VIR North Course

[blue-mayhem]

Awesome Doug!!! I'll have to take mine up there one of these days.

[Eidolon]

The CruiseCam is what I use. Great little product!

Agreed on the Carbotech pads. They're great stuff!

[GXPaycheck]

I have a Cruise Cam mount as well! Just need a better camera to use it with. I need to find a way to mount my iPhone to it. I wonder how that would work? I have it set up to disply whats being recorded through the head unit. That way I know which way its pointed! Sure beats taping the camera to my headrest (remember holiday laps?).

[Eidolon]

I'm also running Carbotech race pads (RP2 front, XP10 rear) and they do a great job stopping the car. One good critique from my instructor was that the car has great brakes and I need to learn to use them better which means shorter, harder braking!

You know, I just remembered. They pointed out at my last event that our cars have ABS as driver aids. So they basically told us, "Use it." In short, brake hard enough that you force the ABS to kick in going into any corner. So I would brake at 4 on turn 1 and 2 into the Roller Coaster out of the Oak Tree straight and just HAMMER the pedal. And that was on my all-season tires.

Of course, that means braking in a straight line, too. I made the mistake going into turn 1 once of having the wheel turned to the right a little bit, and I mean on the order of 10 to 15 degrees. This still had the effect of shifting the car's weight to that front left tire, and I lost traction on it briefly as it couldn't handle the force. Then I turned the wheel to actually make the turn. I had NO traction on that front left tire courtesy of my blunder. I had overheated the tire! It made me laugh.

[Doug Hilliard]

You know, I just remembered. They pointed out at my last event that our cars have ABS as driver aids. So they basically told us, "Use it." In short, brake hard enough that you force the ABS to kick in going into any corner. So I would brake at 4 on turn 1 and 2 into the Roller Coaster out of the Oak Tree straight and just HAMMER the pedal. And that was on my all-season tires.

Of course, that means braking in a straight line, too. I made the mistake going into turn 1 once of having the wheel turned to the right a little bit, and I mean on the order of 10 to 15 degrees. This still had the effect of shifting the car's weight to that front left tire, and I lost traction on it briefly as it couldn't handle the force. Then I turned the wheel to actually make the turn. I had NO traction on that front left tire courtesy of my blunder. I had overheated the tire! It made me laugh.

My instructor told me to brake such that I sometimes used ABS; he also said ABS makes it possible to brake in a turn if you need to. I use trail-braking (braking while turning) going into Hog Pen but other than that pretty much brake in a straight line. My braking point Saturday for turn 1 one was 3 at 115mph but I could have pushed it a little from there (or been carrying more speed) had I been on top of my game.

[Doug Hilliard]

I have a Cruise Cam mount as well! Just need a better camera to use it with. I need to find a way to mount my iPhone to it. I wonder how that would work? I have it set up to disply whats being recorded through the head unit. That way I know which way its pointed! Sure beats taping the camera to my headrest (remember holiday laps?).

If you can mount it, that would good. Harry's Laptimer app has integrated video now (or maybe it's the upcoming release) I think so you can do data acquisition and video at the same time so there's no later video editing and integration issues.

[TonyKarter]

One good critique from my instructor was that the car has great brakes and I need to learn to use them better which means shorter, harder braking!

Funny you should mention that. When Randy my cousin went to Boss 302 driving school at Miller MSP in Utah his instructor kept telling him to break later and harder too. Randy said the instructor, an American Lemans Series driver finally told him to get out of the car and let him drive and he'd show Randy what he meant. Randy said he ran that Laguna Seca Boss 302 waaay deep into turn 1 at the end of that long front straight, and then he violently kicked the brake pedal as if he were trying to slam it through the firewall!

Randy said it it scared the shit out of him he kicked it so hard. Besides driving it way too deep into the corner before braking(what Randy thought) and that already had him pushing his own imaginary brake pedal in the passenger seat, the violence of the act of applying the brake (the quickness of the transition from gas to brake)only served to make him think that the instructor was pissed and wanted to scare the shit our of him, or that he had truly waited too late trying to impress Randy and that his actions were based in panic for both of them. But the second and consecutive corners put away his fears of instructor retaliation...the instructor braked like that on every corner. He got the idea. Yer' not gonna' break it...brake late...and brake hard...so you can get off them sooner and set up for your apex and exit. He also showed him how to overtake by breaking late. Most people brake way too early, and too softly. Me included, even with the track time I have had. Passing while braking late is Randy's favorite ploy now. Me...I have a very bad habit of trailbraking too much, braking while applying steering input into the corner.

The First Rule of Ongias: "Get your breaking done in a straight line."

