First Trackday

[Lurker_350]

Hi All - I went to an SCCA Track Night in America event at Harris Hill Raceway last Wednesday and had a good time. Ran in Novice group since my only on-track experience was at the Track Attack in Utah back in 2016.

I welcome your thoughts and constructive criticisms from all the drivers out there! Everything about the event showed my weakness in picking/hitting the driving lines, braking points/pressures, etc. It felt quick in the car, but looks slow on video! It would have been really nice to review the videos between sessions or to have a coach in the car. I was surprised that they would let novices pass without a coach, but I guess that is the way to keep cost down and take into account large vehicle and driver capability differences.

Links to videos of sessions are below. Just some general notes:

• I drove all 3 sessions in track mode; the car was both very tight (pushed entering corners without trail braking) and loose leaving corners or if slightly lifting to adjust lines. Much more so than the Ford cars at the Track Attack (not that I ran it in track mode there.....). I'm hoping (in order to boost my ego) that my 6 year old OEM PSS are at the end of their life due to age. I had to point by a number of cars that I didn't think I would have to!
  • Tread looks ok at 16,000 miles. I bled pressure between each session, trying to stay around 31 to 32 psi warm. Couldn't go full throttle at any point on the track without some wheelspin.
• Track has been repaved sometime in the past 6 months and was pretty smooth.
• I had a hard time feeling comfortable threshold braking and ABS would activate pretty early, so I did a lot of coasting into corners.
• I was actively trying to avoid limp mode (tech pack) so I was mostly short shifting at 6,500. Still hit limp mode in Session 2 and 3 (about 90 to 95F ambient). I thought I would get by, but hit 275 F on the transmission and it pulled power/limited RPMs as expected.
• Made it home with a functional car, no run-offs, and no damage!!
• Only weird thing was that each time I came off track to the paddock, the reverse camera wouldn't work. Kinda weird.
• Track shown below with an "ideal" line for a GT3 from raceoptimal.com. Seemed like a neat service if you have no idea where the turn-in/apex should be.

I apologize if the videos don't work or if the format is wrong/too large/etc.

Session 1 - before what seemed like a significant slide at 7 min 10 sec :




Session 1 - after pitting to chat with SCCA folks. Figured I would get flagged for having the car step out, so I pitted on my own:




Session 2 - track got black flagged for debris where someone ran off so we had to pit. Then I hit limp mode a few minutes after returning (video is only 5 minutes or so):




Session 3 - was trying to really limit RPM and stay in fourth as much as possible. Hit limp mode at 14 minutes or so coming into the last corner:

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[jmn444]

Tires were probably dead...

I didn't watch the video, just read your post... get new tires, but stick with super sports to learn... if you are braking too early, start with trying to brake less and coast thru with more speed, then once that becomes more comfy, start backing up the braking point.

sucks about the limp mode!

 

[key01]

Tires were toast. This car is too heavy and can throw down some horsepower which exacerbates bad tires. You can’t break late without sliding everywhere either, and this car has some great brakes.
So, that will throw off your attempts to keep a good racing line. You become like a bad drift car.
The limp mode concern is a huge issue. I was going to say give it more gas and brake later, but limp mode just comes sooner when you push it. I hope you had some fun out there.

 

[Lurker_350]

Thanks guys for the input - it helps to save my damaged pride a bit!

I have some new tires in the closet. It would definitely make my wife happy to get them out of the house and onto the car.

I would like to do some future track events and continue to learn. I guess either the electric pump cooler setup or a new track pack trans are in my future. I wonder if FP is still offering the trans at a discount for original tech pack owners.

 

[oldbmwfan]

Definitely keep getting out there, and look for a club that does mandatory instruction for novices. PCA, BMW CCA, Audi Club all tend to be pretty good. At any of these there are likely to be instructors who own and drive similar cars, which can be helpful.

 

[NoXiDe]

Tires were probably dead...

I didn't watch the video, just read your post... get new tires, but stick with super sports to learn... if you are braking too early, start with trying to brake less and coast thru with more speed, then once that becomes more comfy, start backing up the braking point.

sucks about the limp mode!

Why not the non-r cup tires to learn? Those are what arrive on the 2019+ anyhow... if it's due to costs then he can pick up a brand new (take offs) set off the forums for 1,300 out of arizona.

Thanks guys for the input - it helps to save my damaged pride a bit!

I have some new tires in the closet. It would definitely make my wife happy to get them out of the house and onto the car.

I would like to do some future track events and continue to learn. I guess either the electric pump cooler setup or a new track pack trans are in my future. I wonder if FP is still offering the trans at a discount for original tech pack owners.

Lurker, congrats on the track visit! I also have a tech pack too but was fortunate enough to find a great buy on a 2017 track transmission. Initially, I was going to pay $900 for the aftermarket complete solution so that's still a possibility for you. Additionally, I also just pony'd up for the FTBR differential cooler. http://fulltiltboogieracing.com/S550_diff_cooler_kit.html I'll be looking forward to some track visits next year.

