AgSurfer
Well-Known Member
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Did my first track experience in the 2020 350R on Wednesday at Nelson Ledges Road Course in Garrettsville, OH. Weather conditions were less than ideal. Had light to mild rain in the morning until 10:30 am and temps were in the high 40s. Track time opened up around 9:30 am. It was still raining. As I am on Cup 2 tires, I intelligently decided to defer my start time until around 11:00 am. The track was still wet / damp. First few laps were rough. No grip on the cold tires. Was spinning in the turns and also loosing traction in the straights. Had to baby the throttle at first. But those first few laps were good to get a feel for the turns and lines. Went back out again before lunch - track was still damp but was able to add some speed, but tires still cold. After lunch, track was dry. Finally got tires up to temp, and then the fun started. Gained more and more confidence after each lap (had plenty of confidence in the car). Straights that were initially 100 mph soon ramped up to 135 mph. Turns that were edgy at first at say 50 mph improved to well over 70 mph, except for some of the tighter turns at Nelsons that you have to respect and maybe moving around 40-50 mph (last turn before starting straight is a tight one, but pull out of the apex and hit it hard through the straight).
I ran the car hard for about 3 hours. What a great experiences - deposit the weather conditions. The 350R just screams - what an amazing sound from the FPC motor. Mostly in 3rd gear the whole time. Rarely used 2nd as I generally stayed in the 4k+ power band in 3rd. Only used 4th on the straights; I already knew that 3rd gear tops out around 105mph at just over 8,000 rpms.
The Cup 2s took a good beating, especially the right front tire outside shoulder. See attached pics. I plan to swap / rotate LF to RF tires and check alignment settings before next track day. Tell me if you disagree, but I think I have one more track day left in the tires before they are totally shot (car has 3k miles on it). I don't think I will use Cup 2s for the next set; however, to my knowledge, no other manufacturer makes a 315/30/19 track tire, so may have to go to a rear 325/30/19 if I switch to say Nittos NT01s or Toyo R888Rs. Not sure about Pirellis as I have never driven on them before - plus those are even more expensive that the Cup 2s.
2 mile track; best lap time was 1:18.34 averaging 81mph. My last 10 laps were all within +/- one second of each other. Not sure how much faster I can get on the back straight; maybe 145 if conditions were better, but that kink turn towards the end of the back straight makes you think hard at 135 mph. I know the 350R has so much more. Novice track driver I am, but I had an audience watching the 350R and lots of good feedback from folks afterwards. I had the track all to myself for the last 30 or so minutes and I took advantage of the time. Get as much experience as one can while at the track for the day.
Can't wait for next track day.
I ran the car hard for about 3 hours. What a great experiences - deposit the weather conditions. The 350R just screams - what an amazing sound from the FPC motor. Mostly in 3rd gear the whole time. Rarely used 2nd as I generally stayed in the 4k+ power band in 3rd. Only used 4th on the straights; I already knew that 3rd gear tops out around 105mph at just over 8,000 rpms.
The Cup 2s took a good beating, especially the right front tire outside shoulder. See attached pics. I plan to swap / rotate LF to RF tires and check alignment settings before next track day. Tell me if you disagree, but I think I have one more track day left in the tires before they are totally shot (car has 3k miles on it). I don't think I will use Cup 2s for the next set; however, to my knowledge, no other manufacturer makes a 315/30/19 track tire, so may have to go to a rear 325/30/19 if I switch to say Nittos NT01s or Toyo R888Rs. Not sure about Pirellis as I have never driven on them before - plus those are even more expensive that the Cup 2s.
2 mile track; best lap time was 1:18.34 averaging 81mph. My last 10 laps were all within +/- one second of each other. Not sure how much faster I can get on the back straight; maybe 145 if conditions were better, but that kink turn towards the end of the back straight makes you think hard at 135 mph. I know the 350R has so much more. Novice track driver I am, but I had an audience watching the 350R and lots of good feedback from folks afterwards. I had the track all to myself for the last 30 or so minutes and I took advantage of the time. Get as much experience as one can while at the track for the day.
Can't wait for next track day.
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! Oh Boy! Should be interesting!
