"Official" Lap Times Thread

[GTIfan99]

So far I’m quite happy with them. I rotated them after running the East course yesterday prior to running the West course today. I measured at the end of the day and was at 5.5mm all around. If looks like I’ll get 5 days of them, which is about what I expected. They come up to temp faster than RS4s and have slightly more peak grip. They also didn’t get greasy on me either day, but it was as fairly cool weekend, and many of my sessions were cut short for various reasons. For my goals, which were A) go really fast and B) don’t spend too much $, they work great. I did have this weird strip appear on both tires and the end today. I think I may have got them a little to hot as I was driving very hard my last session. Will keep an eye on it.
View attachment 246233

My RE71R's would get the same pattern, which makes sense, since pattern is similar.

 

[Will_]

First time running West, very happy with this lap time! I could probably do 1:24 with a few adjustments, still figuring out the best lines.

Track Name: Thunderhill West (CCW)
Lap time: 1:25.65
Estimated ambient temperature: 55F
Year/model: 2017 GTI S
Estimated total vehicle weight with driver & passenger: 3200
Estimated wheel horsepower: 330
Fuel: 91
Notes on setup: 245/40/17 RT660s, EQT Coilovers, Stoptech ST60 w/ Pagid RSL29, Eibach 25mm RSB

 

[ckuhns]

First time running West, very happy with this lap time! I could probably do 1:24 with a few adjustments, still figuring out the best lines.

Track Name: Thunderhill West (CCW)
Lap time: 1:25.65
Estimated ambient temperature: 55F
Year/model: 2017 GTI S
Estimated total vehicle weight with driver & passenger: 3200
Estimated wheel horsepower: 330
Fuel: 91
Notes on setup: 245/40/17 RT660s, EQT Coilovers, Stoptech ST60 w/ Pagid RSL29, Eibach 25mm RSB

That car is so quick. You’re definitely carrying more corner speed through most of the corners, and picking the throttle up earlier than I was. All told stoked to be within 4 seconds given my tire age, power and weight. Thanks for the ride alongs this weekend.

 

[Will_]

That car is so quick. You’re definitely carrying more corner speed through most of the corners, and picking the throttle up earlier than I was. All told stoked to be within 4 seconds given my tire age, power and weight. Thanks for the ride alongs this weekend.

I think the 300lb or so weight difference really comes into play on a tighter track like this. The RT660s are probably a good 1s faster than RS4s too.

 

[R Golf]

I think the 300lb or so weight difference really comes into play on a tighter track like this. The RT660s are probably a good 1s faster than RS4s too.

I'm also a big fan of the RT660's. Went through Cup2's, RE71's others but the 660's offer great wear and grip, and I found them hold up to long stints and heat better than others. I've had my fastest lap at Lime Rock on the very last lap of the day.
Can't fault the price as well. My nephew (BMW) turned me on to them, and I've recommended to others and they've had good results as well.

 

[Mini7]

Barber Motorsports Park
Finally got the data overlay onto my video.

 

[turbojzrr]

What a shit show of a day at Laguna! First session of the day, the group before mine had a 350z have (what I was told) ABS failure in the braking zone into turn 2, they went off into the wall very hard, cracked the k rail even! Driver and passenger were taken via ambulance to hospital to be checked out, but I heard they were fine, just sore, very glad to hear that. Took until 12:15pm till any cars were allowed back on track. I'd made some suspension adjustments to try and help the car rotate at turn in a little better, and my first session was pretty crap between getting a feel for how the car felt and tons of traffic. My second session of the day was a little better, managed a lap just over 1:53, but mostly was filled with dodging traffic, a brand new M4 Comp that went off in turn 5 and just barely kept it out of the wall, and a M5 that spun right in front of my out of turn 11. 3rd session I managed the lap in the video below, a 1:52.47 on lap 2, and had a 2 laps later in the session where I was on pace for 1:50.35 before encountering traffic in turn 9. I ended up leaving early as the whole day felt a bit off. All told though, I still learned some, and the adjustments I made were definitely an improvement! In the 3rd sesssion my optimal lap was a 1:50.32, which would have been a PB. I still think I can get the car under 1:50 as it sits now, however It's looking like I won't have the chance to go back to Laguna any time soon, and I've got an intercooler and IS20 ready to swap in, so it's likely that will all get changed before I can go again. If that's the case, I'll have to think about what my lap goal becomes with the IS20, maybe 1:46?



