Pics from Gingerman

[jayro]

Here are some pics from my first track day at Gingerman this weekend.

I also wanted to thank the people from here that helped...Ron for letting me know what to expect, giving me driving pointers and giving me a ride in his SVT Focus.

Zach- For riding along and giving me instruction on the the race line etc. Hope you enjoyed the 270* spin in turn 2.....lesson learned...don't let off and apply the brakes in a turn, especially when it's wet.

Somedude- For helping me out on Sunday and not getting upset when I decided to do some off roading in your car....dang corner 7!!

I met alot of great people.

Overall the car performed great with no mechanical issues (a plus since I drove it 2.5 hours to and from the track). I put almost 200 hard track miles on the car. The Carbotech AX6's worked great along with the Hankook RS-3's.

Can't wait til next time.

 

[93rev2sev]

Did you say 200 track miles?

 

[somedude_001]

I figured you had way more than that for miles. I went through a lot of fuel. No worries on the off roading. I knew it was going to happen before you entered 5 but we were going slow enough and straight enough I was not too worried. Just had a quick stop and go penalty and we were back in action! That is one of the reasons I like having a cheap car that is not completely slammed to the ground (eibach springs) When you mow the grass you don't damage anything haha.

Your brake pads are wicked strong. I like them a lot. Your brakes are very balanced, If you can live with the mushy brake pedal that stock front calipers give you I would rock it out just like it is. I have found that your current brake setup is more reliable than the cobras on 11.6" I break a rotors often when I have track pads.

You were a excellent student. The toughest thing for people sometimes is to take instruction, and you did great. You are far ahead of where I was when I first raced I think. I didn't want to ride with you for the last couple sessions just in case me being there was making you nervous. I wanted you to kind of feel it out on your own a bit. You kept coming back with a smile so I figured you were having a blast + I was beat. Especially after chasing chip's S2k in his S4. I was really working it for a couple laps to stay on his ass. I was poring sweat by the end of the session. haha. I like that car.

And what the **** man you car makes a ass load more power than mine!!!

 

[SHOspazz92]

How did the RS3's hold up?

 

[jayro]

Did you say 200 track miles?

Yes, though that may not be 100 percent accurate. I was estimating with my odometer when I got gas. So 200 miles and the course is 2.14 miles....somewhere in the area of 90-95 laps.

Speaking of gas...I got 26mpg on the way there with the trunk and back seat packed with probably 300lbs of crap....on track I got just under 10mpg (9.8). Dang right foot.

 

[jayro]

How did the RS3's hold up?

They held up well. The grip was great, and there didnt seem to be alot of differance between hot and cold. As far as percentage of tread left....I would just be guessing, but they definatly are still far from being worn out. I was actually very suprised that they seemed to wear very evenly front to back.

 

[RonPorter]

How was it running the track in reverse on Sunday?

 

[jayro]

And what the **** man you car makes a ass load more power than mine!!!

Sad part is that I was still losing ground when I was following you and the S4. Only place I made up ground was on the straights.

 

[jayro]

How was it running the track in reverse on Sunday?

It was kinda tricky. Felt like a different track. The end of the back straight could be a little "interesting".....being down hill and the little shimmy at the end made getting a good braking line difficult. Also, turn 7 was kinda tuff for me to get through at speed.....the other direction made it a left hand sweeper that ended in a sharp left. No straight braking zone etc. I think I went off there twice.

 

[RonPorter]

It was kinda tricky. Felt like a different track. The end of the bag straight could be a little "interesting".....being down hill and the little shimmy at the end made getting a good braking line difficult. Also, turn 7 was kinda tuff for me to get through at speed.....the other direction made it a left hand sweeper that ended in a sharp left. No straight braking zone etc. I think I went off there twice.

I can see where doing Turn 10 backwards could be tough. All you can do is pick a particlular skid mark (or something like that) to aim for as a braking point.

In Turn 7, I would probably drift out to the right, and since you can see the cone & rumble strip at the apex, it would be much like doing Turn 1 in the usual clockwise direction. Again, you would have to pick yourself some type of marker to use as a braking point.

I was still never happy with Turn 10 (clockwise). Didn't matter much with the Focus, but in thinking about it again, just riding near the outside all the way around might just be the most repeatable way to get lined up for that straight.

 

[SHOspazz92]

They held up well. The grip was great, and there didnt seem to be alot of differance between hot and cold. As far as percentage of tread left....I would just be guessing, but they definatly are still far from being worn out. I was actually very suprised that they seemed to wear very evenly front to back.

Glad to hear it. Smooth driving also probably helped a lot. Still, you'll want to watch them closely for Autocrossing!

-Sam

 

[jayro]

I can see where doing Turn 10 backwards could be tough. All you can do is pick a particlular skid mark (or something like that) to aim for as a braking point.

In Turn 7, I would probably drift out to the right, and since you can see the cone & rumble strip at the apex, it would be much like doing Turn 1 in the usual clockwise direction. Again, you would have to pick yourself some type of marker to use as a braking point.

I was still never happy with Turn 10 (clockwise). Didn't matter much with the Focus, but in thinking about it again, just riding near the outside all the way around might just be the most repeatable way to get lined up for that straight.

