If you want to watch amatures drive their sports cars around Sebring November 10...or November 11th make a plan to come visit. It is free for spectators and if you ask a lot of drivers will be willing to take you for a ride. There is a passenger fee of $20.00 and you must sign a waiver stating that yes you realize that it is dangerous...and you will need a helmet. Chin motorsports rents helmets. I am taking a guy I work with that has wanted to go since I started doing track days two years ago. Since I only go every six months this will be my second time solo and second time I can take a pasenger. It is going to be a great day

Some of the types of cars are: Elise, Viper, Ford GTX1, Corvette Z06, Carrera 911, Boxster, Lamborghini Gallardo, GTI VR6, Acura NSX, M3, Cayman, STi, Ferrari Challenge & 575, Ariel Atom, Miatas of course,...Oh yeah G35:0...etc.

I will report how the new brakes held up



Here are some old posts...

 

Well again I had an absolute blast at Sebring with Chin Motorsports. This was my first solo day and I must admit it was the most fun I have had yet. I brought along a friend who was a student of mine from five years ago. He has since graduated college. I also ran into a former instructor of mine...Bart...who was a joy to work with all day. He is very patient, informative and just interesting in general to talk to. Anybody would be lucky to have him as instructor, especially when they first start doing track days.

I still run my car totally stock or at least with "street" equipment. I have Hawk HPS pads and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires. I believe from watching my videos that my best lap of the day must be about 2 min 55 seconds. Of course I say this now that I am home in one piece like I cared during my track day. I am of course happy that I once again came home in one piece.

The "good, the bad and the ugly" would be within my first few hot laps of the day. I went VERY wide in turn seventeen coming way closer to the tire wall under the bridge than I ever want to be again and then missed turn 13 braking straight into the run off area within the same lap. So I turned around, drove into the pits and said hello to the lead instructor. I explained my error, what I did, and he checked over the car. I then took a couple of cool down laps in the paddock area and took a deep breath. I then analyzed what I had done wrong which mainly was not completing all my braking in a straight line and losing braking force on the inside front tire as the weight of the car shifted while I was trying to finish my braking. The rest of the day was very good in my book with only minor errors or misjudgments...you know no lap is perfect. I also tried very hard not to rev my engine over 5500 rpm even though the red-line is 6500 again trying to ensure that I drive my baby home in one piece. Other Nissan drivers have told me that this is not necessary but I feel better about my short shifting. I also used fourth gear coming out of turn 17 even though I could probably have gone down into 3 only because it simplifies the turn for me saving a downshift and I am not racing. Good thing or I would be losing

My friend got to ride with me for much of the day after I got into my rhythm of course. My former instructor also gave him a ride. He also took some great pictures. A small sample follows. The video is long about 35 minutes and I have not watched the Streetfire video since I obviously have a non-compressed version on my own computer. If there is a problem with it let me know...not that I could do too much to fix it. Hope someone enjoys the video and the few pics.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/d070e5cd-1c09-4111-9f7d-991301195eda.htm

 

this was from my first day at Sebring with NASA

NASA membership: $40.00
1-Day entry fee to Historic Sebring Raceway: $285.00
Extra Maintenance Costs: $80.00 and counting
The chance to ride in a 911 racecar: Apparently $285.00 and some good luck.
Getting to drive my own G35 coupe around Sebring with an experienced racer coaching me: Apparently $285.00… But I thought the experience was priceless.

Around 4:00 AM the alarm clock rings to start one of the most exciting days of my automotive life…I was too cheap to pay for an overnight stay near the racetrack. My wonderful wife, full of fear of me being injured or killed, makes me some coffee and makes me a care package for the day. She just lost both of her parents in the last year and half, so letting me go was not easy for her. I leave with a kiss and a wave goodbye. After driving in the dark for almost 2 hours the first hint of light begins to show as I pull up to the gates of heaven ..uh.. Sebring Raceway. I arrive a few minutes early and am one of the first cars. That means I get to use/park in one of the track’s pit garages

I unload my goodies for the day, food, water, tools, brake pads, helmet, oil, brake fluid. Luckily I did not need any of the automotive supplies I brought. I checked all the fluid levels, tire pressure, say a little prayer. Put on my magnetic numbers I made with the help of my wife getting the supplies…take a picture. Am I really at Sebring with my own pit! I met some nice people, went through tech, attended my class, and then joined the line of cars on pit lane to meet our instructors.

Walt comes up, I introduce myself, we talk about my car, his past experience, and my experience and expectations for the day. I told him that I play a lot of simulation games… he was unimpressed. I told him I was comfortable pushing my car a bit around the local interstate ramps…he was unimpressed. I told him I could heel and toe and my goals were to have fun and not injure myself or the car. Walt said we would get along fine. So we get in the car and appreciate the extra headroom from not having a sunroof. We have plenty of room even with our helmets on. He drives for two laps, we switch and I proceed to drive like I must have had my eyes closed while Walt was trying to show me the line. But at 3.7 miles and 17 turns, it is a bit hard to remember the line in only two laps. After the 35 minute session that seemed like 10 minutes, we park the car. Walt asks me if I would like to ride with him during his session in his 911 racecar to see where the smoothest line is… HELL YEAH! That ride time really gave me a huge head start over my fellow drivers that had no experience like me. During my second and third sessions, I was certainly not the fastest driver, of course, but I did “pass” a Mustang Cobra, and two Corvettes… one of which was a Z06. During the last session when I caught the Z06 again, Walt said “You know the driver of that Z06 must be pissed he getting passed by an Infiniti G35.” Hehehe. About 15 minutes later in the session the driver of the Z06 caught back up and passed me. He had finally started to really learn the correct line. His instructor did not give him a 35 minute ride in his race car

