slcook54 - Track Journal

[wyatth]

My guess - totally out of left field! - is that he uses it for his kid and it’s easier and safer to leave it in place for a track day than to remove/reinstall each time.

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by wyatth

My guess - totally out of left field! - is that he uses it for his kid and it's easier and safer to leave it in place for a track day than to remove/reinstall each time.

Winner.

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

Talk to this dude. He coached me at an open day at auto club a few years back. Really nice guy. It wasn't a formal coaching session, but he was able to review my in-car video and point out a few things for me to work on after every time I went out. It was very constructive and helpful. I think he's in NorCal.

Just checked. Also $1,500

[leftfootbr8king]

Originally Posted by slcook54

You're overthinking it bud. Car is in stock trim from a weight perspective including a 50lb baby seat. I have a daughter who I drive around when I'm on the street. Not sure what's confusing you.

Asking "why?" doesn't mean I'm confused.

It takes 3 min to remove said seat.

[admranger]

+5 for red M3

+1000 for realizing improving the driver is so much more important than adding power to the car. The seat to steering wheel interface is the weakest link.

Does Tony Colichio (sp?) from TC Design do coaching? He's silly fast and knows Laguna very, very well.

[tsk94]

Originally Posted by leftfootbr8king

Asking "why?" doesn't mean I'm confused.

It takes 3 min to remove said seat.

And I believe, not trying to speak for him, his point is it's irrelevant. You're not losing time on track from the baby seat in the back. So even if it does take 3 minutes to remove, why bother.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by tsk94

And I believe, not trying to speak for him, his point is it's irrelevant. You're not losing time on track from the baby seat in the back. So even if it does take 3 minutes to remove, why bother.

If said baby seat is in the passenger rear seat, it's for corner balancing.

[leftfootbr8king]

Originally Posted by tsk94

And I believe, not trying to speak for him, his point is it's irrelevant. You're not losing time on track from the baby seat in the back. So even if it does take 3 minutes to remove, why bother.

"50 pounds is irrelevant"

paging roastbeef

And anyone who's installed an expensive lightweight battery in their car.

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by admranger

+5 for red M3

+1000 for realizing improving the driver is so much more important than adding power to the car. The seat to steering wheel interface is the weakest link.

Does Tony Colichio (sp?) from TC Design do coaching? He's silly fast and knows Laguna very, very well.

That's a good idea. I know from friends that TCD is slammed. The waitlist is several months, I'm not sure how much free time he has to coach, but I've heard he's really fast. I was planning to connect with him to have him build my half cage later this year, I'll see if I can work that into the deal

[tsk94]

Originally Posted by leftfootbr8king

"50 pounds is irrelevant"

paging roastbeef

And anyone who's installed an expensive lightweight battery in their car.

In a 3500lb car, irrelevant is actually quite accurate.

If you really think you, or frankly anyone on this forum, is a good enough driver to to seriously notice, or benefit, from a 50lb difference in a 3500lb car you/they really need a reality check. We're talking about a 1% change in weight.

I'm far from the best driver, but I would considering myself above average and I also have a fair amount of experience. Some of that experience being playing around with ballast (50-200lbs) in a much lighter E36 race car and an E92 M3. And I can tell you from experience, small weight changes in the realm of ~1% are almost not perceivable in terms of feel and very often lap times as well (and data!).

Nothing wrong with wanting to lighten the car, I've been there too. I've swapped about to lighter weight batteries, removed rear seats, put in bucket seats, thinned out wiring harnesses and so on. But I don't do so expecting to notice a difference in how the car handles from the 30lbs I saved from my battery, or the 20lbs of wiring I took out. As a whole, sure. But not on their own.

OP seems to be on the right path of just working on improving himself as a driver to find speed, no fixated on what mod or change he can do to find lap time.

[roastbeef]

A small amount of weight in one area could be irrelevant. But this is not a great habitual way of thinking as dismissing a little bit of weight throughout an entire car is significant. That's when you'll see track only cars with two horns, trunk struts, and brackets for things that aren't there anymore.
I don't think that's the issue here, but there ya go.

