Laguna Seca 1.51.21 > passed Mustang GT on Straight
 

First session was cool and wet. Lots of fishtailing. A guy in his Ariel Atom spun about 225 degrees counter-clockwise on turn six toward in the inside -- I kept driving past him.

We probably got in 50 laps. By session 2 everything was dry including my Trofeo R's and the track. The blue and white alligator sides still had puddles in them so we stayed off those until noon.

This video below is session 5 of 5 and was recorded using Harry's Lap timer -- sorry for the shaky quality. You can see that I'm chasing a late model red Mustang GT. There were three guys from Ford here this day and the Mustang had a MFR's plate on it. After the finish line, and coming up over the hill at Turn One for the next lap, the Mustang kindly gave me a point buy. It strikes me that I could've pushed him harder on the 1.51 lap than I did.

1.51 is my fastest time to date. I'm open to coaching tips, fellas and gals! Please be direct!

Here's a list of the fastest times in our run group:

- Porche GT3-RS ~1.44
- BMW M5 ~1.47
- Porche Cayman GTS 1.48
- Camaro 1LE 1.51 (my third year of track driving, 3rd time on MRLS)
- Porche 911 Carrera 1.52 (his first day on the track!)

I think the Ariel came in faster than me but I never got his time.

The 1LE is listed in Car and Driver's VIR report as faster than the Cayman GTS however with Porche's PDK shifting I don't think I can shift as fast.

Both the GT3 and the Cayman got meatballed (black flagged for blowing sound). The GT3 added something to quiet the sound and the Cayman let up on the throttle. Before this track day I added the Forza Compenetti Exhaust Controller which dampens the NPP by closing the muffler values. What's nice about this is that I don't think there was any loss in power since my track time improved from 1.58 last year to 1.51 this year. Next year .... to break 1.50!! Again, advice welcome.



https://youtu.be/xKNUDEkfZak

Nice job Brian:thumbsup: you're line looked perfect, and the fact you bettered your best time is a big deal. No criticism from me, just think, if you were running tomorrow....you would be in the 40's.

I know you did a few things:gossip: to your baby, did you feel and notice a difference in top speeds from last time?

I don't want to brag but I ran a 1:41 in a stock Z/28.................in forza 6 on my Xbox lol congrats man that's an amazing time.

backeddy is the man for tips at laguna! he runs consistent 1:42 at laguna seca in his nearly stock 1LE.

I wonder if my sons have this, you just gave me an amazing idea, thanks! :biggrin:

Wow. That's just incredible.

@Backeddy ... you around? Would love to watch one of your videos, man!

Well headers the middies as you know ... but chiefly better brakes, tires and ducts. The car definitely pulls harder than before. There was another Cayman there and I was able to gain on him in any straightway. The GTS Cayman, on the other hand, pulled very hard.

My rotors are highly glazed now so I need to figure what do about that.

I had a friend with me in the session before this who basically told me that I'm not laying down the power fast enough and hard enough through the apex. He also pointed out that my turning was too binary mean turn in, turn out versus gradual turning in and out. Once I started doing that my times dropped.

LOL. I just bought that for my kids. There's so much damned traffic on Forza 6 how do you get a clear track to get that speed?

Funny you should mention Z/28 and Forza 6 ... I had been playing with that before going to the track and one thing I learned is that the physics are pretty darn good going over the hill on turn one. If you brake or let off the throttle too abruptly the game shoots your car off to the right. In real life I kept the pedal planted and got up to 107 on that straightway. They guy in the 911 was up to 110. I wonder if BackEddy gets going faster on that straightaway.

Good times!

Add me on xbox live, and you can play free play and set those hot lap times. The hardest is turning off the T/C and the initial turn on the corkscrew always gets the tires loose

Your track use is great (anyone not touching rumble strips at the inside and outside of almost every corner is leaving speed on the table). The car looks very planted and I don't hear tires at all ... which makes me think there's a least a few more MPH to be had in every corner (the car should move around a little).

The only thing I see that would give you a big pickup in time is your throttle pick up. You're picking up neutral throttle just before the apex and then waiting till about a half second after the apex before you start accelerating. Try doing both of those earlier. Pick up neutral throttle as soon as you get the car turned (use the nose-heavy trailing throttle to help get the car pointed), and transition to acceleration just before the apex.

For throttle pickup points, try hanging out with the corner workers a few times. The slow guys get hard on the gas when they're almost completely done with the corner. The quick guys pick it up just after the apex like you do. And the fast guys are on the throttle before the apex.

Very good tip, this is something I am personally working on in autocross, similar concept and results!

One day I'll get to laguna..

Nice job, makes me remember my first time up there this past June and I can not wait to get back there. This is not one of my fastest laps as I was chasing down this AMG. My best was a 1:48.2 this day. We all need to get together up there one time next year. I was there with a few other camaros including backeddy.

https://youtu.be/-kMpnhsetHM

I've lost count of how many times I have watched this video... Love the sound of that engine...