Gti Jake’s first track day

So after finally upgrading my non performance package brakes to ST40 355mm I finally felt confident my car was up for some track duty.

Fresh brake fluid, oil change, and Firestone Indy 500s installed within the last few thousand miles I started browsing the SCCA site for an event to hit. I landed on Track Night in America which are held all over the US as a casual Friday evening event featuring three 20 minute sessions for each of three run groups. Some will criticize it for not having any formal instruction or a proper path to running solo at other events, but to get your first taste of track driving for $160 it was hard to pass up, especially with so many unknowns.

Leading up to my big debate Friday May 10th at Carolina Motorsports Park I couldn’t help but wonder if my car was really up to the task. Would the tires be ok? What about my open diff? My car being a 2016 S 6MT it didn’t have the luxury of VAQ. Would the street pads be ok? Brake bias? Was the OEM fluid ok?

Finally with all my unknowns on the car what about me? I’d watched several in car videos of CMP to learn the course, but what class should I run? I have tons of racing experience, over 150 races between AMA motocross, GNCC, AWRC, and CRA as well as some Auto X and a few hundred passes down the 1/4 mile, but no actual track time in a car. Karting has been a recent hobby, but reading all of the track guy threads here that all seemed inferior compared to the all mighty HPDE.

As the big day approached I bounced back and forth between what class to run and played weather man trying to guess if it would downpour or not. I wrapped up my Baun Performance orders, finished my aircraft at my real job, and as my work week came to a close I finally pulled the trigger. I was signed up, money spent, and on the list for the Advanced run group.

Day before I topped off fluids, completely emptied out the car, checked lug nuts (stud conversion, get one) and jacked up the car for a quick once over. With 72,000 miles of daily driving under its belt there was bound to be something I’d find...and there it was. Both the v band at the turbo and the o2 sensor where coming loose. Torqued them down and I was excited and prepared. Snell M2015 rated helmet packed and I was ready to go.

I couldn’t talk anyone into tagging along so I was off into the unknown solo. Drove the hour and a half to Kershaw and filled up with 93 octane about three miles from the track. Lately I’ve been running an e30 blend, but would’ve skipped it even if it was an option in favor of fuel mileage as everyone warns to have a full tank.

I got to the track right after the gates opened and picked a place to pit. Staked my claim on a spot with my igloo and folding chair and started off with grabbing my packet and tech stickers for the car and helmet.





With some time to kill before the drivers meeting I made my rounds talking to guys who clearly had some experience. After a while we had our drivers meeting and went over tha basics of how the day would go. Novice would do track touring laps behind a pace car, then immediately after Advanced Group would run the first of our 20 minute sessions. Followed by Intermediate & Novice. At the end of the pregame pep talk they offered anyone who hadn’t been to this track to join the Novice group for the tour laps. I spoke up and asked to have a lap just to see the track. Looking at my wrist band signifying Advanced then back at me with a puzzled look and said “even though you’re in Advanced” I said yes, as I’d never been to CMP. They quickly changed from puzzled to understanding and said “yeah no problem, just let them get a head start and take a lap, then loop back to the paddock and join your group”.

I threw my helmet on and stopped at the end of pit road. Front windows down, rears vented, oil temp alive and they waved me out. I took my time about 40-60mph to take in the braking point, rough spots and most importantly the flaggers stations around the course. Then feeling calm and confident having seen the surface in person I exited the track and looped back to pit road.

Three brand new ZL1 Camaro (two of them Track Editions), A Hennessy Z28, a full bolt on Camaro SS, a C6 Z06 on Hoosiers, caged E36, several Miata in full track prep, and variety of mustangs rounded out our group of 20 something cars. They pointed us to the track and the sinister growl of a few hundred thousand dollars worth of cars made their way into turn one.

