Hey there LiM3y. It was good to meet you at Lime Rock. Definitely a good time. I was also doing my new square setup--18x10in Forgelines with 275/35-18 Nitto NT-01s. This was my first time on trackday rubber, and it was an education. The tires were sticker-new, and during the first session they felt awful. Wobbly, greasy, all over the place. The second and continuing sessions were MUCH better. The tires felt more solid, with much better grip. They definitely don't squeal/communicate like a regular street performance tire, but they do make some noise under load so you can tell what's going on.
The last time I was at Lime Rock was for a Skip Barber driving school. I had forgotten how tight and physically exhausting the track is. Especially compared to Watkins Glen, which is much more flowing. Lime Rock almost feels like an oversized autocross course with a long straight. The uphill is a blast. The car moves around a lot at the crest of the hill as the suspension unloads. You definitely have to make sure the car is going as straight as possible at that point.
I also noticed quite a bit of rear-end wiggle under heavy braking. Not sure if this is inherent to the car, or due to my tires or maybe brake balance. Any thoughts?
The M3s in attendance made a good showing. I was probably the slowest M3 of the bunch, but had a good time and felt like I improved during the day. A couple of the M3s were consistently harrassing Corvettes.
A couple of fun moments--seeing a brand-new Jaguar XF-R (all 4000+ lbs of it) rip around the track. This luxury sedan did better than you would think in the corners, and when he gave me a point-by on the front straight, he didn't let off the gas much to let me around. The result: Me feeling like I was in a rowboat trying to pass him--hey buddy, cool the supercharger a bit and let me around! Also fun to see a couple of Mini Coopers on race rubber tearing it up. VERY fast in the corners. I was right behind one for a couple of laps and he was consistently lifting an inside rear wheel in the sharper corners. Yee-haw!
