VIR on Monday

[NoVA_Teggy]

I haven't had much time to post lately but I'm headed by to VIR on Monday but this time I'll be on the full course instead of the Grand. I've ditched my Pilot Sport 4S tires for Cup 2's so I'm looking forward to being able to get more hot laps in compared to the OEM tires. The stock PS4S's are pretty good but they get greasy and ruin the fun after a while.

I need to upgrade my brake pads prior to taking off so if you guys have some recommendations, I'm all eyes/ears. I plan to grab some Motul 600 fluid today so I can ditch the stock brake fluid.

Another change I'm making is I plan to trailer the car instead of driving it. I want to stretch the life of my Cup 2's for as long as I can.

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[Victorofhavoc]

I haven't had much time to post lately but I'm headed by to VIR on Monday but this time I'll be on the full course instead of the Grand. I've ditched my Pilot Sport 4S tires for Cup 2's so I'm looking forward to being able to get more hot laps in compared to the OEM tires. The stock PS4S's are pretty good but they get greasy and ruin the fun after a while.

I need to upgrade my brake pads prior to taking off so if you guys have some recommendations, I'm all eyes/ears. I plan to grab some Motul 600 fluid today so I can ditch the stock brake fluid.

Another change I'm making is I plan to trailer the car instead of driving it. I want to stretch the life of my Cup 2's for as long as I can.

I wouldn't worry about driving on the cup 2s to the track. They're still very much a street tire and not a track day tire (which you can still drive on to the track). If you're going to compete with them only counting cycles, then it's another story.

I use carbotech xp24/10 on my racecar and recently got the xp10 for the its fronts to test it out. They worked wonderfully, and they have the proper heat tolerance for a track day tire. They're a bit much for a ps4s and probably a tad much for the cup 2 because you'll overheat your tire before you get brake fade. Wonderful pads, affordable, moderate life, very kind to rotors, and driving them to the track is a breeze since they don't get sticky or too loud.

They're very incompressible, so on track they feel fantastic, but at highway speeds the active cruise will really jab at you and just a tap of the brake to deactivate cruise will slow you down 10-15mph.

Here's my clip using them on track.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Also, don't forget to bleed the clutch after you flush the brake fluid. The clutch and brake share a reservoir. The clutch does not seem to like bleeding under pressure, so grab a buddy or pay a neighbor to pump the clutch for you.

Rbf600 is great fluid.

Ti pad shims are arguably necessary to keep your calipers shiny red and some heat out of the fluid.

 

[StingertimeNC]

I'm going with Paragon R5 front pads and leaving the hawk HPS 5.0 pads on the rear.

https://paragonbrakes.com/paragon-pbp370-brake-pads/

Saw a few vids of Type R's running them and folks seem happy. I just put on the fronts today and went through the bedding process. Very nice and strong feel. Running RBF 660 fluid, just did the bleed on the brakes. I'll be there in two weeks for Track Daze 2 day event. Grand and full course.

I did not bleed the clutch though? Bid deal??

 

[reinstated]

Good luck at VIR! Full course should be a blast.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I did not bleed the clutch though? Bid deal??

Not as long as it doesn't boil. If your engagement point changes as the car gets hot, it boiled. Not too big an issue with a stock clutch typically.

I didn't trust my factory fill at all since it was putrid brown, so if your fluid looked good in the res, you're probably okay.

 

[StingertimeNC]

cool thanks. It was still light in color and of course I added a fresh 1/2 bottle when bleeding.

 

[reinstated]

Full course at vir? That's awesome! Enjoy every minute of it.

 

[NoVA_Teggy]

I really gotta get better at responding. I'm so used to being on Reddit and FB.

At any rate, I had a blast at VIR on Monday. I trailered* my car down there, which worked out as I saved some hotel room money and slept in my tow vehicle / conversion van.

My best time was 2:17 on the full course which I was pretty happy with overall. I think I could be a bit faster if I didn't get the jitters on the back straight up through the esses. I didn't want to end up like that CTR that crashed there a while back, so I made sure to keep the front wheels loaded going up the hill before braking.

I didn't get a chance to change out fluid so I was on the OEM stuff. I didn't have any issues with braking, but I think I would have chanced braking much later had I upgraded pads and changed out the fluid. I'm sure there's lots of time I could pick up there.

The only issue I had was the plastic shroud and heat shield came undone on the back straight. I pitted, got some zip ties and tape and that held it for the rest of the afternoon. I had a free detail from my dealer I needed to claim, so I just had them fix it while I was there.

EDIT: Tires! I swapped out the OEM PS4S's for Cup 2's and oh what a difference that made. On PS4S's, they'd get greasy fairly quickly but Cup 2's were sticky all day without issue. Totally worth the $ and confidence gained by switching out those OEM tires.

Overall, great day. Can't wait to get back to VIR. Always a great time, and the full course is so much better than the Grand.

 

[StingertimeNC]

Good stuff! Yes pads and fluid would be great. Surprised to hear you say full course is better than Grand. How so?

I would say it's easier to navigate for sure.

2:17 is a good time. I really want to do tires too.

