Track Day - MotorSport Ranch - Cresson, TX (Sept 11-12th) :D
09-17-2010, 03:44 PM
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Track Day - MotorSport Ranch - Cresson, TX (Sept 11-12th) :D
Besides the ominous tone of telling everyone that my track day was on 9/11 I was excited for this one. I ran with "The Driver's Edge" down here Southwest of the DFW, TX area. Back to the 3.1mi course and 16 turns. Its not a high speed course and at some point I will have to find a place to really stretch my cars legs on a long banked straightaway at TWS or something, but for practicing my skill and all the different turns, this course has a lot to offer.
Its my 4th event and I got bumped up into the first of the two advanced groups. Now let me clarify its not like NASA HPDE (which i am going to in a couple weeks at Eagles Canyon for the first time
) where i hear there is passing everywhere in the highest HPDE group. They are preparing you for racing and TTs so that make sense. This is just a pure HPDE group. Sure the instructors can pass anywhere i hear, but no one else. That doesn't bother me since there is MUCH less chance of trading paint.
The groups go:
Green - Novice w/ instructors
Blue - Intermediate (can be solo approved for blue) w/ instructors
Yellow - Advanced - had instructors 1/2 the time no passengers
Red - Expert no instructors - allowed to take passengers
My goal is to eventually get to Red so i can take my parents and friends along to really let them experience what our cars are capable of at speed through the turns. I may get to advanced at MotorSport Ranch but not be as high for another course so that may be an option.
I am running Firestone Firehawk WO Indy 500s, UTOG 320. Pretty high in comparison to most people who are running ToyoR888s or slicks or even just NT01 or NT555RRs. None the less the tires force me to practice being smooth and working on my skill and not relying on the equipment.
I have a long way to go to hope to be NASA competitive someday but I feel I have come a long way since my first session back in Feb.
A few things I know i need to work on and many more little things I probably don't list as well. Just wondering if there are any pointers you experts have for someone still trying to sponge up all the info i can:
Looking ahead - Sometimes I do but many times if i reflect back I am too focused on the turn I am on and not whats around the next bend as I should be.
Heel-Toe - They had some great pointers discussed this last time, just wondering with the C6 Accelerator pedal (besides the CCA pedals I have seen) any thoughts about heel-toe in our cars.
Braking - The entry into the turn, brake modulation in the start of the zone and feathing off at the right time. I am usually scrubbing off too much speed I would guess but i worked on that for a couple turns with scrubbing down to a certain speed and then starting the turn in at a MPH instead of just breaking till it felt slow. Of course depending on how you starting the whole corner you may be able to take it faster which leads me to my next piece.
Consistency - People with 10 years of experience are probably still always working on this but can probably run a pretty consistent lap time if they didn't have traffic. I know practice makes perfect but are there things you do to help with staying on your game the whole time.
Smoothness - I started to get better in a few corners once I was really able to feel comfortable at certain time. There are some you know you have taken wrong so its the game of corrections, but the ones you start right you can really try to be smooth all the way and those feel awesome.
I will link some video's once I get home i have one of the camera behind me so you can see what I am doing (driver inputs ---- be nice ), and then i have many others that show from the front windshield perspective(could at least check out my line)
Maybe the video will help more so when i get those up so hopefully I can pick a few of the experts minds out there on ways to improve and things to be working on/thinking about at this stage of my driving career.
All Video shot with the GoPro HD Hero. (new firmware update is nice for the upside down shooting). Nice part of a 2 seater the suction mount worked from the back window.
7th session by myself (DRIVER INPUT VIEW)
Part 1 - Session 7 of 8
Part 2 - Session 7 of 8
5th session by myself (WINDSHIELD VIEW)
Part 1 - Session 5 Had this mustang that spun out the first session take way to long to give me a pass. I could have been closer but he wasn't leaving me and should have known from the day before.
Part 2 - Session 5
There is even one I was staying with a Supercharged Z06. Driver skill does wonders. Can't wait to see what I can do with Rcomps and some more seat time later on.
Its my 4th event and I got bumped up into the first of the two advanced groups. Now let me clarify its not like NASA HPDE (which i am going to in a couple weeks at Eagles Canyon for the first time
) where i hear there is passing everywhere in the highest HPDE group. They are preparing you for racing and TTs so that make sense. This is just a pure HPDE group. Sure the instructors can pass anywhere i hear, but no one else. That doesn't bother me since there is MUCH less chance of trading paint. The groups go:
Green - Novice w/ instructors
Blue - Intermediate (can be solo approved for blue) w/ instructors
Yellow - Advanced - had instructors 1/2 the time no passengers
Red - Expert no instructors - allowed to take passengers
My goal is to eventually get to Red so i can take my parents and friends along to really let them experience what our cars are capable of at speed through the turns. I may get to advanced at MotorSport Ranch but not be as high for another course so that may be an option.
I am running Firestone Firehawk WO Indy 500s, UTOG 320. Pretty high in comparison to most people who are running ToyoR888s or slicks or even just NT01 or NT555RRs. None the less the tires force me to practice being smooth and working on my skill and not relying on the equipment.
I have a long way to go to hope to be NASA competitive someday but I feel I have come a long way since my first session back in Feb.
