It sounds like you are getting on the gas too early on corner exit —or not unwinding quickly enough, causing wheel spin and / or oversteer.

If you turn off TC, your driving skills will improve faster (even if time slips don't immediately reflect it), but they way you are driving, you will almost certainly spin out. Try to analyze why TC is kicking in. Try getting at least half-day instruction on the next track day, it helps a lot.

Sport mode will increase the slip angle and wheel slip thresholds before the electronic aids intervene. This is safer than TC off, but it will still mask bad driving habits, and can hamper long-term learning if you rely on it for too long.

For what it's worth from another beginner (to the track, and cars with TC. Mine is a history of street and analog cars)...

I start the morning with TC left on, and in the later sessions as I learn the track, switch it off with the five second button press. TC on cuts in pretty softly and allows you to be pretty smooth, but VSC cuts in like an angry mom trying to stop her kid from crossing a busy street - BAM!

I'm actually faster with TC left on than with VSC turned on, fastest with TC off via the five second press. I haven't seen enough time to tell the difference between TC off and the pedal dance - I'm not that good yet. :cry:

VSC let's me have a higher slip angle, but I just don't know exactly when it's going to cut me off, and so as soon as I correct, it does too, and we're left standing there staring at each other like two dogs in a Mexican Standoff - going slow.

I think that's the wrong approach TBH. If you are already comfortable driving without aids, you don't want to turn them on again on a new track. You should instead start driving way below your limit (full control speeds) with TC off, then progressively build up your speed throughout the day as you learn the track.

First, it's excellent that you're paying attention to when the TC is kicking in!

Yes, try sport the first session or two, and if you're still getting it intervening minorly, try driving with it off. Keep in mind that you want to take it easy unless it's a safe spin for a potential off/spin; we want you to drive the car home after the event!

TC/VSC works in stages, and sometimes, it only reduces power, and other times it'll both reduce/cut power and use brakes to assist. It depends on what's going on.

I ran my first session on Saturday with all tc/vsc turned on like my instructor said. I got the feeling that in certain circumstances where he was telling me to put power on and I WAS, but it felt like something was being held back that TC was intervening without flashing the traction light. So, the rest of the sessions I put it into vsc sport mode so that TC would kick in with brakes only if it had to kick in... which is that it was only going to be intervening at the same time it'd be flashing the traction light.

Also, ended up boiling my brake fluid towards the end of my last session. During the one part of the track where very heavy braking is required (coming into a very tight turn after the straight), I had clear traffic ahead and had been accelerating down the straight and I came to the braking zone, put on the brakes heavily (not sharply), and towards the end of applying brakes it felt like the car stopped decelerating, even though I was still applying increased brakes, and abs didn't kick in. Thankfully I had still slowed enough to make the turn properly.

Time for RBF600.

Using VSC uses the brakes. In other words, VSC will accelerate rear brake pad wear, and also add more heat to your braking system.

Definitely time for an upgrade; let us know!

I'd recommend you consider jumping up 2 steps instead of 1, and get the Project Mu G-Four, and also consider getting pads to match.

What you describe was probably pad fade actually. From what I understand, boiled brakes tend to be expressed by increasing pedal travel until you get to the floor. Pad fade on the other hand is as you described, it feels like the brakes just aren't grabbing.

Ah. Hmm. So, basically the pads got too hot?

Pretty much. It is also possible to have pad fade and brake fluid boiling at the same time. Another measure of what is going wrong can be how much your brakes recover afterwards. If you have a firm pedal an hour after driving on the track then you just saw pad fade. If your pedal is still spongey and having more travel then you boiled your fluid. If your brakes just don't bite as well (that is, when you have a firm pedal either because you didn't boil the fluid or you flushed it) then you glazed your pads (basically I guess you practically melted them and now they have a bad surface interfacing with the rotors).

There are alot of factors that determine the heat in any single part of your braking system so it is possible to have any one of those three issues with or without the others.

Post a picture of your pads and we can tell you :)

@SunDevilFRS I'm tagging you here because I cannot respond to your PM.

Are you looking for the MonoFlex, or the new MonoStreet?

Just confirming; the MonoFlex is being superseded by the MonoStreet.

-Mike

Tell me what size sway bars to get!

Car Specs:
-bilstein b14 kit
-HVT camber plates
-17"x8" 235 wheels/tires
-Stock motor
-2.7 front camber, -2.2 rear camber

Listen to the CSG guys over me btw, they know more/have waaaayyyyy more experience!

I think that's a good idea. I'm gonna try that next time out. It will force me to be smoother before faster. Which of course is the right way around.


Sent from a secret volcano base using trained sharks