Phillip Island - PB 1:56.34s

Back from Phillip Island, the best track i have ever been. its my first time there and i dont think i will forget this. till now, i still remember clearly what i saw and felt; blistering fast corner speed, smooth wide tracks, grand view passing the main straight, the highly respectable attitude from most of the driver on the day, and having to concentrate 110% all the time. I just cannot wait to go back there and have another go.

My Official PB on the day was 1:56.34s 11th place in my Class and 27th Place Overall out of 111 entry cars on the day.

Mods: BC full exhaust, Motordyne Plenum Spacer, test pipe, 168kw atw.
Tyres: RE55s 245/40/18

the official result of the day: http://www.piarc.com.au/files/Results%20Provisional%20Sept08%20Sprint.pdf

Session1
2:01.57
2:01.89
1:56.34
Which is actually session 2 for me, b'coz our first session get cut off early because off accident and timing issue. i got only one clear lap after stuck behind a Porsche 944 for 2 laps

Session2
1:59.77
2:06.22
2:05.37
Bad session, too many traffic, i came off the lukey's height but managed to get back on the track right away. i had few car pass me on the straight (had to slow down), stuck behind a WRX for abit, then M3 E46, and E92.

Session3
1:57.99
1:58.65
1:59.65
Stuck behind porsche 944 and kingswood holden. had to overtake few other cars. i caught up to the E92 M3 that were stuck behind the GTR at the last laps

Session4
2:00.15
1:57.60
1:57.13
this is the best session for the day, as i was lucky to have a chance to race nose to tail against my all time favorite car. a classic 240Z with L28 tripple webber, with semis. awesome car! it's like my dream come true lol... one day i will own that car 

i dont have the video of it, but here is the drive by when shaun, 240z and me passing the straight...
video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=l5k-VvCHb6A


thx to Shaun, Kenny, Drew, Laura, Ying, Jally, jimjim, agnes and Jaycee from exe-crew for the companionship, never ending support on the day! 

more photos can be found here:
http://www.exe-crew.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3054&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30842402@N08/

http://www.sdpics.com/cgi-bin/store/imageFolio.cgi?direct=8000~Motor_Sport/9000~Cars/03~PIARC%20Sprints/36~21_September_2008_-_PIARC_Sprints/1~Session_8&img=0

On The Run Trackday @ winton - 30th August 2008

On The Run Trackday @ winton - 30th August 2008

new PB *1:40.7500s

It was another great day at winton. i finally had a chance to write the blog. kept putting it off since i got addicted to spore (blame shaun)

Session1 - im starting with 28psi cold. i had Qui as my passenger. i was stuck behind Deng / MREVOMR for the first 3 laps. it was quite frustrating as he would go 40kmh around the corner, and on the straight he would accelerate away from me as his car is a lot faster on the straight. at the 4th lap, he came off the track. i only got 2 laps after that and the semis is not even hot yet.
1:55.0900
1:51.8600
1:57.1300
1:42.2600
1:43.4600

Session2 - had Henry, as my passenger. he is interested in 350z and wanted to know how it handle around the track. this time i was doing 'left-right swerve' for the whole 1st lap to warm up the tire coz i notice today for some reason the semis took abit longer to heat up. it did help, but running 33psi still felt abit too high for me.
2:01.8800
1:42.1500
1:41.5000
1:42.4100
1:41.6900
1:42.5300

Session3 - this is the best session for me as this is the only session with no passenger and the track is getting warmer. im running 30psi hot and it starting to feel alot better. i had abit of traffic for few laps, but i managed to get 3 clear lap and did 2 laps of 1:40.7s and 1 lap of 1:41.0s. i found that maybe its time for new semis lol coz i felt the back is quite loose in some part of the track... but then also maybe its probably bcoz i got abit more power now, so i have to be more gentle with the throttle.
1:47.1300
1:53.7000
1:40.7500
1:42.9700
1:41.0500
1:40.7900

Session4 i had Acey as passenger. i'm excited coz i got the turn to use the video cam . but then it started drizzling and the track is getting abit damp. still can di good lap but i had to slow down alot coz its getting very taily...

