AJ BRZ tracking in the Pacific Northwest region

[AJ PwR]

In the Pacific Northwest region, a new track has been introduced last fall. the interesting thing is, it has every little bit of the famous tracks such as the corkscrew from Laguna Seca

Before I got my BRZ, I was running my 99 ITR (200whp) for a few times with suspension and R888 205/50/15 and I managed to do a time of 2:04. Comparing the laptimes that other same level cars are doing, it's wasn't too bad.

After I picked up my BRZ in July, I have started to get the car setup for the track. There weren't too many ppl taken the car to the track to set up information online were minimal so I based it under my driving impression of the car and start !

First Track day setup :
T1R Coil-overs F.6k R.6k
T1R 4 piston brake kit
T1R 70mm exhaust
Spoon subframe bushings (Rigid collar)
Toyo R888 235/40/18 (SQUARE)
Wheels specs 18x8 +40

Camber -2.0 front -1.3 rear
Toe 0 front +0.10 rear











The first track day was wet and cool so there were not much understeer and actually I got quite a bit of oversteer. The car was very easy to drive with VSC SPORT ON. During the afternoon , it cleared up and I finally did a few hot laps and I got a 2:08 . I think it is pretty good consider the car weighs more and less power to the ITR.

Before the 2nd track day, I have been brain storming , thinkning about the lines and speed that I can carry thru turns so I didn't make any changes to the car except dampening and tire pressure. This time I did a 2:06 during the noon time and the rest of the day has been really consistent. I have been talking to quite a few of the senior instructors and they said that's pretty much the best the car can do....... really ?! It sounded the setting of the car has hit the bottleneck.....Also I found the front tires are wearing down much quicker than the rear. 1/4 of the inside tire got less contact than the rest of the 3/4 so I think it needs more camber because the car was not rotating enough !

I decided to give it a change. This time I changed the front springs from 6k to 8k, nitrogen filled the tires, installed an aftermarket seat and steering wheel corner balancing ,alignment and installed ,New T1R Prototype exhaust (I hope to get a few more hp out from it) T1R differential collars and Cusco lateral links. The seat and the steering are to give myself a better feel of the car and much better driving position.








3rd track setting :
Corner weight :Cross weight 50% (Perfect )
Dampening adjusted
Front camber -2.5 rear camber -2.0
toe same as before

Results were impressive, I did a 2:03.04

Here's the video :

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3HJUYTkb4g&feature=share&list=UUX1DnH9cl3 7m-c7fLCTGETA"]AJ BRZ at Ridge Motorsports Park OCT 6th 2012 Driven by Ben Leung - YouTube[/ame]

Something even more surprising, I have killed my front tires The day was hot and I encountered a lot of understeer. I tried switching the traction OFF and see if the car rotates any better but I found it has been slower than using VSC SPORT !





OMG speed cost ! Now I have a clue in setting up the car and I have confident tat the next time I go to this track, I should be able to hit the 2 minute mark.

Thanks for reading !

Ben

[QuikJ]

Subbed!

[IShouldStudy]

Some really good info in this thread. Special thanks for including your camber settings.

[celica73]

If you thought the car was pushy, why did you increase the front spring rate? In general, that is a recipe for more understeer.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by AJ PwR

Something even more surprising, I have killed my front tires The day was hot and I encountered a lot of understeer. I tried switching the traction OFF and see if the car rotates any better but I found it has been slower than using VSC SPORT !

OMG speed cost ! Now I have a clue in setting up the car and I have confident tat the next time I go to this track, I should be able to hit the 2 minute mark.

Thanks for reading !

Ben

I instruct out there and I only got a chance to talk with you briefly but great job and great lines! Your data should tell you where you can find time. I'm assuming you have data due to the overlays on your video. Considering the length of the straight the most important corners on that track are: T15, then T3, then T8a.

T14 and T15 are really hard on the tires as is T2. The lateral loads in 14 and 2 are extensive on the tires and the camber in 15 eats them away.

I did a 30 minute race on lightly used Hoosier R6's and by the end of the race I corded the left front all the way around (FWD). And this is on a car where I have the camber dialed in to maximize the contact patch. It's just an abrasive surface but that will change as it ages. Since this is a relatively new racing surface it is harder on tires than old racing surfaces like Pacific Raceways or Mission Raceways.

