Track day at Gingerman Raceway, April 18 2015
4/18/15, 08:55 PM
#1
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Track day at Gingerman Raceway, April 18 2015
Hey all, just got back from a track day at Gingerman. Day started off in the 50's and ended at 80 degrees.
I was out with 3 ***** racing, and I continue to be impressed by what a fun group they are to run with. Event was well organized as always. I was in the intermediate group which made things challenging, and there were a ton of cool cars there. Check out the pics! I'll post a video in the next day or two, so the pics will have to do for now.
Roush was there with a number of cars inducing a 2015, few 11-14s and a 2009ish 427R Track Pack. I was chasing a 2011-12 Roush car for a while and catching up to it too before I had a brief off-track excursion. No worries though, all was well. Also, I got to pass an Audi R8. That felt great, I just wish I had the camera rolling
Interesting observations: For the first 3 sessions I was struggling. Tires felt really slippery, I couldn't get on the throttle as early or as hard as I typically can, and was skidding all over the track. I then dropped the tire pressures from 37psi cold to 32. Wow, what a difference! Next 3 sessions were night and day. The tires immediately hooked up after 1 warmup lap, and provided the level of grip and feedback I've come to expect. It was like flipping a switch. Lesson learned. Tire pressure has tremendous effects on grip!
I was also very pleased with my recent brake improvements (GT500 cooling shields, SS lines, brake flush with RBF 600 and Carbotech XP8s in the back in addition to the XP10s in the front). Pedal was firm, there was no fade, my tail dancing issues during high speed braking were gone and for the first time ever I had no pad deposits at the end of the day. Front or rear. Brake bias is back to normal, and pedal is firm!
I was out with 3 ***** racing, and I continue to be impressed by what a fun group they are to run with. Event was well organized as always. I was in the intermediate group which made things challenging, and there were a ton of cool cars there. Check out the pics! I'll post a video in the next day or two, so the pics will have to do for now.
Roush was there with a number of cars inducing a 2015, few 11-14s and a 2009ish 427R Track Pack. I was chasing a 2011-12 Roush car for a while and catching up to it too before I had a brief off-track excursion. No worries though, all was well. Also, I got to pass an Audi R8. That felt great, I just wish I had the camera rolling
Interesting observations: For the first 3 sessions I was struggling. Tires felt really slippery, I couldn't get on the throttle as early or as hard as I typically can, and was skidding all over the track. I then dropped the tire pressures from 37psi cold to 32. Wow, what a difference! Next 3 sessions were night and day. The tires immediately hooked up after 1 warmup lap, and provided the level of grip and feedback I've come to expect. It was like flipping a switch. Lesson learned. Tire pressure has tremendous effects on grip!
I was also very pleased with my recent brake improvements (GT500 cooling shields, SS lines, brake flush with RBF 600 and Carbotech XP8s in the back in addition to the XP10s in the front). Pedal was firm, there was no fade, my tail dancing issues during high speed braking were gone and for the first time ever I had no pad deposits at the end of the day. Front or rear. Brake bias is back to normal, and pedal is firm!
4/19/15, 09:01 AM
#4
Shelby GT350 Member
Sounds like a great day! It's great to hear that the upgrades made a noticeable difference as well.
I completely agree on tire pressure... I had the same issue/experience my first outing. I had purposely lowered pressure from ~34 cold to ~26 cold based on winter research. The result was my fastest lap was 1 second slower than last year, and consistantly 2 seconds off last years pace. Car felt like it was rolling the tire and sliding rather than gripping, and my data showed this to be true. Turns out the tire pressure I utilized is correct for the tires when used on a lightweight car like Miata... for my car, cold pressure should be more like 32... lesson learned!
Post up videos when you get a chance!
When is the next time out?
I completely agree on tire pressure... I had the same issue/experience my first outing. I had purposely lowered pressure from ~34 cold to ~26 cold based on winter research. The result was my fastest lap was 1 second slower than last year, and consistantly 2 seconds off last years pace. Car felt like it was rolling the tire and sliding rather than gripping, and my data showed this to be true. Turns out the tire pressure I utilized is correct for the tires when used on a lightweight car like Miata... for my car, cold pressure should be more like 32... lesson learned!
Post up videos when you get a chance!
When is the next time out?
4/19/15, 01:29 PM
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Thanks guys! It was a fun day. I wish I could have done the whole weekend since I spent half the day sliding due to incorrect tire pressure, but since my wife is due in ~2 months I can't be gone for a whole weekend anymore. My next outing won't be till August or September, after baby. I'm hoping to go back to Grattan, and make a trip to Mid-Ohio later this year. So enjoy your track days! I'll be living vicariously through your vids!
Here is the video of my last session. It's kinda long, but you see the Roush semi at the start, and some cool cars in the pits. At about 11 minutes I start chasing the Roush Stage ?? white Mustang, at about 15:50 I have my self inflicted grass excursion. Held my power over-steer correction for too long.
I'm starting to appreciate Gingerman for a technical gem of a track that it is. It has only 2 main straights to speak of, one of which follows a 180 degree 60mph "hairpin". The rest of the track is really a combination of the 11 corners which flow into one another. Enjoy the vid.
Here is the video of my last session. It's kinda long, but you see the Roush semi at the start, and some cool cars in the pits. At about 11 minutes I start chasing the Roush Stage ?? white Mustang, at about 15:50 I have my self inflicted grass excursion. Held my power over-steer correction for too long.
I'm starting to appreciate Gingerman for a technical gem of a track that it is. It has only 2 main straights to speak of, one of which follows a 180 degree 60mph "hairpin". The rest of the track is really a combination of the 11 corners which flow into one another. Enjoy the vid.
Last edited by 5.M0NSTER; 4/19/15 at 01:43 PM.
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