GoatAutomotive
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Georgetown, TX
- Car(s)
- 2017 VW GTI SE, DSG
Track Night 6/7/23 – Everything not to do at an HPDE…
Where to begin...
My goal for this event was a revision on the May event:
1) I wanted to finish out these tires that had one good track day left in them. Then replace them under my Michelin tire warranty.
2) I wanted to have my Unitronic intercooler installed before the hot race day, to see if it could help me shave any tenths or seconds off my times, while also better protecting the engine from hot IATs.
3) And I wanted to run a 1:32.xx lap, to match one of the faster drivers in our group.
That last one was a hail Mary. Totally doable, but would require some expert driving and car control.
That was it. My list. Considering my goal for May’s event was to run a 1:36-1:38, this was definitely progress.
Anyway, let’s talk about my errors and spread some knowledge. It ain’t pretty, but if it helps 1-2 people, then it’s worth the sacrifice.
Incremental changes and improvements to the car between March and May track days.
Added H&R 28mm FSB, Eurosport camber mounts and front ST brace, Bilstein B8 dampers all around + Hawk HPS 5.0 pads: part of this right before the 5/10 event.
Wheels, tires, engine parts completely unchanged.
Dampers and brakes made a HUGE difference on our cars. I don't recommend any stock VW dampers on a track like HHR. The B8s kept the car under control in all sections of HHR. Stock dampers would have you po-going through the back stretch like a kid loaded on Pop Rocks on a sunny afternoon.
The -2.4* negative front camber was also monumental in turn-in and cornering stability. We need at least -2.0* of negative camber (all the way up to -3.0*) for maximum front-end grip, rotation and effectiveness.
I did a lot of things right for this event. I truly did.
1) I had my major, mandatory mechanical prep and inspection work done a full week before the event. This is huge for me, because I am constantly too busy with work and dad stuff to touch my own cars.
2) I pulled exactly ZERO all-nighters on my car before the event. I didn’t try and cram in new installations that would stress me out and mess with my sanity.
3) I had the car hand-washed the day of, despite my reluctance. Pics below. Finer than a stack of unpaid speeding tickets.
4) I even got a good night’s sleep the night before, and woke up on time to pack and prep everything for the hot summer day.
5) I made it to the event on time. This has been (historically) challenging for me to manage due to also taking my kiddos with me, and all their needs/supplies.
Now, against all efforts and execution, I did a bunch of chit wrong.
- I forgot my tire pressure gauge AND my digital pyrometer.
- I might have gone off track at one point… (keep reading)
- I got black flagged and accused of something I didn’t actually do. Then discovered the next morning that I did in fact do that thing (after photographic evidence was produced).
- This was after getting pulled aside and nearly booted for something else that was far more innocent. I won’t comment on that publicly.
The whole afternoon felt like a bit of a cluster-f*** with some embarrassing moments, and I hardly got to enjoy my experience this go-around. But if you read this information for yourself, you can learn some valuable tips on how to properly prep for a track day, and learn what not to do on the day of the event.
“So how’d ya do, Kid?”
My first session was a throwaway, and it was my own accidental fault. I forgot to set my tire pressures before the session. Absolute rookie mistake. I am still face-palming myself. Not only that, but I forgot to pack my pro-grade tire gauge. This is day 1 beginner stuff.
So I came into the event on hot street pressures (35-36psi), before taking them on track and superheating them from the cornering loads and tread abuse.
My pressures right off-track were in the 38-39psi range. It’s a big deal. 34-35psi hot is ideal for the max summer/UHP tires I run, so I should have started them at 30-31psi warm. It’s not at all abnormal to see a 3-4psi increase in tire pressure just from heat during a session, so plan accordingly.
My Michelins are also down to ~4/32” all around, so they aren’t swinging for the fences in their current state.
Anyway, above 35psi, they lose their contact patch as the tire becomes overly round and bulbous, and the tread then becomes super slippery when you ask it to turn, or carry speed while accelerating into sweepers.
You can see it visually with your eyes looking at the tire carcass, and verify your observations by how I had a FWD car screeching a few times in a fast sweeper, complaining like a meth addict trapped in a holding cell. There was zero confidence from the tires that first session. And I take full credit for the failure.
I realized my tire pressure error after the first 3-4 laps. All I could do was ride it out and cope.
I managed to run consistent 1:35-1:36s with bad tire pressures and squealing rubber heard all around the HHR compound. Not happy, but not terrible. Previous PB on 5/10 was a 1:37-1:38 with a front alignment toed way TFO. We have our work cut out for us…
I deflated all my tires down to 33psi (hot) right after the first session ended, and the left front I lowered to 32. The LF gets pounded the hardest when running HHR in the CW configuration.
Second session was destined for greatness. Until I became the first loser in my group to go off-track. In the very beginning of the session: second lap out, and my first hot-lap.
Of all places? Going too hot into turn 3. It’s not even a difficult corner!!! I just got a little carried away in the first two corners, and the tires (or car?) wanted to make an example out of me.
It honestly felt like the front tires locked up and just started to plow wide. Nothing I tried with braking or steering could correct the trajectory of the car in that moment.
I’ve been there before in Porkchop, a 3500lb RWD muscle car I used to compete in. You ask too much of the front end and it just goes to chit mid-corner. Exact same sensation where the car just plows sideways from all the inertia/momentum, and the steering wheel becomes nothing more than a handle to grab.
During my embarrassing display of understeering fail sauce in turn 3, I also managed to take out a full-sized marker cone. Which blemished my mostly beautiful front bumper. Well played, cone. Well played.
