Improving Track Performance

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Every teenaged Aussie boy wanted a sandman...

[C6NVS]

http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotiv ... hp_gXwEg==

not cheap

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2 pack respray, quality!

[perthwaRS6]

Every teenaged Aussie boy wanted a sandman...

also known as a 'sin bin', often seen with bumper sticker "Don't laugh, your daughter might be in here!"

I also saw an orange 'shaggin waggon' with neat running writing on passenger door "no root, no ride". Talk about truth in advertising.

All the aussies on the forum are showing their age!

Remember boys, "dont worry about getting old. It doesnt last that long!"

john

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Remember boys, "dont worry about getting old. It doesnt last that long!"

...but by fuk is it painful!

[speedfr38ky]

Recently tracked mine at ADI, (castle combe). I drove the car probably harder than most would in a c6, but if you knew my past you'd know why.

It is fun but in a different way.

You just need to have the confidence to trail brake, which in a car of that size make it difficult to master, even I found it hard to be consistent at first. It is a heavy car. Not a lot of fun on a greasy circuit as one mistake and you wont be getting it back due to the sheer mass, but as the track dried out i found it pretty decent to be fair. Like i say Its all in the way you drive it. If you brake late and trail brake into the corners it cancels the understeer and you achieve entry oversteer which actually helped turn the car pretty quickly with some quick steering input aswell to throw it in. Its almost the same technique as driving a 911, go deep into the corner turn it on its nose and then use the power and traction to get out of the of the corner effectively. On a telemetry trace the corners would look more like "V" shapes rather than "U" shapes where you shouldnt carry too much mid corner speed, rather hoot it in, stop,turn, then hoot it out again. Having that patience mid corner is key in mid to low speed corners, through the fast ones id just rags it through as its got good lateral grip desite its weight.

Something to note, my OEM ceramic brakes drew a small crowd after id come off as they were literally smoking. If Id have had steels i think id have ruined them.

Id definatly recommend changing the brake fluid aswell as OEM isnt good enough. Needed a 30 min cool down before brake fluid settled down.

Yeah ok tracking isnt its raison d'etre if that what you intend to do regularly but once in a while it can still be fun if you can adjust to a different driving style. In a mapped c6 you'll really struggle to be full throttle on a damp or wet surface which kind of adds to the challenge/fun.

[chunky79]

It was nice to meet you at the show, even if it was standing next to you in the piss corner! You did hammer the car round the track too

[Ian_C]

Recently tracked mine at ADI.

You got MTMs on yours?

[speedfr38ky]

It was nice to meet you at the show, even if it was standing next to you in the piss corner! You did hammer the car round the track too

Haha, yes mate, you too, always good to put a face to the name despite the location !

[speedfr38ky]

Recently tracked mine at ADI.

You got MTMs on yours?

I do indeed, in fact I think i was the only c6 at ADI with them on that day....

[Ian_C]

Yeah I saw ya on track, plate V10, very nice, MTMs really suit, especially in Phantom

[speedfr38ky]

Yeah I saw ya on track, plate V10, very nice, MTMs really suit, especially in Phantom

[perthwaRS6]

Recently tracked mine at ADI, (castle combe). I drove the car probably harder than most would in a c6, but if you knew my past you'd know why.

It is fun but in a different way.

You just need to have the confidence to trail brake, which in a car of that size make it difficult to master, even I found it hard to be consistent at first. It is a heavy car. Not a lot of fun on a greasy circuit as one mistake and you wont be getting it back due to the sheer mass, but as the track dried out i found it pretty decent to be fair. Like i say Its all in the way you drive it. If you brake late and trail brake into the corners it cancels the understeer and you achieve entry oversteer which actually helped turn the car pretty quickly with some quick steering input aswell to throw it in. Its almost the same technique as driving a 911, go deep into the corner turn it on its nose and then use the power and traction to get out of the of the corner effectively. On a telemetry trace the corners would look more like "V" shapes rather than "U" shapes where you shouldnt carry too much mid corner speed, rather hoot it in, stop,turn, then hoot it out again. Having that patience mid corner is key in mid to low speed corners, through the fast ones id just rags it through as its got good lateral grip desite its weight.

Something to note, my OEM ceramic brakes drew a small crowd after id come off as they were literally smoking. If Id have had steels i think id have ruined them.

Id definatly recommend changing the brake fluid aswell as OEM isnt good enough. Needed a 30 min cool down before brake fluid settled down.

Yeah ok tracking isnt its raison d'etre if that what you intend to do regularly but once in a while it can still be fun if you can adjust to a different driving style. In a mapped c6 you'll really struggle to be full throttle on a damp or wet surface which kind of adds to the challenge/fun.

Hi speedfr38ky, and Ian_C

I liked your posts on your track day experiences and driving techniques. Agree that the beast is a extremly fast barge, but fun when you are not wondering if it will slow down in time.

I am taking my C6 beast out this saturday to the weekly track 'tuning day' with the WA Sporting Car Club at Barbagallo Raceway.

On driving technique, can I ask what auto tran modes you were in while using paddles- drive or sports?

On suspension set up, were you in dynamic or sports? Son -in- law found 'dynamic' gave more compliant 'settled' handling through the corners and better traction powering out of the corner than 'sport'.

What tyre pressures, front and rear did you find best?

I assume that esp, etc had been totally deactivated with hold down of esp button for more than 3 seconds?

Barbagallo Raceway is a real power circuit as has a couple of hills to climb. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbagallo_Raceway

At last Jaguar club track day, my son in law, a far better driver than me, managed on the long circuit (1.498miles) 66 sec lap time (avg 81mph) with max speed on down hill straight ~140 miles/hr. This lap time equals standard lotus exige sc and Porsche 997 record lap times.

The beast is APR mapped I believe as runs 11.77 sec quarter miles at local NHRA dradstrip.

Running high temp brake fluid and new michelin pilot super sports 20x 275 x35 courtesy of tirerack.com
Excellent handling and wear performance from the michelins with not a lot of wear on tires after 4 lap periods 6 times = 24 laps of the long circuit- 7 mm tread depth remaining. No brake fade observed from the standard 390 mm steel discs, but a bit of greying around the edge of the new front standard brake pads. Engine oil stayed at 100degC. Day temperature was 28 degC

Apologies for the obvious questions on driving set up.
Any advice appreciated.

cheers,
john