For a full session, you'll definitely at minimum need the oil cooler solution.

 

[Lurker_350]

....Additionally, I also just pony'd up for the FTBR differential cooler. http://fulltiltboogieracing.com/S550_diff_cooler_kit.html I'll be looking forward to some track visits next year.

For a full session, you'll definitely at minimum need the oil cooler solution.

Thanks for the link. That looks to be a really nice diff solution that can also preserve the diff temp display in the dash (if the sensor/wires are added and forscan enabled).

 

[Lurker_350]

Tires were toast. This car is too heavy and can throw down some horsepower which exacerbates bad tires. You can’t break late without sliding everywhere either, and this car has some great brakes.
So, that will throw off your attempts to keep a good racing line. You become like a bad drift car.....

That is an accurate description of what it felt like - a bad drift car! Haha.

It was somewhat nice to be able to practice car control at lower speeds since it felt like every turn was "at the edge of grip", but it would have also been fun to carry more speed.

 

[NoXiDe]

Thanks for the link. That looks to be a really nice diff solution that can also preserve the diff temp display in the dash (if the sensor/wires are added and forscan enabled).

Yeah, I won't be going down that path. Certainly possible with the right amount of time. However, I'm just going to throw it in there and have it turn on at 160 degrees. So essentially, 190 degrees if there wasn't a cooler in the tran as it's normally 30 degrees hotter than the diff. This means at 275 degrees the diff is at 245 degrees.

Adding to my first sentence, I'm just going to let the thermostat kick on automatically. There isn't really ever a need to monitor the differential from what I read. I'm really only adding it in to extend the life of the fluid which in return extends the longevity of the differential.

 

[Vettel-ish]

From what I can see the car looks smooth and under control. You can see when it breaks due to traction. Keep in mind its the heat cycles that get the tires not just the miles.

Nice work first time out. Wonder why limp mode came on so much. I have not had that happen to me.

Just saw a 16 with tech pack. That makes sense, you need all the coolers.

 

[Lurker_350]

From what I can see the car looks smooth and under control. You can see when it breaks due to traction. Keep in mind its the heat cycles that get the tires not just the miles.

Nice work first time out. Wonder why limp mode came on so much. I have not had that happen to me.

Thanks for the kind words.

Mine is a 2016 tech, without the trans and diff coolers. I took delivery on mine about 2 weeks before Ford came out and said that you could combine the track and tech packs in 2017.....before that, they said the packages would always be separate (unless you sprung for the R). That will be a lesson to future me on buying the first year model of any car!

To be honest, it hasn't limited me in its typical use case (street/backroads). I think it is a great car and has done well. Just isn't set up for dedicated track use without the coolers - even with a newb at the helm.

 

[Vettel-ish]

Thanks for the kind words.

Mine is a 2016 tech, without the trans and diff coolers. I took delivery on mine about 2 weeks before Ford came out and said that you could combine the track and tech packs in 2017.....before that, they said the packages would always be separate (unless you sprung for the R). That will be a lesson to future me on buying the first year model of any car!

To be honest, it hasn't limited me in its typical use case (street/backroads). I think it is a great car and has done well. Just isn't set up for dedicated track use without the coolers - even with a newb at the helm.

You can learn to drive the car and keep her cool as well. Such a great car for track. SOOOOOO much fun. Yeha backroads and to work you will never have an issue.

 

[jmn444]

Why not the non-r cup tires to learn? Those are what arrive on the 2019+ anyhow... if it's due to costs then he can pick up a brand new (take offs) set off the forums for 1,300 out of arizona.

those are okay, but wear faster and IMO learning on something that can last most of a season and slides out a little earlier helps you learn to control the sliding at somewhat lower speeds before moving up to stickier tires.

 

[NoXiDe]

those are okay, but wear faster and IMO learning on something that can last most of a season and slides out a little earlier helps you learn to control the sliding at somewhat lower speeds before moving up to stickier tires.

ah okay, yeah i have these cruddy nitto nt555g2 tires on my winter set that gets me all the practice id ever want lol. so ready to put 4S on them. i sure do miss my cup tires on my summer set wheels the grip is definitely unbelievable

 

[16Kobra]

Thanks for the kind words.

Mine is a 2016 tech, without the trans and diff coolers. I took delivery on mine about 2 weeks before Ford came out and said that you could combine the track and tech packs in 2017.....before that, they said the packages would always be separate (unless you sprung for the R). That will be a lesson to future me on buying the first year model of any car!

To be honest, it hasn't limited me in its typical use case (street/backroads). I think it is a great car and has done well. Just isn't set up for dedicated track use without the coolers - even with a newb at the helm.

I had a 16 Tech pak car. I add the trans cooler and never had to worry about Limp mode again. Had approx $1500 in the whole deal, parts and labor. Really enjoyed learning the track stuff on that car.

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