TonyWilliams
Well-known member
surfingslovak said:
I suspect we'll all get where we need to go. I won't have a car, so I'll be hitching rides from SNS to hotel, then hotel to racetrack, then back to airport.
Event - REFUEL at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 07/01/12
- Thread starter Randy3
- Start date
Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:
I suspect we'll all get where we need to go. I won't have a car, so I'll be hitching rides from SNS to hotel, then hotel to racetrack, then back to airport.
gascant
Well-known member
TonyWilliams said:
That's cool. If it all works out, I'll be at SNS when you touch down.
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
gascant said:
Ok, you should be able to track me, MYF to FUL to SNS starting about 5pm Saturday to get a good estimate of touchdown, and taxi to JetWest.
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N133BW" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
JeremyW
Well-known member
TonyWilliams said:JeremyW said:OrientExpress said:
Oh boy! I have questions for him!This is going to be a fun Sunday!
Jeremy
Bring your barf bags, Ace. You're not going to be feeling too well after three hours of aerobatics.
Don't take this as a challenge or anything, but I do come from a boating family, and have never gotten motion sickness. :roll:
Jeremy
gascant
Well-known member
Maybe I'll put some plastic seat covers in the LEAF before I leave tomorrow :lol:JeremyW said:
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
gascant said:
I want to see the LEAF do a barrel roll.
LEAFer
Well-known member
Careful what you ask for ! Keijidosha might be able to comply !TonyWilliams said:
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
Wow, what an AWESOME event!!!! Can't wait for next hear. First, let me thank Gascant and Keijidosha for shuttling me to and from the Salinas airport. After getting home from Montana at about 3:30pm, I was airborne in a rented Cessna 182RG by about 6pm, and flew with my 12 year son from San Diego MYF airport to Fullerton to pick up JeremyW.
We landed at Salinas about 9:30pm, and Gascant picked us up. He had been waiting at the airport for an hour, thinking we might get there at 8pm (as I had previously told him). The hotel was only a few miles away (completely sold out), and after checking in, we walked over to Applebees for some late night food.
We met up in the lobby at 7:30am, and all arrived at the Refuel 2012 event just in time to check in. There was an hour-ish long driver meeting (longer for newbie racers, that I didn't sit through). Then, lined up for our first hot laps. There was a few problems with slower drivers, so after a post brief, there was some attempt to make things flow better for round two, and it did. With JeremyW as my co-pilot, I banged out a 2:14 lap time on a COMPLETELY stock 2012 LEAF, besting more than one Tesla.
One BMW ActiveE that was following me had to drop back when his battery overheated. He got some great video of my bumper that he has promised to send me (he is also a Tesla employee). We all got to use the DC charger / generator that Craig, the Nissan engineer, brought up from Phoenix. It was slightly derated from the 48kW that the LEAF can handle, but we did charge faster than any ANY OTHER EV, including the boatload of Tesla Model S's present (I have tons of great pics of prototype and other versions of the S").
I test drove the Coda, which has got to be the world's most vanilla car. Good acceleration. Boring design. Anyhow, by 5pm, I was back at SNS airport, and we flew over to Harris Ranch (home of the first Tesla "supercharger") and I had a great steak dinner. Added 15 gallons of 100 Low Lead to the flying machine, and had a full moon, clear night back to FUL. My final leg to MYF was IFR, so I shot the ILS 28 Right and taxied to the hangar.
My red LEAF was past VLB, so I'm just finishing up an hour of charging before driving 11 miles home. Sure would like a DC charger!!!
We landed at Salinas about 9:30pm, and Gascant picked us up. He had been waiting at the airport for an hour, thinking we might get there at 8pm (as I had previously told him). The hotel was only a few miles away (completely sold out), and after checking in, we walked over to Applebees for some late night food.
We met up in the lobby at 7:30am, and all arrived at the Refuel 2012 event just in time to check in. There was an hour-ish long driver meeting (longer for newbie racers, that I didn't sit through). Then, lined up for our first hot laps. There was a few problems with slower drivers, so after a post brief, there was some attempt to make things flow better for round two, and it did. With JeremyW as my co-pilot, I banged out a 2:14 lap time on a COMPLETELY stock 2012 LEAF, besting more than one Tesla.
One BMW ActiveE that was following me had to drop back when his battery overheated. He got some great video of my bumper that he has promised to send me (he is also a Tesla employee). We all got to use the DC charger / generator that Craig, the Nissan engineer, brought up from Phoenix. It was slightly derated from the 48kW that the LEAF can handle, but we did charge faster than any ANY OTHER EV, including the boatload of Tesla Model S's present (I have tons of great pics of prototype and other versions of the S").
