Dave's Drives: Datsun 2000 Roadster on Mt. Diablo Road

A beautiful sunny December day in Northern California.  The trip up Mt. Diablo is a scenic drive, although it can be very crowded with cars and bicycles. It's worth the trip to the top if you have never been there… this short trip today didn't go to the top, but gives you a flavor of the views on the way up. You can go up either from the Danville side of the mountain, or from the Walnut Creek side.  This set of clips is the North side, coming from Danville via Diablo Rd and then Mt Diablo Scenic Blvd.  The best car of choice for this ride is definitely an open-top car if you have one, and since this isn't a good road for speed, don't bother with high power.

"Green Car" Movement: The Gator gets new skin

I've always loved the bright orange and green colors of Porsche's GT3 RS.  I had seen a few Cayman S Sport limited editions a few years back that used those same colors, but those cars are hard to find.  So, having had a good experience with the vinyl wrap done on my daughter's car, I decided to give my 2007 Cayman S a new look.  I just picked it up yesterday from the talented guys at Vinyl Styles in San Carlos, CA, who wrapped it using Avery brand vinyl in high gloss Grass Green.  I also had the Fikse wheels powder coated in gloss black. I'm still deciding whether or not to add the side script "Cayman S" in the same way Porsche did on the stock Sport editions. Good thing this is primarily my track car, because when I do drive it on the street, I think the police won't miss any minor infractions.

10 Laps at Laguna Seca in Cayman S aka "The Gator"

On May 31, a clear day at Laguna Seca. Event by Trackmasters-Racing.

Unfortunately, I didn't get too many clean laps, as I pretty much overtook some other car on every lap and often had to slow or change lines to get around.  When I did get clean, the car was running great.  New Toyo R888 tires in front felt very stable, while the slightly older ones in back were a tad more slippery, giving me just the right amount of oversteer bias to get the rear-end around and point the car when I wanted to.  I managed to pass quite a few more powerful cars, a testament to great brakes and good lines.

Lap 1 overtake and pass two BMW M3s about 1:46 into lap
Lap 2, overtake and pass Porsche GT3 at about :34 and then the Porsche Turbo at 1:05 when he spins coming out of turn 6 (watch that cloud of dust, because he comes right back across the track!)
Lap 3: overtake and pass a 914-6 in cool Gulf Livery at 1:10 after corkscrew
Lap 5: from Turn 4 at 40 seconds to Corkscrew, make up 100 yards and overtake and pass a 240Z. Cayman brake superiority is evident going into corkscrew (as well as into every Turn 2)
Lap 6: catch the Carrera and Shelby (pass). Again, note brake superiority into Corkscrew is what beats the Shelby.
Lap 8 : Pass instructor in Miata going into turn 6…that was hairy!
Lap 10: catch and pass Carrera, FRS, Nissan GTR, and an Evo.

A clean lap around Laguna Seca in my 2007 Cayman S

I was out for some track practice on May 31 with Trackmasters-Racing.com.  Jay at VisionWells captured some good training video for me.  My best laps were in the low 1:45 range, this once lap shown came in just above those.  My line is ok, I just need to carry a bit more speed into a couple corners (4, 5, and 9 notably).  But the Cayman did well as there were GT500s, Carreras, and Corvettes out there that day turning 1:53 and above. I will post the entire 20 minute session later, where you can get a feel for how much faster the Cayman is than many higher horsepower cars. Click on the link below to see the YouTube video:

YouTube Video Dave Cayman S Laguna Seca