I made a couple major mistakes, at least in my opinion. I just about dropped a wheel off the track just before the start of a rumble strip. Walt told me if I was any farther over there was a bit of a hole/dip before the start of the rumble strip that could have caused some damage if I hit it. Turn 17 was also the hardest for me to learn. So after passing an inexperienced driver in the Cobra, and keeping up with a somewhat experienced guy in I think a Porsche 926, Walt says “ok, we only need to get turn 17 right” as I’m going through turn 16. I then proceed to attempt 17 way too fast, forgetting that the 180 degree turn tightens up half way through. I let off the gas, the front end plows a bit, then I felt some quick hits on the brakes as the VDC helps the car rotate in the direction the front wheels are pointing. Yes, I left the VDC on and it interfered very little. At the Button Hole it came on fairly often and was annoying, but I realized I was trying to get on the gas too soon. Once my line was smooth, the VDC almost never came on, and I was very happy for the help in turn 17. This was the last time I really screwed up turn 17. During the third session Walt told me I finally figured out the turn and I was fairly consistent.

The concentration required is unbelievable, even at my noobie pace. You are directing and controlling your car at high speeds, looking in you mirrors for people catching you to let them pass, trying to look at the corner workers to make sure no flags are being waved, looking ahead, hearing and feeling for any signs you car is starting to go away…like the brakes and tires. I was being as easy as I could on the brakes and did not rev the engine above 5500. I usually had the revs no higher than 5000. I didn’t want to break the car, especially at a track event. I can’t wait until I can go again

I was so busy looking at where I was going, I couldn’t even tell you my speeds in the corners…just the gear and an approximation of rpm’s. I can say there are four places you can easily exceed 100mph. So turn 1 your in fourth gear, apex near the wall and floor it at apex drift out and hold fourth gear through turn two & reach about 5500rpm. Brake, keep to the right, shift in to third and don’t turn in too early. Left into 3, right into 4, stay to the right and if you don’t turn in too early to the left going into 5 you can floor it before you even reach the apex. I shift through fourth gear, fifth around turn 7 at full throttle, but shifting around 5000. This is where I am catching some inexperienced people in faster cars, because my instructor had me going through the previous esses so smoothly. Trying to be easy on the brakes, I start to slow before the bridge, fourth, third, and should be second gear but I’m getting on the gas too early in the buttonhole hairpin and upsetting the VDC so I stayed in third. You are then full throttle through turns 8 & 9 reaching about 100 again. Slow for turn 10, fifth, fourth, then get into third gear, don’t apex early and ease on the gas at the apex… drift to the left. Its gas on, shift into fourth gear through the left hand turn 11, touch the rumble strip on right at 12. I then straighten the car, brake, third gear as you let the car drift to the left side of the track. If you once again don’t turn in too early, you can get on the gas at the apex of the right hand turn of 13. Full throttle, fourth gear, fifth gear and ease off the gas just a bit and fly through the left turn of 14 and remember to let the car drift out to the right after 14’s first apex because there is another left apex coming…because if you can’t turn for the second apex there is a wall waiting to greet you. You need to stay on the left side of the track after the second apex, straighten up and brake for turn 15, shift into fourth gear. Another set of esses which I love…right, left and continue to drift out to the left wide. If you do this right, you can get a pretty straight shot at the right hand turn 16, get on the gas before the apex, let the right side tires get on the rumble strip and out to the left as you enter the longest straight at Sebring. You will go through fifth gear and get into sixth if you are short shifting like I am to be as easy on the car as possible. I brake, fifth gear, then fourth and finally learn to take turn 17 kind of like a three apex turn. Fastest at the first apex, and continue to SLOW DOWN with a tiny hint of trail braking. If you succeed at this, at least to some degree in my case, you can start getting on the gas just after you pass the second apex. I was not getting much of a launch out of 17 since I kept the car in fourth gear, though I should have been in third. But I took so long to learn a smooth and quick line through the long right hander I didn’t want to change anything. You then accelerate out of 17, get into fifth gear, move to the right side of the track, brake, shift into fourth…start all over again

I leave the track about 5:30PM and try to drive like a normal law abiding person on the 2 hour drive home playing in my mind over and over the wonderful day I had with my Infiniti G35 coupe
__________________

 

I have not been on the board for quite a while, but at least my membership is up to date. The mini-meet looked like fun in the Tampa/St. Pete area. I can't believe it was just yesterday and I just saw the thread. Well at any rate, I was representing us at Sebring again for the third time. Had a great time once again, car was very reliable, and I qualified to drive solo in the afternoon. The video is long, 25 minutes, but there is alot more traffic in the video than my last one. At the end of the day, after my 45 minute solo session you could actually hear the hot Michelins sticking to the pavement while driving down pit lane.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/78f8ffd5-8519-4c8c-93d2-9855015f18ba.htm

 

If no one else does, I really love your vids and write ups...

 

Since r10apple would like a write up...one will follow. As for now, if you think the G35 only plows into understeer this is the second half of my tank slapper I did today. Thankfully my superhuman driving skills helped to save the day

More pictures, video, and a writeup to follow...later.

Colour Tech South Motorsports Photography took the picture

Before



After

 

lol looks awesome
great save

 

+1! looks like it could've been a real bad day.

 

wow - looks like you had an AMAZING time. I would love to do this! I can't wait until i can go someday!

-Sean

 

It was an amazing time. Though it would not have been if I had not managed to save that slide. Not only would I have damaged a car I special ordered and waited three months for, but it was only the second session of the day. I probably logged another 180 miles after this incident. I believe I drove around 260 miles on the track Saturday. I will again do a writeup but the weekend is busy and now I am fighting a cold The picture of me and the friend that went...I was wearing the hat...was taken after my slide and he went out with me afterward the slide as well!