Link

the video, thx to shaun.
2:05.4700
1:45.6700
1:44.1400
1:45.1500
1:42.4400
1:44.0300

Session5 RAINING!!! decided to have some fun instead...
2:18.9600
2:13.6400

wet session!!! noob tyring to do dori dori

Link


drive by video thru the 'S' turn - sound of Buddy Club full system. *wet session*

Link


My Opinion
anyway, i did 1:40.9 with stock + semis. and now with full exhaust and Plenum Spacer, i only managed to improve only slighty. its more to do with driver error

with the mods, the car pulls alot harder and definitely faster. esp on the top end. but i chickened out and back off earlier on most corner entry and i stayed on the brake abit longer compared to when i did it in stock form. it might take abit of getting used to and hopefully next time i am there i can get a bit faster with this new setup.

im thinking if i can get 1:40.00 flat or even 1:39.999 with this setup then the next time i can start looking into handling upgrade, like swaybar, camber arm, etc.

Conclusion
next time i will try to adjust the braking point. now that i have more power, i can feel that i dont have to hit the corner as hard to be able to reach the same top speed or lap time. so if i enter the corner as hard as when i did in stock, i should be able to go faster right?

NO. for me its not that simple. i didnt enter as hard, coz i didnt feel i can handle it. with the stock form, i think i entered the corner nearing my limit of controlling the car safely around the corner. now with extra power, i have much higher entry speed, if i didnt brake enough, im entering too quick which lead to understeer then oversteer if i didnt handle it correctly. if i brake too much, im too slow around the corner...

i need to find the fine point to slow down just enough but still enter the corner as fast as i did with the stock form.

till next time


my winton records:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
* 11/12/2006: 1:43.9470 sec (235/45/17 RE55s, APS catback, race pipe, K&N filter, HC+ pads, 37.2kg weight saving, 164kw atw) - first time ever @ winton

* 26/01/2007: 1:42.2420 sec (same mods as above, 164kw atw)

* 11/03/2007: 1:41.3410 sec (same mods as above, 164kw atw)

* 16/04/2007: 1:41.4970 sec (front tyres finished, so i changed to a 2nd hand 225 dunlop semis, i also added RSR spring, 164kw atw)

* 01/07/2007: 1:41.0680 sec (bought 2nd hand from takahasi: 245/40/18 RE55s semis**, 164kw atw)

* 30/10/2007: 1:41.2250 sec (installed Cusco Front Camber arm**, put 'X' pipe on the APS catback, 160kw atw*)

* 10/03/2008: 1:45.9200 sec (stock, full interior trim, street tyres) **PB with street tyres**

* 9/06/2008: 1:41.3000 sec (stock, full interior trim, semislick tyres)

* 26/07/2008: 1:40.9200 sec (stock, full interior trim, semislick tyres)

* 30/08/2008: 1:40.7500 sec (Plenum Spacer, Full BC exhaust, full interior trim, semislick tyres)
**PB with semi slick**

My Winton Line

well.. qui asked me to draw my racing line for winton. so here is the line you requested qui.



Note:
- only brake where the star is... if you need to brake somewhere else, you are entering the corner too fast... remember slower entry = faster exit and vice versa

- this is not 100% accurate, but its from 15 latest line from racechrono, that i have sampled and overlayed together with correction here and there. so this is my ideal line that i have in mind, in practice will differ slightly depending on conditions i guess...

there is no such thing as the most correct line as every car and driver will differ slighty, but the basic is similar i guess.

detailed walkthrough:

1. turn 1 i turn late to utilise the top speed from the short straight and brake hard. enter the corner slow and accelerate early.
   
2. turn 2, no need to brake in my car, but if you have faster car you might need to tap the brake, i just ease off the throttle and maintain speed around the corner and accelerate as wide and as straight possible. use the whole track.
   
