First Track Outing with the Z!
09-19-2017, 10:34 PM
#1
Pro
Thread Starter
First Track Outing with the Z!
My first road course track experience outside of a racing school is in the books. I had an absolute blast and can't wait to do another. I've done mostly drag racing but this was a whole difference experience. The weather was a touch warm but nothing crazy and the car was an absolute beast. The only prep for the track was making sure I had a full tank of fuel and swapped the DOT3 with some crazy price Castrol SRF DOT4. I think it was a smart move since I have a feeling with how much heat I put into the brakes that I would have boiled the DOT3 early on.
The SCCA Track Night at Pocono Raceway was a well set up event. I got there a few minutes before the first paced session where they show you the track. I selected the novice class since it was basically my first time. They allow passing but only in designated areas and require the driver in front to point you by. You get 1 paced session followed by 3, unpaced sessions which are about 20 minutes long. The course was a lot of fun but coming off the big straights was tricky since you really had to haul the car down from speed.
The first two unpaced sessions were a bit tricky as I basically dealt with traffic and guys not allowing me to pass. I was black flagged on the first session since I passed before the allowable zone. A guy in a Maserati Ghibli wouldn't let me by but finally did. I jumped the gun and rather than let off to cause an issue, I kept my foot in it. The 3rd session was the best even though I still continued to hit traffic on every lap. At least this time folks were waving me by.
Going down the one straight away, I went easy on the banked turn mainly because I wasn't quite sure if I could hit that at full throttle. I probably could have gone 115 through the turn or faster but this experience wasn't to set any records but to just have a damn good time. I didn't want to be that guy to run it on the ragged edge and put the car into the wall. You will see in the vids that I was pretty conservative near the other cars. I didn't want to get too close or run up on them real heavy. I hit 142-144 on the one straight which wasn't too shabby. The heat coming off the brakes after each session was pretty crazy. I could smell the burning brakes on track too lol. The tires looked like they got scrubbed pretty good too. They never made noise, even at the limit but would just slip a touch.
I was the fastest in my group which included a couple other z06's. There was a Alfa 4C in our group which was a lot of fun to play with in the corners. I never got one full complete clean lap but that's OK. 60+ mins on track was just a great experience.
I used the Z's PDR and a GoPro. I would have liked to mount the GoPro outside the car but they don't allow that since it can fall off. I forgot to set the finish line on the PDR so some laps times were shown. The vids below are of the same session, one obviously using the PDR and the other the GoPro. The GoPro seems to give more of the sensation of speed while the PDR looks like I am just crawling around. In some cases I was going slow due to traffic but you can see more of what's going on in the car from the G force meter.
The only bad part of the day was a guy in a new red miata put his car into the wall on nearly the last lap for the day. You can see it at the end of the video. The funny (it is now) story is after I parked the car to end the day, my Dad came over all out of breath. I ask why he was huffing and he said that he thought the car that wrecked was me. He was all the way down the straightaway and just saw a red car hit the wall. He gave me a hug and we went to see if the driver was OK (he was but not his car). Both airbags deployed and the front end was really smashed. I doubt he went for the track day insurance.....
I'm pretty smitten with the experience and just so damn impressed with how the car performed. It was good I filled it with fuel prior to racing since when I was done, it was nearly empty
. It's crazy to think what it would do with a more performance oriented brake pad and real sticky tires.
The SCCA Track Night at Pocono Raceway was a well set up event. I got there a few minutes before the first paced session where they show you the track. I selected the novice class since it was basically my first time. They allow passing but only in designated areas and require the driver in front to point you by. You get 1 paced session followed by 3, unpaced sessions which are about 20 minutes long. The course was a lot of fun but coming off the big straights was tricky since you really had to haul the car down from speed.
The first two unpaced sessions were a bit tricky as I basically dealt with traffic and guys not allowing me to pass. I was black flagged on the first session since I passed before the allowable zone. A guy in a Maserati Ghibli wouldn't let me by but finally did. I jumped the gun and rather than let off to cause an issue, I kept my foot in it. The 3rd session was the best even though I still continued to hit traffic on every lap. At least this time folks were waving me by.
Going down the one straight away, I went easy on the banked turn mainly because I wasn't quite sure if I could hit that at full throttle. I probably could have gone 115 through the turn or faster but this experience wasn't to set any records but to just have a damn good time. I didn't want to be that guy to run it on the ragged edge and put the car into the wall. You will see in the vids that I was pretty conservative near the other cars. I didn't want to get too close or run up on them real heavy. I hit 142-144 on the one straight which wasn't too shabby. The heat coming off the brakes after each session was pretty crazy. I could smell the burning brakes on track too lol. The tires looked like they got scrubbed pretty good too. They never made noise, even at the limit but would just slip a touch.
I was the fastest in my group which included a couple other z06's. There was a Alfa 4C in our group which was a lot of fun to play with in the corners. I never got one full complete clean lap but that's OK. 60+ mins on track was just a great experience.
I used the Z's PDR and a GoPro. I would have liked to mount the GoPro outside the car but they don't allow that since it can fall off. I forgot to set the finish line on the PDR so some laps times were shown. The vids below are of the same session, one obviously using the PDR and the other the GoPro. The GoPro seems to give more of the sensation of speed while the PDR looks like I am just crawling around. In some cases I was going slow due to traffic but you can see more of what's going on in the car from the G force meter.
The only bad part of the day was a guy in a new red miata put his car into the wall on nearly the last lap for the day. You can see it at the end of the video. The funny (it is now) story is after I parked the car to end the day, my Dad came over all out of breath. I ask why he was huffing and he said that he thought the car that wrecked was me. He was all the way down the straightaway and just saw a red car hit the wall. He gave me a hug and we went to see if the driver was OK (he was but not his car). Both airbags deployed and the front end was really smashed. I doubt he went for the track day insurance.....
