I did my first all out track day today at Pitt Race (pittrace.com) I had done their Track-X last year (turns 1-8 of North Track) but they do not have that event anymore. It was an SCCA Track Night in America, the full course and it was my first time on the new South Track. The full course is 2.8 miles, 19 turns. The combo of turns 5 & 6 are fantastic
Huge elevation change and banking.
I honed in on the tire pressures after the first session and took out a tiny bit of front rebound from the RideTechs after the second. During the first session the LF would roll over pretty hard and create a huge understeer. It is possible that they just had not built up enough heat and pressure to be optimal. I actually put half the lefts on to the grass in turn 4. The third session was pretty damn good, car had great balance, if I turned in harder it would rotate harder, and it had good rotation on throttle. Both very easy to modulate. The RideTechs worked great and definitely had more control thru the turn 12/13 (Old North Track turns 5 and 6) transition vs what the OE 1LE struts had (for which I had to wait for the car to settle here before I could commit to turning in turn 13. I did not run balls out on the straights as I wanted to take it easy on the brakes because I may put the fronts on the market this winter after I upgrade. Well, since the car ran so damn good in the third session, I ran it hard and the front calipers are OK. EDIT: I edited this because I just had taken a quick glance at them right before I left the track, a storm was rolling in and the light was low, and combined with the brake dust I thought they had turned darker, but after I washed the car yesterday, they look perfect. I WILL be selling those front calipers and rotors this winter.
More than anything I was learning the South Track. As usual, I had to be patient and not turn in too early. I ended up turning in late on most of the corners (vs. where Pitt Race had the turn in pylon) and the car rotates and cuts nicely. I pretty much nailed the turn ins on all the corners except turn 8. I still have a tendency of missing the right line there. Still lots of room for improvement on my skills/consistency.
I added Mobil 1 5W40 Turbo Diesel oil before I went and did a brake and clutch flush. No issues and considering it was 90*F there were no overheating issues, though I have no idea how hot it may have been. And as usual the Goodyear G:2's took a beating on the shoulder. I got my wear lines just about to the triangle indicator on the sidewall, the lefts may be a bit too much. I believe I can add a lb or 2 to the left side tires when cold to pull the wear line off the shoulder.
My cold pressures (set at home before I left) were:
LF RF
31 29
LR RR
30 28
I set them based on my experience at Pitt Race's Track X last year and what the tires wanted
I removed and added to different tires after the first session, I'll update as to what they cooled down to. The tire I only added to was the LR. I take some pics of the wear line also
Total track miles: 67
Hung out with a guy from West Virginia who had a Boss 302, not a Laguna Seca, but he had some suspension and engine mods. Cool guy, not a Ford diehard, he really liked that car when it came out and is enjoying it. I had to let him pass me on the first session, but as I improved I walked away the rest of the evening. Damn nice car.
There was a black Z/28 there though he was not in my group. And met a father/son pair who each had their own 2015 1Ss 1LE's, Recaros, RS, back up cam and dual mode. They purchased them the same day
The dad had a SIM (nice choice
) and the son had AGM. The son has subtle but effective mods and he walked away from me multiple times. It helps that he had done every Track Night in America event at Pitt Race this year, (and possibly other events) so he is proficient and experienced on the track. He was running 2.5* camber up front/1.2* in the rear, among other mods.
A few so so pics to come, none of my buddies could make the trip with me