Finally got it to a track
02-14-2014, 06:50 PM
#32
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Do not cancel the order (I saw you posting about it somewhere) - it's an awesome car.
02-14-2014, 06:56 PM
#33
I just got back from the dealer, and as of an hour ago, my ED window and build completion date are all still on track, so i'll be proceeding with the car. We're just getting some legalese taken care of to waive the ED cancellation fee if the window changes and I have to cancel the ED.
I've got no issues with the issues people have reported, I think it's all a tempest in a teapot. And also, I've seen you drive; if it can stand up to that abuse, I won't have a problem!
02-16-2014, 12:20 AM
#35
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Had an unbelievable day at Thunderhill. The car is pure joy to drive. I am still figuring out lines and braking points on Thunderhill, but thanks to the car I was able to pass everyone in my run group (top non-instructors) at least once. Of course that's because better drivers were driving (much) slower cars - mostly spec Miatas. Most laps were with too much traffic to set a meaningful time, but few cleaner laps that I could get were in 2.05 range (Cyclone configuration). I got an earful about braking too early, turning in too late, getting on the throttle too late etc., from some guys there, so the car is capable of a much faster time for sure. In any case, I gave it a full workout - threshold braking, cornering at 1.1-1.6G and full throttle almost to redline. The car is amazingly same from lap to lap - no brake fade, no floaty feeling in suspension I used to get in BMW, no power loss. The only thing that goes is tires. I could see peak Gs dropping few .01s per lap after 15 minutes. Not sure if that's temperature of pressure. I was running stock brakes, tires, alignment etc - just the way the car came from the dealer.
Here is one lap for your viewing please. Feedback welcome:
Here is one lap for your viewing please. Feedback welcome:
02-16-2014, 12:26 PM
#38
Nordschleife Master
Thanks again for sharing, Max. I'm a big fan of video, so thanks for posting that as well. I'm also video *****, so I'm gonna suggest that you'll get much better quality and audio through something like a gopro with external mic placed right behind the rear license plate. ;-)
Just a few suggestions from watching your video:
1) You are starting out too wide entering turn 2 and can brake later/deeper into the corner
2) You should be WOT from the exit of turn 6 all of the way through 7 until entering 8. Seems scary, but as long as you do not early apex 7, it will hold. It's takes faith, like turn 1 at Laguna and turn 5 at Sonoma. You want to lift, but don't need to.
3) You want to turn in a bit earlier for 9 and get on the throttle as soon as you turn in
4) You went in too hot for turn 11 and had to exit too wide, so you lost a lot of momentum going through the esses.
Keep up with the posts! Looking forward to seeing you shave down more time! Given that a boxster spyder can run the same config at 2:02 with similar tires, I want to see you blast through the 2:00 barrier in stock form!
Just a few suggestions from watching your video:
1) You are starting out too wide entering turn 2 and can brake later/deeper into the corner
2) You should be WOT from the exit of turn 6 all of the way through 7 until entering 8. Seems scary, but as long as you do not early apex 7, it will hold. It's takes faith, like turn 1 at Laguna and turn 5 at Sonoma. You want to lift, but don't need to.
3) You want to turn in a bit earlier for 9 and get on the throttle as soon as you turn in
4) You went in too hot for turn 11 and had to exit too wide, so you lost a lot of momentum going through the esses.
Keep up with the posts! Looking forward to seeing you shave down more time! Given that a boxster spyder can run the same config at 2:02 with similar tires, I want to see you blast through the 2:00 barrier in stock form!
02-16-2014, 05:28 PM
#39
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Thanks again for sharing, Max. I'm a big fan of video, so thanks for posting that as well. I'm also video *****, so I'm gonna suggest that you'll get much better quality and audio through something like a gopro with external mic placed right behind the rear license plate. ;-)
Just a few suggestions from watching your video:
1) You are starting out too wide entering turn 2 and can brake later/deeper into the corner
2) You should be WOT from the exit of turn 6 all of the way through 7 until entering 8. Seems scary, but as long as you do not early apex 7, it will hold. It's takes faith, like turn 1 at Laguna and turn 5 at Sonoma. You want to lift, but don't need to.
3) You want to turn in a bit earlier for 9 and get on the throttle as soon as you turn in
4) You went in too hot for turn 11 and had to exit too wide, so you lost a lot of momentum going through the esses.
Keep up with the posts! Looking forward to seeing you shave down more time! Given that a boxster spyder can run the same config at 2:02 with similar tires, I want to see you blast through the 2:00 barrier in stock form!
