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Went to the track with Gearbangin (2008 IS F) and had a great time, if you guys haven't been to the track yet, head out to one! You will not experience anything like it! Cost about $150 from 4-8 PM. Three 20 minute sessions and 2 pace laps for a total of 1 hour 40 mins of track time!
Now for the experience, I put myself in the novice group because it was my first time at the track.
The first session was a little slow, due to the other drivers getting a feel for the track, so the speed never exceed 80 MPH. There are passing zones, but only when the car in front of you gives you a hand signal so you can pass, otherwise you are stuck behind them. For this first session, my engine temp went one click up from normal, mainly 3rd-4th gear, and no oil in the RRRacing air/oil separator.
Now for the second session, it was way more intense than the first, since I was the first one in the grid. The track felt really open and I was pushing the car pretty hard and taking turns really hard, along with Gearbangin behind me. Then on the straight away I hit about around 120 MPH, at this point, for some reason I did not feel confident at all, and I braked way too late to turn and ended up in the grass just a tiny bit.
I got back on the track and stayed behind Gearbangin, until I saw the black flag pointed at me, so I slowed down. I did not know that it meant to go back to the pit so they can check out your car, so I kept going around the track at a slower pace...lol. In this second session, my engine temp was half way between normal and hot. I would say I spent about 60% in 2nd gear, 30% in third, and 10% in forth gear and the oil in the RRRacing A/O separator was full. We did 6 laps in this session.
Finally for the third session, there were not the many cars left in this session due to the weather and SCCA didn't know if they would let us run the third session so the other drivers headed home. After 15 mins, the weather cleared up and we were back on after sunset! We probably ran for about 10-15 mins, it was almost the same as the second session except for I didn't end up in the grass...lol. I was about 9-10 position in the grid and I passed about 5-6 cars. In this final session, my engine temp was also half way between normal and hot. Spent about 55% in 2nd gear, 35% in third and, 10% in forth gear and the oil in the RRRacing A/O separator was full again.
All in all, I had fun for my first time at the track, it was very intense and felt like I worked out my upper body at the end of the day. Next time I will probably try and put myself intermediate, and adjust my coilovers to hard setting instead of leaving it in the middle. Gas usage wise, I came into the track with 3/4 of gas and went out with 1/8 left in my tank. As for the RRRacing A/O separator, it did it's job and kept the oil from the crankcase out of the intake manifold!
As for the videos, my Gopro flew off on the straight away and went into pieces. I mounted the Gopro on the roof of the car, I should've mounted on the windshield, or stuck adhesive down on it, expensive lesson learned.
Videos from Gearbangin will be up soon as he uploads it.
Feel free to ask any questions! Here are some pictures below... enjoy!
Awesome write up and really glad you had a great time! There is nothing like really being on the track and at this level, it really is all about making yourself a better driver. How did you feel the RC F fared against the ISF? I'd ask Gearbangin the same question.
The first few times out are really all about getting used to the car, learning the track, and gaining the confidence that yes, those brakes will stop me in time. At Road America, coming down into turn 5, a very long straight that descends downward before a near 90 degree left hander. Each time out I was amazed that I could brake later and later into the turn allowing my to be that much faster and smoother. This was in my ISF.
I was surprised to see you filled the catch can up in such a short amount of time. I remember reading Lobuxracer in the ISF forums thought some of the oil could be caused by the break in regimen used. How did you break in the car? I will likely be adding this to my car prior to my first track day too. What did you do with the oil once in the can, add it back to the car?
Lastly, I had to laugh a little seeing the smashed GoPro. I had the same thing happen to me a while back. An expensive lesson indeed.
Awesome write up and really glad you had a great time! There is nothing like really being on the track and at this level, it really is all about making yourself a better driver. How did you feel the RC F fared against the ISF? I'd ask Gearbangin the same question.
The first few times out are really all about getting used to the car, learning the track, and gaining the confidence that yes, those brakes will stop me in time. At Road America, coming down into turn 5, a very long straight that descends downward before a near 90 degree left hander. Each time out I was amazed that I could brake later and later into the turn allowing my to be that much faster and smoother. This was in my ISF.
I was surprised to see you filled the catch can up in such a short amount of time. I remember reading Lobuxracer in the ISF forums thought some of the oil could be caused by the break in regimen used. How did you break in the car? I will likely be adding this to my car prior to my first track day too. What did you do with the oil once in the can, add it back to the car?
Lastly, I had to laugh a little seeing the smashed GoPro. I had the same thing happen to me a while back. An expensive lesson indeed.
Gearbangin was on my *** every time when we was cornering, this is his second time on this track so he has more of a feel to it. My cornering was pretty horrible, lol.
With the braking situation, I didn't know what the numbers and/or the numbers cones meant near the turns until the 3rd session, so that kind of f'ed me over...lol. It's a was nice learning experience!
With my break in, I did not wait until the 600 miles or whatever, I just drove it hard, redlined it a few times on the second day and exceeding over 100 MPH. I kind of followed Lobuxracer break in technique, since he is very knowledgeable.
I did not add the oil back in the car as it was a very dark brown color, almost close to black! I had the dealer specifically changed my oil at 963 miles and it's due for another oil change in 1k miles. I have about 5k miles on the car right now and the oil is still golden. I haven't checked after the track night though, I'll let you know.
There is a HPDE coming up on the 14th on the same track, so Gearbangin and I may head back and continue to improve our track driving skills.
That's BAD, especially without a catch can. May I ask you if you have any mods on your engine? Not even the crappy GM PCV valve was that bad. A full canister in 20 minutes is just insane. Any oil consumption when not on the track? Is a catch can needed on a stock car, in your opinion? Would appreciate your input.
That's BAD, especially without a catch can. May I ask you if you have any mods on your engine? Not even the crappy GM PCV valve was that bad. A full canister in 20 minutes is just insane. Any oil consumption when not on the track? Is a catch can needed on a stock car, in your opinion? Would appreciate your input.
If you drive your car pretty hard on the street, then yes I will recommend you get one, as I saw oil pooling on the intake manifold connector when I first put my A/O separator on.
Yeah, we were pretty amazed when we saw how much oil these cars are ingesting through the PCV system.
For you track guys... we are in the final stages of completely a full RR Racing / Penske coilover setup with electronic GPS and G-sensor damping adjustment. If you want your RCF to handle like it should, there is no substitute...
And one more thing, don't forget we are sponsoring a track day at New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 12th, we would love to see you guys attend if you can:
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09-04-15, 11:32 PM
SCCA Track Night at Pitt Race 9/4 Experience
