"OMG! ... these stick like *****!?!?!" – THX723

Truer words have never been spoken…….

Well, my first foray into road racing was successful, largely due to some super-sticky r-compound rubber.

Mounted on OEM rims, this was an ultra-stealthy mod at RoadAmerica, the world’s fastest road course. People saw the 4-door on stock rims and immediately discounted it. Little did they know.

My first lap out was a little hairy- I initially thought to myself “what the hell have I done” as the car was sliding and weaving all over the place. It took two laps for the tires to shed the mold release and sticker adhesive, eventually settling down and getting grippy.

Then came the fun.

After a couple of hot laps as passenger with Riffster in his Beastie Coupe, learning the lines and braking points, I felt confident enough to start pushing the car a little. Lap by lap, corner by corner, I fed progressively more throttle into it as the tires caught a little heat and my confidence grew. Soon I was all over the Z06 Corvette who had started out in front of me. He would actually SLOW me down in the corners, killing my exit speed and pulling away in the (long) straights. Once the curves came, I was again all over the Electron Blue ‘vette. He begrudgingly pulled to the side, waving me by, only after receiving the blue/yellow flag indicating “faster car coming….pull over”

I never saw him again. Able to put down power earlier in the corner than the RWD cars, the Diamond Graphite “X” car was simply too fast.

Another Corvette driver, this one in a 96 Grand Sport, had the audacity to comment to me while we were in the grid (mind you, this is after I gushed over his LT4-powered collectible) that he was looking at one of those sedans “for his wife”

By turn 5, he was probably thinking about buying one for himself, as he had his mirror full of Infiniti. Unable to lose me in the straights, slowing me up in the corners, he made an error in judgment passing a slower Prowler. His beautiful machine over-rotated in the Kink, affording me a great view of one frightened ‘vette driver as he rear-ended the wall at around 75-85 MPH. The rear end exploded in a shower of fiberglass as the front lifted off of the ground about a foot and a half. The driver walked away uninjured, but sans vehicle.

The best matchup of the weekend was probably with a Porsche 928S4. The owner/driver was a great guy who loved the sport and knew his car well. We paced each other for a few laps, finally ending up behind a jacka$$ driving a blue GTO. This clueless wonder would brake early, take the wrong line, and then refuse to let us pass since he could hold us both at bay on the straights. I gave up after 1-2 laps and let the Porsche by to see if he could fare better. Next lap he waved me back by out of sheer frustration. Riffster, having experienced a similar problem with the same guy, informed the event organizer of the discourteous and potentially dangerous driving of this individual. He turned out to be the organizer’s roommate, and we didn’t see him on the track again.

The biggest smile-producer of the weekend was after a session which included a Viper, 2 Porsches, a smattering of ‘vettes, and one Acura TL. We were turned loose on the track a few seconds apart for safety reasons, but rapidly enough to get everyone on the track before the lead cars made it around.

Now, with a full day of racing under my belt and being somewhat used to the different breakaway characteristics of the r-compound Avons, I was flat hauling a$$.
I would look back in the straights to see if anyone needed to pass, but nobody came-a-knocking. On the long straights, the TL would make an appearance, but would quickly fade in the twisties.

After the session, my brakes were fried and needed replacement. During the pad swap, the owner of the Acura TL came over to our pit area to talk. “You were really booking out there,” he said to me as I grunted to pull the wheel off of my car.

“So were you. I saw you there most of the time. You were making up some ground on the back straight,” I replied.

“That wasn’t me—that was the instructor. He couldn’t catch you.”

I grinned ear-to-ear after that one.

 

Nice!!!

 

LMAO!

Good work ChicagoX. I had a lot of fun reading the experience. I think we have another VQ that just bit the tracking bug!!! Welcome to the wonderful world of motorsport.

 

Absolutely great report Chicago, Excellent driving. Nice to hear what the X is capable of with the right driver .

 

Thanks, guys.

Clint: I think I ate the bug, and now it's laying eggs in my stomach....

Here's a few pics.

 

And a couple more:

 

Please notice in the last pic how small the contact patch is on the driver's front tire.....do you think I could use some suspension work?

 

Great license plate! LMAO.

Awesome write up Chicago. You're pretty ballsy to go out on a fast course like that where opportunities to hit walls are abundant and all on your first event! Great job though on the driving. Those R-Compounds sure make one hell of a difference, even if you are still on stock suspension. Did you turn off your VDC? What pads, fluid were you using? Got videos?

 

Which one did you like the best?


I was originally running stock pads with 5-day-old fluid, but after toasting them on day 2, I swapped the fronts for some Hawk HPS as per a rec from My350Z. Bad move. The poor initial bite, high rotor temps, and my general abuse cooked the rotors pretty bad. There was a serious diaper-check moment in what I think was turn 12 when the brakes gave up the ghost and I was coming in VERY hot trying to pull down from 115-120......the car in front of me got mighty large. Resigning myself to an "excursion" as Riff calls it into the kitty litter, the brakes came back and V.D.C and A.W.D and G.O.D and the many arms of Vishnu all collaborated to help me up the hill with only a taste of the rumble strip. Hell yes VDC was on.

 

HPS?!?!? OMG! ... who recommended that?

The 'S' stands for 'Street'. Hawk HP+ would have been the correct choice. Back when I was also on the oem brakes (non-brembo), I had satisfactory results using the HP+. They performed commendably. By the time they start to fade ... it was about the time to back off and cut the oem brake system a slack, before they self destruct. The HP+ is quite harsh on the rotors, however.

Also be wary of others' recommendation to step up to someting much higher. I was always wary of using pads that are significantly better than the HP+ level with the non-brembo brakes. While the exotic pads can handle the heat and abuse, I'm not so certain for the stock brakes.

Also look to Carbotech Bobcats. They are better than the Hawk HP+ and much less abbressive to the rotor, but also cost a lot more. By the way, the fine folks at Carbotech are not so keen on selling anything higher than the Bobcat line pads to non-brembo G35 and 350Z trackers for the very same reason I stated above.

 

The OEM offerings performed far beyond my expectations after everything I had heard/read about RoadAmerica; of course, I did use about 2 years worth of pad in about 4 sessions.
The Hawk pads were simply unacceptable for the application.

Edit: If anyone is interested in a MUCH BETTER write-up of the weekend, here's a link to an article written by Riffster on FA:http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthre...b=5&o=&fpart=1

 

Bah ... looks like you already replied. I edited my post above ... please have another read.

The stock pads are indeed pretty good for what it is. That is also how the G35's able to post stunning 60-0, 80-0 braking performance. However, once they reach above the intended operating temperature range (easily achieve during a track event) ... they simply melt away. If you haven't tried the HP+ or BobCats ... you should. They bite much better than stock and are able to withstand more heat.

 

Pass any RX-8's out there?

 

Thread of the year material here. Cheers on a fine run. Wanting a CTS V for that track to come and hunt you down "Mo Fo"..LOL

The cool move on your part is leaving the VDC on. Nice. See you in NJ with your slicks against the turanzas on my slip sliding RWD. Video next time X. What certs do you need to race with these guys?

 

I can attest to the HP+ pads doing a fine job. Thanks Clint for the recommendation. They performed admirably on my stock non-brembo setup and I expect the same thing again next Fri. You're a brave soul Chicago for using the oem pads on a fast track such as RA. I wouldn't have even tried it. I'm not suprised they got toasted away that fast. They oem pads don't really have any business on a track. They have a operating temperature quite a bit below what you will encounter on track days. You should definitely try the HP+ or the Bobcats. Either way though I would still recommend swapping them out after race day to maximize your rotor life and avoid squeals.