Maybe the going rate for coaching is just $1,500? Seems like a good gig if you're good at it.

[derbo]

Originally Posted by leftfootbr8king

Asking "why?" doesn't mean I'm confused.

It takes 3 min to remove said seat.

I think it is irrelevant at this point in his car's stage. slcook54 is not lightening his car yet.

[sc_tr0jan_m3]

Originally Posted by slcook54

That's a good idea. I know from friends that TCD is slammed. The waitlist is several months, I'm not sure how much free time he has to coach, but I've heard he's really fast. I was planning to connect with him to have him build my half cage later this year, I'll see if I can work that into the deal

He def does coaching but it ain't cheap. Lol. But yeah his schedule is the greatest challenge.

[JCD Racing]

Originally Posted by slcook54

Just checked. Also $1,500

Hey,

Thanks for checking out the site! If I can answer any questions feel free to reach out. I’m a grassroots guy and totally understand the cost aspect. Honestly some of my services may be over kill and some might really appreciated. my services will help to optimize car and driver in a very short period of time. Tires are not cheap and it’s nice to do a handful of laps, segment a track and know exactly what needs to change and how to achieve that goal within your next few laps. In my opinion the sim is not only your best place to get seat time but also get that same coaching for a better rate. Hope to meet you all at the track and rip some laps. Your car is gorgeous and wish you the best in regards to your goals.

Sincerely,
JCD

Please excuse any typos* (iPhone)

[dparm]

Originally Posted by slcook54

No, my bias is more toward and an endurance tire with high heat tolerance and not too much additional pace over the PS4. I don't want to move to something stickier while traction is still on, that's skipping a step in a bad way in my opinion.

Look at the new Conti Extreme Force Contact. It's a direct competitor to the RS4 and more readily available.

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by dparm

Look at the new Conti Extreme Force Contact. It's a direct competitor to the RS4 and more readily available.

It's been between the RS4 and the Conti. My buddy sheared a Conti from the sidewall on his E36 endurance car, I believe it was related to too low of a cold starting pressure, I'm not speculating that this is a widespread problem. He didn't like how it provided feedback / communicated. RS4 is tried and true, easily available all day in 275/35/18 and $250 / tire. I think they are a bit heavier than competitors. Maybe I'll give both a shot and stick with the one I prefer.

[slcook54]

Originally Posted by JCD Racing

Hey,

Thanks for checking out the site! If I can answer any questions feel free to reach out. I'm a grassroots guy and totally understand the cost aspect. Honestly some of my services may be over kill and some might really appreciated. my services will help to optimize car and driver in a very short period of time. Tires are not cheap and it's nice to do a handful of laps, segment a track and know exactly what needs to change and how to achieve that goal within your next few laps. In my opinion the sim is not only your best place to get seat time but also get that same coaching for a better rate. Hope to meet you all at the track and rip some laps. Your car is gorgeous and wish you the best in regards to your goals.

Sincerely,
JCD

Please excuse any typos* (iPhone)

Thanks JCD, will be in touch over Insta.

[dparm]

If you can get the RS4, go for it. Availability is always tough, especially in a popular size like that. It feels like Hankook just produces a set quantity every year, loads them into a container ship, and when they run out it's just "oh well better wait until next year lol".

[slcook54]

1/30/2022 - Track Day #6

Goal: Nothing specific, but it would be nice to dip into the 43’s

Prior to the day, I installed my first set of power modifications, a Dinan intake, Dinan underdrive pulley and BPMSport stage 1 tune. I don’t want to deal with SMOG headaches, which led me to opt for the Dinan intake. Fun fact, technically the Dinan intake TUBE is CARB legal, but the intake system, including the filter is not. I’m assuming they didn’t want to have to go through two separate approval processes, but who knows. I was able to reach out to Dinan and they sent me a CARB sticker for the intake tube itself.

Overall the car feels smoother and more linear, with a small but noticeable bump in power. The intake offers a nice increase in volume and a sharper growl, which is especially pronounced on downshifts. I wasn’t expecting a night and day difference and I’m happy with this first round of power mods. The only other power I have contemplated for this build will be a full Akra system and a stage II tune from Mike.



