RC350 F-Sport AWD At The Race Track!
02-11-15, 02:07 PM
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RC350 F-Sport AWD At The Race Track!
I took my RC to our local track for an open-lapping day on Sunday and came away quite impressed.
I have some gopro footage that I will try to get up soon and I will post a link, but here were my initial impressions:
* The car hides it's pork a lot better than I thought it would. 4,000 pounds is no joke, and my AWD also runs on M+S tires. I took it out completely stock and was pleasantly surprised.
* The sport + mode is impressive at the track. I ended up manual shifting for the most part because it had me in 3rd gear during uphand sweeping turns where 2nd gear was the meat of the powerband, but other than that it handled track conditions well.
* Stock brakes held up well. I've tracked a number of cars (2015 STi Launch Edition, 2013 FR-S, 2011 Z4 335is) and I can honestly say that in stock form I was able to do more laps with the RC than with the other cars mentioned. Brake fade was non-existent and the car seemed poised to do lap after lap.
* Stock tires are pretty awful, but that's to be expected. A bit of folding and a high amount of tire scrub on the front driver's side. I'm not planning on making track days a habit in this car, so I won't be changing out the rubber.
* Cars I was faster than and passed: An older model 911 (I want to say 2002, but I'm not sure), late model BMW 335 (this one really surprised me), Late model Nissan 370Z with aftermarket exhaust (not sure what other mods he had), Modified Miata, hatchback STi (I'm guessing this guy was just not a good driver)--most cars were passed right after a corner, as I had better exit speed; the 370Z was passed--just barely--on the long back straight away.
*After a few laps, I had traction control turned all the way off. I was very pleased with the car's balance--I expected understeer but did not get it. The car was pretty balanced going into hard turns--it has a tendency to slide sideways more than it does have a tendency to plow (understeer) or to oversteer.
*Frankly, I did not expect the RC to pass all the cars I did. I talked to a lot of those drivers before we headed out and after, and they were all as surprised as I was. Of course, I do have an advantage, knowing the braking points and best lines at the track, but still, a great showing.
I hope that helps anyone considering taking your RC to an open lapping day! Don't be afraid, your car can definitely handle it.
I have some gopro footage that I will try to get up soon and I will post a link, but here were my initial impressions:
* The car hides it's pork a lot better than I thought it would. 4,000 pounds is no joke, and my AWD also runs on M+S tires. I took it out completely stock and was pleasantly surprised.
* The sport + mode is impressive at the track. I ended up manual shifting for the most part because it had me in 3rd gear during uphand sweeping turns where 2nd gear was the meat of the powerband, but other than that it handled track conditions well.
* Stock brakes held up well. I've tracked a number of cars (2015 STi Launch Edition, 2013 FR-S, 2011 Z4 335is) and I can honestly say that in stock form I was able to do more laps with the RC than with the other cars mentioned. Brake fade was non-existent and the car seemed poised to do lap after lap.
* Stock tires are pretty awful, but that's to be expected. A bit of folding and a high amount of tire scrub on the front driver's side. I'm not planning on making track days a habit in this car, so I won't be changing out the rubber.
* Cars I was faster than and passed: An older model 911 (I want to say 2002, but I'm not sure), late model BMW 335 (this one really surprised me), Late model Nissan 370Z with aftermarket exhaust (not sure what other mods he had), Modified Miata, hatchback STi (I'm guessing this guy was just not a good driver)--most cars were passed right after a corner, as I had better exit speed; the 370Z was passed--just barely--on the long back straight away.
*After a few laps, I had traction control turned all the way off. I was very pleased with the car's balance--I expected understeer but did not get it. The car was pretty balanced going into hard turns--it has a tendency to slide sideways more than it does have a tendency to plow (understeer) or to oversteer.
*Frankly, I did not expect the RC to pass all the cars I did. I talked to a lot of those drivers before we headed out and after, and they were all as surprised as I was. Of course, I do have an advantage, knowing the braking points and best lines at the track, but still, a great showing.
I hope that helps anyone considering taking your RC to an open lapping day! Don't be afraid, your car can definitely handle it.
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