Track name: Laguna Seca
Track location: CA
Lap time: 1:52.47
Year/model: 2019 Golf Sportwagen 4motion manual
Estimated total vehicle weight with driver: 3510
Estimated wheel horsepower: 218 (per APR..)
Fuel: 91
Tire size and model: 255/40r17 Hankook RS4
Estimated ambient temperature: 65 degrees
Notes on setup :
‘19 Golf Sportwagen 4motion manual
APR stage 1 91 tune
APR 350mm front brake kit, Hawk DTC-60 pads
GTI powerpack rear brakes. Ferodo DS2500 pads
Bilstein B16
034 camber mounts
Super pro front control arms
034 front and rear swaybars
17x9 Apex SM-10
255/40R17 Hankook R-S4
-2.1 front camber, -1.7 rear, 0 toe front, .1 toe in rear

Hey buddy, I happen to have went to laguna that day too and saw the Nissan crash. Everyone missed an entire session due to that but luckily they said he was gonna be ok.

I was there with a Miata and just trying to figure things out…

the MK7 platform is in fact a lot easier to drive than the mx5, and It’s debatable to say which one is more fun. I managed a 1:55 and an optimal of1:52 with everything stock and lowering springs + race alignment + large 2 piece rotors. This is a lot slower than my golf, and was supposed to be my performance machine lol…

the consolation prize is that I left the day with the OEM tires still fully in tact and OEM pads with no drama. Miata is cheap on consumable and perhaps that’s why there are still so many people tracking them.

I hope to get back out there with my golf soon.

 

[ckuhns]

Hey buddy, I happen to have went to laguna that day too and saw the Nissan crash. Everyone missed an entire session due to that but luckily they said he was gonna be ok.
View attachment 246662
I was there with a Miata and just trying to figure things out…

the MK7 platform is in fact a lot easier to drive than the mx5, and It’s debatable to say which one is more fun. I managed a 1:55 and an optimal of1:52 with everything stock and lowering springs + race alignment + large 2 piece rotors. This is a lot slower than my golf, and was supposed to be my performance machine lol…

the consolation prize is that I left the day with the OEM tires still fully in tact and OEM pads with no drama. Miata is cheap on consumable and perhaps that’s why there are still so many people tracking them.

View attachment 246663
I hope to get back out there with my golf soon.

Yeah, that was a scary situation, glad that they made it out of there without worse consequences.

Ah man, I’m terrible remembering people, I remember seeing the Miata, guess I didn’t recognize you! Hopefully someday I can have a go in something like that, they look super fun. With my new improvements, I’m super excited to get back to Laguna.

 

[Oversteermybagel]

Track name: New Hampshire Motor Speedway Road Course (NHMS chicane-chicane)
Track location: Loudon NH
Lap time: 1:19.8
Year/model: 2017 GTi Sport
Estimated total vehicle weight with driver: 3300
Estimated wheel horsepower: 230?
Fuel: 93
Tire size and model: 235/40/18 V730
Estimated ambient temperature: 65 degrees
Notes on setup :
Ohlins
CSS knuckles
RSL29 pads + RS3 ducts
A 'Built to send it' sticker
spare tire
aprox -2.2deg front camber -1.8 rear. Toe in gang.

First time at this track. I think the tighter courses with autox flow often get overlooked in new england, that is a shame. They are some of my favorite tracks to lap.

Here are some laps. Don't have my *best* lap on video, not that it matters much:

and just for fun here is stock power GTi absolutely not pulling on an off-the-shelf-tuned Focus ST

Super bumpy course with plenty of places to incur tire damage. Anyway, at the end of the day, this poor v730 with only 5? hours on it died doing what it loved

 

[Will_]

Track name: New Hampshire Motor Speedway Road Course (NHMS)
Track location: CA
Lap time: 1:19.8
Year/model: 2017 GTi Sport
Estimated total vehicle weight with driver: 3300
Estimated wheel horsepower: 230?
Fuel: 93
Tire size and model: 235/40/18 V730
Estimated ambient temperature: 65 degrees
Notes on setup :
Ohlins
CSS knuckles
RSL29 pads + RS3 ducts
A 'Built to send it' sticker
spare tire
aprox -2.2deg front camber -1.8 rear. Toe in gang.

First time at this track. I think the tighter courses with autox flow often get overlooked in new england, that is a shame. They are some of my favorite tracks to lap.

Here are some laps. Don't have my *best* lap on video, not that it matters much:

and just for fun here is stock power GTi absolutely not pulling on an off-the-shelf-tuned Focus ST

Super bumpy course with plenty of places to incur tire damage. Anyway, at the end of the day, this poor v730 with only 5? hours on it died doing what it loved
View attachment 246985

Looks like a touch more negative camber may be in order lol. How many sessions was that approximately, 25ish?

 

[Oversteermybagel]

>approximately, 25ish?

Hard to say. These tires have: 6 sessions, a full day of open track in which I drove ??? laps, 1 hr of open track which I drove ??? laps, an autox school setup like a test&tune with too much seat time, and 6 session + 1.5hr of open track which I drove ????


>Looks like a touch more negative camber may be in order lol.