Interesting you mention keeping the front tires loaded. In the esses and through turn 10, keeping the foot on the gas results in keeping the rear tires loaded and the car somewhat better balanced. You don't have to be way into the throttle but just slightly accelerating vs decelerating.

What speed were you when entering the climbing esses? what speed were you at going through turn 9? Just curious. That's definitely an unnerving area of the track. My goal is to go in at 115 mph and exit turn 9 at 105. Also want to make sure I'm doing over 80 through turn 10. On cup 2's you could safely increase those speeds by 5mph easy. (not mentally easy though)

Also, the guy that rolled his type r, @point by patrol, is now a certified instructor. He's coming up to VIR next friday to give me in car instruction for the day. I've got some suspension mods as well as fluid and pads, but still running on regular summer tires. Hoping to break 2:20 on full course if all goes well.

Great to see a stock car on cup 2's can break that barrier! Glad you had fun!

Hope we can get there at the same time some day!

 

[NoVA_Teggy]

The Grand Course seems to just kill my momentum after the back straight headed into T13. It just feels like a buzz kill. The full course requires some braking after the back straight but I still maintain some speed before getting back to the front straight. It just keeps the momentum and excitment going.

I should probably re-phrase but I kept some maintenance throttle up the back esses and did not let off until I was parallel with that tree on the left, then I hit the brakes. But to be fair, I think that CTR had greasy tires. The more I look at that vid and the more I drive that part of VIR, I'm not sure there was much he could have done if his tires were past optimal temp. Not sure what tires he was on, but I wouldn't be hauling ass back there on PS4S's for more than a few laps.

My max speed climbing the back esses was 110 MPH. I'm not a pro driver, and I gotta say it felt kinda sketchy. I was aiming for as little steering input as possible but man I gotta admit, I was scared shitless going up those esses there at that speed. So to your point, mentally, it is tough to do unless you REALLY know the car.

As for tires, this car on Cup 2's is an absolute delight to drive near the limit. I bought the last set from Summit Racing in 265/30/19 and got a deal to get $200 back from Michelin. So I'm about $1600 down, but totally worth it. I won't ever use PS4's on track again. Cup 2's or better, or nothing.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I really gotta get better at responding. I'm so used to being on Reddit and FB.

At any rate, I had a blast at VIR on Monday. I trailered* my car down there, which worked out as I saved some hotel room money and slept in my tow vehicle / conversion van.

My best time was 2:17 on the full course which I was pretty happy with overall. I think I could be a bit faster if I didn't get the jitters on the back straight up through the esses. I didn't want to end up like that CTR that crashed there a while back, so I made sure to keep the front wheels loaded going up the hill before braking.

I didn't get a chance to change out fluid so I was on the OEM stuff. I didn't have any issues with braking, but I think I would have chanced braking much later had I upgraded pads and changed out the fluid. I'm sure there's lots of time I could pick up there.

The only issue I had was the plastic shroud and heat shield came undone on the back straight. I pitted, got some zip ties and tape and that held it for the rest of the afternoon. I had a free detail from my dealer I needed to claim, so I just had them fix it while I was there.

EDIT: Tires! I swapped out the OEM PS4S's for Cup 2's and oh what a difference that made. On PS4S's, they'd get greasy fairly quickly but Cup 2's were sticky all day without issue. Totally worth the $ and confidence gained by switching out those OEM tires.

Overall, great day. Can't wait to get back to VIR. Always a great time, and the full course is so much better than the Grand.

I notice you have numbers on the rear window.

Are you running with the rear windows fully up? If so, you might find quite a bit of high speed stability by rolling them down. With them up, you're essentially a parachute at higher speeds causing some lift and crosswinds can really knock you around.

 

[NoVA_Teggy]

I notice you have numbers on the rear window.

Are you running with the rear windows fully up? If so, you might find quite a bit of high speed stability by rolling them down. With them up, you're essentially a parachute at higher speeds causing some lift and crosswinds can really knock you around.

I'm running with the rear windows up but front windows down. Thanks for that tip! I'll definitely do that on my next track day.

 

[StingertimeNC]

I totally get it on all accounts. Maintenance throttle is good through there. It's scary as hell. You have to get the car pointed straight as possible before the jump. Kind of scary at 110+ for sure. A really good barometer is Lightning lap. If you watch Tony taking the CTR through there, on cup 2's, you can see what speeds work. Also, Dan's lightning lap in the CTR, on PS4S tires is a good barometer. The ITS is fully capable on PS4S tires, but way better on Cup 2's or some 200 TW tires. That will be my next pickup.

Driving at VIR is like golf to me. I know what I'm supposed to do technically, but I just can't do it, LOL.

Point by patrol was doing about 113 mph on track tires (100 TW I think) through turn 9, lap after lap. On the fateful lap he lifted off the throttle going through that turn and the rear got way light. Hence the need for maintenance throttle at a minimum.

I like the full course better too as it's less mentally taxing. Very technical through the infield, you just don't ever get a mental rest.

Switching back to Full course after day one is always welcome.

Whatever the case, 2:17's is very solid at VIR.

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