Wobble64

Blkrkt and I were at Watkins Glen this Monday and Tuesday with Hooked on Driving and effectively opened the track with the brand new pavement. The weather was overall great - warm and sunny the first day, cool and moist the second day in the morning with a sunny but cool afternoon. Lots of cool cars including Factory Five, Ferrari, Porsche and of course lots of Bimmers. Only 2 Mercs!
I attach 2 videos, one with a relatively clean lap in session 2, and one typical for the second day - always some traffic, but great fun. Most if not all of the drivers were very good at giving point-bys. Those few wo weren't, were talked to and changed their ways....

Wobble64

Second video with a bit of traffic. The Subaru at the end confused me a bit - I was not sure whether he was pitting in, but did not see a point-by.

Wobble64

Unfortunately time for new rotors....

thesaintusa

Looks like fun!

Wow, that rotor is trashed. Glad it didnt' cause any issues.

Clark Kent

Very nice! The new surface looks great and squeals great.

ZephyrAMG

Wow! Great vids and nice too see some track sets. Your rotors are toast indeed! Going with stock again?
Great run....

Wobble64

Actually it turns out the rotors are fine. Thickness is still greater than 35.3 mm, with new being 36.

It turns out I just smeared the brake pads (I had to swap them in a hurry before the last session and they new set was not bedded in). Since it was the last session I did not hold back and overheated the pads. I felt them smearing and brake bias moving to the rear as a result. My fault!

The rotors are starting to show cracks though. They got really hot. Some cracks are normal, but will need to keep an eye on that.


I just scraped the slots free of deposits and good to go!

Wobble64

discolored front calipers. They were getting really hot during the last 2 sessions (30 minutes and 40 minutes)

Wobble64

Other comments:
1. Pirelli Trofeos are awesome. Worked great with my heavy car and still have a lot of life left after 2 track days. I am very happy about that
2. Brakes are phenomenal overall. The RacingBrake rotors are still free of vibration and still have 2/3 of their life left from a thickness perspective. Will need to keep an eye on crack formation.
3. Carbotech XP12 pads are awesome - just need to be bedded in properly.
4. The KW Clubsport is also great. Even though the default settings feel very stiff in street driving, it could be even stiffer on track. I have not yet had a chance to make adjustments for that.

BLKROKT

It was an EPIC day out there. The new surface is so fast and smooth, and I didn't really notice it being a bit slick despite the warnings. Track is much faster now, I beat my best time from last year by almost 15 seconds (driver and car are faster too).

First day was hot with temps in the upper 70's, and I'm sad to report that the carbon fiber radiator blockoff plate was not up to the task. By the 3rd session I was seeing oil temps of 270-286 and had my power cut in third gear, although I did not get the dreaded limp mode (the code thrown was something like 'Power output reduced due to excessively high coolant temp'). I have to wonder how good 3 laps at WOT were to my engine at 280+ degree oil, but everything seems ok. Will obviously change the oil this week before VIR. The Weistec TCU/VB/pan upgrade performed admirably, ripping off shifts lightning fast.... until the oil temps got above 270 or so, then the trans got lethargic and slow - I couldn't get the gears I wanted (pulling paddles did nothing), then I couldn't get it to stay in Manual mode at all as the trans defaulted to S+. A bit disappointed as it slowed me down, but the 440 cooling package is now another thing on my shortlist to do.

Second day was an entirely different story. Started out a bit wet and in the 40's, and then after the first session the sun came out, the track dried off, and it got up to a high of 55. And the car LOVED the cool temperatures. Never saw oil over 260 degrees and I was able to drive the snot out of it.

The RacingBrake setup with the Carbotech XP12 pads performed flawlessly. In fact I have too much brake for my Michelin PSS as they were skidding into some of the hard braking areas (fixing that before VIR with Dunlop Sport Maxx Race going on next week). Really worked those tires hard the past few days and they still have tons of life left. Best hot pressures were 42psi front and 40psi rear. Anything lower than that in front and I was rolling onto the sidewalls.

Overall a very well-run and tremendously fun event. Met a lot of great people. No incidents whatsoever, so everyone got in full sessions even if the first day was a bit crowded. Not a single complaint with the car except for my oil temps. I think I got passed twice.