3. turn 3 is double apec, so imagine big smooth circle instead of hugging the inside. hit the first apex, go abit out, and don't fight the car, and go back in to hit the second apex before shifting the weight and straighten up for the next right hand kink before turn 4
   
4. turn 4, basic late apex turn. brake progressively, wait n turn late and enter with abit throttle on. not too much, but enough to keep the car balance. instead of going wide on the exit, try staying in the middle...
   
5. turn 5, here is the corner where i sacrifice in order to get good exit on turn 6. i hug the inside on the exit of turn 5 in oder to enter wide and late for turn 6.
   
6. turn 6, entry is almost identical with turn 4, only smaller circum, slower and tighter. the difference is on the exit when you should exit wide but straight... use the whole track again...
   
7. turn 7 is tricky for me, i used to leave it till really late, and turn... but i realise that too late, i loose exit speed and cannot reach high top speed on the straight. and too early is bad coz i will run too wide and understeered off the track. the right timing after few try and error is the key. imagine a big 1/4 circle and start fainting before the entry. not too much coz you will be drifting (for RWD) and use the exit as wide as possible... it may look like a late apex turn but for me its kinda more towards early apex than late apex... i could be wrong but it works for me as i got 10kph more top speed out of this...
   
8. turn 8, i maximise the use of the straight and the top speed, so turn really late, and brake progressively, follow by trail braking, and use the INTIRE track.... until the outside extension bit... but remember to go back in coz the ripple strip on the outside is very bad for you LOL... imagine a big circle to connect turn 8 and 9....
   
9. turn 9, if you turn correctly and connect it properly, your weight shifting should be already correct for this corner and all you need is just a little bit of tap on the brake if needed and just accelerate wide out of the corner... 
   
10. turn 10, i brake just after 100m marker... brake hard and jump straight back to the throttle coz otherwise if i coast at that speed and that much G force, the rear will start lifting up and i will be going sideway.... not fun to do that in this part of the track as it got the most wall.... i climber the first left ripple strip entering the 'S' bend and the just straightforward exit as wide as possible to the short straight...
    

please feel free to express your opinion as i am still learning too, so any input would be good to improve my time.. 

Few Photo arrived from OZevent Photo - Wakefield! :)

few photos from Autosports. got my CD from OZphotoevent in the mail last week... i photoshopped 2 of the best shot that i got from them...
climb!


brake!


stubby photoshopped


and the rest... (i chose the best 12 out of 31 photos):

Classic Skyline Australia trackday @ winton - 26th July 2008

Classic Skyline Australia trackday @ winton - 26th July 2008


i managed to set a new PB finally... after 5 trackday i was stuck at 1:41s. i finally break into 1:40.9200s and manage to break my PB when i had mods.

my winton records:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
* 11/12/2006: 1:43.9470 sec (235/45/17 RE55s, APS catback, race pipe, K&N filter, HC+ pads, 37.2kg weight saving, 164kw atw) - first time ever @ winton

* 26/01/2007: 1:42.2420 sec (same mods as above, 164kw atw)

* 11/03/2007: 1:41.3410 sec (same mods as above, 164kw atw)

* 16/04/2007: 1:41.4970 sec (front tyres finished, so i changed to a 2nd hand 225 dunlop semis, i also added RSR spring, 164kw atw)

* 01/07/2007: 1:41.0680 sec (bought 2nd hand from takahasi: 245/40/18 RE55s semis**, 164kw atw)

* 30/10/2007: 1:41.2250 sec (installed Cusco Front Camber arm**, put 'X' pipe on the APS catback, 160kw atw*)

* 10/03/2008: 1:45.9200 sec (stock, full interior trim, street tyres) **PB with street tyres**

* 9/06/2008: 1:41.3000 sec (stock, full interior trim, semislick tyres)

* 26/07/2008: 1:40.9200 sec (stock, full interior trim, semislick tyres) **PB with semi slick**

i didnt get many laps, although the day was pretty good... took abit longer than what i expected to warm up the tyres coz the track is so cold...

