Had a nice day today at Laguna Seca. The SpeedSF guys were nice. Weather was beautiful---mid 50's. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping. Ah---Monterey in June. But I digress.
As I've continued my journey of driving with DSC-off, I have slowly been building my confidence. My positive experience at Auto Club a couple weeks added another piece to the puzzle. I decided I would drive Laguna DSC-off, and it worked out well. I have to say, coming out of the final turn (11) without traction control-on was a revelation. Being able to get on the gas quicker is literally a kick in the pants! Jumping out of that corner in 2nd gear, the car takes off like a rocket. Very cool.
I was able to knock 2.6 seconds off my previous best at Laguna. Ultimately, I ran a 1:36.4. This continues the trend of knocking 2-3 seconds off of every personal best at every track I go to now with full aero, R1S and DSC-off. The SpeedSF guys had a Time Trial Challenge. I was able to capture the fast lap of the day. Of course, it was a 90db, so truly fast cars have a hard time going there because they're too loud. I was happy that putting the stock exhaust on allowed me to run under the limit without much hassles.....I short shift going up Turn 5, but honestly I don't even know if it's necessary.
The day started on TD's with 3 sessions on them. I ran a 1:38.7, which at the time was a new personal best. I started cautiously since it had been awhile since I'd visited Laguna. I switched to brand new R1S for the second session to scrub them in. During the scrub session I ran a 1:37.2 without any trouble. Those tires really do feel fantastic when new. Third session was the Time Trial. The first hot lap was a 1:36.4. 2nd lap, I was pushing too hard and overdrove the corners. The third lap, I was running 0.3 quicker than lap 1 until the Corkscrew. For some reason, I couldn't slow down the car in time for the left turn into Corkscrew.....bummer.
The aero continues to amaze me. Every track that I visit for the first time with full aero, it's just amazing how the car holds. However, it is worth noting that Turn 3 really understeers even with the aero. You just gotta be patient there.
Here's the video: In the video, you'll see the car shift from 3rd gear to 5th gear while I'm in the Corkscrew. Sometimes my car does that. With a single press of the paddle, it up-shifts two gears....annoying. I believe it's the supercharger software.