I also had derbo retune my DCT. I opted for the stock 442 file found in the CRT M3, which replaced my DCT tune from Alpine. wyatth has been happy with this file and he’s more discerning than I am, so if it works for him, I’m sure it would work for me. Derbo also reset my clutch adaptations, which I didn't even know was a thing. I wasn’t expecting much of anything from the update, but the car felt different in a very positive way, shifts were smoother and less violent. I would recommend reaching out to Derbo if you need any coding done.

The Day Itself

Things don’t always go as planned, it wasn’t my day. I had a horrible night of sleep going into the day and woke up feeling congested, stuffy and achy. Laguna was perfect again on the weather front, so I tried to put that out of mind and focus on the day ahead.



I ran in the Open Group again and slotted near the back for the first session. There must have been 8 Miatas in a field of 25, and not fast ones. The first session was littered with traffic, but I managed to put down a 1.44.8 and was happy to be on pace.

The car was under steering in places it previously hadn’t, especially turn 9. I didn’t know if the PS4’s were just getting tired, being on their 5th day, but it felt odd. Hot pressures were 38, so I left them there. I figured the track would continue to warm up and I’d find more traction throughout the day.

Despite a relatively small increase in power, I was tripping MDM more than past days on corner exit. The small bump in power was forcing me to be more delicate with the throttle on corner exit, which I suppose is a good thing.

I stuck to DRLane's advice and stayed on line, I felt more comfortable in traffic with faster cars approaching. There was a GT3 RS on Yoko slicks who was driving around the field like they were pylons. I chatted with him after the session, he was a super nice guy who also owns 2 GT3 Cup cars, there are levels to the game.



Session 2 was mostly traffic, I didn’t get a clean lap. Not much to report. Session 3, I actually pulled off a bit early due to being low on gas, I always fill up at the start of the day and have always been able to make it 3 sessions before needing to fill up, so that took me a bit by surprise. Maybe she’s a bit thirstier after the power modifications.

After filling up, I decided to add 2psi all around to see if that helped quell some of the understeer. When I looked at my right rear, I realized I had taken down my right rear pad significantly. I entered the day with approximately a third of the pad left. I didn’t feel comfortable continuing to send it for two more sessions and drive home. A stupid oversight on my part, I know pad wear accelerates as the life gets lower, but I thought I had at least another full day left.



For reference, I was running the softer Ferodo DS2500 in the rear and now that I’m finding more pace, they are too soft. I called Essex this morning and ordered fresh DS1.11 all around, nearly $1k later. I’m committed to not missing another day due to brake pads, I was a bit annoyed at myself for having to retire early, I will bring spares in the future. derbo also shared this chart with me, which I found interesting.



Small Issues

Another bizarre part of the day was that the car died twice, right after I filled up, this has happened twice before. I think the fuel breather valve may be the culprit and on its way out.

Another small update, when I added the Titan7’s, we carried over my stock valve stems from my OE wheels. They are in rough shape, the threads are totally chewed up. Attaching the air compressor fitting is a chore. Going to replace those with fresh units.

Coaching

I also found a Coach who I like after chatting with him. My goal is to take him out with me in the coming months. I don’t have anything booked yet, but I'm hoping for a day in late February / early March.

[kyippee]

Maybe try CSG brake pads. Their C2/C11 pad combo lasts really long and has a lot of heat capacity. I'll be trying them out when my BBK arrives for my Supra, but it'll be ages given supply issues. My friends have had good experiences with the pads, like Supras running 1:36 at laguna with stock brake systems, etc.

Link: https://www.counterspacegarage.com/csg-spec-brake-pads

[slcook54]

This thread has been quiet for a couple of months and I owe everyone an update. There has been a lot of background activity, unfortunately, not as much driving as I would like. Laguna days have been hard to come by and when they did I had family or work conflicts.

