My track day journal. new update 11/20/2017

[AriuSen]

Originally Posted by dc_wright

Nice! I think that was one of the smoothest laps I've seen you run in the laps you've posted. Sometimes overdriving the car and having to be on and off the throttle getting through the corners can feel fast but cost you time....

Thanks!
Yea. I was impressed on how I am driving so much smoother now lol
Maintaining throttle coming out of the corner exit, is giving me some serious top speed on every straight line.

[dc_wright]

Originally Posted by AriuSen

Thanks!
Yea. I was impressed on how I am driving so much smoother now lol
Manta inning throttle coming out of the corner exit, is giving me some serious top speed on every straight line.

If you believe Ross Bentley (Ultimate Speed Secrets) corner exit speed is where it's at cutting time off your laps.

[AriuSen]

Just a quick update.
Same settings from my previous 2 track days. Car feels so perfect that I don't want to change anything.
The only change was a bigger splitter that it's a prototype from Trackspec in tegris. For those who doesn't know what tegris is, Google it cuz I don't know much too lolol. I just know it's used by Nascar cars and it's way stronger than carbon fiber splitter.
Anyway. So I went for the first time to Willow springs. I never had the desire to go before due to all these videos I watched of cars flipping in that track since it's poorly maintained.
But I was so bored of buttonwillow that I decided to give it a shot.
For my surprised I actually ran a pretty good laptime for the first time....I only ran 2 sessions that day since I had a bday party to attend. This car can easily do a 1:25 with more balls in turn 8 and 9 lol
I ended up doing a 1:27.8 to my surprised and the track isn't as scary as I thought. Will definitely go out again!
Next week is Las Vegas motor speedway. It's my first time too and also I was invited to run an endurance race with the spec Corvette guys. Never been in a w2w except for go-kart, never driven in that track, and never driven a Corvette before. Wish me luck guys lol

Here is my video in Willow springs.

[AriuSen]

Btw. This is the prototype in tegris.

[AriuSen]

update 6/26/18

On 4/23 I went to Las vegas motor speedway. a track pretty tight and technical. Not as fun as Spring mountain, but had lots of fun.
Settings wise, I havent really done anything for a while now since the car is so well balanced to a point that the car is not as fun as it used to be, if you know what I mean.

I felt like I was cruising LOL

[AriuSen]

New mod!!
Will Dyno before and after. Hopefully i can extract something out of it lolol

[inTgr8r]

Sweet!
One of the most important things with this is getting cold air to it.

[rdeady]

Very cool. Have to get mine on a track sometime

[PLCZ4MC]

Originally Posted by AriuSen

New mod!!
Will Dyno before and after. Hopefully i can extract something out of it lolol

Very Jealous Right Here!!!!!! Congrats!!!

[ZAR4MC]

Thats so pretty!! gonna sound amazing!

[AriuSen]

Originally Posted by PLCZ4MC

Very Jealous Right Here!!!!!! Congrats!!!

Thank you!! Excited to put them on!

[AriuSen]

Originally Posted by ZAR4MC

Thats so pretty!! gonna sound amazing!

I hope I can hear anything haha my car is so loud that im wondering if I can really hear the intake.
Diff noise trans noise RPI full catless.

[ZAR4MC]

Originally Posted by AriuSen

I hope I can hear anything haha my car is so loud that im wondering if I can really hear the intake.
Diff noise trans noise RPI full catless.

Screamer!! I'll wait patiently for a sound clip once its all installed and tuned...

[AriuSen]

update 7/3/18

Time: 1:36.8
no new mods, no new alignment or anything. One big change. As the track is slippery, you want to go soft with your rebound/compression to maximize the grip...its not a track that has a lot of weight transitioning, so you dont really need high rebound.

Went to Laguna Seca on 6/30 with Speed Ventures round 6 Bimmer Challenge
I love that track. It is a track that looks easy, but IMO its a track that is VERY hard to be consistent when you are pushing to the limit because of the high speed corners, hard braking zone, walls being too close, and many blind corners which makes hard to know when you can go on gas.
If you want to run a fast laptime in that track, I think you need to focus a lot on "slow in fast out". Fix your eyes at every exit and get on gas asap.
Here are some pointers that I figured out throughout the day. I am not that experienced in that track since Ive only been there 3 times, but I hope that helps you.

turn 2- What was faster for me: Double apex, brake later (next to the #3 sign) so I could trail brake the first apex until mid-corner, rotate the car, and get on gas the second half of the corner.....Before I was braking too early and not doing double apex...car would take too long to rotate, which lead me to a slow exit speed.

turn 3- Scary corner...wall too close and understeer/oversteer crazy! I used to always see that turn as a late apex turn, but I noticed that if I brake less, early/mid apex and let car cruise, I would carry a lot more speed entry and mid corner. Then all I did was fix my eyes on exit and get on gas once I felt confident. I think letting the car cruise mid-corner is fast, as the car doesnt lose balance and lets you focus more on exit than mid-corner. Note that in order to let the car cruise, you need to brake less than usual.

