First time at VIR

[blankstar43]

Went to VIR this past weekend with the PCA Carolinas region. This is my first year tracking and have been hooked since day 1. This is my 7th event and first time at VIR. We ran the Full Course both days and had decent weather except for a little dampness on the first morning.

I had only been to Roebling Road Raceway prior to this and I really enjoyed it there, but VIR was a lot more fun and exciting. The PCA Carolinas region put on a pretty well organized event despite being confined to the South paddock.

Thought I'd share a video of my last session on day 2 to get some feedback. I ran in the Blue group all weekend and this was the only session I went out without my instructor. I know I have plenty to work on so bring on all the positive criticism .

Only mods are 18x10 TRMotorsport MT1 wheels with 275/35/18 Hankook RS3 tires, ATE Super Blue brake fluid, StopTech Street Performance Brake Pads (which were brand new before I went, but basically started to disintegrate after I started getting quicker and were almost gone by the end of day 2) and an Akrapovic Evo exhaust.

Also I don't know why the video starts by skipping several minutes into it

[LTNYC]

Exhaust sounds great! I'd say from your speed differential that you're ready for HPDE 2 with this group.. who were u running with?

VIR is my favorite, too bad it's a 9-hr schlep for me!

Some quick tips:
turn 1: take it later than you think you can, almost a throw away to set up 2 into 3; same with turn 4... right after 4 stay all the way left to start picking up momentum for the esses.

I feel that the larger gators tend to upset the M3, so I go over the rumbles up the esses to straighten out the line, but not upset the chassis

You can carry more speed than you expect going into oak tree (weird not actually seeing oak tree any more!), and for the roller coaster, hold turn-in a hair longer for 16, just tap the brakes (left foot!) to get the nose down, then WOT after 16, thru 17 where the compression loading at the bottom of the hill gives you crazy amounts of grip setting you up for the straight nicely.

Overall, great job out there! Isn't the DCT awesome on track?!

[okusa]

That's the most courteous group of drivers I've ever seen.

[blankstar43]

Originally Posted by okusa

That's the most courteous group of drivers I've ever seen.

indeed

[blankstar43]

I love the sound of the exhaust as well but sometimes wish I had the akra gt4 instead of evo.

I ran with PCA Carolina's region. I was in the Blue group which I think would be considered the HPDE 2 group.

Thanks for all tips, I'll be sure to put them in practice next time out.

And yes the DCT is fantastic on the track. Of course I'm a bit biased though.

[knolow]

Originally Posted by LTNYC

Exhaust sounds great! I'd say from your speed differential that you're ready for HPDE 2 with this group.. who were u running with?

VIR is my favorite, too bad it's a 9-hr schlep for me!

Some quick tips:
turn 1: take it later than you think you can, almost a throw away to set up 2 into 3; same with turn 4... right after 4 stay all the way left to start picking up momentum for the esses.

I feel that the larger gators tend to upset the M3, so I go over the rumbles up the esses to straighten out the line, but not upset the chassis

You can carry more speed than you expect going into oak tree (weird not actually seeing oak tree any more!), and for the roller coaster, hold turn-in a hair longer for 16, just tap the brakes (left foot!) to get the nose down, then WOT after 16, thru 17 where the compression loading at the bottom of the hill gives you crazy amounts of grip setting you up for the straight nicely.

Overall, great job out there! Isn't the DCT awesome on track?!

I 2nd the quick tips. Great points.

VIR is a great track but Summit Point: Shanandoah is f*kn awsome.

[WarrantyTracker]

Nice driving!

The one time I drove VIR, I did better on turn 4 by turning in a little later than you did. If you can apex that corner a little later, you can run down the left side a little bit and get more speed before you drive over to the right to apex turn 5.

It's hard for me to tell how fast you're going on the video but in the apex of turn 15 deep on the left there is a dip in the track that sets you up with crazy traction, even though it's a spot where I would otherwise worry about my rear coming around faster than my nose. Takes several trips through to get a feel for it but I can do it a lot faster than I initially thought. Then track out and just brush the brakes before a later turn-in at 16 to dig the nose down and rotate the car. I think you might be able to get more speed through that section.

I'm headed there myself this weekend. I used the same brake pads as you last time I went but barely ate through any pad. And I was on north course so there's only one straight to brake from, not two like full course. Your tires are much stickier than mine, too. I'm packing an extra set of pads after hearing what happended to you.

[WarrantyTracker]

Originally Posted by okusa

That's the most courteous group of drivers I've ever seen.

Of course. They're from the Carolinas. TarHeel BMW CCA is the same way. Uber-nice folks.

[Andy_H_E92_M3]

Nice job passing all those Sunday drivers. MDM? DSC off?
You could try earlier and heavier throttle through hog pen.
You could also try single apexing oak tree turn for fun.
How do you have your vid cam mounted?

[blankstar43]

Originally Posted by WarrantyTracker

Nice driving!

The one time I drove VIR, I did better on turn 4 by turning in a little later than you did. If you can apex that corner a little later, you can run down the left side a little bit and get more speed before you drive over to the right to apex turn 5.

It's hard for me to tell how fast you're going on the video but in the apex of turn 15 deep on the left there is a dip in the track that sets you up with crazy traction, even though it's a spot where I would otherwise worry about my rear coming around faster than my nose. Takes several trips through to get a feel for it but I can do it a lot faster than I initially thought. Then track out and just brush the brakes before a later turn-in at 16 to dig the nose down and rotate the car. I think you might be able to get more speed through that section.

