FerociousP

iTrader: (1)

Recently had my first actual HPDE track event after a few years of just doing autox. I went with MVP TrackTime to Road Atlanta on November 23rd. My first four sessions were with an instructor with my last two being solo (instructors were all taken). I actually enjoyed this, as I got to apply the skills/criticisms they told me without them in my ear and allowing me to focus. Though if I go again I'll definitely have an instructor in the car for a while as their insight was very valuable. My best time was about 1:52.3 and while I was slower on the straights than the people I went with, I was just barely faster than most of them including a 350whp FD who was gaining about 4sec on me just on the back straight! I was reaching into the 90s going into turn 5, 122-123 going into 10a, and apexed turn 12 around 95-100. I'm in Nashville, and our group is already planning another trip to Barber, TGPR, Putnam, Mid-Ohio, or AMP beginning next year. So much fun. Learning how to REALLY brake hard was even more fun.

Best lap starts at about 18:15 (and includes me getting weird at turn 3)



2004 GT 6spd
stock engine (with Cobb to lower fan turn on)
KW v3 coilovers
stock sways
BHR radiator
17x9 RPF1 +45
255/40-17 Direzza ZII tires (newer star specs)
Carbotech XP10 fronts/XP8 rears
decat mid pipe
RB catback

*** On my last session (which I didn't record, batt died) I had a pretty scary experience. I was coming down the hill to turn 12 and my power steering was GONE. Struggled to keep the line and luckily no issues, but immediately went into the pit after that. Very scary when going into the toughest corner on the track. I turned the car off and back on, and power steering was restored. This is not something I want to happen again, and I want to take precautions to make sure the system is in proper order. I'd had issues with it before, and have cleaned the harness and replaced the entire ground wire, but it has never gone out on me while driving. Does anyone know what could be "failing" and causing the PS to turn off? I'll replace the whole damn rack if I have to! It will be better than stuffing the car into a concrete wall.

yomomspimp06

can you take a side profile picture of your car? I'm trying to decide tire size. I was always told to go with a 40 series tire but would like to know how the 45 looks

yomomspimp06

https://www.facebook.com/JustTrackIt

Join us! great schedule this coming year

FerociousP

iTrader: (1)

Sorry that was a typo, they are 255/40-17.

Luckily i'm bored at work. This pick was BEFORE alignment and before I raised it up a little. This is about 2.8 deg negative camber in the rear.



This is one from the pit area at Road Atlanta. Aligned (about 1.7deg all around) and at non-scraping good ride height... covered in dust from the event!

yomomspimp06

looking good!

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Driving looks good, though (and maybe it's just me) your wheel inputs look a little abrupt. That's a fairly common complaint, but just be conscious of being smooth before you start going faster.

Also, there is an intermittent flashing red light on your tach that goes solid around 8:10, can't see what it is, but uhm. check it out.

[edit] Make that 3 lights: you've got a CEL and something else under the oil pressure "gauge"

Arca_ex

iTrader: (10)

Hey good job out there man, nice and smooth is the key. A lot of people coming from autocross have quick steering inputs, which is great for autocross and rapid changes in direction but for road course, slow hands and quick feet are what get the job done. Good to see more people hitting the track. I really want to drive Road Atlanta, I have hundreds of laps on there in iRacing lol.

I'm an instructor with NASA AZ and you definitely sound like the type of student that is easy to work with that has a good attitude and willing to listen to and implement the information you are getting. And I definitely know the feeling you're talking about when driving by yourself the first couple of times haha. I'm sure you'll learn fast, the guys that always struggle are the ones that don't know the value of instructors and would rather be without them on their first track experiences lol. That's why I still have a passenger seat in my car, there's always someone that will be faster than you and if you can get them to ride shotgun hopefully you can pick up some pointers.

russ

I seriously hope you're joking about this: "...first actual HPDE track event...", "...last two being solo (instructors were all taken)."

Your laps looked smooth.

FerociousP

iTrader: (1)

What do you mean about the quotes?




Thanks everyone for taking a look! The main comments from my instructors were:

Good use of line, maybe turning in early (they wanted late apexes)

not braking hard enough (braking too soon and too soft)

Don't unsettle the car by trying to shift going in/out of the turn. Get everything done before the turn, or stay in higher gear. (I wasn't heel/toeing).




With this session and the next I was applying those comments, which is why I stayed in 4th a lot, and was in 5th through turn 12.

yomomspimp06

I was wondering about the higher gear. I kept thinking "how is he going to gain on this s2k if he doesn't down shift"? practice heel toe everytime you stop while riding around. you'll be good in no time. you will be surprised at how much easier it is at the track.

Posted From RX8Club.com Android App

yomomspimp06

I think that's Lego's FC in the background. Pretty sure he had a bad day out there.

TANKERG

The thing I noticed (because I still struggle with it after 5 years) you have a death grip on the wheel, which would explain the comments above with the abrupt steering input. You lose a bit of precision and control with your hands and forearms being so tight. You also lose a lot of information of what the car is doing. A light grip is all that is needed

And if someone else could chime in, I've always been taught to pull the wheel and not push it. So, when you make a right turn, you use mostly your right hand to pull the wheel instead of using your left to push it. I thought you pushed more than pulled.

