problem is, or why it didn’t adapt.
The brakes were awesome – the Ferodo DS3000’s are an excellent track pad. Based on this, I’m sure the DS2500 street performance pad is a great choice as well (for fast street and novice track use). At the end of the day the pedal travel increased a little which made it difficult to blip the throttle for downshifts, but the braking force was consistent and very strong. I’ll be looking for a larger diameter MC to compensate for the larger (57mm vs. 54mm) pistons in the 9000 front calipers.
The Phantom Grip LSD was a great investment. At first I had very high expectations, which –in hindsight- were very unrealistic. I was thinking that I would get “total lockup” and “no slip”. This is not the case; in fact the L in LSD is for “limited” slip, duh. Anyway I was disappointed at first when I did get some wheelspin. But I never got that out-of-control inside tire spin that I used to, just a slight spin and then traction was restored. I didn’t have to lift the throttle for this to happen either (like I used to). I did not have to modify my technique for trail braking or cornering, which is a consideration with a gear-type LSD. If anything, I was able to be more aggressive about early throttle (before the apex) because the PG did not cause/increase under steer. It was very controllable at the limit, on or off the gas.
Next for the car: I lost the U-clamp that holds the turbo downpipe to the transmission bracket. The driver’s side CV makes a popping sound when making sharp right turns in the parking lot. I should get a set of street pads for the 9000 calipers, as well as the thicker 9000 rotors. Finish the steel diff cover and change the trans fluid and inspect trans as much as possible. Get an alignment. Get new track tires. Wash & wax!
>>Other stuff<< This was the first outing for the Aluminum race jack from Harbor Freight for $169 (on sale). We did about 5 tire changes in 2 days, and it was a great tool. Key features are the light weight, low saddle height, flat rubber-lined lift pad, quick pumping and easy releasing valve. I don’t know why other Al jacks cost $700+, this one does everything very well. I highly recommend it.
DS
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