Original Posting Date: March 24, 2008
What a hell of an event.
It was such a good time, I'm trying to get in the Riesentoter Event at SP Shenandoah at the end of April. Already have new rotors and pads ready to go on the car as the OEM pads are pretty well shot after further inspection.
Metrics:
MPG on track in wet conditions = 11.5mpg
Oil burned over 4 dry sessions and 1 wet = 1/4 quart.
Pads = 3/4 pad life on Fri morning. Now about 1/4 of life left. I'll keep it on the car but swap in some new for the next event, then swap these worn puppies back on. Looks like only a retainer pin to swap out pads on the Brembos.
Day 1 Session 1 Lifetime Session 1 Lap 1.
Holy shit. I should have done this about 10 years ago. The track was cold and I'm green. Fortunately my instructor was top notch and drove the first two laps to show me the line. We then pitted and I jumped in the driver's seat. I don't know if it's all the years of simracing or karting or whatever, but I memorized the track very quickly - at least knew what turn was coming up.
Session 1 - I think I pointed every car by me two or three times. I was completely fine with that. After session 1 I had a debrief with my instructor and we talked about the line and being smooth.
Session 2 - Finally getting on it a bit. I was getting more comfortable with the line and started working on not rushing my turn in, and more importantly getting on the throttle sooner.
Turn 1 - The Z feels great in the brake zone. I could still brake a ton later but I'm still getting used to the car, the experience and I don't want to over drive my skill. Still, the car is very stable under braking, although I was applying more pressure at the end of the BZ than the beginning... I worked on that in later sessions. I also noticed most cars made a slight flick left before turning in to the right. When I was behind SGOF I noticed he did the same. I was too slow for it to matter, but curious as to the logic behind the flick.
Exit of Turn 1/Turn 2 - For some reason this is where I gained on a lot of people (that weren't GT3s or Turbos). I felt comfortable here and got used to using up more track.
Turn 3 - Felt really good when I got it close to right. Felt a bit dodgy when I turned in too early. I learned to turn in when I ran out of track (when pointed straight). There was also a dirt line that helped with a visual for turn in.
Turn 4 - Downhill into the chute was maybe my favorite turn on the whole track. I was using a light brake application and then throttle into 5. Besides coming out of turn 1, coming out of 4 and into 5 was a place I closed up on people.
Turn 5 - My instructor had me take a different line than most people. I entered in the middle of the track, came in tight and then followed the patchwork to the outside to make a slight straight before 6. It was also pretty bumpy in here and it's where I had a few oversteer moments and could actually feel the diff doing something out back. Also provided my hairiest moment in the sleet.
Turn 6/7 - I worked on the exit of this turn a lot and worked on coming out wide and using little steering input into 8. This was by far my most inconsistent complex all weekend.
Turn 8 - I didn't settle the car too well here sometimes or I'd turn in too early (or late). Not sure why, but I never quite got this turn.
Turn 9 - After hearing horror stories of flipping cars it wasn't until later in the day that I actually started using a lot more throttle here. By session 3 and 4 I was getting a lot of point bys into 10.
Turn 10 - I love this turn. I love using the rumble strips and getting on the throttle early. I don't love this turn in the snow.
By session 3 and session 4 the only cars I was pointing by were Turbos and most of the GT3s....and SGOF in his silver bullet. Although I will say that thanks to his lack of torque down low I was quicker in turns 1 and 2. As soon as he got on boost you'd see a flame, hear a fart and the car would be gone.
I had a great time and while I was in run group green, I was amazed at how many people I was able to get around come session 3 and 4 on Day 1. I closed up on a new GTO for a few laps while my instructor was coaching me to get a bit more aggressive. Instead of being right on the GTO coming out of 10 and then painfully losing the drag race he had me back off and carry a better exit speed. It paid off! He had me do this a few more times with some of the other cars on Day 1. Should have remembered this from karting. I was also pretty happy to consistently pass a yellow GT3 every session as well as some other cars above my class. The white Cayman S was by far the cream of the crop though. :rofl: :loco: :rofl:
Day 1 also saw my first waving yellow which ended up being a Z06 shooting a plume of smoke out the tailpipe and under the bonnet in the last sector of the course. It was a pretty blue Z06, but looked like an engine failure.
Day 2 - Rain/Sleet/Freezing Rain/Freezing Snow/Snow/Wintry Mix.
I decided that I was there to learn and went out in the wet behind SGOF. I stayed out for all of session 1 and it was very slippery. I was really surprised to see how much smoother I had to be in the wet. I was inducing under and oversteer just by being jerky with my turn in or getting on the throttle much too soon or much too aggressive.
Early in the session it was just light rain and I was pushing fairly hard with Ryan in the S4 Avant behind me. After a few laps I could tell I was holding him up and gave him the point by down the front straight. His car has some power under the hood and had great grip out in the wet! Ryan also had a very consistent line once I was behind him to follow. Very cool to see that car on track.
On the next to last lap of session one, my instructor's wife spun out in her mid-80s 911 on turn 10. No damage done, just some muddy tires. The snow starting coming down harder and we all decided to pack it in.
I learned a lot this weekend and had an amazing time. I will say that it was nice having a newer car that I didn't really have to worry about. If I was out in the E30 M3, I would have been afraid of super mechanical failure. The Z did the job wonderfully. I never felt inadequately down on power in the car, I felt like I had more than enough of everything - braking, acceleration, handling. Very pleased with the car overall.
Looking forward to an event in 4 weeks! Hopefully SGOF's silver bullet is back in good health soon. His car looked business on track and looked pretty well balanced from my vantage point. It also looked like it was a retired FIA GT J-Spec racer or something. Low to the ground and mean.
It certainly was a big hit with the high school girls at Shoneys.
- Jason
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