Last time you joined us for the Randy Pobst Randit Ridetech Revival, we concluded our before and after test of replacing the Randit’s suspension with a complete Ridetech setup featuring triple adjustable TQ shocks, front and rear sway bars, beefier front control arms with better geometry, and a 4-link out back. As expected, the installed system and accompanying alignment yielded an improved lap time on our baseline course along with more preferred handling characteristics from Randy’s point of view.
This time around we find ourselves in the state of Virginia, at a little race track you might have heard about, called Virginia International Raceway. We’ve hightailed it across the country to join Randy Pobst for a weekend at Hyperfest!
The event is one of the more popular automotive lifestyle events in the country, combining multiple automotive disciplines including wheel-to-wheel racing, open NASA track sessions for drivers of various experience levels, drifting, a car show, and a vendor midway. It’s fun for the whole family and brings thousands of enthusiasts from multiple states together for the two-day May event.
Our task this weekend is to get Randy’s car out on track and see how it feels and as the weekend progresses, make any needed tuning changes to the triple adjustable shocks to ensure it meets with expectation. We aren’t looking for an outright lap right out of the gate. Instead, we’re going to ramp things up progressively through the weekend, establishing how the car feels and ensuring the engine is happy and ready to be pushed harder as the weekend progresses. From there we’ll start turning up the dial on the pace, with the goal of having a lap time to compare on the Grand Full Course at VIR at the conclusion of the event.
Thankfully, with all the prep work and engine protection mods that were installed in between our fourth and fifth episodes, the iron block 400 Pontiac engine ran steady and pulled hard all weekend. When it came to the suspension, Randy only ever requested small changes to high speed and rebound, citing the car was already very neutral and to his liking.
One of the limitations to our weekend (as there will always be a challenge that presents itself) was within the braking system. The Baer T4 brakes were amazing, however, as a whole system the brakes did not offer much modulation and thankfully, we were able to identify the issue and establish that it an install error, not the brakes themselves.
On Sunday, the final day of the event, Randy took the car out for a session and got some wide-open space to get after it. Traffic was minimal and he was able to drive the car well despite the brake condition. A lap time of 2:18 was recorded off of cell phone footage and while not super accurate based on GPS from a Garmin or similar track lap timer, it gives us context for just what kind of performance is capable from a late ‘70s muscle car when equipped with modern suspension components, modern 200 TW tires, and a capable driver.