I know the protocol for going off track: do some Dukes of Hazard victory donuts like it’s the General Lee, kick up some dust, then carefully re-enter the track when it’s safe to do so.
Shrugging off the initial embarrassment and shock is sometimes the hardest part. You know everyone just watched you screw up. A few folks got it on camera to preserve for posterity. You’re officially a lot less cool than how you arrived at the event.
When you re-enter the track, you’ll be black flagged immediately to come in after your “sudden loss of control”, where you prove to the track officials that both you and the car are still sane and undamaged.
Shrug that off, go back out, try to do better.
That off-track event was deeply sobering, and I think it zapped a lot of the wind out of my sails. I’m normally a smarter driver than this.
At the previous two HHR/TNIA events, I’d come close in a few other corners to “the edge” of the track; from getting on power too early and the car going wide, but I never left the black stuff. Oh well. Lessons learned. Ego milled down another few thousandths.
Fast forward: I was black flagged again (later in that same session)n and accused of having smoke coming out the back of my car. This was irritating, because Stormy is a low-mileage car and has never sent smoke out the back.
I verified all my fluid levels and conditions meticulously before (and on the day of) the event. PCV failure? They usually go to 70-75k miles without issue on the modern Dubs. Shrugs shoulders.
One of my beloved co-racers in a grey Mk7 VW Golf is now famous for his crop dusting in certain sections of the track. I was sure it had to be him and they were mistaking us. We tend to fly in formation around the track since our cars run comparable times (ed. – Monkey has way more track experience in his car AND better brakes up front – nothing but #respect!)
I explained this to the track official and was cleared to go back out. Try to imagine, even if you haven’t done an HPDE before, it is HARD to get into a good rhythm with this many disruptions...
Third session, I was held back by the event manager to discuss something that happened earlier. I missed the first few laps and went out way late. Created some space for myself and just did my own thing. No cars in the mirror.
I let Monkey pass me at one point mid-session. My tires weren’t cutting the mustard and I had given up on my goal of cutting a 1:32 on street tires. Why hold up faster cars behind me?
There was another car between me and Monkey…a black Miata? There were at least two that day. Whatever it was, it ate the famous mosquito spray going into turn 10. That’s right. Monkey’s Golf smoke-shat all over a convertible driver. It was glorious.
These cars should have an emergency button that does precisely this. “Push in times of close races/Altima drivers tailgating.”
So let’s talk about that phenomenon for a quick second, and whether it is a car problem or a side effect from the track:
Turn 9 is a stupendous sweeper with a slight right hand bend, and you’re doing 90-95mph through it if you know what you’re doing…even faster if you have more than 400hp on tap and good tires.
The braking zone always comes up faster than you think: miss it and you’ll be flying into some tall grass and a ditch nose-first.
You get on your brakes HARD to go from 95 down to 40mph in 2 seconds, then chuck your car to the right for what is essentially a 180* turn with two apexes. If this were VIR, it’d be called Horseshoe. It rewards grace and punishes greedy drivers. I’ve been on both sides of that coin.
This is the section I wrote about in my 3/15 Track Night article, where you have to really have a good line planned, or you will understeer your way to failure in a FWD/AWD car.
Anyway, turn 10 is important, because that transition from balls-out speed to Lewis Hamilton late-braking disrupts the oil supply in the pans of some wet sump cars.
We now have not one, but two Mk7 cars whose motor oil gets sloshed forward in the pan, producing spectacular smoke displays out the tailpipes. Perhaps the oil is getting past the rings when the pistons are at BDC in those moments?
I didn’t believe it until Monkey sent me pics from his dash/lap recorder when he was riding tandem behind me:
Stormy now produces her own flatulent weather patterns. I was as shocked as I was ashamed. [face palm] One more thing to diagnose/chase down on this little car.
Anyway, both our cars have this issue in the exact same spot, and nowhere else on track.
I was watching my mirrors the entire session, the way one watches when they’ve passed a sitting cop while speeding, looking for any signs of Snoop Dog reefer smoke to come out the back. I never saw a single puff from the driver’s seat.
Track officials black flagged me near the end of the third session. Monkey was right behind me, so he followed me off track. It felt like we were the problem children at a catholic school: we kept getting in trouble/reprimanded, and each time I didn’t know WTF I’d done wrong (other than under-steering on squealing tires).
They let us back out on track for maybe 2 more laps, then the session ended. What a boner killer. Seriously.
TLDR:
1) I wanted to run a 1:32 that day. I wanted it badly. To see if it could be done with everything optimized.
2) …I ran 1:34s consistently most of the day in sessions 2 and 3.
3) I had at least two laps that were a 1:33, but I hit an issue (or a slower driver) at the very end (turns 10-11 areas) that mucked up the hero run.
4) Overall, I have reached the plateau for this car and these tires.
1:33s are possible (consistently) with more driver time and smarter lines. But nearly impossible on these “street tires” through my little FWD chassis.
I love my Michelins, but the current set, in ultra hot June asphalt, just didn’t have it in them.
I should also add that we had a couple of other folks go off track in various locations that day. I truly blame the heat and tires just not being able to cope on the track surfaces, but I can’t prove it.
My mentor/nemesis/hero Graham in the M235i was on the same PS4S tires (ed. - I have no clue how new or old), and he was absolutely FLYING through the sessions with much less squeal/drama. It was [for the third time] deeply humbling to point him by and watch his speeds and lines. No way in FWD-hell was I gonna be able to keep up on these tires.
[More good content coming...keep following this thread.]
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