It's neat to see that with some slight power mods, alignment and suspension change and some track tires there is that much time to be gained. I look forward to you hitting the 2:00 minute mark. In fact, I see a 1:57 in your future.

I see you leaving time on the table in these areas:
1: Alignment. Camber and toe. The mac struts don't have crap for dynamic camber so you really have to dial in lots of static camber (but you clearly already know this)
2: Tire pressure. The R888's are a bit more difficult tire to "dial in" compared to the their RA1 brethren but your data will determine their ideal operating temp.
3: Some modifications to driving the track, but I don't see lots to be gained here, you're doing great. (Modify T15 a bit, LFB down corkscrew into T14, entry into the carousel.)
4a: Getting to be WOT in the sections you need to be. See 4b
4b: From uphill right hand between T2-T3 to entry of T6, the carousel, and I can't tell form the video if you are but it looks like you lift in between 3 and 4 and you could roll onto the throttle earlier before 3. From top of T6 to braking for 8a you should be at WOT. I see your car washing out in the front exiting the Carousel. If you can get the front to grip better you can probably brake slightly less for 8a and carry more speed in which would allow you to get away with not using 2nd gear. But due to the powerband in this car, if you're rolling onto throttle below 5k rpms you're probably leaving time on the table.

A tire pyrometer and some camber/toe adjustment tools for quick and accurate changes at the track will do oodles of good. It seems like you might be trying to compensate for the lack of grip in the front with the toe out in the rear. Is this so? If so you might want to soften the front (and add camber) with either a smaller bar, softer setting on shock or even a slightly softer springs up front and then toe-in the rear a bit to make it more stable as you add front end grip.


shameless plug:

Ridge Racing School is still planning on doing the "Black Friday" track day for the day after Thanksgiving. (friday nov. 23rd). It will most likely be wet but it will definitely be fun.

[Sccabrz192]

Looks like you are still braking too much when you perform your turn-in. Pull your braking zone back and ease off the brake a little earlier as you execute the turn in, you will also be able to roll onto the throttle earlier. You will fix your push problem and save your front tires.

I think when you correct that issue, you will find some adjustments to your car's setup will be necessary and you will turn faster times with less wear.

Edit: watching again it may not be so much the braking, it looks like the car is actually washing out mid turn... probably just carrying a smidge too much entry speed in general, forcing you to wait on some of those really tight areas. When you encounter that mid-corner push, you are locking in your steering angle, and it continues to wash out. Try slightly reducing the steering angle when it washes out. It is counter-intuitive, but the car will turn better with less steering angle if you have exceeded the limit of the tires. Just a little bit of over-driving it looks like... and that is probably the reason the electronic nannies are helping your times.

[ft86Fan]

Originally Posted by Sccabrz192

Looks like you are still braking too much when you perform your turn-in. Pull your braking zone back and ease off the brake a little earlier as you execute the turn in, you will also be able to roll onto the throttle earlier. You will fix your push problem and save your front tires.

I think when you correct that issue, you will find some adjustments to your car's setup will be necessary and you will turn faster times with less wear.

Edit: watching again it may not be so much the braking, it looks like the car is actually washing out mid turn... probably just carrying a smidge too much entry speed in general, forcing you to wait on some of those really tight areas. When you encounter that mid-corner push, you are locking in your steering angle, and it continues to wash out. Try slightly reducing the steering angle when it washes out. It is counter-intuitive, but the car will turn better with less steering angle if you have exceeded the limit of the tires. Just a little bit of over-driving it looks like... and that is probably the reason the electronic nannies are helping your times.

All excellent advice .

[xwd]

I think moving to the 8K front springs probably hurt more than it helped. The car isn't really balanced to use a stiffer front spring than the rear.

[AJ PwR]

Quote:
Originally Posted by AJ PwR

AJ BRZ at Ridge Motorsports Park OCT 6th 2012 Driven by Ben Leung - YouTube

Something even more surprising, I have killed my front tires The day was hot and I encountered a lot of understeer. I tried switching the traction OFF and see if the car rotates any better but I found it has been slower than using VSC SPORT !

