I'm going to become a track rat

[Kgolf31]

Finally finished up my first HPDE yesterday at Mid-Ohio!

Caught 2 wet sessions in the AM and 2 dry sessions in the PM. The wet was an interesting experience, little to no traction certainly sums it up. But it was good experience.

There are plenty of areas to work on, obviously. China Beach, Madness, The Esses is a pretty tricky section to get it right. I was being a baby braking into China Beach...the first session I hit oil into the braking zone and it was not a fun experience. Kept it straight and all...just had the o-shi moment. It was still a little cold and the track wasn't completely dried up, so threshold braking wasn't really worked on at all

Overall though, It was really fun. I'm amazing at what type of grip is out there.

Here's my last session. Critique if you want.

[Finnegan]

Too long to view all of it now. But, looks like you have another addiction to add to AutoX. Looks like a fun track, with elevation changes, off camber turns, esses, etc. That's great, as it means there's a lot to learn and practice on! Also looks like you're not making "fast in slow out" mistakes, excellent. I like wet track days, as it really forces one to slow down a bit and take a very smooth approach to inputs in order to maximize all available traction. Track is very different from AutoX isn't it? (I went the other direction, and it was another world, but a fun world that opened up.)

[TexasZed4MC]

Nice to see another guy get bit by the track bug! haha Good luck and have fun!

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Too long to view all of it now. But, looks like you have another addiction to add to AutoX. Looks like a fun track, with elevation changes, off camber turns, esses, etc. That's great, as it means there's a lot to learn and practice on! Also looks like you're not making "fast in slow out" mistakes, excellent. I like wet track days, as it really forces one to slow down a bit and take a very smooth approach to inputs in order to maximize all available traction. Track is very different from AutoX isn't it? (I went the other direction, and it was another world, but a fun world that opened up.)

Yes, certainly another addiction to AutoX. Mid-Ohio is really local (1 hr away). So I always watched ALMS, Indycar...etc. I grew a huge interest on this track as my first DE, mission accomplished.

This track (apparently) has a reputation of being extremely slick under wet conditions. The esses is actually all polished, so slick it was crazy. I was sliding every time around. It was pretty funny. I asked the instructor where exactly the wet line was prior to heading out the first session and he responded "Wherever you have traction".

That certainly summed it up.

AutoX is COMPLETELY different. It was really hard to get it down. 1 single steering input and using the throttle to control the steering.

Originally Posted by TexasZed4MC

Nice to see another guy get bit by the track bug! haha Good luck and have fun!

Thanks!

[Kgolf31]

It this common to see on tires after a track day?

It's rubber build-up from other cars it seems. Any easy way to get this off besides peeling it by hand?

[Finnegan]

Yes, common, and I haven't found a great way to remove it other than to drive it off (I'm not patient enough to remove it by hand).

Some is from other tires, some is from your own (heat, friction, degree of slip angle, etc.). Bottom line, it's part of the game. What kind of hot tire temps were you running? (Learning the track, and the line, means being a bit offline a bit, and that tends to increase the addition of "marbles" to your tires.)

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Yes, common, and I haven't found a great way to remove it other than to drive it off (I'm not patient enough to remove it by hand).

Since you were learning the track (and line), and since it was wet, you were probably off in the "marbles" (where lots of lost rubber is), and that exacerbated this. There's always some degree of this in track driving, but I think you ended up with more given track conditions and learning curve. Bottom line, it's part of the game, but should be a bit less pronounced most of the time.

When the 135i lost it going into thunder alley I was told to go wide and I knew I was in marbles there. I knew the whole marbles thing and what-not, just didn't know they liked tires

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

When the 135i lost it going into thunder alley I was told to go wide and I knew I was in marbles there. I knew the whole marbles thing and what-not, just didn't know they liked tires

Edited my initial reply, sorry. Your tires are hot--really hot--and if you add some nice soft rubber to a really hot bit of other rubber, there's a tendency for the two to merge. The one and only time I ran the Sumitomos at the track (first track day) the tread got hot enough to burn my hand if I left it on the tire. Pressure was just at 40 PSI hot, but if I pushed quickly with a finger, it left an indentation in the soft and melty rubber. Some of the "streams" of rubber that day were from my own tires; chunks were from me being in the marbles a few times (learning, avoiding things, just as with you).

Star Specs aren't so bad, and the tread blocks, and worn tires mean less tread squirm (and heat). I've also learned to control my slip angles a bit more and don't work the tires quite so hard, which means more consistent tire temps (and consistency of traction) during a session.

Again, normal stuff, and goes with the game. The other stuff about managing tires, and etc. just comes with tire, instruction, experience, etc. Nothing new there either, same as learning the tricks and little things in AutoX.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Yes, common, and I haven't found a great way to remove it other than to drive it off (I'm not patient enough to remove it by hand).

Some is from other tires, some is from your own (heat, friction, degree of slip angle, etc.). Bottom line, it's part of the game. What kind of hot tire temps were you running? (Learning the track, and the line, means being a bit offline a bit, and that tends to increase the addition of "marbles" to your tires.)

I couldn't take hot temp (My instructor runs time trials and it was right after my run group, so he wanted me to ride with him)

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Edited my initial reply, sorry. Your tires are hot--really hot--and if you add some nice soft rubber to a really hot bit of other rubber, there's a tendency for the two to merge. The one and only time I ran the Sumitomos at the track (first track day) the tread got hot enough to burn my hand if I left it on the tire. Pressure was just at 40 PSI hot, but if I pushed quickly with a finger, it left an indentation in the soft and melty rubber. Some of the "streams" of rubber that day were from my own tires; chunks were from me being in the marbles a few times (learning, avoiding things, just as with you).

Star Specs aren't so bad, and the tread blocks, and worn tires mean less tread squirm (and heat). I've also learned to control my slip angles a bit more and don't work the tires quite so hard, which means more consistent tire temps (and consistency of traction) during a session.

Again, normal stuff, and goes with the game. The other stuff about managing tires, and etc. just comes with tire, instruction, experience, etc. Nothing new there either, same as learning the tricks and little things in AutoX.

Yea, I didn't know if it was particular with the RS3s or not. Good to know it's "Normal"