F80 M3 CS

I picked up a San Marino Blue F80 M3 CS in March. I have started a build thread, so I won’t go into too much detail here. This was a critical piece of the E92 puzzle. I now have a fun 4-door daily that can haul my daughter around but also pinch hit at the track if the E92 is out of commission. I shook it down at Thunderhill at the beginning of April and it was an absolute blast. My sense is that the chassis limits are higher than the E92, but the E92 is currently much better setup for track duty. I boiled whatever brake fluid was in there and by the end of the day the pedal was on the floor. I didn’t get to explore the limit of the Cup2’s, which is the stickiest tire I’ve been on. Overall, I feel grateful to have this duo, two amazing cars.





E92 M3

The E92 has several non-track related updates, bear with me track whores, we’ll get there. My front bumper had a bad blemish from the previous owner that I had ignored for several years. I decided to have the front bumper resprayed and reflectors shaved by RJ’s Automotive, which is conveniently right across the street from my shop, VT Motorworks. I also destroyed my 360 GTS front lip and tossed it in the trash and replaced it with M performance splitters. I loved the end result.



While the bumper was being painted, VT replaced the valve stems on my Titan7’s, did an oil change with Motul 10w60, replaced a missing jack pad, dropped the car 10mm all around and realigned the car.

The next step was to have MAR Quality Protection correct the entire car and wrap the front clip. I know there are different schools of thought on tracking nice cars. I don’t think a track car has to be beat up. Yes, I will have an off at some point, yes the car will see more abuse, but that’s my approach. It’s a gorgeous car and I’ll do my best to keep the condition level high. This isn’t a concourse car, but a correction did wonders for the paint.





I also swapped the front pads for fresh ds1.11’s with wyatth and SAMM3Y. Amazing how easy this is on the AP's.



5/25 & 5/26 - Track Day #7 and #8

I was able to lock down a double header with Hooked on Driving. This was the best org I have run with so far. The cost was slightly higher, which in turn seemed to draw a more mature crowd. I was running in the Open group both days and there were several GT3’s, 2 GT2 RS’s and a bunch of BMW’s. The faster cars in our group weren’t the Porsche’s, it was a ST4 E46 M3, tlrid3r in his Interlagos E92 M3 with full aero on Pirelli slicks (his PB that day was a 1.40.5) and two spec E46’s, .

Day 1

For Laguna, Day 1 was hot. It was 70 degrees at 8am and by the time I swapped the wheels, I was drenched in sweat. My goal for the day was to dip into the 1:43's and I showed up with a new Garmin Catalyst after a lot of debate between it and the AIM Solo with Smarty Cam 3. I’ll add an AIM Solo in the future for the CANBUS functionality, but the Garmin is perfect for now. In my first session I was able to log a 1:45.73, which was 1.6 seconds off my previous PB of 1:44.18, using Harry’s lap timer.

I wasn’t able to improve on that time for the rest of the day. I thought that was odd since I was consistently running 1:44’s at the last two days. I think there might be some accuracy differences between Harry’s and Garmin. I can't confirm for sure so I’m going to consider the Garmin my current source of truth and throw out my previous times to maintain consistency. The car is setup exactly the same as my last outing and this was the 6th day on the PS4’s. I will admit, I don’t really understand heat cycling, but the tires felt fine, not dissimilar to previous days. I adjusted hot pressures to 37psi after the first session and kept them there for the rest of the day.

The important part for me was that my driving felt better. I'm jerking the steering wheel less and my steering, braking and throttle inputs are getting softer and more gradual. I also think having several IMSA races at Laguna on in the background the past couple weeks helped my line. Turn 9 especially seemed to click and I felt like I was more comfortable exploring the outer bounds of the track.

I also experienced my car overheating for the first time. This was the hottest day I’ve tracked the car, but it was still only 78 degrees at the high. My cooling is stock, with Motul 10w60. A good chunk of the bottom row on my oil cooler is crushed from a large compression on the street and there could possibly be some air in the cooling system. I’ll have VT investigate and do a coolant flush. The full Do88 package was on my short list of things to add anyways. Regardless, it was frustrating to be on a flyer and then have to back out of it due to temps.



Day 2

The weather was significantly different for day 2. There was heavy fog to start the day and the flag workers couldn’t see each other for the first session. We did the first session behind a pace car under full yellow. Despite losing a full pace session, I found this to be a productive way to start the day vs. just sitting in the paddock, being able to take all the lines at 50% pace and focus on the line.