Just a few suggestions from watching your video:
1) You are starting out too wide entering turn 2 and can brake later/deeper into the corner
2) You should be WOT from the exit of turn 6 all of the way through 7 until entering 8. Seems scary, but as long as you do not early apex 7, it will hold. It's takes faith, like turn 1 at Laguna and turn 5 at Sonoma. You want to lift, but don't need to.
3) You want to turn in a bit earlier for 9 and get on the throttle as soon as you turn in
4) You went in too hot for turn 11 and had to exit too wide, so you lost a lot of momentum going through the esses.
Keep up with the posts! Looking forward to seeing you shave down more time! Given that a boxster spyder can run the same config at 2:02 with similar tires, I want to see you blast through the 2:00 barrier in stock form!
Also, for me seats alone should be good for 2-3 seconds. I move in the seat so much that it's difficult to sense rear slip, and I hold on to the steering wheel for support, badly overgripping it, which makes feeling front traction difficult.
Anyway, some interesting observations:
- Sport suspension setting increases feedback in the steering wheel. Who would have guessed? But it's noticeable even on highway - push the button, and vibration from the road is noticeably stronger.
- The passenger side rear wheel got most wear (outside shoulder). I think from rotation in tight left-handers 10 & 11 and maybe in 2.
- The tire pressure monitor is useful for checking the hot tire pressures during the session, but when I started with fronts under 26psi, it would freeze with an error message would not unfreeze until I drove slowly at the end of a session. Maybe there is a way to prevent this.
- Automatic shifting is very good, but sometimes overly aggressive. For example, it downshifted to 2 before the cyclone (T5) only to have to upshift to 3rd in the middle of 5a, and that upshift was abrupt enough to require steering correction. Manual shifting is more comfortable to me, but with relatively even engine sound after about 7.5K, and no loss in pull, it's difficult to perfectly time redline shifts. Shift light would help a lot, at least on a new track where I do not have shift points memorized.
- Suspension processes curbs and rumble strips very well. Minimal loss of contact & traction from those. Somewhat similar to MP12C in this regard, even though with conventional suspension.
- Brakes get just slightly soft immediately after the session, regardless of cool-down, but get solid after few applications at normal speeds. Not sure what this is. I'll report back after a flush. Other than that, they are great.
- I figured out one potential cause of mid-corner understeer I reported earlier - what I thought was maintenance throttle was in fact increasing my speed quite a bit, naturally pushing the car out. So I just need to give less throttle before apex. In general, the car loses very little energy from turning. In M3, I has to have it practically floored in turn 8 on Mosport, just to maintain the same speed. This one requires very little throttle to maintain speed through a curve - it's less scrubbing and more slingshotting.
- The car hates coasting, even for a moment. I tried coasting to tighten the arch in 2 and in 7, and it's like hitting a coolant spill - both rear AND front seem to have less grip. Not sure how it compares with other 911s, but it reminded me of formula barber a bit. I feel very fast drivers can get much faster in this car by left-foot braking to make the transition from brake to throttle completely blended.
All in all, I could not be happier - great car and an interesting new challenge.
I hope to get seats and harness bar before the next track day.
02-16-2014, 05:31 PM
#40
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I drove in auto and in manual - not sure in which mode this lap was. Manual is more comfortable for me, but upshift timing in lower gears is tricky.
02-16-2014, 09:58 PM
#42
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But my theoretical best lap for the day was 2:01, so under 2 minutes real lap should be possible rather easily with some practice. I just could not put down a consistent lap - traffic and mistakes got in the way here and there. I need to get more familiar with the track and the car. Ideally, have someone ride with me.
BTW, I used external mic, it just fell of and was knocked around in the back.
Also, for me seats alone should be good for 2-3 seconds. I move in the seat so much that it's difficult to sense rear slip, and I hold on to the steering wheel for support, badly overgripping it, which makes feeling front traction difficult.
02-16-2014, 11:44 PM
#43
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Nice video and awesome times for a bone stock car. Seats are going to help you a ton with feeling what the car is doing under braking and in corners. In a few months the NorCal DE Cup guys will be back out and your going to have a nice selection of fast GT3's to run with!I run a different car but here is some video from a session that I did last month at T-hill for you to compare lines to etc if you are interested but as orthojoe mentioned your lines look pretty good to me too, you are giving up some time braking early which over slows the car and limits your corner speed (something I'm still working on too lol!). Also orthojoe mention:
You will see an oh xxit! moment like he is talking about in the vid on the last lap exiting 15. One of the few places on the track where you can get bit and bit bad if the car gets away form you!
You could get even closer to the apex of 14 and track out wider at the exit of 14 to start out wider entering 15. You should be full throttle before the apex of 15, but that's one corner I always leave a little bit on the table with. Reason being, that's where everyone seems to lose their car into the wall on the right at thunderhill....
02-16-2014, 11:57 PM
#44
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