First time out with the mk5 MT

[sup.dc2]

Its been a while since i ran the big track in my integra a few years back. Went off at streets of willow before the bowl and used the down time to build my engine.

This past weekend i took the supra out to big willow and was shocked on how well this thing handles. First time in a rwd car, first time with an almost 400hp car.

Couldnt get one full lap in without having to point by or caught traffic. Then my gopro died. But here’s what i managed to record. Any tips for a beginner would be appreciated. Thanks!

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[kaj]

Not even one full lap to get a baseline lap time? Brutal.
But I feel your pain.
During my last event, I ended up in second place because my fastest slap had me lifting for a safety car.
When you've got 30 or more vehicles on course and half of them are full-on race cars that like to break down, you're going to have a long day with time attack.

 

[GRMan]

OP, what tires and suspension mods were you running?

Any brake pads or brake fluid mods?

 

[D3ad_Hand]

Pretty sure this thread will help.

https://www.supramkv.com/threads/race-tracking-your-supra-information-exchange.16389/

 

[sup.dc2]

Not even one full lap to get a baseline lap time? Brutal.
But I feel your pain.
During my last event, I ended up in second place because my fastest slap had me lifting for a safety car.
When you've got 30 or more vehicles on course and half of them are full-on race cars that like to break down, you're going to have a long day with time attack.

the woes of the beginner run group lol. I purposely left my aimsolo at home to not get caught up with chasing lap times but building good habits instead.
I spent the day learning how to car reacts to my inputs. I was probably on pace for a 1:48.. by no means fast but i made it home and not on a flatbed hah.

 

[sup.dc2]

OP, what tires and suspension mods were you running?

Any brake pads or brake fluid mods?

100% bone dead stock. Factory Michelin PSS aired down to 30psi squared. Factory brake fluid, pads and all.

only exception was an oil change and made the move up to liquimoly 5w-40.

im an intermediate driver at best but being new to the platform i wanted to stay with factory stuff for the time being. I was slow enough to still have a decent brake pedal feel and consistent tire grip throughout about 3-4 hotlaps. Ofcourse the driving instructors who took me for a ride along had other opinions lol. They had maybe 1 good lap before tires and brakes start to fade. But we were chasing down full aero cars in the advanced group, whilst my eyes were damn near closed. Even i couldn’t believe myself what this car can do in stock form.

 

[kaj]

the woes of the beginner run group lol. I purposely left my aimsolo at home to not get caught up with chasing lap times but building good habits instead.
I spent the day learning how to car reacts to my inputs. I was probably on pace for a 1:48.. by no means fast but i made it home and not on a flatbed hah.

I'm willing to bet you were doing much better than a 1:48, assuming you have even a bit of experience. My old car did a 1:32 and the Supra is faster.

Factory Michelin PSS aired down to 30psi squared.

Squared setup with factory tires?

 

[sup.dc2]

I'm willing to bet you were doing much better than a 1:48, assuming you have even a bit of experience. My old car did a 1:32 and the Supra is faster.



Squared setup with factory tires?

you're probably right, that's what i was told but i didnt want to believe it either since i did low 1:40 with my last car that could only get up to 90 on the front straight. might be going again in Dec with fastlane. ill be timing that day.

and oh no, what i meant was all 4 tires were aired down to 30psi. was only able to heat them up to 36 and felt pretty good.

 

[kaj]

you're probably right, that's what i was told but i didnt want to believe it either since i did low 1:40 with my last car that could only get up to 90 on the front straight. might be going again in Dec with fastlane. ill be timing that day.

and oh no, what i meant was all 4 tires were aired down to 30psi. was only able to heat them up to 36 and felt pretty good.

Yeah, you were most likely flying pretty good. Sounds like you are on the right track.
Once my season is over, I'm going to try to hit a big willow, again, with this car I'm curious to see how it does against my old one. I'll shoot for something around May of next year.

 

[GRMan]

the woes of the beginner run group lol. I purposely left my aimsolo at home to not get caught up with chasing lap times but building good habits instead.
I spent the day learning how to car reacts to my inputs. I was probably on pace for a 1:48.. by no means fast but i made it home and not on a flatbed hah.

Great to hear, with a set of RE71RS + pads the car is going to be a weapon.

I also had a DC2 in one of my past life lol...no torque but an awesome cornering machine even on skinny 195 tires.

 

[Lonestar_Nomad]

Pretty sure this thread will help.

https://www.supramkv.com/threads/race-tracking-your-supra-information-exchange.16389/

I started digging but my head was spinning by page 9. I wish I could sit one of the resident track monsters down and have them spell it out with crayons over juice boxes.

I keep putting off the track because I’m so damn nervous.

 

[kaj]

I started digging but my head was spinning by page 9. I wish I could sit one of the resident track monsters down and have them spell it out with crayons over juice boxes.

I keep putting off the track because I’m so damn nervous.

Easiest way to get over that is just sign up and go. Forget about how the car is set up, it doesn't really matter. Straight off the showroom floor is fine. Like Nike said: Just Do It.

 

[D3ad_Hand]

I started digging but my head was spinning by page 9. I wish I could sit one of the resident track monsters down and have them spell it out with crayons over juice boxes.

I keep putting off the track because I’m so damn nervous.

I would not say that I go to tracks 24/7 in fact I never went with my car. Started out with go carts, getting the idea on how to operate and stuff. You need to jump in and just do it in my opinion, but take it easy.

 

[sup.dc2]

Great to hear, with a set of RE71RS + pads the car is going to be a weapon.

I also had a DC2 in one of my past life lol...no torque but an awesome cornering machine even on skinny 195 tires.

I can only imagine what better parts do for this car! As a driver though I'm still not maximizing factory stuff so I'm waiting til i get at least a little bit faster.

I think as some point alot of us here had a golden era Honda lol. The dc2 being my favorite i was able to pick one up off my friend who had it since highschool. It currently sit's waiting for my tuner to free up to dial in the h/c B20v i stuffed in it. It's going to be a hoot.

I started digging but my head was spinning by page 9. I wish I could sit one of the resident track monsters down and have them spell it out with crayons over juice boxes.

I keep putting off the track because I’m so damn nervous.

Same here man i think that thread was tailored for the guys chasing tenths. But as kaj mentioned just go and get after it. Everyone sucks on day one. I've been to trackdays hosted by 4 different organizers. They were all beginner friendly. First 1-2 sessions were a lead-follow at warm up pace to get familiarized with the course and basic lines. After that you can ask for free ride along with instruction from one of the driving coaches. The complimentary NASA GR Trackday experience in my region is tomorrow for me so i'll be going there. Sign up for the free one year subscription. Their website has alot of useful info.

 

[mdpalmer]

That's awesome, enjoying the MT on the big track! I've done big willow a few times with my old FD Rx-7. I can totally feel those corners and the speed as you drove them in the video. I also have a DC2, it's my DD, love that thing. Such a great little car

That track is pretty tough on brakes and tires and everything else. Sounds like the car has to be pushed pretty hard to max out the stock tires and brakes.

It would be interesting to data log your laps and videos and study them to improve, at some point I'm going to do that myself. I haven't done any research on what equipment is required to do that, last time I looked into it was over 10 years ago and technology has come a long way since then haha. I've seen some videos from Grassroots Motorsports where they do time synced overlays with video and track maps to study the laps and where time can be improved.... Here's one with the MT supra (no video overlay but has the datalog synced to track map).



Good stuff, glad to see someone with a MT MKV on the track having a good time!! I have to get out there!

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