A few things I know i need to work on and many more little things I probably don't list as well. Just wondering if there are any pointers you experts have for someone still trying to sponge up all the info i can:
Looking ahead - Sometimes I do but many times if i reflect back I am too focused on the turn I am on and not whats around the next bend as I should be.
Heel-Toe - They had some great pointers discussed this last time, just wondering with the C6 Accelerator pedal (besides the CCA pedals I have seen) any thoughts about heel-toe in our cars.
Braking - The entry into the turn, brake modulation in the start of the zone and feathing off at the right time. I am usually scrubbing off too much speed I would guess but i worked on that for a couple turns with scrubbing down to a certain speed and then starting the turn in at a MPH instead of just breaking till it felt slow. Of course depending on how you starting the whole corner you may be able to take it faster which leads me to my next piece.
Consistency - People with 10 years of experience are probably still always working on this but can probably run a pretty consistent lap time if they didn't have traffic. I know practice makes perfect but are there things you do to help with staying on your game the whole time.
Smoothness - I started to get better in a few corners once I was really able to feel comfortable at certain time. There are some you know you have taken wrong so its the game of corrections, but the ones you start right you can really try to be smooth all the way and those feel awesome.
I will link some video's once I get home i have one of the camera behind me so you can see what I am doing (driver inputs ---- be nice
), and then i have many others that show from the front windshield perspective(could at least check out my line)Maybe the video will help more so when i get those up so hopefully I can pick a few of the experts minds out there on ways to improve and things to be working on/thinking about at this stage of my driving career.
All Video shot with the GoPro HD Hero. (new firmware update is nice for the upside down shooting). Nice part of a 2 seater the suction mount worked from the back window.
7th session by myself (DRIVER INPUT VIEW)
Part 1 - Session 7 of 8
Part 2 - Session 7 of 8
5th session by myself (WINDSHIELD VIEW)
Part 1 - Session 5 Had this mustang that spun out the first session take way to long to give me a pass. I could have been closer but he wasn't leaving me and should have known from the day before.
Part 2 - Session 5
There is even one I was staying with a Supercharged Z06. Driver skill does wonders. Can't wait to see what I can do with Rcomps and some more seat time later on.
Last edited by LeMans05C6; 09-17-2010 at 06:12 PM. Reason: Added Video Links.
09-17-2010, 04:41 PM
#2
Drifting
Looking ahead - Easy to practice. Put a piece of tape on your windshield, just under your normal eyeline. Make sure you always look over the tape.
Heel-Toe - You need to do everything you can to make sure the pedals are set up comfortably for you. Most folks are different, so it varies. The corvette is generally pretty well setup as far as depth goes; when hard on brakes, and with some pad left, you should be able to blip the throttle with your right foot. Some folks need to decrease the distance between the go pedal and the brake.
Braking - This comes with time. Lots and lots of seat time, and observation while you're at it. Sometimes (and I'm not advocating this) it takes losing or fumbling the braking for a corner. You brake too little, and still make it! Hey, you could have been doing that all along! The corvette has the special problem that you can torque your way out of the corner and feel fast, but if you carried more speed in, you'd be even faster.
Consistency - Steve Hill will preach the three C's to you at some point. Control, Consistency and Cadence. They are dependent, so you get control of the car, then build consistency, which leads to cadence. If you are alone on track, you fall into a rhythm pretty well. Look for the rhythm.
Smoothness - Drive more. Fall into the rhythm of the track. Be sure you do the last sessions. Most folks don't stay for the last session of the day, and often the best practice time is then.
Heel-Toe - You need to do everything you can to make sure the pedals are set up comfortably for you. Most folks are different, so it varies. The corvette is generally pretty well setup as far as depth goes; when hard on brakes, and with some pad left, you should be able to blip the throttle with your right foot. Some folks need to decrease the distance between the go pedal and the brake.
Braking - This comes with time. Lots and lots of seat time, and observation while you're at it. Sometimes (and I'm not advocating this) it takes losing or fumbling the braking for a corner. You brake too little, and still make it! Hey, you could have been doing that all along! The corvette has the special problem that you can torque your way out of the corner and feel fast, but if you carried more speed in, you'd be even faster.
Consistency - Steve Hill will preach the three C's to you at some point. Control, Consistency and Cadence. They are dependent, so you get control of the car, then build consistency, which leads to cadence. If you are alone on track, you fall into a rhythm pretty well. Look for the rhythm.
Smoothness - Drive more. Fall into the rhythm of the track. Be sure you do the last sessions. Most folks don't stay for the last session of the day, and often the best practice time is then.
09-17-2010, 06:14 PM
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Comments like yours help a lot.
Heel-toe - I am just practicing all the time that I am driving since its my daily driver. I heard someone say they just did loops on a highway clover until they had a policemen ask what they were doing. Makes sense since they involve turning braking and throttle maintenence.
Please let me know your thoughts on the videos, and remember only my 4th track day, I am on street tires (which I am sure an expert would wipe me away on street tires even if i had slicks). All feedback I want to hear.
Heel-toe - I am just practicing all the time that I am driving since its my daily driver. I heard someone say they just did loops on a highway clover until they had a policemen ask what they were doing. Makes sense since they involve turning braking and throttle maintenence.
Please let me know your thoughts on the videos, and remember only my 4th track day, I am on street tires (which I am sure an expert would wipe me away on street tires even if i had slicks). All feedback I want to hear.