so much delay, bad organisations and track being left emptry unused made it hard to keep track of my tyre pressure... so i decided to settle it on 33psi hot and just park my car around the dummy grid as i have to do the flags after my sessions...

session 1:
1:50.1800
1:42.4000
1:42.4100
1:41.8600
1:45.8300
1:46.9800

session 2:
1:54.2700
1:42.8700
1:42.1300
1:44.2300
1:40.9200
1:41.9700

session 3:
2:21.8100
1:43.9900
1:42.3400
1:42.6600
1:41.2300
1:41.5500
1:46.8400


its hard to get a good lap with the traffic but 2nd session was good as i got a clear lap on the last 2 lap after stuck behind the EXA race car


boring thoughts as usual:
anyway, this trackday, after wakefield i realised what is my 'wall' all this time... everyone has their 'wall' that will stop them to go further.

mine took me 5 trackdays to figure this out.

my wall is: i was always so agressive entering the corner and think of the best way to get around it. yes, it.... not them... this was my mistake... i always think of 1 corner at the time...

wakefield somehow reminded me that it is important to try to link 2-3 corners together... what i mean is what you do on this corner should be giving advantage for you for the next one...

then trying to apply this at winton has pay off.... once i was given clear lap, i managed to push the car consistently fast without the need to brake too hard or driving too agressively... and when i do decided to push abit more... i beat my PB already...

improvement based on per sections:


speed VS distance graph:


the different things i did that i think improve my driving compared to the last one:

early apex:
when there is a long straight after the corner, i take the apex abit early and accelerate early... this make me able to use the most of the straight... i use this at: turn 9 before the long straight, turn 2 before the long sweeper, turn 7 before the back straight and the second corner of the 'S'


late apex:
and on the straight, to maximise the top speed, i brake as late as i can, enter the corner as fast as i can, and take late apex. this works at winton as winton has shorts parts after every long straight... which doesnt matter anyway if you do 'fast in slow exit' after the long straight...
i use this at: entering the S after the long straight, turn 1, the right kink and turn 4 after the long sweeper, turn 8 after the back straight.

sweeper:
i decided to load the car weight before entering the sweeper by light faint (too much will make you drift) this allow me to properly predict the car behaviour as the weight already settle before i enter the sweeper. i manage to put more speed around the double apex sweeper... you dont necessarily have to hit both apex, as long as you dont fight your car so you can keep the speed up...

thats all from me for now... thx for reading...

all the other result from the day:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?26/07/2008.WIN.R1

all the photos:
http://www.exe-crew.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2895&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=45

Data Logging from Wakefield.

i didnt have data logging on for my 1:11.1s PB lap...

so here is from my previous session.


and here is adrian ES session... im not sure whether this is from his PB lap, but this is from one of his 1:06 lap

WAKEFIELD! new PB (1:11.1s) ^__^

after 1600km plus round trip (including the tracks km, getting lost on finding petrol session and etc) i must say its all well worth it...
its a long trip, but firstly, i am not alone. completing it with the exe-crew made it the best long trip for trackday ever! secondly... such a great track, great wheather and such a good organiser... well done autosports.

the weather was fine, abit too cold in the morning for a tropic boy like me but was perfect closer to midday...


morning prep:
i was lost with kenny, jimjim, and jally. trying to find a petrol station. when we got back to wakefield, the briefing has started and no time to change to my semis... so i decided to go on the first session with the street tyres and change to semis in between session 1 and session 2...


session1:
was on nankangs street tyres... i didnt have a good lap coz too much traffic... and the tyres still on 40psi for fuel economy on highway ... i did best lap of 1.17.7s based on my phone gps timer and never got a clean lap... i was using shaun's wheels and tyres which the offset are not enough for the front due to the spoke design. so i have to use 25mm spacer at the front to clear the front brakes caliper.