Otherwise, looks like such a fun track. RA is on my wishlist.

russ

I was just putting together that it was your first track event and they let you drive solo at the end because they ran out of instructors to put in the car with you. That would be a concern to me. In the video you looked fine.

FerociousP

iTrader: (1)

Ah gotcha. Novices were not required to have instructors at the event, but provided if desired. They didn't sign off or anything. I was surprised as well, as I have tagged along to other events where novices had the same instructor assigned to them the entire day. A few in our group that have ran before (but were still in novice) didn't have any for the entire day.

Honestly I would have had an instructor every time, as this was my first time out, but it just didn't work out that way. I did accomplish my main goal, which was to learn how to feel comfortable out on track and being able to handle everything from paying attention to flag stations and people needing point bys... to trying to learn how stay on line and actually brake hard. Braking hard and hitting 10a correctly was a really good feeling!

Yep, he had a bad day, chassis almost certainly a total loss. Good thing it was a cheap FC. I made sure to talk to him knowing he was a rotary guy and he was really nice and helpful.

It also didn't help that I forgot my casual shoes and had to go on track in Doc Martens. Not exactly the best for driving feel.

I'll try to remember that. Hopefully being a little more relaxed will come with time.

One instructor also noted I kept my left foot on top of the clutch pedal. Told me to try to keep it on the dead pedal unless shifting. Didn't even realize I was doing it!

yomomspimp06

yea, Lego is the man. He is FAST! I'm just happy his car was caged. My first event I saw a guy total a brand new evo. it was 2weeks old. I felt for him

FerociousP

iTrader: (1)

Current light situation:

1) TPMS light ON because my RPF1s doen't have the sensors in them

2) DCS off light ON and TCS light ON because I turn it off. It was noticeable in the turns.

3) Airbag light was ON/OFF the whole day, as the harness to the driver's seat airbag needs replacing. Common code.

4) CEL was ON for P0420 as I removed the cat for the event. No other codes present with code checker I had for the whole weekend.

5) Coolant light comes ON/OFF (common problem, hard to fix). Levels were monitored and good all weekend.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Good job for a first day

I concur with Tanker on the deathgrip...I had a tendancy to do that when i started as well...and it is a lot more relaxing when your forearms don't go numb after 15 minutes

I have a sticker on my sunvisor that sums it up for me...A buddy gave it to me a while ago

It says " Just ****** Breathe"

russ

Get gloves, they help a lot with the tight grip. I bought cheap mechanics gloves, the blue harborfreight specials. I've tried expensive ones and the cheap ones are the same for me. On straights stretch your fingers too. Yes, take a breath!!! As to shoes, I use Converse Chucks.

All_Day_Dre

iTrader: (2)

Good stuff, I also have the death grip problem from autoX for so long and make a effort to be smooth and fluid, Im still working on my heel toe but I can't find myself to do it in traffic, so i back off a bit and just rev match. Video looks good, nice job!

bse50

Overall it looks good for a first experience. Much better than my first couple of years i'd say!

Keep your hands at 9:15 (am or pm doesn't matter :p), brake later and don't be afraid to use all track, you ultimately paid for it! This means not being afraid to be wider when you enter and exit a turn. Especially on corner exits it helps to retain the momentum since you don't have a lot of power to count on.

Other than that it looks like you might get quite good with minimum seat time and that's a huge plus!

@russ: driving gloves are often curved, they help relieve stress A set of alpinestars tech(something) isn't that expensive and lasts a long time, especially if you don't need them to be fireproof.

TANKERG

Turning = Braking

cwatson

iTrader: (1)

Laps looked great for a first day! You can tell the autocross experience helps a lot with car control...slide recovery in T3 was just right. Death-grip will go away as you get more comfortable on track.

I noticed mostly that you're short-shifting quite a bit, especially on the back straight. Add in the heel-toe and you'll get more comfortable with higher revs through and out of the corners.

Inside curbing is your friend. Getting on the outside curbing comes with a lot more risk, but it's necessary to run quick.

I can tell you were a little late at times by how you were steering. In general, try to feed out the steering and roll on throttle before or at the apex. Feeding in steering post-apex is indicative of a low apex speed. If the car is at the limit, it would US/OS (depending on setup) if you accelerate with the same or more steering angle. Basically, you should have to feed out the steering on exit if the apex speed is correct.

Regardless, that was some impressive driving for a first day out and I'm sure you'll progress quickly.

FerociousP

iTrader: (1)

Ordered pictures from Sideline Sports Photography who were there in conjunction with MVP Track Time and got some great shots.

My instructor telling me to use all of the track going through Turn 1.


Turn 5.


Turn 12.

grid

Man RA is such an awesome track. So much undulation and unsettling of the car.

FerociousP

iTrader: (1)

It really is a high caliber track. Unfortunately I don't think I'll make it back there this year, but I have been going to other semi-local tracks. Since RA, I've been to TGPR, a small track near Talladega, AL, and Putnam Park near Indianapolis. I'll be going back to TGPR in May, Putnam in August, and am already signed up for the newly opening National Corvette Museam Track (NCM) in Bowling Green, KY in October AND April '15! Track days are addicting!

Here are some vids of my recent exploits.

TGPR session

Best Lap at Putnam Park 1:24.20

Four Wheels off due to bad heel-toe

Putnam was a really fun track with lots of runoff and some good corners...