[Doug Hilliard]

Funny you should mention that. When Randy my cousin went to Boss 302 driving school at Miller MSP in Utah his instructor kept telling him to break later and harder too. Randy said the instructor, an American Lemans Series driver finally told him to get out of the car and let him drive and he'd show Randy what he meant. Randy said he ran that Laguna Seca Boss 302 waaay deep into turn 1 at the end of that long front straight, and then he violently kicked the brake pedal as if he were trying to slam it through the firewall!

Randy said it it scared the shit out of him he kicked it so hard. Besides driving it way too deep into the corner before braking(what Randy thought) and that already had him pushing his own imaginary brake pedal in the passenger seat, the violence of the act of applying the brake (the quickness of the transition from gas to brake)only served to make him think that the instructor was pissed and wanted to scare the shit our of him, ot that he had truly waited too late trying to impress Randy and that his actions were based in panic for both of them. But the second and consecutive corners put away his fears of instructor retaliation...the instructor braked like that on every corner. He got the idea. Yer' not gonna' break it...brake late...and brake hard...so you can get off them sooner and set up for your apex and exit. He also showed him how to overtake by breaking late. Most people brake way too early, and too softly. Me included, even with the track time I have had. Passing while braking late is Randy's favorite ploy now. Me...I have a very bad habit of trailbraking too much, braking while applying steering input into the corner.

The First Rule of Ongias: "Get your breaking done in a straight line."

Wow! That's a dramatic way to learn it. Sounds a little like my first experience. My instructor kept telling me to brake later and really hard and I kept braking what I thought was hard. He kept ratcheting up the intensity of his demands and started cussing at me! I finally did what he said on the turn out of the backstretch and he said "OK, that's what I mean, now brake just like that every time!" I got a little gun-shy on the brakes after my Fall session at VIR after hitting 145 on the front stretch; it made me a little nervous and I hit the brakes a little early, realized it and let off. This heated the brakes, so when I really needed them as I got close to turn 1, I hit them again and they barely slowed the car in time! I got brake pad material deposits on the rotors and had to have them turned when after I got home. The brakes work really well as long as you use them right. I just need more seat time to get my confidence back up and be rested next time so I get back to braking like I mean it!

[Eidolon]

Most people brake way too early, and too softly. Me included, even with the track time I have had. Passing while braking late is Randy's favorite ploy now. Me...I have a very bad habit of trailbraking too much, braking while applying steering input into the corner.

The First Rule of Ongias: "Get your breaking done in a straight line."

Ditto. I swear one of the hardest things about driving hard is actually just learning to trust the car, that it WILL stop on command. You just have to know how much room to give it.

I got a little gun-shy on the brakes after my Fall session at VIR after hitting 145 on the front stretch; it made me a little nervous and I hit the brakes a little early, realized it and let off. This heated the brakes, so when I really needed them as I got close to turn 1, I hit them again and they barely slowed the car in time! I got brake pad material deposits on the rotors and had to have them turned when after I got home.

I did that once, too, actually. Rode the pedal into turn 1 and lost a lot of braking power at the very end. I learned not to ride it after that. Nice thing was I had no deposits on the rotors even after that mistake, and even to this day, the braking is still smooth as glass. I'd recommend you put some better brakes on your short list. At least bigger calipers for the front. That'd bring you up to GXP-spec braking.

Something my instructor said that helped me when I was out was that I was also being very inconsistent with my braking, because I was trying to determine by feel when I should brake for the corner. To fix that, he said to do two things: 1. Pick a speed for corner entry and carry that same speed into the corner every lap and 2. Pick the same number to start your braking in the braking zone and start braking at that number every lap. I found that to be a great suggestion, and it helped my braking be far more consistent.

[Doug Hilliard]

Ditto. I swear one of the hardest things about driving hard is actually just learning to trust the car, that it WILL stop on command. You just have to know how much room to give it.


I did that once, too, actually. Rode the pedal into turn 1 and lost a lot of braking power at the very end. I learned not to ride it after that. Nice thing was I had no deposits on the rotors even after that mistake, and even to this day, the braking is still smooth as glass. I'd recommend you put some better brakes on your short list. At least bigger calipers for the front. That'd bring you up to GXP-spec braking.

Something my instructor said that helped me when I was out was that I was also being very inconsistent with my braking, because I was trying to determine by feel when I should brake for the corner. To fix that, he said to do two things: 1. Pick a speed for corner entry and carry that same speed into the corner every lap and 2. Pick the same number to start your braking in the braking zone and start braking at that number every lap. I found that to be a great suggestion, and it helped my braking be far more consistent.

I probably should get the bigger brakes but that might not happen this year. I'm hoping for the brake vents (reminds me I need to call him and see if he's going to ever get them done!). The suggestions sound good. I tend to start braking by feel except for turn 1. I also don't watch speed of entry and do that by feel too which I need to change. Man, do I have a lot to learn or what!?!?