Turn 10 was still a little funky...the little, almost nonturn that u just ignore going into the back straight clockwise made a much bigger impact when running counter clockwise. It made it difficult to brake i a straight line, which is important due to the downhill, high rate of speed and 10 being slightly off camber.

I ran 7 like you suggested most the time. At the end of the day I tried carring a little more speed in closer and then trailbraking in to rotate the car and then back ******* the gas. It was a shorter distance, but dont know if it was any quicker......kinda fun sliding the back out a little though. I did find that if you didnt get the right comdo of speed/rotation you ended up "going agricultural".

 

[RonPorter]

Yeah, I can see where that kink they added to 10 when they changed it could be a problem, especially since it all downhill after that running it counterclockwise.

Were there about the same number of cars there for Sunday? You guys really had a nice day for weather!

 

[jayro]

Yeah, I can see where that kink they added to 10 when they changed it could be a problem, especially since it all downhill after that running it counterclockwise.

Were there about the same number of cars there for Sunday? You guys really had a nice day for weather!

There were fewer cars on Sunday. We ended up with 3 run groups instead of 4.

The weather was nice....hot, but no rain of anything.

Coming over that hill at speed and getting on the brakes hard the first time had the car/tail wiggling a little....I think I remember hearing my passanger going "Whoa, Whoa!". Then after the turn they nicely said "You should probably start braking a little earlier/softer so you don't unsettle the car as much". It is definitly a little more unnerving when you are in the passanger seat vs drivers seat.

 

[fast Ed]

As long as the back steps out the correct way to get you turned in for that corner, you're fine ... just get back on the gas!


cheers
Ed

 

[RonPorter]

There were fewer cars on Sunday. We ended up with 3 run groups instead of 4.

The weather was nice....hot, but no rain of anything.

Coming over that hill at speed and getting on the brakes hard the first time had the car/tail wiggling a little....I think I remember hearing my passanger going "Whoa, Whoa!". Then after the turn they nicely said "You should probably start braking a little earlier/softer so you don't unsettle the car as much". It is definitly a little more unnerving when you are in the passanger seat vs drivers seat.

Yeah, the reverse Turn 10 is a little more downhill than Turn 1. But....do what you're comfortable with.

Yeah, that's my only downside of being an Instructor. I make a bad passenger!!

 

[jayro]

Yeah, the reverse Turn 10 is a little more downhill than Turn 1. But....do what you're comfortable with.

Yeah, that's my only downside of being an Instructor. I make a bad passenger!!

The car wiggling a little there didn't bother me from the drivers seat, but the interesting thing is that later that day I was the passanger in the other persons car when the same thing happened....instead of thinking "No problem" I was looking over the edge of turn 10 thinking "This would not be a fun place to go off, it's a ways down that hill and we are moving pretty good.". Funny how the perspective of the same event changes depending on what seat your in.

 

[fast Ed]

Just to add, I used to crew on a Nissan Maxima about 10 years ago that ran in Grand-Am Cup (now Continental Cup or something, forget the name). Anyway, very similar car to the SHO, nose heavy FWD, high revving 3.0 V6 with horrible ratios in the tranny, long wheelbase.

One of the drivers, who was from Quebec and had a bit of the Villeneuve gene, would purposely upset the car entering a couple of the high speed turns at Mosport to get it to turn in better, otherwise it would understeer and work the front tires too hard. When the other driver, who was about a second slower, heard about this, he just shook his head and mumbled something about "crazy French bastard".


cheers
Ed

 

[somedude_001]

would purposely upset the car entering a couple of the high speed turns at Mosport to get it to turn in better, otherwise it would understeer and work the front tires too hard. When the other driver, who was about a second slower, heard about this, he just shook his head and mumbled something about "crazy French bastard"

I treid to take it super super easy on my rear tires this time out. I started pushing hard in my 90 and there are chunks missing from my RR tire from sliding it through 4, 5 and 9. I sure does seem to get around the corner a lot faster with a little more sideways though.

.I think I remember hearing my passanger going "Whoa, Whoa!". Then after the turn they nicely said "You should probably start braking a little earlier/softer so you don't unsettle the car as much". It is definitly a little more unnerving when you are in the passanger seat vs drivers seat.

Yeah, that's my only downside of being an Instructor. I make a bad passenger!!

^THIS

 

[leahyz]

Zach- For riding along and giving me instruction on the the race line etc. Hope you enjoyed the 270* spin in turn 2.....lesson learned...don't let off and apply the brakes in a turn, especially when it's wet.

No problem, Saturday was a blast. I hope the instruction was useful. I had a good time breaking in the new track car and finding it has fewer flaws by far than it's operator .

I bought my photos before I left the track and have them posted here: http://leahyz.smugmug.com/Other/2012-Gingerman-Mem-Day/23231299_CG5gzz#!i=1873085335&k=dQ6HTj5

Even as an instructor, you're always learning - especially with a new car. I (re)learned the following:
1) Brake later, brake harder
2) Push for late entry to 3, 10 and 11.
3) Boiled brake fluid will scare the sh*t out of you
4) Even at 525hp you don't have to lift in turn 4
5) Skinny street tires don't grip as well as you'd like, but may be better than you expect
6) The SHO (as demonstrated by Jeremy) is still quite a capable track day car.