Henry S. felt so bad about Luigi blowing his engine that he offered to let me drive his IMSA winning CSL in practice today at the Rolex Reunion. He owns the #58 car driven by Stuck and Posey during the 1975 and 1976 seasons.
I'll try and describe the differences between my Luigi car and the IMSA car.
Motor- Henry's car has the full on M49 4 valve motor. It is currently producing something north of 480 HP, and 350 pound feet of torque. The M30 motor in Luigi dynoed at about 350 HP, and just over 300 pound feet of torque. The power is not brutal, and the torque band is quite wide. It peaks initially at about 5,000 RPM, but builds again above 7,500. I was surprised at how tractable it was. It puttered through the paddock at 1,500 RPM, and would wind up to 9,000 with no fuss.
Brakes- I never found the braking limit in the 10 laps I drove the car. They are heavier than the brakes on Luigi, but also more effective. I pushed them a couple of times into turns 3 and 11, and they gave great feedback and were very easy to modulate.
Steering- The IMSA car has rack and pinion, while Luigi has a quick ratio recirculating ball based on the stock steering box. The IMSA car gave a lot more feedback, and was not nearly as heavy. It had more range but the car followed every crack in the pavement at low speeds as well as thumping me if I used any curbs.
Handling- Both cars handle very much alike. They are both very predictable, have no bad manners, and are very forgiving. Both cars turn in crisply and accurately. They both take a set at transition. They both love to have power added smoothly, and they can both be steered with the throttle. There is just a lot more throttle to work with in the IMSA car.
I am very appreciative of Henry's trust and generosity. This experience was a dream come true, and helped ease the disappointment at loosing the motor in Luigi.
I'll try and describe the differences between my Luigi car and the IMSA car.
Motor- Henry's car has the full on M49 4 valve motor. It is currently producing something north of 480 HP, and 350 pound feet of torque. The M30 motor in Luigi dynoed at about 350 HP, and just over 300 pound feet of torque. The power is not brutal, and the torque band is quite wide. It peaks initially at about 5,000 RPM, but builds again above 7,500. I was surprised at how tractable it was. It puttered through the paddock at 1,500 RPM, and would wind up to 9,000 with no fuss.
Brakes- I never found the braking limit in the 10 laps I drove the car. They are heavier than the brakes on Luigi, but also more effective. I pushed them a couple of times into turns 3 and 11, and they gave great feedback and were very easy to modulate.
Steering- The IMSA car has rack and pinion, while Luigi has a quick ratio recirculating ball based on the stock steering box. The IMSA car gave a lot more feedback, and was not nearly as heavy. It had more range but the car followed every crack in the pavement at low speeds as well as thumping me if I used any curbs.
Handling- Both cars handle very much alike. They are both very predictable, have no bad manners, and are very forgiving. Both cars turn in crisply and accurately. They both take a set at transition. They both love to have power added smoothly, and they can both be steered with the throttle. There is just a lot more throttle to work with in the IMSA car.
I am very appreciative of Henry's trust and generosity. This experience was a dream come true, and helped ease the disappointment at loosing the motor in Luigi.
