Fourth track weekend now and all I can say is WOW!
Been getting it and myself dialed in so we suit each other and the more seat time I have, the more fun I've been having.
I'm amazed at how easy it is to modulate weight bias - can make either end grip or slip depending on what I want and have finally started being able to catch the back end with confidence (this comment's gonna bite me now that I've said it) when she starts to go.
Had three different track workers at Arizona Motorsports Park come talk to me yesterday saying it's been fun watching me improve over the past three times I've been there with it and the sound tech has been really cool about coming over to me after each session and letting me know where my sound levels are - they've been right at the limit but not over. It's funny to head down the main straight, look over at the sound booth and have him give me a big thumbs up. I bump it up to 6th gear and throttle off past the two check points. I'm good with it too.
Starting to explore the braking power a bit more and am discovering the need to tighten my eyelids as I brake to keep my eyeballs in socket. WOW, and I thought my R8 with the carbon/ceramic brakes was impressive.
Had another instructor hop in for a ride - he's 6'2" or so and probably 225 - couldn't believe just how much it changed the dynamics of the car. So much slower on acceleration out of corners, had to brake quite a bit earlier and she sure didn't like left hand corners as much as when it's just me running solo. I was surprised that I felt it that much considering my minimal seat time.
We have more track days in the Phoenix area over the next few months with PCA (Porsche Club of America) and a local group called Pro Autosports (they put me in the open wheel class which is nice - minimal vehicles and I'm not ducking around 3000 lb street cars) so I'll be getting more and more time behind the wheel as available. I'm also headed to Spring Mountain April 27-29 - plan on talking to the guys there and seeing if we can make Friday the 27th a test and tune day for me - have them help me get things more dialed in and get the whole AiM system working - camera, data logging, downloading and such.
Yeah, these things are a hoot! I'm glad I joined the club! - Thanks Charlie for steering me in this direction over a Lotus or Ariel Atom.
I'll be throwing up yesterday's runs on my YouTube channel later today.
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'WOW-What a Ride!'"
Wow, thanks for sharing! I'm finally headed to my 2nd weekend (and first with the new electronics) with my car, even though I've owned it for more than 3 years now. 🙁
It is great to hear how much you are enjoying the car! The more you drive it the more you will enjoy driving it! These cars sure put a big smile on your face.
Charley
New track yesterday - Wild Horse Pass Bondurant School track in southern Phoenix. It's short (1.2 miles, I believe) and a bit on the rough side - I left at least one kidney between turns 5 & 7 and my vision through this would get all blurry for just part of a second.
The place only requires third gear. I'd just start to touch the upper rev ranges on the front straight and the V8 has enough grunt to pull you through the tight right/left chicane (slowest point on track) at the end of the straight.
Boy, my car does NOT like cold tracks. The first session was in temps of right around 50F (10C) and the track was definitely a lot colder than the air. I was having issues with lack of modulation feeling in the brakes and locked up a few times going into a couple of corners. I also got very sideways and slid off once at the end of the straight and then I also just fully blew it and spun the car going into the same chicane during the last lap of the first session.
I also realized that I'm aware of getting my feet shuffled from left foot braking to left foot on the clutch and right on the brake as the car spins. I kept hearing Charlie speaking to me as the car was spinning "You'll blow up the starter if you let it go backwards." so I just kept the wheels locked up until she quit moving and at the end of the little event I still had an idling car.
The aero downforce is a hoot. There's one section that has a small crest in it. In my student's car (BMW Z4) this was a floaty section where the car (and my stomach) got light and slightly detached from the track feeling. As the day and my speed progressed I found this to be one of the more fun parts of the track. There was no floating feeling - the Radical just stays sucked to the ground and my helmet and head would get light as my body stayed belted into the seat. I like it!
Looking forward to my next track day which may be the first weekend of March at Spring Mountain (doing my final instructor training), or the following weekend back at AMP (Arizona Motorsports Park) and I'm really looking forward to the three days at Spring Mountain in April with Audi So-Cal.
Yeah, these things are FUN!
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'WOW-What a Ride!'"
I am glad to hear how much you are enjoying the car! It is good to hear that you getting the clutch in when you spin. Blowing a starter screws up your whole day.
Charley
I thought I'd add my own experiences with my 07 SR8. I've made nearly 10-15s improvements in my lap times (at Sebring) over the past two events in February and March, and I'm no longer embarrassed to be a slow-ass driver in a fast car 🙂 . I was able to catch and overtake an SR3 after a 3 lap chase through traffic on Saturday. What an absolute blast that was! There is nothing quite like accelerating through the gears by flicking the paddle shifter, then braking 30 meters later than the car ahead, flicking back down through the gears, and emerging at the end of the turn on their bumper. I really love this car!
I have lots to learn and another 10s of lap time is out there (probably another 15 or 20 for a pro driver), but it's so much fun even at my moderate speeds.
Now getting the knack of the high speed turn-in is still tricky -- it feels as if I'm understeering, but I think it's the high downforce that makes the car feel "heavy" and require more effort to turn.
One issue that I have is that I'm really struggling to see what's behind me. It matters less than it did on my first day with the car, but I'm resorting to checking my inside mirror at apex to see if anybody's there. Anybody have any ideas or solutions for enhancing one's view behind them?
I thought I'd add my own experiences with my 07 SR8. I've made nearly 10-15s improvements in my lap times (at Sebring) over the past two events in February and March, and I'm no longer embarrassed to be a slow-ass driver in a fast car 🙂 . I was able to catch and overtake an SR3 after a 3 lap chase through traffic on Saturday. What an absolute blast that was! There is nothing quite like accelerating through the gears by flicking the paddle shifter, then braking 30 meters later than the car ahead, flicking back down through the gears, and emerging at the end of the turn on their bumper. I really love this car!
I have lots to learn and another 10s of lap time is out there (probably another 15 or 20 for a pro driver), but it's so much fun even at my moderate speeds.
Now getting the knack of the high speed turn-in is still tricky -- it feels as if I'm understeering, but I think it's the high downforce that makes the car feel "heavy" and require more effort to turn.
One issue that I have is that I'm really struggling to see what's behind me. It matters less than it did on my first day with the car, but I'm resorting to checking my inside mirror at apex to see if anybody's there. Anybody have any ideas or solutions for enhancing one's view behind them?
I'm glad to hear that you are loving the car! Regarding your question about rearward visibility. Once you get a little faster it wont be a problem because no one will be passing you. 😉
J/K (sort of). You are right about the visibility of the cars behind you is tough with that big wing behind you. If you move your head slightly side to side and up and down you can get a fairly good scan of what is behind you, but it definitely requires a higher level of awareness because of the big blind spot. Look early and look often.
Charley
I work hard on keeping track of what's coming up behind me. I'll keep practicing. There's always the blue flag if I'm holding somebody up. 🙂
So here's the off I mentioned in another thread. Good grief it snapped suddenly. Stop the video at 2:31 - I'm not the first to do this!
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'WOW-What a Ride!'"
Wow, I didn’t see that coming! It’s amazing what a slight rise can do when your car has as much power as the “Death Star”. I love the sound of the Radical V8 engine. Your car sounds Amazing.
A trick I do to warm up my tires on the opening couple of laps is to brake hard in a straight line (make sure no one is behind you first). This is a simple way to get a lot of heat in the tires quickly.
I’m glad they were able to get you back on track quickly.
Charley