We all took it easy the first lap, warming tires and adjusting our run order. I let a few Camaros by while some Miatas worked towards a more reasonable mid pack spot. As we apex’d turn 14 the scream of 650hp track beasts filled the air and it was hammer down. My first true test of the ST40s as we all braked somewhat early into turn one. The gti felt AMAZING and confidently planted. For the first two laps we further sorted the run order through a series of point bys and clean passes. As the track opened up so did the pace and by lap four the five Camaros had checked out and I had a Z06 a distant 7th behind me. A few laps later I was braking deeper and becoming more aggressive with left foot braking around the sweepers at aid in my lack of LSD grip. The E36 eventually tracked me down and a smooth pass by point by we soon after finished our session.

What a awesome experience! Why did I wait so long to try this (brakes dummy), but seriously I should’ve bought my BBK a long time ago and tried this! I found my way around to talk to guys in my group. The fastest ZL1 was also the guy who’s YouTube videos of the track I’d been watching. His personal best at CMP was a 1:46, but that day he said a 1:49 was the best he’d logged. Much to his and the Z06 I’d managed to leave behind surprise I explained that this was actually my first time ever on a track. Looking for pointers or constructive criticism nobody had noticed anything about the little white gti to raise any concerns. I was easy enough to pick out being the only Volkswagen out of 100+ cars to take the track.

The second session was basically a mirror image of the first, but this time I was able to keep up with or at least in sight of the regular Camaro SS for a full lap once thins opened up. The e36 made his way up by never close enough to justify a point by, then only to fade back again as the laps went by. The smile under my helmet was probably cheesy as the get right up until I about shit myself. The oil temp had been consistently 275*F and coolant near 250* until out of nowhere the MFD yelled ENGINE OVERTEMP (idiot). I backed off the the needle fell from 280*F

As the temp dropped my heart came back to its original place in my chest and I made a decision to keep a better eye on it. No harm no foul the second session wrapped up with more beautiful open track and big stupid smiles!

More BSing in the pits, talk about the clouds of smoke periodically seen in my rear view mirror and a check of all fluids (well, all but one lol) and as the sun sank lower it was time for session three. I talked two guys I’d made friends with from the novice group into checking my lap times (just out of curiosity and a baseline for my next visit).

Back on the track, Camaros checked out and Miatas x3 did their best to fend me off by being the first out on the track. Basically the second session all over again, but with more frequent pedaling to avoid overheat and the e36 getting the best of me like he did in session 1. Overall I felt great about my time in the car and although this was far from a race I was happy to have run in the front half of our group the entire day, especially with much more prepared cars in the line up compared to my daily driven, baby hauling, commuter econo hatch golf gti. As we neared the end of our 20 minutes the fluid id forgotten lit up the MFD. 10 Miles till Empty! Ah crap, out of fuel it’s time to call it a day (immediately thinking of the great low fuel scare of 2018 via HOON).

I was pleasantly surprised to have used an entire tank of fuel (or damn near all of it) in 60 minutes of track time and extremely happy with how well the car did overall. Covered in brake dust, rubber and more rubber (lots of it lol) the little gti that could had gone the distance without any real drama.

I talked cars for a while and met the lone Audi S3 owner on the property (almost a Volkswagen, but he was just there to watch this time). Two people individually clocked me at 1:58 during my laps with the caged e36. A full 9 seconds off pace from the ZL1 track edition if been looking up to, but you know what I’m happy with it and still as I write this a few days after the fact smiling like an idiot.

Bottom line is get out there and try it if you’ve ever wanted time on the track! I’m sure the die hard track guys will say I did it all wrong as HPDE would’ve been the smart way to start out. I’m also sure my jumping off the deep end into Advanced will catch some flack as well, but being a non competitive event and based solely on your experience / comfort in race situations (passing, flags, ect) not necessarily your lap times in this case I did make the right call (per the SCCA officials I talked to at the event). Just be 100% honest with yourself and keep in mind the risk of smashing your prized gti into someone’s prized 911 or Z06. If you don’t have tons of racing experience there’s no shame in working the bugs out in novice.

Don’t get me wrong, I still look forward to attending a HPDE in the future to take the first steps towards starting to build my skill set. This is just the beginning and I’m looking forward to lots of: Track time/tires/brakes as my next mods (as well as a radiator upgrade for good measure).