I'm pretty smitten with the experience and just so damn impressed with how the car performed. It was good I filled it with fuel prior to racing since when I was done, it was nearly empty
. It's crazy to think what it would do with a more performance oriented brake pad and real sticky tires. 
The following users liked this post:
Z06NJ (09-20-2017)
The following users liked this post:
blackbirdws6 (09-20-2017)
09-20-2017, 04:02 PM
#4
It is easy to run these cars out of gas on the track! Guess how I know?
Smaller tank than the C6? Worse track mileage? I don't know but it caught me by surprise for sure!
Smaller tank than the C6? Worse track mileage? I don't know but it caught me by surprise for sure!
Last edited by jswatek; 09-20-2017 at 04:03 PM.
09-20-2017, 04:27 PM
#5
Melting Slicks
The C7 evidently can carry 1/2 a gallon more fuel. Worse track mileage is my answer since the car is 3500 lbs and has a supercharged engine.
09-20-2017, 07:39 PM
#6
Sounds like you had a blast! At least you have the fastest color!
09-20-2017, 08:00 PM
#8
Race Director
I'm glad you had a great time at the track!!! However, I strongly urge you to attend some real HPDE type track events.
You say you've attended a "racing school" - was that Spring Mountain?
The SCCA Track Night program is a great way to run your car around a track, but to my knowledge there is very little (probably none!) classroom instruction on important things like car dynamics, track protocol, flags, the line, etc., etc. They may have a very quick briefing before turning complete novices loose on the track with no in-car instructor.
It can be fun, but not necessarily a good learning experience.
So...keep an eye out for some HPDE type track days in your area where you'll get some good classroom about that particular track, and you'll have an in-car instructor to teach you the line, point out flag stations, passing zones, etc., etc., before they turn you loose and advance you to intermediate or advanced run groups.
Glad you had a great time - it is very addictive!!!
.
09-20-2017, 10:02 PM
#9
Pro
Thread Starter
I'm def hooked!
I did an open wheel driving school a number of years ago. It was a lot of fun but was focused on the little open wheel racers they had. It included classroom time and an instructor (in another car). You are correct that the SCCA event had no classroom and is more just to get your car on track. It's just about identical to the drag racing test and tune nights I've been too plenty of times.
I am headed to Spring Mountain in October and can't wait.
EXCELLENT!!!
I'm glad you had a great time at the track!!! However, I strongly urge you to attend some real HPDE type track events.
You say you've attended a "racing school" - was that Spring Mountain?
The SCCA Track Night program is a great way to run your car around a track, but to my knowledge there is very little (probably none!) classroom instruction on important things like car dynamics, track protocol, flags, the line, etc., etc. They may have a very quick briefing before turning complete novices loose on the track with no in-car instructor.
It can be fun, but not necessarily a good learning experience.
So...keep an eye out for some HPDE type track days in your area where you'll get some good classroom about that particular track, and you'll have an in-car instructor to teach you the line, point out flag stations, passing zones, etc., etc., before they turn you loose and advance you to intermediate or advanced run groups.
Glad you had a great time - it is very addictive!!!
.
I'm glad you had a great time at the track!!! However, I strongly urge you to attend some real HPDE type track events.
You say you've attended a "racing school" - was that Spring Mountain?
The SCCA Track Night program is a great way to run your car around a track, but to my knowledge there is very little (probably none!) classroom instruction on important things like car dynamics, track protocol, flags, the line, etc., etc. They may have a very quick briefing before turning complete novices loose on the track with no in-car instructor.
It can be fun, but not necessarily a good learning experience.
So...keep an eye out for some HPDE type track days in your area where you'll get some good classroom about that particular track, and you'll have an in-car instructor to teach you the line, point out flag stations, passing zones, etc., etc., before they turn you loose and advance you to intermediate or advanced run groups.
Glad you had a great time - it is very addictive!!!
.
I am headed to Spring Mountain in October and can't wait.
09-29-2017, 08:15 PM
#10
09-29-2017, 08:34 PM
#11
Pro
I'm getting 4.4 - 4.8 mpg during my road course track sessions. Tanks go pretty quick... usually fill up 2 to 3 times over the day.
09-29-2017, 10:31 PM
#12
Melting Slicks
I'm def hooked!
I did an open wheel driving school a number of years ago. It was a lot of fun but was focused on the little open wheel racers they had. It included classroom time and an instructor (in another car). You are correct that the SCCA event had no classroom and is more just to get your car on track. It's just about identical to the drag racing test and tune nights I've been too plenty of times.
I am headed to Spring Mountain in October and can't wait.
I did an open wheel driving school a number of years ago. It was a lot of fun but was focused on the little open wheel racers they had. It included classroom time and an instructor (in another car). You are correct that the SCCA event had no classroom and is more just to get your car on track. It's just about identical to the drag racing test and tune nights I've been too plenty of times.
I am headed to Spring Mountain in October and can't wait.
The following users liked this post:
blackbirdws6 (09-30-2017)
09-30-2017, 10:55 PM
#15
Pro
Thread Starter
That's interesting that you guys had no class room time. At all the Track Night in America events I've done photography at (around 10 or so at this point), there's been a mandatory drivers meeting where they discuss flags, what to do, etc. We also have had instructors at every single event for the novice group that switch off every few laps so that every novice has an instructor (unless an advanced group driver rides along with them to help guide them).
09-30-2017, 11:45 PM
#16
Racer
Nice write up and videos when I look at my PDR vs Go Pro the PDR seems like I am going super slow compared to the Go Pro!? I think the C7Z is even thirstier than my ZR1 on the track.