Edge Driving Part VI

Ehh, the video is a bit boring. You really can't get a feel for the speed and violence when watching from afar. Even in-car cameras can't capture that well. It's something you have to experience for yourself. It's like skydiving. You just really can't describe it to someone who hasn't been. I can tell you though that in many parts of that video, I was going well over 100 mph.

At 1:47, you can see me slide around Horseshoe (the downhill right hander). I was driving really sloppy because in the previous session, my amazing instructor was showing me how he can drift around every corner and still be faster than everyone on the track, so I was trying to (somewhat) emulate him. I think the message was "if you can safely control your car over the edge, then you won't be afraid to skate the edge." Easier said then done.

Despite slip-sliding all over the track, I think I was making ok times. The grey Subaru said he shaved a whole second off his lap time by following me. He said we did 1:27 one time. I think if I really concentrate on driving well, and not roast my tires by trying to slide/drift, I can probably squeeze out a 1:26 or maybe less?

I got one of the two most advanced instructors this time around. He is professional, as in he makes his living by instructing people who are serious about going fast ($700 per day!), and he's also trying to get into professional racing. Crazy what that mofo can do with a car, just ask my friend Troy who got a few rides with him (in my car, hehe).

Anyway, I'm "very" solo approved in yellow now. :) Next event, I'll get the solo discount, get the solo wristband, and not have an instructor at all... scary! I'm definitely going to ask for one to come along for a few laps... I usually need to be cleaned up since I forget in the time between events.

The damage:

• new (more or less) Z51 brake pads completely obliterated in 2 days, not just worn away, but burnt to a crisp also
• boiled brake fluid in 1 day, requiring a complete flush
• front r-compound tires debatably finished

Driving on the Edge, Part V

Yes, that is me in the black Vette

Highlights

• Past an ACR Viper and Ford GT.
• Past a few people on my "nemesis" list (red Solstice GXP, that mofo is really good).
• My friend Mike sold his C6 Coupe and showed up to the track in a new C6 Z06!!
• Past Mike a few times... :D
• R compound tires do not work miracles.
• I burned through my track pads on the first day and had to put my stock ones back on. :(
• My rotors are cracking. :(
• My friend Jason now has racing slicks on his Z06 and completely dominated the blue group (why is he in blue anyway?!?).
• The yellow group isn't as fast as I thought it would be.
• Mike on being an older guy in a Z06 being revved at by kids, "I used to have a loud car when I was young, now I have a fast car."
• Me on riding in my instructor's full tilt race car, "It's like falling, but I know he's in complete control."
• I did a textbook example of what to do when going off track.
• I did a textbook example of what not to do when going off track (see video). :(

So I had a really bad "off" in the last session of the weekend. I came out of ricochet too fast and put two wheels off and yanked on the steering wheel, then shot back across the track, all while someone was behind me. That is really really bad. Cutting across the track is very dangerous.

I know better than to shoot across the track like that. The day before, I went off track in a very controlled and safe manner, exactly like how it's suppose to be done. So what went wrong this time? Here are my best guesses...

• I was trying to impress my instructor (I had an extremely good session previously driving solo).
• I was not committed to going off track. I thought I could save it.
• We were driving the track backwards so corner worker stations were at corner exits instead of entrances.
• I freaked out because I thought I was going to hit the corner worker station. I lost my head and yanked the steering wheel to get back on track.

You've heard a million times not to do that (pull the steering wheels to get back on track). You've seen other people do it and told yourself, "I won't be that guy." But it all happens so fast. There is no time to think, just react. Unfortunately, I reacted to the panic of hitting something on the left, so I swerved out of control to the right.

Driving on the Edge, Episode 4

It was Corvette country out there this time.

I did my 4th HPDE this past weekend. It was awesome as usual. We did the 3.1 mile, 16 turn course at Motorsport Ranch.

No yellow for you!

I wasn't put in the yellow group this time, despite my last report card recommending so. It's ok though, I don't really want to be in yellow group until I have more capable tires.

No tires for you!

Ouch. I spent so much time and money getting r-compound tires and I didn't even get to use them! I bought track wheels literally months before the event, and I bought the tires about two weeks before the event, but what I didn't do was see if they fit on my car.

I spent all day Thursday and Friday before the event trying to get them to fit, but to no avail. They wouldn't clear the front calipers, so I ground the calipers down till they fit (long, painful and ugly). Once they cleared the calipers, I found they hit the A-arm at full wheel lock. Ugh! Luckily, Discount Tire took the tires back. I'm going to have to sell the wheels on the internet.