Turn 4- I used to tap the brakes and get on gas before apex, but in my third session with wing and slicks, I can just lift and get on gas again before apex...the exit is really wide, so use all of it.

Turn 5- I used to also late apex, but I was losing too much speed entry and mid corner....Early apex was the secret....Dont turn your wheel too quick or it will be too early. Slowly turn your wheel while on gas before apex and keep increasing the speed gradually to carry momentum in that uphill.

Turn 6- (my favorite turn of the track, and also IMO the most important corner of the track)....So fun that you can brake at sign#2, downshift, and get on gas right away before apex to carry momentum as well. Track out as much as you can to not scrub speed....Its a tricky turn since you want to hit the apex, but there is a really high red curb that can bend your wheels.

Turn 7 (corkscrew) Dont brake next to sign #3, which is at the top of the hill...you car will float and when you brake too late, the track feels like ice...you will go off 100%.

Turn 9 - Sacrifice mid corner so you can exit fast....cruise and slow down mid corner so you can get on gas before apex...try to slow down enough to be able to really hit the beginning of the left berm...from there gradually get back on gas.

Turn 10 - not much to say...just brake between sign# 2 and 1, cruise and get back on gas at the apex.

Turn 11 - If you dont trail brake you take too long to rotate. Ive tried braking early to exit faster, but it was slower to do that, since the car just takes forever to rotate. Try braking next to sign#2 or between 3and2 so you can trail brake, rotate and shoot for main straight. Unfortunately I couldnt do that in my PB since there was a car in front of me so that made me lose some time.

Sorry for the bad angle. Had to mount in a different location because my friend wanted to record my driving with his gopro.

Hope that was useful!

BONUS:
Speed ventures decided to add USTCC with the red group.....it was a total disaster....some drivers were fast, but some was beginners level....they are a racing series, but it was amazing how some drivers had absolutely no idea of their surroundings. Some drivers were thinking they were in a race and would not let faster people pass, and when you get next to them, they would just close to door.
Had drivers showing off their drifting skills, running way too slow, blocking, etc...if was a total F****show......We will make a complain because putting others at risk was unacceptable.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BktvQvVF...=1cx3lg7q8osqi

[dre99gsx]

Thanks for your insight. Agreed - when they start mixing a wide range of levels on the track, bad things happen. It's not a race, and you want to go home with your expensive machine still in one piece. That's the game plan.

Good work on improving your skills

[AriuSen]

Originally Posted by dre99gsx

Thanks for your insight. Agreed - when they start mixing a wide range of levels on the track, bad things happen. It's not a race, and you want to go home with your expensive machine still in one piece. That's the game plan.

Good work on improving your skills

Thank you!!

[The HACK]

That's nuckin' futz. That is only a little over a second slower than Randy Pobst did in a 2017 Corvette Grand Sport.

I think, on my best of days, I can push MY MZ4 Coupe to about 1:47 on the 275mm wide Maxxis. To drop another 10 seconds off that will take me driving the p*ss out of my 2017 Corvette Grand Sport and I don't even think I can match your pace in that.

Actually I think you and your car would give some BMW CCA CR club racers in CMod a run for their money. Gil Caravantes (one of the best CCA CR club racers I know) ran a 1:37 in his CMod last year.

You would do well in wheel to wheel club racing, I think you'll like it.

p.s.: Look like the same Civic in 2 of the videos?

[AriuSen]

Originally Posted by The HACK

That's nuckin' futz. That is only a little over a second slower than Randy Pobst did in a 2017 Corvette Grand Sport.

I think, on my best of days, I can push MY MZ4 Coupe to about 1:47 on the 275mm wide Maxxis. To drop another 10 seconds off that will take me driving the p*ss out of my 2017 Corvette Grand Sport and I don't even think I can match your pace in that.

Actually I think you and your car would give some BMW CCA CR club racers in CMod a run for their money. Gil Caravantes (one of the best CCA CR club racers I know) ran a 1:37 in his CMod last year.

You would do well in wheel to wheel club racing, I think you'll like it.

p.s.: Look like the same Civic in 2 of the videos?