On to VIR in 2 weeks!

pbaylog

What is a point bye?

As an aside, just got to Austin, TX. Participating in ADA session at COTA tomorrow

Thanks

mrmotoguzzi00

Boy do I really miss racing our car owner moved on to Trophy Trucks and Baja, my old body can't take that kinda pounding so im out... Feel Like crying lol

Car sounded great and looks very fast At those speeds i hope your wearing full nomex and the best helmet you can afford... got a fire extinguisher ? loop behind the seats ?

Mike

BLKROKT

Best line of the day was from one of the HOD instructors I passed who said in the pits at the end of the day "You should be scared that you can go that fast in that car." That was right before he encouraged me to get a HANS device and full cage. I have a Simpson helmet and fire-retardant racing jacket, but I'll definitely look into a fire extinguisher and full suit at least.

mrmotoguzzi00

It's cheap insurance blkrokt I can help on suit recommendations if needed... aka protection and comfort can be had

mrmotoguzzi00

Cuurent suit is OMP Technica EVO, 3 layers but it's light and breathes, even then i wear nomex under garments head to toe.... I want as much time as possible to clear my head in a crash and get out or worst case give a corner/safety worker as much time as possible to extract me if I'm unconscious...

Man I miss racing....

Trying to get some local folks interested in a chump car... everyone wants to go but they all stumble at what da ya mean i need a race suit ? and scca or equivalent license.....

Mike

Clark Kent

A point by is when a slower car signals a faster car to go ahead and pass.

The 'point by' itself is sticking your arm fully out the window and pointing to the left, if you want to be passed on the left, or point up over your roof if you want to be passed on the right.

Give (and take) a point by only in the designated passing zones.

IIRC, your itinerary for the ADA may include some lead/follow sessions where passing is not allowed. But of course, they will describe everything you need to know tomorrow.

zcct04

I'm wrestling with LSD and brake upgrade and lighter wheels in addition to the same issues you're looking at - new tires, cooling system upgrade, shall I get a cage, how about a fire system, five-point seat belts, what happens (to both me and the car) if I punt this high-dollar toy into the wall . . . . and almost none of that is recoverable expenses when you sell. For not much more than what I'd be spending to upgrade my daily driver, I can pick up a decent Spec Racer Ford and have a dedicated track toy. It doesn't have the same HP/weight but it makes the C63 feel like a boat when you turn the wheel. Its mid-engine, it corners at 1.5g, it's a spec class so costs are limited, it's a snap to fix if you crash it, it's a whole lot safer on the track, and when I decide to move on I can sell if for about what I paid for it. I'd miss that screaming V8 (Wobble's audio was awesome) and pin-you-back acceleration, but this is getting pretty tempting.

Wobble64

zcct04 - you are dead on. Those C63s are great fun and crazy fast stock, but they are expensive to race. Just look at tires, brakes, gas and the risk you expose yourself and the car to, given the value in it.
I am where you are, and just bought myself a Nissan 350Z with a Corvette engine. 1000 lbs lighter and actually better power:weight (500 crank hp, 430 RWHP, 3100 lbs). 8 point cage, 6 point harness, fire system.


Will need to learn manual shifting and heel-toe all over again. Blkrkt will humiliate me at VIR in 2 weeks, when I will be a true learner again....

marioflex

Looking great and very fast !!

GRP

Just watched the videos - looks like a good circuit for the C63. Watching the apex cones your lines are excellent.

Arjy

thanks for the videos

SupremePower

Videos turned out great. Too bad Harry's can't keep up with your speeds. What Go Pro holder are you using?

Mazspeed

Videos look great. Nice job guys.

Wobble64

The videos were made using my cellphone and Harry's Lap Timer (as App). The App does the data overlay for g-forces, speed and car data via Bluetooth OBD dongle. However, the data sometimes is out of sync with the image, and the GPS only has 1 fix/second, thus is of limited accuracy. It is a low cost solution, that gives a decent impression of what went on.


phone holder:

Wobble64

Agree. Of those I know, Watkins Glen and VIR are especially suited for our cars.