MarcoRemius

This past weekend I had the opportunity to participate in 2 different track days. Not only was it my first time on a track with the 911, it was also my first time on a "real" track. I've done small autocrosses and competed in FormulaSAE in college, but this was really a whole new experience.

NASA was running an HPDE event at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) Saturday & Sunday and a local GT-R shop was holding a GT-R event on Monday. A really good friend of mine who own's his own instructor's school offered to ride with me for all the sessions. I'm pretty sure he knew that if he got me out there once he'd have me hooked. With a little help from him, I was able to register for the Sunday NASA day and the Monday GT-R event (because he works there too).

I ran roughly 8 sessions (one cut short due to a Subie taking a closer look at the trees) over the 2 days. Technical track things aside, I learned a few things about the 911 that were truly amazing to me. You probably already know them, but I wanted to share.

• The factory brakes are amazing. I know you should do pads, lines, and fluid if you really spend considerable time at the track, but for an impromptu weekend the stock Porsche brakes are more than adequate. In fact, I was a little worried b/c I felt they under-performed in normal street driving. I guess they just needed a little heat b/c each lap at VIR has a ~130->~90 braking zone and a ~130->~50 braking zone. By the end of the day the brakes lost a little of their bite, but there was no noticeable fade. Awesome.
• It is faster than you think. The HP and TQ numbers on the Carrera S don't really impress me, and around town the car feels quick, but not fast. On the track however it was a totally different ballgame. While I may have been getting left in the dust by modded GT-R's on the straights, the 911 had more than enough power to keep up with most other things out there. Granted driver skill has something to do with whether you can "keep" up with something, but I was absolutely impressed.
• PASM in Sport mode is impressive. Porsche nailed it. It'll keep you shiny side up, but give you enough leeway to remind you that you really aren't that good of a driver... yet Saved my *** once in the upper esses and I barely even felt it.
• And last but not least... the 911 is SO much better on consumables. I used less than half the amount of fuel per session as the GT-R's (duh), but tire wear and brake wear were way lighter than I anticipated.
• My closing Porsche specific thought... after this experience, it made me realize that street only driving in a 911 is like owning an airplane and only taxiing around the tarmac. There's SO much more to the car than just what it does on the street, and there's only one way to really experience it and get all of your investment's worth.

Overall I thought it was a wonderful weekend. I learned a TON from my instructor and felt I could easily knock 2.5 seconds off my lap times after going over the telemetry data on the way home. Guess that saves some excitement for the next go around. Here's some video from the weekend. I'm not the fastest guy out there, but I felt I was reasonably quick at 2:25:09 for a fast lap and 2:23:xx for a TBL. My instructor ran a 2:19:xx in my car and we easily identified the 4 specific corners where I was loosing time (thanks Oak Tree ).

Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think. I apologize for the varying and sometimes nauseating GoPro angles. We were battling with a faulty Telem unit and Camera and all we had at the end of the day was "helmet cam".

No making fun!
Practice Laps:

Laps in some traffic:

Fastest Lap (but still pretty slow )

Hella-Buggin'

Congratulations. You've just discovered the addictive world of DE! Now, make sure you have a good concept of paying it forward to the wife so that when parts start showing up and weekends start getting booked at VIR she doesn't leave you.

MarcoRemius

Haha, what wife?!

soltino

Great write-up. (Except for the PASM comment) and great Vids.

tino

Tcc1999

2. It may be faster than you think but PAG has put a lot of time and effort into making it less of a beast compared to previous iterations. Still, with the engine so far back it will bite you if you are not paying attention because it is just a different animal than a front or mid-engine car. The car handles great - until it doesn't. Then all Hell breaks loose and you get the PSM lights flashing, etc. The good thing about the track is that if you focus on it you can often figure out the limits of adhesion understeer/oversteer, etc. without getting into too much trouble

3. Someone correct me here but the PASM simply "changes" dampening/suspension to a more sportier tolerance. I think it is the PSM that saved you (and it's saved me more than once).

4. Keep an eye on your tires. I have P0's on my car and I didn't properly warm them the last time I was on the track and got some graining as a result. Not a bad thing though since I hate the tires and just makes it that much easier to replace them.

Aus997.1

Thats crazy. In the "laps in traffic video" about 2mins in there is a guy with a Dinning Table attached to the boot of his car..... Not much safety at that track day!!!!!!!!

MarcoRemius

Oops, you're right! I meant PSM.

There were some interesting cars out there. It was interesting hearing that 370z idle in the pits with the sound of a v8.