FeuerRacing

Lots of good feedback here but am going to to offer something different.

Do you have the stomach to drive 8/10ths, 9/10ths, 10/10ths to gain the massive time available in the car? I see a lot of 5/10ths driving on the video and the suggestions above will get you a tenth or two to get closer to the edge of the friction circle but not to the limits where major time is gained.

The plateau many drivers hit is attributed to their willingness to drive at the limits. Being that you buy track insurance is usually an indicator that you're risk adverse. And to be fast - there will be risks.

There are many people that plateau because they generally don't want to put their car or themselves in harm's way. I understand it and respect it - especially on a street car with limited safety... roll cage, fire suppression, etc. I see you're also wearing a t-shirt while driving which is something I'd only do at 5/10ths driving (tire scrubbing).

So before jumping in with coaches who are going to push you to the edge - I'd first ask if you're willing to start dancing your car and yourself "with the devil" and getting to the limits.

It's a BIG (and personal) question that you need to answer. And then you will have the right direction on how you want to meet your goals.

Hopefully helpful and godspeed.

Veloce Raptor

A smart and qualified coach will not push him to the edge.

FeuerRacing

If he's measuring himself on time gained vs enjoying the car/track than he might never be satisfied with the results compared to that of people's times who are willing to go to the edge. It's purely expectation management.

I've met more and more people who are absolutely honest with themselves and content with speeds their currently doing - sometimes its unfortunately happened after an expensive mistake.

This driver could be willing to take his game to the edge but it's a question one must answer.

mark kibort

a smart, experienced coach will put him near the edge where he would get feed back from the car, and give tools to allow him to not go over the edge.
this goes for the car under brakiing cornering and acceleration.
he has got the line down.. but he is driving at 5 tenths as was said.

so how does an instructor get him to the edge. ProCoach said it. you break down each turn/section. I break it down even further. each turn , each straight, i break down into areas where you can reach the limit, without risk.

Example:

acceleration/engine management:
95% of red line all shifts/75% of redline throiugh turns off throttle
gains- capuring all acceleration protential when car is pointed straight
and best control characteristics when off throttle.
risk- very low

Turns:
increase sterring input and throttle slowly to get tire push or oversteer and correct. do this mid turn, on larger radius turns
risk medium.
(this area has 3 general categories...
1. entrance
2. turning balance/limit
3. exit

Braking:
on approach to turns, apply threshold braking well (twice the distance) before braking points, learn lock up limits, lock up and release technique, and weight transfer effects. for grip.
risk low.

Racing is by definition , about driving the car and yourself at the limit. you need to be able to approach the limits safely and consistently. a coach can help here, but right now, for the OP its about getting more comfortable with the car and he has desires to go faster and im sure, but still safe being a street car.

Just using the cars acceleration potential will decrease lap times with no risk anywhere else. that's why i suggested it. He bought a lot of acceleration potential , why not use it . its just one fo the tools he has. the rest he can learn until he gets to a point where a coach can do some fine tuning.
certainly he could accelerate the process at any point by hiring someone... but at this point,i think he is enjoying the car, being safe and slowly improving. nothing wrong with that for a year or two. Also it depends a LOT on his goals. He might never want to race, and just want to run 5 seconds faster.. for this , he needs to do nothing more than use the power he bought, for example.
Great advice

jlanka

I'm not yet at the edge but isn't it true that once you learn how to get to and stay at the edge, repeating it becomes easier and more enjoyable? Isn't it something all drivers should strive for?