Thank you very much for the kind comments
The car is very capable of doing 1:35, but I only fully understood some corners in my last session when I was running with passengers. I noticed that turned 4 I didnt need to tap the brakes..i can just lift and get back on gas again.
My plan is to do w2w next year.....not sure yet which organization though. Was looking into nasa spec e30 or miata, but will look into BMW CCA CR. Not too familar with that.
I tried spec corvette endurance race, and I loved it....total different ball game....there was a lap that I lost the braking point, and I was so frustrated how I lost all those tenth of a sec that I was working on so hard to catch the car in front of me. 1 little mistake makes quite a big difference in a race lol.

Yeap...that was the civic twice... that civic was one of the slowest in red group, but would not once point by anyone...it was scary to pass him.
I saw 2 or 3 more videos where this civic made dumb moves...one of them, he had engine problems, and instead of moving out of the track he just parked right before turn 6.....Hope to not see that car again in red group.

[PLCZ4MC]

I am sure Alex will push even more after the changes his intake box and will do even more lower numbers at Laguna Seca. He probably will be able to beat Randy record behind the wheel of the Viper ACR 1:28.65

[AriuSen]

Originally Posted by PLCZ4MC

I am sure Alex will push even more after the changes his intake box and will do even more lower numbers at Laguna Seca. He probably will be able to beat Randy record behind the wheel of the Viper ACR 1:28.65

hahaha....thanks but i dont dream that big haha.
1 sec in laguna is MUCH harder than shaving 1 sec in buttonwillow.
I dont even think I can do 1:30 even with a supercharger haha, but thanks for making me feel like superman! haha.

Randy pobst is amazing....the times he does with those stock cars are beyond my imagination....i really wish randy would drive my car once just to see how far I am from him lol

[The HACK]

Spec E30 is fun. Huge, competitive field...And a lot cheaper than running any of the prepared or mod classes in BMW CCA CR. It's a true test of skills in that it's a spec series, a good car and a bad car can be made up by driver's skill..But also means if all driver's are equally skilled, a good car vs a bad car can mean a world of difference. IF I were to enter into racing, NASA Spec E30 would be my choice, but primarily because I personally know about 30% of the competitors in the field and have driven with them on track (or instructed with them in CCA).

BMW CCA CR has an attendance problem, they can't attract more drivers because the classes and field is not competitive, the classes are not competitive because there are not enough racers. I think CCA CR would be a lot of fun if there's at least 3-5 cars in each class, but now-a-days they'd be hard pressed to field 3-5 cars for the entire FIELD sometimes out here on the West Coast. Which makes me sad, because I know EVERYONE in CCA CR, and have seen the glory days where there's a dozen cars in J-Prepared dicing it out all across the track.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by AriuSen

Turn 9 - Sacrifice mid corner so you can exit fast....cruise and slow down mid corner so you can get on gas before apex...try to slow down enough to be able to really hit the beginning of the left berm...from there gradually get back on gas.

There's a trick to turn 9 I picked up in iRacing and in real life. There's a dark, repaved patch at the entry to the turn, If you aim your passenger side front tire for that patch after you clear the corkscrew, you can continue to apply throttle all the way to the patch, then brush the brakes so you set the front suspension, but not necessarily slow down, and you can squeeze right back on the throttle without having to sacrifice entry speed.

The key is to be able to set up the front suspension to turn in hard into the apex, otherwise you run out of exit this way because you're not scrubbing off too much speed. That momentary brush of the brake doesn't slow you down much, but gives you the ability to crank the car way into the turn since that part of the track lacks camber.

Look for that dark patch the next time you go. It's pretty obvious. Night and day difference for turn 9.

I don't know if this helps or not, the "patch" is hard to see. It's right past the bridge, I circled it on my screen grab. You can see just ahead of the patch that there's two distinct "lines" resulting from all the racers and race cars driving over the same spot, more rubber is laid down here on this particular part of the track, so it's got more grip. If you hit the patch, brush the brakes to set front suspension, it's natural to laid down more rubber here. Those marks came from cars under braking, just as the entry to bus-stop has some heavily marked tire marks from everyone brushing the brakes at the same spot (you know what I'm talking about) even though bus-stop at Buttonwillow is not a heavy braking zone.

You can see another arrow pointing to another patch mark on the ground, that spot indicates when you'll have to be back on throttle, because if you're not, you'll end up getting a little squirrel-y. Plus if you're not back on throttle there, it defeats the purpose of using this particular "line" through turn 9. You'll end up cruising all the way past Apex.