LS on the Racetrack

[Stevo]

Car: LS M6 with TC/VSC off
Track: No Problem Raceway 1.8 mile 13 turn max speed 100 MPH
Temp: 58 cloudy

Notes:
For the hairpin 4 th gear to 2nd, to heel-toe needed to grab the inside edge of the brake pedal with the sole of my foot and roll my ankle to brush the gas. Then accelerating out or the turn the car pushed alot- tried to rotate the car's rear by trail braking (foot on the gas and the brake at the same time- with this technique the front brakes grab and the rears are overcome by the gas) still the car pushed (would not turn).

The outside edges of the tires -especially the fronts- are rubbed bad afer 1 session. The BF Goodrich's were not very grippy. When I came in all 4 brake pads were smoking alot- I hosed em down with water and next time out I took a slow cool down lap.

I could not tell the difference between TC and VSC off vs just TC off. In either case the car seemed to not respond to throttle -it paused when I hit the gas- when coming out of a couple of 70MPH right handers...tank was 3/4 full.
Anyone have a similar experience and know why?

[BackinBlackSS/RS]

Wow!! That sounds like fun!!

[NJSS]

Putting water on hot brakes is a pretty good way to warp your rotors!

I find it difficult to heel-toe the Camaro with the brake & accelerator pedal the way they are. I have not had my 2SS on the track, but have a fairly bad habit of heel & toe shifting whatever I am driving. Also, if the car is understeering, I would think threshold braking prior to the turn would be your best bet!

A little bit of suspension work and some grippier tires could not hurt! Also, tire pressures are extremely important. Most street tires can increase in temperature up to 10 degrees after a session on the track so it is important so start out with lots lower pressures.

[Stevo]

Thanks, luckily I didn't warp the rotors. After thinking about this, I have decided to get:
1. a thicker rear sway bar - Phadt has one that sounds good for $285.
2. 3 lbs more air in the front tires over stock
3. In the future, 275/45/18's on all corners (I got aftermarket wheels that are 8.5 inches wide).

[nemosgt]

First time I've heard of trail braking with throttle and brakes together. Where did you find this method? Usually adding throttle in a turn increases understeer. Maybe this is why you had too much push. You were cancelling the effect you were trying to achieve with trail braking. That is, to increase the contact patch during turn-in in order to enter the turn at a higher speed or to decrease the understeer tendency of the car by decreasing the rear contact patch area. And make sure you only start to add throttle as you begin to unwind the steering wheel at or after the apex.

Please let me know why you think your method would work. I am willing to be convinced.

Also you will get tons of advice on air pressures for track days, but with street tires, I would try for around 35 psi cold and experiment from there. Increasing rear pressures may increase oversteer or decrease it depending on the tire construction or what it does to the contact area or tire wall stiffness. A larger rear bar as you suggested, should help decrease understeer but may or may not increase handling performance without taking into consideration other performance mods.

Track days are fun aren't they?
Have fun.

Cheers.

[Stevo]

Throttle and brake together...left foot braking, heel toe, over the last 10yrs I've tried it all to get around the track faster as either an amateur racer or driving instructor. Some of the newer cars I get to test drive at the track -Porsche 997turbos/BoxsterS- will turn off the gas if the brake peddle is also depressed so with the Camaro I was grateful that I could still apply the gas and the brakes together. You are right that throttle alone can kick out the rear end in a turn but if it doesn't then hitting the brakes can help rotate the car also. In long sweepers trailbraking is a good technique for a nose heavy car that pushes- it keeps the front planted. The Camaro is well known to understeer- I think the Pedder's guys express it the best and all agree the stock Camaro is set up to understeer and needs more rear bar - I just reaffirmed that in my short outing with the LS. As others have posted about their experience with the SS or V6 RS, I thought a post about the modest LS with smaller rear tires (less understeer than the wide rear tires of the SS and RS) was maybe worth posting. Other things to decrease understeer include: more front air pressure, more rear spring, harder rear shock, less rear wing,etc.

[Stevo]

QUICK FOLLOW-UP:
Got some Eibach anti-sway bars to correct the understeer- BTW the stock drop links are thin and weak so I expect the larger bars will break them- anyway my driver's side rear shock is leaking oil and is all over the A-arm. The track ran clockwise so this makes sense- that side was the most stressed. I did not go off track, spin or hit anything so the stock shocks may not be able to tolerate 100 MPH turns. While, I'll probably give Mr. Goodwrench some warranty work for now... I will look to upgrade...

[roy]

Any vids ?

[Stevo]

Nope sorry. Maybe another time!


(Keine- es tut mir leid. Vielleicht das nächste mal!)

[Speed 1]

Originally Posted by Stevo

Thanks, luckily I didn't warp the rotors. After thinking about this, I have decided to get:
1. a thicker rear sway bar - Phadt has one that sounds good for $285.
2. 3 lbs more air in the front tires over stock
3. In the future, 275/45/18's on all corners (I got aftermarket wheels that are 8.5 inches wide).

Which after-market wheels did you put on the front?

.

[Stevo]

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33917

I PM'ed you too. IMO the LS stock wheels are too narrow and too heavy...regardless of whether you like the look or not.