First day frustration.

I didn't really have an instructor the first day, which at first I thought would be cool, but something didn't feel right. Instead of blowing by everyone like last time, I felt like I was struggling to keep up. Nothing felt smooth, I was sliding all over the place, and I was just using my cars capabilities, instead of driving skill, to keep afloat.

For the last session of the day, they put an instructor in with me. He was admittedly not an advanced instructor and said I was doing fine.

Second day epiphany.

The next day I got paired up with an incredible instructor (Tony, I think his name is?). Within a few laps, he cleared up most of my mistakes, which were related to over aggression, going into corners too hot and thusly understeering the whole way through them, which reduces how quickly I could get back on the throttle for corner exit. I was also late and early apexing on a handful of corners.

Once Tony cleared up those issues and we were flying again, he then showed me some bad ass racing lines, and that's when the beat down ensued... ;) I had to start braking mid-corner to avoid t-boning and rearing ending the cars in front of me. My exit speed on one corner increased so much (15+ mph) that I went off the track at the next corner because I wasn't used to having to brake so much earlier and harder.

Feeling the fade.

For this event, I had some Hawk HP+ brake pad that I bought used off the internet. They are Hawk's most aggressive street pad. They weren't enough. I've gotten to the point to where I am aware of brake fade... and these faded noticeably. Tony suggested getting some Hawk HT 10 pads, which are considered racing pads, and just change them out right there at the track. Changing brake pads on a C6 is really easy, so I think I'm going to do that for next time.

Competitive?

Pre Tony in the car with me, there were some fast people/cars out on the track! I really have to be on top of my game to keep up with Jason and his modded Z06. A lady in a Porsche Cayman put the smack down on both of us though (she had r-compound tires and got bumped to the yellow group on the second day). There was a kid in a modded S2K that I caught up to, but couldn't claim an outright pass on. Then there was a spec Miata that passed both me and Jason!

The second day, I did much better. I passed both the S2k and Miata, but still had problems with Jason (duh). Didn't have a chance to try the lady in the Porsche again cuz she got moved to yellow.

Everyone else was a cakewalk. Here are some notable passes: two NSX's (these cars are massively overrated, imo), Cadillac CTS-V, Lingenfelter C6 (ooohh that felt good), normal C6, C6Z06 (ooohh, felt good too), lots of Lotus Elises, and a couple of Porsches.

I know it's not a competition, but it's fun to see how many people I can pass, and see if I can catch the people that pass me.

Pictures

Trailing Jason.

Now me in front!

He spends more time in front though... :P

Choo choo! Stuck in a train.

Train conductor? Na, that was a warmup or cooldown lap... ;)

That kid in the S2K was fast!

Catching up to a Z06 is a great feeling.

Passing a Porsche feels even better!

My third HPDE

All the Corvette guys took a group photo. That's me in the exact middle (third row, second column, green shirt).

Whoot! Just finished my 3rd HPDE this past weekend. It was a blast as usual! Every time I get back from one, it just rekindles my fire and passion for the sport (which tends to die down between events).

Chasing down an NSX.

I did really well, I think. I passed (I would guess) about 40 cars and only got passed twice. The two that got me were my pit buddy Jason (~570 hp C6 Z06) and someone in a modified Porsche Cayman S (racing slicks and engine mods). To be perfectly honest, Jason got me twice and the second time an instructor driving a Porsche 911 took the pass with him even though I only signaled to Jason. I stayed with him though and eventually returned the favor... :)

Jason in front and me about take my position back from the 911.

Mike (C6) and Justin (Mustang GT) were there again. Always nice to see those two familiar faces keeping me company in the pits. This time Mike's son Brady was there, sharing Mike's car. It was funny to hear the three of them talking shit to each other the entire weekend. Out of the three, Justin was the fastest, then Brady, then Mike... each about 2 seconds faster than the next (per lap). Justin cracks me up. He's a super nice and jovial guy, but he's pretty competitive (in a friendly way). He always jokes about how it is a competition, despite how many times the organizers emphasize that it's not... ;)

Justin likes to change his passing signal into "the bird" right as I go by... I usually return it... ;)

Two interesting things my instructor taught me. First, I'm driving too hard a lot of the time. I'm driving at 110% and roasting my tires which leads to overall slower times in the end. He said to back off a bit to keep the tires from getting greasy towards to the end of the session. Second, he said that I'm taking some corners artificially fast... the car's computer (competition driving mode) is saving my ass. So the latter half of the event was driven without the computer at all (zero traction control and zero stability control).