the result was: front tyres are sticking out like a dog's ball and the rear were tucked in... although the colour match the car pretty good... hahaha

the car get very sideway when i am not careful at wakefield... but i must say the nankang, even with 40psi on it, still grip and handles pretty well... it didnt snap on me and gave me plenty of warning... altho the limit was pretty low...
1:26.2280
1:20.9280
1:22.4420
1:18.4520
1:19.2320
1:22.8930
1:17.7200



session 2:
enough playing around with street tyres or shaun will kill me coz i finish his treads... i take the wheels and the spacer off, put on my semis. i run the on backwards rotation so even out the wear. but when i was in the middle of adjusting the psi, the session already started, so i went anyway... my front left was 30psi cold and the other 3 was still 40psi.

this was very stupid of me to do, i should've miss the session instead of putting my self and others in danger.... sorry kenny... i spun in front of you...

what happened was, everytime i brake, only one wheel, the front left, that will grip so the rest keep skiding, and the tail olways goes out and i can't really control the car... so after 3 hot laps i decided to pull out of the session and fix the pressure... managed only did best lap of 1:13.8s that session.
1:22.1210
1:32.7350
1:16.8940
1:13.8940

when i got back the semis was not even hot, except one, the one that has 30psi on it...


session 3:
i went with 30psi cold. and the car feels ok, but didnt get 2 good clear lap. managed to do best of 1:12.2s with it.
1:15.6080
1:12.9360
1:15.4910
1:20.4810
1:12.3440
1:13.6020
1:17.0360
highlight: i got chased and pressured by jimjim on the 2nd last lap and decided that it was a good idea to climb the ripple strip on turn 4 (right turn up hill). the result was on the pic at the blog post header, my car was off the ground and get thrown out off the track on top of the hill, managed to swerve back just in time before turn 5 which is the right hander downhill.


session 4:
i tried to adjust the pressure to 32psi hot. which feel alot better and i did have one clean lap... i did 1:11.8s best lap
1:15.8780
1:13.5300
1:15.6650
1:11.8020
1:15.1460
1:12.5130
1:13.8160
1:12.5380


session 5:
ran with 31psi hot. the car felt just right, but unfortunately, this session i was stuck behind few cars on every lap. couldnt really stick on the racing line.
1:15.0540
1:15.5480
1:14.1600
1:13.1700
1:12.1750
1:12.6230
1:12.6390
1:13.0810


session 6:
this is a combined session coz most ppl have head home. i did only 5 laps and i lowered the pressure to 30psi hot. which i thought it might be to low, but i was WRONG! it felt great!!! the car just grip and grip... i got 1:11.1s best lap which is also my PB for the day. i started pushing from the warm up lap, coz this combined session is not long after i finished my session, so my tyres are still hot... i finished the session early coz i heard thumping noise from my car which ended up being just this lump of rubber stuck on my semis tread.
1:12.3160
1:11.1630
1:15.3620
1:15.7180
1:12.3760


session 7:
which is the last session, i was a very fun session, despite the heavy traffic, i enjoyed following some other cars like evos, lotus, dc2r, etc and see the differences in our lines. i actually learnt alot from it... too bad the day have to end. i got 2 clear laps on this last session.
1:13.9110
1:16.0540
1:11.8220
1:12.0960
1:11.8790
1:15.3690
1:12.0400



summary:
this is my second time there
new PB of 1:11.1630s. stock with semislick RE55s 245/40/18 all around.

my first time last year june 2007, i did 1:12.4s
that was with mods: 245/45/18 RE55s, RSR spring, APS catback, Megan Racepipe, K&N Panel filter. and also bucket seat and strip back of my car which saved me 37kg...

so this time i am abit faster, could probably because: new surface, i have abit more experience from winton sessions in between, it is my 2nd time there. who knows... most importantly i had alot of fun and can't wait to get back out there! i love wakefield!




boring parts. please don't read unless you got time to waste:
cut my PB by 1.3s is not that much, but considering that i used to have abit more power and mods, also lighter wheels and body. i think i can see that i finally can understand the car abit more without relying too much on modifications.

