Techapma
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
I recently had my first track day in my car with an instructor at Harris Hill Raceway in San Marcos, Tx.
I’ve been through the track attack and FPRS second day in the 2015 Mustang GT.
Although my track experience is somewhat limited, my instructor and I were able to get up to speed pretty quickly.
I ran the car in track mode with the cup 2s set to 28 PSI cold. I drove the car to the track ~30 miles and the ambient temperature increased ~10 degrees F between leaving the house with cold 28 PSI tires and the first session in the track. Tire pressure was 30 PSI at the start of the first session and never got over 35 PSI at the end of any session.
The car has Steeda dual rate lowering springs and I had an alignment done to track specs the day before going to the track. I noticed the alignment didn’t feel quite right after picking the car up from the shop, but didn’t think it felt bad enough to scratch the track session. I took the car back to the alignment shop after the track session to be corrected. In hindsight, I should have gotten the alignment fixed before going to the track. Turns out the alignment was far more jacked up than I thought. The excessive front toe caused accelerated wear on the front tires.
There was one particular section of track where the back of the car felt like it was wiggling under hard braking. The track in that stretch is downhill leading to an off camber right hand turn that goes back up hill. I was entering the braking zone at roughly 105 MPH in 4th gear and I was not downshifting. The wiggle wasn’t enough to cause the car to feel like it was going to spin, but it was distracting enough that it caused me to delay initiating the turn. I don’t recall feeling this sensation at the track attack, or in the 2015 GT on the second day. The instructor was not concerned by the wiggle, but I was.
The car has stock brakes, there were no ABS events, and the pedal never faded but the brakes did smell hot at the end of the 2nd and 3rd session. Each session was roughly 20 minutes.
Is the wiggle I experienced likely the result of my technique, the jacked up alignment, something wrong with the brakes, or is it normal?
I’ve been through the track attack and FPRS second day in the 2015 Mustang GT.
Although my track experience is somewhat limited, my instructor and I were able to get up to speed pretty quickly.
I ran the car in track mode with the cup 2s set to 28 PSI cold. I drove the car to the track ~30 miles and the ambient temperature increased ~10 degrees F between leaving the house with cold 28 PSI tires and the first session in the track. Tire pressure was 30 PSI at the start of the first session and never got over 35 PSI at the end of any session.
The car has Steeda dual rate lowering springs and I had an alignment done to track specs the day before going to the track. I noticed the alignment didn’t feel quite right after picking the car up from the shop, but didn’t think it felt bad enough to scratch the track session. I took the car back to the alignment shop after the track session to be corrected. In hindsight, I should have gotten the alignment fixed before going to the track. Turns out the alignment was far more jacked up than I thought. The excessive front toe caused accelerated wear on the front tires.
There was one particular section of track where the back of the car felt like it was wiggling under hard braking. The track in that stretch is downhill leading to an off camber right hand turn that goes back up hill. I was entering the braking zone at roughly 105 MPH in 4th gear and I was not downshifting. The wiggle wasn’t enough to cause the car to feel like it was going to spin, but it was distracting enough that it caused me to delay initiating the turn. I don’t recall feeling this sensation at the track attack, or in the 2015 GT on the second day. The instructor was not concerned by the wiggle, but I was.
The car has stock brakes, there were no ABS events, and the pedal never faded but the brakes did smell hot at the end of the 2nd and 3rd session. Each session was roughly 20 minutes.
Is the wiggle I experienced likely the result of my technique, the jacked up alignment, something wrong with the brakes, or is it normal?
Sponsored