Veloce Raptor

There are plenty of ways of extracting much higher performance for this driver without putting him further in harm's way. A good coach will break it down and help do just this

dnitake

One thing to do is request one of the GGR instructors. Yes, they have day jobs, but I bet you'd get plenty of constructive ideas w/o incurring too much risk. The price is right too.
One thing I would add to the fray is to use 2nd gear at 11. Powering out onto the straight in 3rd at 2700 RPM is going to cost you big. This will be a free 2 seconds. Now you're almost under 1:50. There's other places too, but I think it's already been said.

mark kibort

And you know i mention this to most everyone that posts a lap, because when you lose 50 to 100 hp for even a few seconds it adds up in time. I also often add that being in the lower gear into most other turns helps entry control as well by letting the diff do its job, not to mention the extra HP on those other turn exits as well.
a lap is made up of accelerations, cornering and braking . they all are near equally important to try and maximize. it makes no sense if you are trying to use 90% of your braking capacity , but only use 75% of your power (aka acceleration) capacity.

ohenryinatlanta

sounds like it is time to buy a race car....

morsini

Yup, you need the proper equipment before extracting more or pushing. That said, you're over braking and not using the entire track. Work on that next time out and when you get stuck, hire a coach.

morsini

Yup, I was there.

177mph

Just clarifying here - doesn't the OP have an 06 997 with 355hp? Lists it in his sig and on the video. Mark notes a 991. Different car.

mark kibort

I corrected the verbiage. typo the graph was for a 997S as clearly seen on the dyno run graph.

ProCoach

VERY common. And indicative of an area with MAJOR opportunity for improvement...

Bringing your focus UP and getting your eyes FURTHER OUT FRONT (in the distance): a) slows things down in the car so you feel more in control, hence can commit sooner/more, b) allows you to obsess less over every little thing the car is doing to screw you, hence spook you, c) "if they can do it, you can do it," and d) encourages best practices of vision and it's relationship to control input timing and amplitude.

The best drivers I work with do the same times with or without a rabbit. Yes, occasionally in a competitive event, they can reach DEEP down inside and come up with something even they didn't think they were capable of, but the first thing I work on with a lot of my clients is repeatability, consistency and GOING FAST OUT OF THE BOX. To work up the self motivation to be as quick as you can be, you'll need to do that.

But this issue points up a major shortcoming of not having it worked out EXACTLY IN YOUR MIND, WHAT you want to do and WHEN you should do it... Good luck!

ProCoach

Good post.

Having written in the "Track Wisdom" section on my website to help define "Tenths" and how they're used to gauge relative effort/performance/risk exposure, I believe most drivers give little thought to defining those levels. You KNOW what 10/10ths is, the OP may not.

Almost EVERY driver drives to level THEY are comfortable with. One person's 8/10ths is another driver's out lap at 5/10ths. There is NO car that cannot be driven quicker by someone else.

I believe that a competent, experienced and educated coach can craft a strategy to allow the OP to gently approach, for a very short time, and in the least quick corners (middle and off of Turn 2, for instance), the BEGINNING of that "dance" with the car. And it should always be WITH THE CAR.

The idea that drivers can flip a switch and go from "stuck" to even 8/10ths or 9/10ths without incurring a HUGE risk (and this IS the #1 reason why there is carnage on the racetrack, someone throwing a "Hail Mary" from a previously sedate entry in an effort to "improve") is not a good strategy or even possible so that that knowledge and comfort zone "sticks."

When I was young and dumb, we didn't even use harnesses when carrying 15-20 degrees tail out in live axle front engine Ferraris in Turn 12 at Road Atlanta. It makes me shudder just thinking about it thirty years later... Safety equipment is REALLY important, but you CAN learn skills in an incremental way to allow your mind to expand your perceived potential...

YES! Absolutely! IF they don't strive for that, they plateau...

Agreed. The key is a) KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE DOING NOW and b) MEASURING where and what you are doing better (or not...) when implementing a VERY TIGHTLY DEFINED and targeted execution strategy. Even planning to maintain 100% throttle from exit of T11 to brake point (whatever it is) for T2 is the kind of information you NEED to KNOW. If not, WHY not? Then craft a strategy to change.

This is what a coach does. Break it down.

^^THIS^^

T11 is one of the slowest corners in North America, with most cars doing 36 to 42 mph. Namerow at Mont Tremblant is another. Use 2nd.

This is number one. Unless there is a compelling reason not to, utilize the FULL width of the track. Any track, any car, any driver. One of the greatest differences between good and great drivers, and pros and ams.