I enjoy driving solo (see shit eatin' grin), I find it strangely relaxing.

As much as I want to pretend I'm a good driver, I'm not... none of us really are at this level. We're just extensions of our instructors. They show us the racing line and give us their opinions on how to take each corner, we memorize it, then it's just a matter of how much balls we have and how capable our cars are. Lucky for me, my car is on the top of the food chain and I have shockingly? surprisingly little fear of wrecking it. :)

Hunting down a G35 Coupe.

It's also a little depressing going to these things. A lot of the people into racing are usually wealthy (it's an expensive sport), and I'm reminded of how little money I make and how I simply can't afford to take it to the next level, despite how badly I want to. Wheels, racing tires, racing brakes, trailer and a place to store the trailer will cost several grand... of which I don't really have. Sigh.

Merry Christmas to me!

Apparently my car's six track days has taken its toll, as seen by the picture (click for larger image). In case you don't know what you're looking at, there are two nicely cut grooves in my driver side front rotor. The same two grooves are starting on the passenger side, but aren't as deep yet.

What could have caused the brake pads to wear down so quickly (the car only has 5000 miles)? Well for starters, track time is very hard on brakes. Some people claim they can destroy pads in just a single track day! I'm too wet behind the ears for that. I suspect it had to do with my car participating in back to back to back sessions without any cooldown in between (me driving, instructor driving with me, Aimee driving, instructor driving with Aimee).

So now I have to get new pads and rotors, and as long as I'm replacing parts, I might as well "upgrade", right? :D

Here's the shopping list...

• DBA 4000 Series slotted rotors (front) - $349.90
• Hawk HPS brake pads (front) - $102.95
• Hawk HPS brake pads (rear) - $74.95
• StopTech braided stainless steel brake lines (front) - $72.00
• StopTech braided stainless steel brake lines (rear) - $68.00
• ATL Type 200 brake fluid (2L) - $21.98

Grand total... $689.78. Merry xmas to me... sigh... :(

Driving on the Edge

Aimee and I just got back from my second (her first) Driver's Edge event. I'll link to her experience as soon as she writes it.

If you didn't catch my first experience, you can read it here. Most of that post is spent on trying to relate how intense high performance driving on a road course can be. This time was different. I wasn't white knuckled or cringing while barreling into a corner at high speed. Instead I was calm, relaxed, even joking with my instructor while driving... but, the difference is that this time the driving was faster and more "out of control" than before.

I wasn't really out of control of course, I never went off the track or anything. I guess I mean it looks (or would feel) out of control to someone looking at it from the outside. I was comfortable pushing the car past it's limits on practically every corner, which generally means a light, correctable skid. I had gotten past the exhilaration of going fast on a track and was relaxed enough to start feeling the car. I could feel when it was at its limits and I could choose to push it into a slide or back off. Which leads me to my next topic...

I think I figured out my driving style. I don't want to say "reckless" because that implies irresponsibility. Safety is always number one, especially when other cars are nearby. But when I feel it is "safe", I will almost always choose to kick the rear end out and correct for it. I think it's fun. :)

I had 6 major corrections this weekend. By major I mean I was sliding sideways, tires smoking, and I was going off track if I didn't do some pretty big counter steering. The trick to counter steering (IMO) is knowing when to stop it and turn the wheel back to normal. If you hold the counter steer too long, the car will swing around the other way fast and hard. The window of opportunity to stop the counter steer seems to be very very small.

Minor corrections (small skids, aka power induced oversteer) are a normality now... :) The trick is not using the entire track when exiting a corner. Give yourself some margin for error. If you do it right, you'll end up using the entire track anyway.

I have to say I had to best instructor. His name is Mason and he is awesome. I seriously don't think I could have improved this much without him. I really felt like I could understand and execute his instructions... but more importantly, he gave me confidence, which is what I really needed to take it to the next level. He made me feel completely at ease and good about myself, which in turn allowed me to relax, which in turn allowed me to concentrate on "feeling" the car and experimenting. Also, he was really fun. He'd say "awesome!" when I'd almost lose control or "let's do it!" when I'd get my sights on someone.

** NOTE: Please excuse my inaccurate terminology, potentially bad/incorrect advice or complete misunderstanding of a concept. I'm still very much a beginner and am still trying to make sense of all this racing stuff. :)

P.S. I'm solo approved (drive without an instructor) for the blue group! And my instructor said I can be in the yellow group if on a familiar track!! Wow, exciting! I just never really expected to make it to solo driving or the yellow group for that matter!