I'm headed there myself this weekend. I used the same brake pads as you last time I went but barely ate through any pad. And I was on north course so there's only one straight to brake from, not two like full course. Your tires are much stickier than mine, too. I'm packing an extra set of pads after hearing what happended to you.

Thanks for the tips. And I'd definitely take an extra set of pads to just be safe, it would suck to miss out on track time if you burn through them. Next time I'll be using a pad that can handle the abuse a bit better.

[blankstar43]

Originally Posted by Andy_H_E92_M3

Nice job passing all those Sunday drivers. MDM? DSC off?
You could try earlier and heavier throttle through hog pen.
You could also try single apexing oak tree turn for fun.
How do you have your vid cam mounted?

Ran with DSC off during all my sessions.

I had a little spin in the first session of day 1 coming off roller coaster. It was a bit wet and cold still and I didn't know the track well yet. I lifted a bit and lost it. Ill post the clip of it later ( if the DCT didn't kick it into neutral I could have just kept going!).

Unfortunately there were 2-3 cars during the first sessions of day 1 that didn't get quite a lucky and ended up in various walls.

I used the suction cup mount and put it right below the rear view mirror. I wanted to find an angle to get my hands in the video, but without a roll bar or sunroof I didn't have many options. I will have to find something to attach to the headrest for next time.

[blankstar43]

just for fun, here is my first session of the first day on the first lap after the yellow flag lol.

[Sleeper519]

^ I love it when the instructor says "full throttle", like some famous last words. Sort of like when the redneck says, Hey ya'll, watch this.

[klammer]

great driving and awesome times for only your seventh time out! Well done

[blankstar43]

Originally Posted by klammer

great driving and awesome times for only your seventh time out! Well done

thanks, I haven't checked any of the times off the video yet.

[WarrantyTracker]

Well, not such a bad spin. I think your instructor meant you should throttle up once you hit the compression at 15; I think he could've been clearer about that. You weren't going backwards for long, and you stayed on track and finished it up headed in the direction of traffic. Not bad for your second trip through Roller Coaster on a wet morning.

I saw the turn-in to 14A surprised you that first time through. It is a little tighter than it looks. I will be posting a separate thread today about an incident on that turn Sunday that resulted in the total destruction of an E92 M3, even though the driver did pretty much everything he was supposed to under the circumstances.

I took another look at your laps in the first post. What is UP with all the slow P-Cars? I thought all Porsche drivers were speed demons?

I wound up in D (the low group) with TarHeel. Can't blame them; my first time on that configuration of VIR and only second out with the club, so . . . . On the one hand, D group slows you down; on the other, it gives you a chance to deal with surprises, and see some hilarious driving lines.

I was doing laps about 5 or 10 seconds slower than you with all the traffic, but I had no issues with the StopTechs (other than the smell because I freakin' lit them up over and over in the braking zones). Didn't even wear them down to half. You were using stickier tires than I was; that might have been a factor. I had a square set of budget Sumitomo HTR ZIIIs that were up to the job but that's the best I could say for them. Since it was cold as hell (20's and 30's all day on Sunday) I was actually glad to have the things.

[surlynkid]

Originally Posted by WarrantyTracker

I wound up in D (the low group) with TarHeel. Can't blame them; my first time on that configuration of VIR and only second out with the club, so . . . .

.

The main reason I am not rushing to go do a PCA event. I have to waste days and sessions proving to them what I have already proven to two other local well run organizations. Moving from the third run group (out of 4) back the first would be the most miserable experience and waste of time/money.

[OC3]

Originally Posted by surlynkid

The main reason I am not rushing to go do a PCA event. I have to waste days and sessions proving to them what I have already proven to two other local well run organizations. Moving from the third run group (out of 4) back the first would be the most miserable experience and waste of time/money.

Hmmm, I guess each PCA group have slightly different rules or flexibility. I ran with a PCA group for the first time recently and all I had to do was tell them what lap times I was running at that track and how many HPDE's events I've run so far. So, they put me in their advanced group. That, of course, is subject to change after a session or two on the day depending on how you're doing.

[surlynkid]

^^

Yes. People BS their way in. At my last event, somebody managed to talk their way into the 3rd run group. By the end of day 1 the person had been kicked back to 2nd and finally lowest run group. I guess that is why some PCA regions do it. I just need to grab an instructor that runs with both to vouch for me. It is just an extra headache though as I run two drivers in one car and we stay in different groups.

[OC3]

^Yeah, I'm sure people bs'ing their way in/up happens a lot. In my case, after first 2 sessions, the PCA SD's big wig mistakenly tried to bump me down (he mis-took my times for another driver's). I was going "wtf are you talking about? I'm 6th fastest of 19 in the red group so far, with most of'em in cup/race cars."

As for BMW CCA, haven't run w/ them yet, and am looking to run their Spring Mountain event at end of December, and am waiting to see how anal or flexible they rule is re: first-time-CCA-event drivers being required to have an instructor or not.

[WarrantyTracker]

I don't blame them for putting me in D and the last time they saw me was my second track trip ever. For all they knew I hadn't been to a track since. I had a great instructor and a great time. And I learned the things I was looking to work on.

[arter]

Originally Posted by OC3

Hmmm, I guess each PCA group have slightly different rules or flexibility. I ran with a PCA group for the first time recently and all I had to do was tell them what lap times I was running at that track and how many HPDE's events I've run so far. So, they put me in their advanced group. That, of course, is subject to change after a session or two on the day depending on how you're doing.

Just ask them to do a check ride for you and you should be able to get into a higher group ( if you deserve to..)