Possibly. I rotated front to back on that tire because being a roval the front right is getting absolutely abused. I have been picking somewhat randomly which tires to put on the front because these v730s have absolutely no wear indicators. That being said the other tires look to be wearing without much ramp. I will take circumference measurements later and update here. My initial thought was that I killed the tire by abusing it by dropping it onto sharp gravel a couple times. Its the only tire that touched gravel all day. For example my crappy driving where I forgot to load the mechanical sympathy module shown below:

If I had to guess what it really needs more of is roll stiffness + pimp dampers to match. Single adjustable ohlins are a bit of a train wreck on a circuit this bumpy. Turn the damping up and its skittering all over the place. Turn them down and its bouncing on corner exit. Running the fronts pretty soft in this video (13 clicks out?) and even with my overdose on go-pro stabilization you can see its quite bouncy T1,T1a,T2

 

[R Golf]

Nice

Track name: New Hampshire Motor Speedway Road Course (NHMS chicane-chicane)
Track location: Loudon NH
Lap time: 1:19.8
Year/model: 2017 GTi Sport
Estimated total vehicle weight with driver: 3300
Estimated wheel horsepower: 230?
Fuel: 93
Tire size and model: 235/40/18 V730
Estimated ambient temperature: 65 degrees
Notes on setup :
Ohlins
CSS knuckles
RSL29 pads + RS3 ducts
A 'Built to send it' sticker
spare tire
aprox -2.2deg front camber -1.8 rear. Toe in gang.

First time at this track. I think the tighter courses with autox flow often get overlooked in new england, that is a shame. They are some of my favorite tracks to lap.

Here are some laps. Don't have my *best* lap on video, not that it matters much:

and just for fun here is stock power GTi absolutely not pulling on an off-the-shelf-tuned Focus ST

Super bumpy course with plenty of places to incur tire damage. Anyway, at the end of the day, this poor v730 with only 5? hours on it died doing what it loved
View attachment 246985

Nice driving. I haven't been to NHMS in years. Drove it back in my PCA days and with the California Superbike school. I really enjoyed it. With our cars it can be driven as a momentum course, and it looks like you take advantage of that.
-2.2 degrees should be at least sufficient camber for your setup. I agree with you that it's most likely a combo of a ton of laps and a bit too much abuse when it was on the loaded front.
On some of the squealing turns have you tried breathing off the steering to maintain grip instead of dialing in extra lock? It sounds counter-intuitive, but when you are at the cusp, sometimes we're asking too much from the tire and diailing out a smidge regains traction. Of course this advise is given with all the info of a 2 minute video vs. your many hours on track , but it may be worth a try if you haven't done so already.

 

[Oversteermybagel]

Nice

Nice driving. I haven't been to NHMS in years. Drove it back in my PCA days and with the California Superbike school. I really enjoyed it. With our cars it can be driven as a momentum course, and it looks like you take advantage of that.
-2.2 degrees should be at least sufficient camber for your setup. I agree with you that it's most likely a combo of a ton of laps and a bit too much abuse when it was on the loaded front.
On some of the squealing turns have you tried breathing off the steering to maintain grip instead of dialing in extra lock? It sounds counter-intuitive, but when you are at the cusp, sometimes we're asking too much from the tire and diailing out a smidge regains traction. Of course this advise is given with all the info of a 2 minute video vs. your many hours on track , but it may be worth a try if you haven't done so already.

You are absolutely right. I have plenty of work to do, especially on corner exit. Luckily this platform is a great starting point to learn better habits w.r.t not scrubbing the crap out of the front tires because its so punishing on them: now I just have to put in the work! Thanks!

 

[Bernb6]

Track name: Sonoma
Lap time: 1:55.8

At Sonoma with Corsa Club. Nice cool day and a good time chasing Supra and Mustang. Two videos posted:

and

Bern

Estimated ambient temperature: 60-75F
Year/model: 2017 GTI
Estimated total vehicle weight with driver & passenger: 3300
Estimated wheel horsepower: 300
Fuel: 91
Notes on setup:
Power train: 034 Stage 2, DSG tune, Racingline oil cooler, BRSK-ER12S plugs
Suspension: RSB, trailing arm, 034 lowering springs, dogbone, -2.5 camber F&R
Tires: 245/40r18 Nitto NT-01, 4th track day, targeted hot pressure of 35psi F, 34psi R
Brakes: Stoptech 4 pot, 2 piece rotors, Pagid RS29 yellow

 

[jawndropper]

Track name: VIR Patriot
Track location: Alton, VA
Time: 1:00.6 (super unofficial)
Year/model: 2017 GTI
Estimated total vehicle weight with driver: 3200
Estimated wheel horsepower: 360 (APR IS38)
Fuel: 93
Tire size and model: 235/40/18 Falken Azenis 615k+
Estimated ambient temperature: 70
Notes on setup (turbo, suspension setup, rain, frightened, etc.): OEM IS38, APR downpipe intake & intercooler, KW v1 Coilovers, 34psi cold, ferrodo ds2500 pads, rpf1 18x8. first day at VIR, 3rd session on this track.