The fog cleared up and the the rest of the day was amazing, high of 65, no overheating and in typical fashion, I logged my best time in my last session, a 1:45.15, which is still a full second off my previous Harry’s Lap Timer, pace, but I’m going to throw that out and consider this my new baseline. My new optimal time was a 1:44.06. I had a fairly decent miss on turn 11 and turn 6, which would have had me in the 44’s and I was 0.5 ahead of my PB on another lap, but ran into a GT3 and had to let out. I’m noticing when comparing to people who are a lot faster than me that I’m too slow to throttle across the entire track. I'm still referencing fsmtnbiker's 1:36.2 lap as my guide and can see how much more speed he's carrying throughout the entire lap.

Best Lap from the two days - 1:45.15 Lap

I enjoyed doing the back to back days. Day 2 especially, you don’t have to wake up early, don’t have to swap wheels, no long drive, no acclimation to the track. I also insure my car and didn’t realize that when you purchase the policy its good for 3 days, so there is some economic benefit to lining the days up sequentially, you save on insurance cost.

I have SpeedSF booked for 6/19 and 7/25-7/26 and will be working with Joe McGuigan for some coaching.



What’s Next

- My shop left my brake dust shields on, I'm going to have them remove them.

- Bleed Brakes

- Address Cooling, flush coolant and add full Do88 kit from Leddy Motorsports.

- Seats, the stock seats are driving me nuts now, I’m bracing so hard with my legs and arms through the steering wheel and need to address this soon. So far, the Recaro Profi XL fits the best, I’ll pick that up with a set of BK sliders from slicer. I’ll also likely pull out the rear sets. I’m not quite ready to take the full plunge on a half cage, so I will run the Scroth QFP in the interim until I can have TCD build me a half cage and rear seat delete.

- Tires, I was really hoping to smoke through the PS4’s, that makes 7 total days, but they still have plenty of life left. I’m planning to move to the Continental Extreme Contact Force next in 275/35 square.

[tlrid3r]

Originally Posted by slcook54

This thread has been quiet for a couple of months and I owe everyone an update. There has been a lot going on in the background, unfortunately, not as much driving as I would like. Open Laguna days have been hard to come by and when they were open, I had family or work conflicts.

F80 M3 CS

I picked up a San Marino Blue F80 M3 CS in March. I have started a build thread, so I won't go into too much detail here. This was a critical piece of the E92 puzzle. I now have a fun backup daily with 4 doors that can haul my daughter around but also pinch hit in a track situation if the E92 is out of commission. I took it to Thunderhill at the beginning of April and it was an absolute blast, you can tell the chassis limits are higher than the E92, but the E92 is much better setup for track duty. I boiled whatever brake fluid was in there and by the end of the day the pedal was on the floor. I didn't really get to explore the limit of the Cup2's, which is the stickiest tire I've been on. Overall, I feel so grateful to have this duo, two amazing cars.





E92 M3

The E92 has several non-track related updates, bear with me track whores, we'll get there. My front bumper had a bad blemish from the previous owner that I had ignored several years. I decided to have the front bumper resprayed by RJ's automotive, which is conveniently right across the street from my shop, VT motorworks. I also had them shave the reflectors. I destroyed my 360 GTS front lip and tossed it in the trash and replaced it with M performance splitters.



The shop also replaced the valve stems on my Titan7's, did an oil change with Motul 10w60, replaced a missing jack pad, and dropped the car 10mm all around and realigned the car.

The next step was to correct the car and wrap the front clip. I know there are different schools of thought on tracking nice cars. I don't think a track car has to be beat up. Yes, I will have an off at some point, yes the car will see more abuse, but that's my approach. It's a gorgeous car and I'll do my best to keep the condition level high. This isn't a concourse car, but a correction did wonders for the paint.





