Mazdaspeed 3 - Laguna Seca Raceway w/ NCRC - 11/01/10

[LuchadoreBob]

You have inspired me to take a trip out to Mid Ohio next summer to make a video like this. Good driving. Miss my old 3, but the new 3 is great too.

[ganque]

nice skills!!

[ttsang91]

you're really fast, and i was surprised you can just stay in 4th the whole time aside from the last turn and the straight. nice driving.

[ActaeonLF]

@ttsang91 Thank you. I was surprised it could be kept in 4th most of the track too, the car's gearing and torque curve made it feel ok. Probably can't be done in most other cars. In my earlier sessions I was doing a bit more shifting, but it didn't feel much faster. I sometimes bump up to 5th prior to the Corkscrew, then all the way down to 3rd after, but the downhill made the gear feel really short, so I decided it'd be easier just to stay in 4th and let the torque and downhill pull me through.

[SuperTim27]

How can it be so fast ?

[WyFoster]

HA thats funny I own 2 cars in this video a white BMW 2002 and a MS3.

[AgileMJOLNIR]

Great vid bro. I'm curious what rig you used for filming this. I'll be doing a parade lap next month at Laguna and was thinking of picking up a Contour HD cam with suction mount for the hood of my Mazdspeed 3.

Thanks

[ActaeonLF]

@AgileMJOLNIR Thank you. I used a GoPro HD on a homemade headrest camera mount. The camera sits in the middle of the car between the two front seats. Suction mounts are a bit difficult with our cars, not too many good places in the interior to put it. If you check out my Thunderhill videos, I used a suction cup mount by the rear view mirror and that seemed to give a decent angle. I recommend a few test runs to check for windnoise since if it'll be outside the car. Looking forward to the vid!

[AgileMJOLNIR]

@ActaeonLF Thanks again, I'm going to look at these right now. Great race!

[AtomicSphere]

@ActaeonLF or use a shower curtain bar and jam in between the two holy shit handles on the back like I do =)

[familyvalues2020]

Thanks I enjoyed your video quite a bit..loved all of the 3's I had over the years (3 of them) and this video makes me miss them ;-)

[ActaeonLF]

@familyvalues2020 Thank you! 3s offer great value for the money. Practical and fun little car!

[onbooSTihooning]

Next time your in Monterey. Let me know! haha

[ymbiz]

CooI, I ran across your video after posting one for NCRC laguna on 4/11.

I was thinking about getting the Dunlops for my MS3 - how do they compare to the OE tires in terms of NVH and lap times? Also, how much difference does the CAI make?

[ActaeonLF]

@ymbiz Hey there, I'll go ahead and check out your run.

I never used the OE tires for a track day, but the Dunlops do have quite a bit more grip. They seem to be a bit noisier and the sidewall is stiffer, so its little rougher to drive on. However, they're still a great combo DD & Performance Driving tire. I'm actually on my 2nd set now.

CAI is great, a little extra ooomph, it really opens the car up. My favorite part is the intake noises and you can hear the BPV when lifting now!

[MrIndianman95]

i know this track from Forza 3 lol....nice driving man

[ActaeonLF]

@MrIndianman95 Thank you!

[jasonzbell]

Very cool footage. I just ran Laguna last month in my shifter kart with NCRC as well and it was such an amazing track experience.

[MrFlyingFroggy]

Nice video. Good driving. That was a fun and beautiful day. Running in 1:52 you are definitely ready for the point-by session next time :)

I would love to follow you to learn the track!

[MS321G0]

Nice driving!! I was looking to get the FSD kit paired with the Eibach Springs. How do you like your setup since I noticed you had the FSD kit.

[ActaeonLF]

@MS321G0 Thank you! FSDs are nice. A little more sporty than OEM and also rides much better. Not as sporty as a set of Koni yellows, but much more comfortable. The FSDs are also dynamic so they adjust on their own, but sometimes they're a bit softer than I'd want them to be. This is my DD, I didn't want anything uncomfortable so I am quite happy with the shocks. I could be wrong, but I recall hearing FSDs don't match up well with shorter springs on MS3s, so I'd look into that before installing.

[scotts94z32]

Good driving out there; I was instructing during this run group. You are ready for the point-by group. The traffic is the same, but the pace is certainly faster. You'll just have to deal with a LOT of corvettes (I was in the Green 350Z).

[ActaeonLF]

@scotts94z32 Thanks Scott. I appreciate the feedback, this was my first time at Laguna and only 2nd with NCRC, so I decided to stick with the Solo guys for that day. I saw the Green 350Z out there... sounds good, love the exhaust note!

[jckpix]

i was hypnotized for 11 minutes ;)

[ActaeonLF]

@jckpix Haha, thanks. It was a blast!

[GMooreFan1]

Nice video! Did you record any lap times?

[ActaeonLF]

@GMooreFan1 Thank you!

I didn't have a transponder and there were not many whole laps without traffic. Looking at time stamps for the start and finish of the last lap in this video, it looks like I ran a 1:52~. The lap was far from perfect (driver error) and there is some light traffic, but I don't think they really held me up. I was definitely leaving some time out there.

[GMooreFan1]

@ActaeonLF That's pretty good! My best is a 1:52.4xx in my lowly Stage 1 2004 WRX in November 2007 with Redline Track Events. I bent my left strut on the next lap on the Turn 6 apex marker. :( I went back in February 2009 with Green Flag Driving Association (no transponders avail) and did a best of 1:54-1:55 (I obviously took it easier).

[odysseybmx88]

Killing it out there man! We need to have a show down at Infineon :p How do you like NCRC?

[ActaeonLF]

@odysseybmx88 NCRC is great, inexpensive, nice crowd. Lots of traffic though. Having a great time with them.

Infineon? Eeek! I still need to do that one. I don't know the course at all, but I'm sure its a blast. We should definitely arrange a time to head out to LS, Infineon, or TH one of these days. Its been a while!