Congrats!

Well done! These things are tons of fun and you get to meet very interesting people.

Interested to find out what wheels, suspension you have on the car if you would share.

Godspeed!
Dave

Great write up Jake! Definitely a bucket list thing for me to do! The GTI is the first car I’ve ever had that would be up to anything but the straightaways! Lol

Thanks for sharing!

Awesome write up. Glad to hear you had a blast.

Nice to see more people getting into the sport. It's addicting for sure. I'd highly consider getting some high temp fluid though, the oem fluid will be the weak point. Some more track oriented pads as well.

The heat issues you had so early on are likely due to that big fmic you're running. Those are great for keeping the iat's down but they do block a considerable amount of air to the radiator. I'd consider switching to a sandwich mounted intercooler.

Nice!

This was your first time on track? Choosing Advanced is an interesting choice, but i guess you survived. a 1:58 is quite solid. We were there a few weeks ago for the Lemons race and we set fastest time of the entire 24hr race with a 1:55.0 in a 2700lb caged Lincoln with a 300hp V8. hehe

P.S. You need proper track pads.

I missed that whole line about jumping right into advanced. So here's me giving you flack for that... That's inconsiderate to other drivers who are expecting you to be completely predictable. The clubs I usually run with do a good job vetting out the experience levels and don't just let novice drivers go into an advanced group. Slow your role, do at least one season in novice, go off track a few times, get called in for a "talking to" by track control and then move up the ranks after you actually do have the experience.


(you called it that you'd receive some flack for that )

It’s interesting the differences in how these events are curated. The club I participate with (PCA Founders Region) doesn’t care who you are or what you’ve done. If it’s your first event with the club, you’re put into novice. Once you demonstrate competence, then you can be promoted. Perhaps that’s a bit rigid, but it does try to ensure a demonstrated level of competence at least commensurate with the run groups.

Awesome write up! Actually just looked up the closest track to me today as I've been really wanting to do this (over 2 hours away) but reading how much fun you had doing this has made me want to try even more. I have PP brakes and was going to just switch out pads and rotors this summer but now you have me considering just biting the bullet for a BBK to handle something like this.

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Very nice write up and congrats for getting out on the track! Not a fan of the "advanced if you say so" grouping, but it seemed to work for you which is what matters. Hope you continue...sounds like you will !

Great post! Glad to see another one hooked up onto track life [emoji2]



Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

Good to see another GTI from Charlotte running on track. If you enjoyed CMP, you will have a blast at VIR. Without an oil cooler, Summer DE’s mean peddling to get temps cooled down.

I will be back to VIR in the fall when ambient cool back down.

Godspeed! said:

Well done! These things are tons of fun and you get to meet very interesting people.

Interested to find out what wheels, suspension you have on the car if you would share.

Godspeed!
Dave

Click to expand...

Full mod list:

-APR stage 2

-Baun Performance FMIC

-Baun Performance TBE

-RS7 or brisk plugs (changed every 10k)

-BFI stage 2 mounts (engine/transmission/dog bone)

-Injen open intake with grille scoop

-DKM Twin disk clutch (MS)

-ECS bleeder block and lines

-VWR springs with Audi rear pads

-Audi A4 sport wheels 18x8 ET47

-Firehawk Indy 500 235/40-18

-StopTech ST40 355mm

-10 & 20mm spacers F/R

-ECS stud conversion




I plan to add a triple pass radiator, not change the FMIC. It’s not an airflow issue as soon as I lift the temp plummets back to a reasonable 240-250*F in seconds. The liquid cooled turbo and manifold is just over coming the capacity of the OEM heat sink.

Track pads someday, but I think y’all can understand my not dropping $600 on track pads just to try my first track day after just installing $1400 BBK

Lack of LSD is what’s hurting lap times the most as I’m fighting traction 90% of each turn via TCS & or trail braking (adding even more heat and stress to the cooling system). I have customers who track regularly with my FMIC and factory PP VAQ who’ve never had cooling issues even with 100hp more than I’m making