I test drove the Coda, which has got to be the world's most vanilla car. Good acceleration. Boring design. Anyhow, by 5pm, I was back at SNS airport, and we flew over to Harris Ranch (home of the first Tesla "supercharger") and I had a great steak dinner. Added 15 gallons of 100 Low Lead to the flying machine, and had a full moon, clear night back to FUL. My final leg to MYF was IFR, so I shot the ILS 28 Right and taxied to the hangar.
My red LEAF was past VLB, so I'm just finishing up an hour of charging before driving 11 miles home. Sure would like a DC charger!!!
OrientExpress
Well-known member
Here is a video of the starting grid:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHeqKcUi7Pw[/youtube]
HD version: Refuel2012 EV Starting Grid
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHeqKcUi7Pw[/youtube]
HD version: Refuel2012 EV Starting Grid
EricBayArea
Well-known member
OrientExpress said:
That was the coolest starting grid take-off sound, after sound, after sound, I've heard! Thanks for sharing that.
Very cool seeing all those EVs. Model S', one CODA, some VOLTs, some LEAFs. Saw the BC to BC LEAF and Nader's LEAF (with the black hood vinyl) in there as well.
adrianco
Active member
Here's my in-car video of the first practice session. We're the blue Leaf carrying #45, running Tein coilovers and Pirelli P7 summer tires, which worked quite well. I had fun chucking it through the corners more aggressively in the second session...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR2PhiEmCuE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR2PhiEmCuE[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR2PhiEmCuE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR2PhiEmCuE[/youtube]
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
Boomer23
Well-known member
Great pics, Tony, who took 'em?
Looks like you had a Coda on your tail and one point and a screaming Beemer for a while as well, but the shot under the Mother's bridge shows you pulling out some distance on them. Was that the case?
Did Keijidsoha get to drive, or did you pull rank on him?
Looks like you had a Coda on your tail and one point and a screaming Beemer for a while as well, but the shot under the Mother's bridge shows you pulling out some distance on them. Was that the case?
Did Keijidsoha get to drive, or did you pull rank on him?
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
Laguna Seca, "Refuel 2012", July 1, 2012, 12:19pm group
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8YhXv-EnPk[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8YhXv-EnPk[/youtube]
OrientExpress
Well-known member
Here are some photos from the SF BayLEAFs:
In the SF BayLEAFs / Nissan Paddock with our DC/QC
SF BayLEAFs Co-founder Howard Clearfield (left) is ready to give the Stig some tips on driving the Laguna Seca course.
Howard's sliver LEAF leads the pack on the front straightaway!
Tesla had their Model S design team out with the development Model S mules.
The Tesla Roadsters cool their batteries between runs
The Team Yokohama, the "HER-02" Pikes Peak Hill Climb EV-Class Champion car from Japan competed at REFUEL
In the SF BayLEAFs / Nissan Paddock with our DC/QC
SF BayLEAFs Co-founder Howard Clearfield (left) is ready to give the Stig some tips on driving the Laguna Seca course.
Howard's sliver LEAF leads the pack on the front straightaway!
Tesla had their Model S design team out with the development Model S mules.
The Tesla Roadsters cool their batteries between runs
The Team Yokohama, the "HER-02" Pikes Peak Hill Climb EV-Class Champion car from Japan competed at REFUEL
TonyWilliams
Well-known member
Boomer23 said:
http://www.caliphotography.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Keijidsoha actually bought it for me, and it wasn't cheap !!! Truly a first class guy. His daughter came down from San Francisco for the event.
The Coda was fully setup for racing, with a lot more power than a stock LEAF. He could pull me in the straights, and out corner me. The stock tires/suspension were a HANDFUL on this track. But the fun factor was way, way up there!!!!
I did not pull any rank. I was thinking I'd get a few laps, but he had done this event last year in the Mini-E, and seemed to encourage me to drive it (it didn't take a lot).
I had a blast, and will absolutely be there next year. Now that I have a lay of the land, I hope we'll have proper re-charging equipment for the event next year. Probably at least two DC chargers, with enough reserve to power a handful of L2's. The electric power available is impressive, but severely taxed for this event, so a 100kW+ genset should get things done.
I seriously doubt that the genset that Nissan used (and bought for their Arizona location) meets California CARB regulations. Could get their hand slapped !!!