OMG speed cost ! Now I have a clue in setting up the car and I have confident tat the next time I go to this track, I should be able to hit the 2 minute mark.

Thanks for reading !

Ben
I instruct out there and I only got a chance to talk with you briefly but great job and great lines! Your data should tell you where you can find time. I'm assuming you have data due to the overlays on your video. Considering the length of the straight the most important corners on that track are: T15, then T3, then T8a.

T14 and T15 are really hard on the tires as is T2. The lateral loads in 14 and 2 are extensive on the tires and the camber in 15 eats them away.

I did a 30 minute race on lightly used Hoosier R6's and by the end of the race I corded the left front all the way around (FWD). And this is on a car where I have the camber dialed in to maximize the contact patch. It's just an abrasive surface but that will change as it ages. Since this is a relatively new racing surface it is harder on tires than old racing surfaces like Pacific Raceways or Mission Raceways.

It's neat to see that with some slight power mods, alignment and suspension change and some track tires there is that much time to be gained. I look forward to you hitting the 2:00 minute mark. In fact, I see a 1:57 in your future.

I see you leaving time on the table in these areas:
1: Alignment. Camber and toe. The mac struts don't have crap for dynamic camber so you really have to dial in lots of static camber (but you clearly already know this)
2: Tire pressure. The R888's are a bit more difficult tire to "dial in" compared to the their RA1 brethren but your data will determine their ideal operating temp.
3: Some modifications to driving the track, but I don't see lots to be gained here, you're doing great. (Modify T15 a bit, LFB down corkscrew into T14, entry into the carousel.)
4a: Getting to be WOT in the sections you need to be. See 4b
4b: From uphill right hand between T2-T3 to entry of T6, the carousel, and I can't tell form the video if you are but it looks like you lift in between 3 and 4 and you could roll onto the throttle earlier before 3. From top of T6 to braking for 8a you should be at WOT. I see your car washing out in the front exiting the Carousel. If you can get the front to grip better you can probably brake slightly less for 8a and carry more speed in which would allow you to get away with not using 2nd gear. But due to the powerband in this car, if you're rolling onto throttle below 5k rpms you're probably leaving time on the table.

A tire pyrometer and some camber/toe adjustment tools for quick and accurate changes at the track will do oodles of good. It seems like you might be trying to compensate for the lack of grip in the front with the toe out in the rear. Is this so? If so you might want to soften the front (and add camber) with either a smaller bar, softer setting on shock or even a slightly softer springs up front and then toe-in the rear a bit to make it more stable as you add front end grip.


shameless plug:

Ridge Racing School is still planning on doing the "Black Friday" track day for the day after Thanksgiving. (friday nov. 23rd). It will most likely be wet but it will definitely be fun.

Thank you very much for the valuable adviceI will do more studies on my driving and determine to change the settings again !

celica73 If you thought the car was pushy, why did you increase the front spring rate? In general, that is a recipe for more understeer.

I found the car has more oversteer for the first 2 track days I have been and the car has a lot of roll so I uprated the front springs for more front grip.

Looks like you are still braking too much when you perform your turn-in. Pull your braking zone back and ease off the brake a little earlier as you execute the turn in, you will also be able to roll onto the throttle earlier. You will fix your push problem and save your front tires.

I think when you correct that issue, you will find some adjustments to your car's setup will be necessary and you will turn faster times with less wear.

Edit: watching again it may not be so much the braking, it looks like the car is actually washing out mid turn... probably just carrying a smidge too much entry speed in general, forcing you to wait on some of those really tight areas. When you encounter that mid-corner push, you are locking in your steering angle, and it continues to wash out. Try slightly reducing the steering angle when it washes out. It is counter-intuitive, but the car will turn better with less steering angle if you have exceeded the limit of the tires. Just a little bit of over-driving it looks like... and that is probably the reason the electronic nannies are helping your times.

Thank you for the advice, I will give that a try !

[ayau]

@AJ PwR, what wheel is that?

[Mr.Jay]

looks like I deff have to make the trek out and hit a real track

[AJ PwR]

Originally Posted by ayau

@AJ PwR, what wheel is that?

The are ASGA wheels. Specs are 18x8 +40 !

[TouchMyHonda]

Cool stuff

[smbstyle]

any more info on that brake kit?

love those wheels....