Emira track impressions

[Tracked Emira]

These cars handle heat well, I've tracked in > 100F days. Let it run a few minutes after you end a session so it can shed the heat, and you won't have heat soak problems. I think this was my 6th track day in this car.

This isn't a light car, and I don't know what caused my power steering to fail. Maybe it was tracking, maybe it was a manufacturing defect, maybe something else failed which led to the power steering failure. I'll know more once I get it to the dealer, since hopefully warranty will cover this. It's too early to make any broad conclusions about the steering rack, IMO.

Don’t tell them you track it because they said no to me at a dealership near Pocono raceway when my challenger power steering went. I towed it to my local dealership, but knew them and they covered it

 

[OppositeLock]

It's pretty obvious when a car has been tracked, even if I don't tell them I can't possibly clean off all the evidence. I won't be volunteering this information, but I won't deny it. However, I'm pretty damn sure my power steering started to fail en route to the track, because the back of my car had spots of liquid sprayed on the back, it just had no symptoms inside when that was happening.

 

[Ceej]

this is the third person on this forum I’ve read about having power steering failure. @VF Tuner said theirs failed at 300 miles. Can’t remember the other username that had issues. Starting to wonder if this is a bigger problem than just a few fluke cars.

 

[jabingb]

Good report, was planning on attending with my T4 but covid and flu shots on Tuesday scuttled that plan. Would like to converse with you and @gcmack off line, probably through GGLC channels..

 

[jp129]

It's pretty obvious when a car has been tracked, even if I don't tell them I can't possibly clean off all the evidence. I won't be volunteering this information, but I won't deny it. However, I'm pretty damn sure my power steering started to fail en route to the track, because the back of my car had spots of liquid sprayed on the back, it just had no symptoms inside when that was happening.

Very unfortunate to hear you've experience steering/hydro issues. It would be very helpful to hear what's the cause/result of your failure when you get it back. Hopefully it's something quick and easy and you can be back on the track soon.

 

[OppositeLock]

I topped off the PAS fluid (which was empty) and the steering rack works fine when there's fluid, but it's gushing out of the pump, so it's pretty clear that I lost the pump, and not the rack. Not sure how Lotus will handle it yet as my appointment is tomorrow.

Here's what a really sick power steering pump sounds like when there's fluid in the reservoir.

 

[p4ulh]

I've just done my first Sonoma Raceway event in the Emira.

The EBC RP1 + Girodisc Rotors are fantastic.
Tires this time were Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R (Porsche version)

First off, I love these tires! Man oh man are they better than the LTS Cup 2's, and Super Sports and the Dunlops that I mentioned. I see why those Porsches are so fast, it's the tires! They cost a small fortune, though. Wear is pretty even so far with maxed out camber.

I managed a 1:53.9, which I'm pretty happy with, since it's my first time with this car at Sonoma. There's lots more time at the table, I'm making errors in the esses, chickening out in turn 10, and really bungling turn 2.

It was also nice to meet @gcmak in person.

Sadly, my power steering failed in the 3rd session, so I had to go home early.

That’s great, I’m going to try the Cup 2R next spring in the UK which will be tested with the Nitron Electron which should be ace. I have done 11 track days in mine with the Nitron 3 way 46mm on the last 3 Trackdays with the Jubu cage which has been a game changer on track.

 

[F1 SML8R]

I ran Cup 2R's on my Carrera T and was shocked at the grip differential to the Porsche specific N1 variant which is already somewhat stickier than the standard Cup 2. As soon as I burn through my Cup 2's on my i4 , I'm definitely experimenting with the Cup 2R on the Emira. Especially on the i4 which tends to have more torque at the beginning of the torque/power curve.

 

[gcmak]

I've just done my first Sonoma Raceway event in the Emira.

The EBC RP1 + Girodisc Rotors are fantastic.
Tires this time were Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R (Porsche version)

First off, I love these tires! Man oh man are they better than the LTS Cup 2's, and Super Sports and the Dunlops that I mentioned. I see why those Porsches are so fast, it's the tires! They cost a small fortune, though. Wear is pretty even so far with maxed out camber.

I managed a 1:53.9, which I'm pretty happy with, since it's my first time with this car at Sonoma. There's lots more time at the table, I'm making errors in the esses, chickening out in turn 10, and really bungling turn 2.

It was also nice to meet @gcmak in person.

Sadly, my power steering failed in the 3rd session, so I had to go home early.

It was so good to meet you in person too! See you at future events, hopefully with both of us in our Emiras!

 

[David s]

That’s great, I’m going to try the Cup 2R next spring in the UK which will be tested with the Nitron Electron which should be ace. I have done 11 track days in mine with the Nitron 3 way 46mm on the last 3 Trackdays with the Jubu cage which has been a game changer on track.

Sorry. Nitrons or the jubu cage?

 

[Ft.S]

MAP gets you boost pressure if you can figure out what the ambient pressure is (it's related to temperature and altitude). In my car, it goes from ~2 (meaning -12psi vacuum) to 20 (meaning about 6psi of boost) on the track.

Yes, Solo2 DL is like any other full featured AIM product, it's got the same expansions, works with the data hubs, it's just not a dash. It's fully configurable via RS3. If you can figure out the CAN ID's you want to log in the Emira, you can create a "Custom" ECU which requests those channels via the OBD/CAN protocols, I just don't know what they are.

I have been trying to figure out a cost-effective way to log data and video with the Emira. I have used so many different options in the past through tapping into the CAN bus, but with the Emira that does not seem to be the best solution right now, at least not without spending few thousands. My only need is to get basic data/video.

I emailed AIM regarding the applicability of SmartyCam 3 Corsa for this purpose. This is the response I received:

As of today we do not have a publicly available ECU driver for the Emira. The Emira has implemented a CAN FD network as the primary data transmission which is not a compatible format for our hardware at the moment. Normally we can locate secondary CAN communications busses that do not implement CAN FD but since this is a new development the process will take some time.

Standard OBDII data is available and you will have access to these channels:

• RPM
• TPS
• Coolant temp
• Lap times
• Air temp
• Vehicle speed
• MAP or MAF (not available on all models)

This type of data transmission is not something that the SmartyCam3 Corsa can do on its own. You will need a data system to correctly manage this. Our most common type of hardware to fill this need is the SOLO2DL however we have many dataloggers that can also perform this action and much more.

So, I will be purchasing the Solo DL and pairing it with my existing GoPro 8, and see how it works at the end.

 

[OppositeLock]

Have you tried Harry's Lap Timer as a datalogger? Combined with a GoPro, it's pretty nice, then you can use RaceRender to overlay the data onto the video if you want to. It's a far cheaper option.

What AIM gets you is their RaceStudio, which is pretty nice at comparing laps, seeing where you goofed up, etc, but it's got a very steep learning curve.