i love mods, and have nothing against it. but for people like me, who used to think that i have enough skills to push the car to the limit even with some mods. i was wrong. i knew the theory, but took me 2 years to finally understand what someone that are very important to me once said. he told me "you gotta understand the car dynamic first and how it reacts before you can do anything else. how do you know what you improve if you never know where you really are at the moment? so forget what you think you know, fix your basic and LISTEN to your car instead of make your car LISTEN to you". sounds corny back then, and my pride was thinking otherwise, but i am starting to realised and will keep reminding myself this sayings to keep my feet on the ground. thanks again. i know you won't like me to mention your name here, thats why i didnt.

which is true, at least for me. when you always try to make the car listen to you. it wont always work to any car coz one car might be less forgiving then the other. but when you actualy try to listen to the car, one day you will be able to drive any car and adapt quickly to different cars and react accordingly.

some people ask me: "so silas, do you think stock is better than with mods then?". whatever answer i gave you, i don't know what im talking about... coz honestly i don't know... but what i know so far... the right modification definitely increase the limit of the car. but how can i see that newfound limit if i havent even seen the stock car limit? its like i want to run before i even can walk properly.

honestly, i didnt want a stock 350z. i am selling the car, so i revert it to stock, but i need my regular trackday fix, so i bring it to the track even with stock setup anyway... which now im thankful of... if i never had money problem, i wouldnt have to sell the car and part out with the mods, which mean i will never realised that all this time i was delussional and thinking that i know what i am doing.

looking back always embarassed me. what i used to think and do. but thats why we call it the past. i am still learning and will never stop learning.

after 2 years of tracking (which still a newbie compared to others that has been doing this far longer than me), one of few valuable lessons that i have is when you open your ear and mind, you will never stop learning. only when you think you are good, thats when you stop learning and thats when you start declining. overwhelmed with pride and stubborness.

i found that you can learn from anyone, not necessarily someone that faster than you. anyone, even the newbie. sometime this newbie are fresh and have no expectation and reacted freely without any corruption of theory and thoughts. which sometime reminded you that the basic are very importants. i just reminded myself again before the wakefield. from what? from someone that asked me, whats the basic of track driving. that got me thinking and made me realise even i forgot to do that sometimes haahahaha...

this is what i got 2 years ago from someone that don't want to be mentioned.
1. look where you are going, coz most likely thats where you gonna end up. if you stare at the walls then there you will be... so from now on let spiderman sticks to those walls, and we sticks on the track hahaha (not funny)

2. brake on straight progressively, means: loads the car first, let the weight shift then you can slam the brake as hard as you can (up to certain degree:P) as late as possible

3. if you can, and its not a matter of life and death, never ever coasting (i mean just foot off the throttle and brake). its either on the brake or on the throttle (whether its full throttle, half throttle, ease off abit, etc)

4. accelerate as early as you can on and out the corners, but listen and feel the car. it will gives you warning when its about to bites back... depending the power level of the car, the warning can be very short, or gradual.

5. sometime the only way to know your limit is to stepping over it. i said sometimes... at the right place, and at the right time.


and guess what? all that was just in my mind as a theory all those time... i completely forgot about it... then when i do starting to keep reminding my self that the basics is very important no matter how fancy i think i am now... it really pays off...

boring parts end. now wake up! thx for reading.


more boring data logging soon...


exe-crew PB results:
ES EVO6 - 1:06.4380
Jimjim EVO8 - 1:09.0160
flameboy 350Z - 1:11.1630
senk9 Soarer TT - 1:12.4540
kthl 350Z - 1:12.5700
celicajim Celica ZR - 1:13.7250
jally07 Golf GTi - 1:18.5590


ALL RESULTS OF THE DAY: http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?19/07/2008.WAKE.S2.Y

OTHER PHOTOS:
jason's - coming soon
http://www.speedshots.com.au/gallery/othermotorsport/trackdays/autosports_190708