Also swapped the front pads for fresh ds1.11's with wyatth and SAMM3Y



5/25 & 5/26 - Track Day #7 and #8

I was able to lock down a double header with Hooked on Driving. This was the best org I have run with so far. The cost was slightly higher, which in turn seemed to draw a more mature crowd. I was running in the Open group both days and there were 3 GT3's, 2 GT2 RS's and a bunch of BMW's. The faster cars in our group weren't the Porsche's, it was a ST4 E46 M3, an Interlagos E92 M3 with full aero on Pirelli slicks (his PB that day was a 1.40.5) and two spec E46's, .

I really enjoyed doing the back to back days. Day 2 especially, you don't have to wake up super early, don't have to swap wheels, no long drive, no acclimation to the track. I also insure my car and didn't realize that when you purchase the policy its good for 3 days, so there is some economic benefit to lining the days up sequentially, you save on insurance cost.

Day 1

For Laguna Day 1 was hot. It was 70 degrees at 8am, by the time I swapped the wheels, I was drenched in sweat. I also picked up a Garmin Catalyst after a lot of debate between the Garmin and AIM Solo with Smarty Cam 3. I'll add an AIM Solo in the future for the CANBUS functionality, but the Garmin is perfect for now. In my first session I was able to log a 1:45.73, which was 1.6 seconds off my previous PB of 1:44.18, using Harry's lap timer.

I wasn't able to improve on that time for the rest of the day. I thought that was odd since I was consistently running 1.44's at the last two days. I think there might be some accuracy differences between Harry's and Garmin. I don't really know though, I'm just going to consider the Garmin my current source of truth and throwout my previous times to keep things consistent. This was the 6th day on the PS4's and I will admit, I don't really understand heat cycling, but the tires felt fine, not dissimilar to previous days.

I think the important part for me, was that I felt like my driving was better. I wasn't jerking the steering wheel as much, my inputs are getting softer and more gradual across the board. I also think having IMSA on in the background on TV the past couple weeks really helped my line. Turn 9 especially just seemed to click a lot more and I felt like I was more comfortable exploring the outer bounds of the track.

I also experienced my car overheating for the first time. This was the hottest day I've tracked the car, but it was still only 78 degrees at the high. My cooling is stock, with Motul 10w60. A good chunk of the bottom row on my oil cooler is bent from a large compression on the street and there could be some air in the cooling system, I'm not exactly sure. I'll have the shop dig in and the full Do88 package was on my short list of things to add anyways. Regardless, it was frustrating to be on a flyer and then have to back out of it due to temps.



Day 2

The weather was significantly different for day 2, being much cooler. It was very foggy to start the day and the flag workers couldn't see each other for the first session. We did the first session behind a pace car under full yellow. Despite losing a full paced session, I found this to be a productive way to start the day vs. just sitting in the paddock, being able to take all the lines at 50% pace and focus on the line.



The fog cleared up and the the rest of the day was amazing, high of 65, no overheating and in typical fashion, I logged my best time in my last session, a 1:45.15, still a full second on my previous Harry's Lap Timer, pace, but I'm going to throw that out and consider this my new baseline. My new optimal time was a 1:44.06. I had a fairly decent miss on turn 11 and turn 6, which would have had me in the 44's and I was 0.5 ahead of my PB on another lap, but ran into a GT3 and had to let out. I'm noticing when comparing to people who are a lot faster than me that I'm too slow to throttle across the entire track, I'm also carrying about 10mph less through turn 9 that I probably can.

Best Lap from the two days - 1:45.15 Lap

I have SpeedSF booked for 6/19 and will be working with Joe McGuigan for some coaching.



What's Next

- Address Cooling, full Do88 kit from Leddy Motorsports.

- Seats, the stock seats are driving me nuts now, I'm bracing so hard with my legs and arms through the steering wheel and need to address this soon. So far, the Recaro Profi XL fits the best, I'll pick that up with a set of BK sliders from slicer. I'll also likely pull out the rear sets. I'm not quite ready to take the full plunge on a half cage, so I will run the Scroth QFP in the interim until I can have TCD build me a half cage and rear seat delete.

- Tires, I was really hoping to smoke through the PS4's, that makes 7 total days, but they still have plenty of life left. I'm planning to move to the Continental Extreme Contact Force next in 275/35 square.

It's was nice meeting you at Laguna yesterday. Nice looking car as well. I was in the blue e92. Till next time.