Race Tracking Your Supra - Information exchange

[kaj]

Hi all - hope this is the right thread as I'm looking for information exchange as the thread suggests regarding driving technique and/or setup.

I drive a 3.0 Manual, 100% stock, not track driven but I do enjoy a spirited drive on a quiet twisty road.

When I brake hard from high speeds approaching a corner i.e. 90-100 mph and I feel the rear end get loose and slightly want to "rotate", what are the key dos and donts in that situation to ensure you keep the car stable in terms of foot inputs and steering inputs?

I must admit, I realized I set my Sport mode to sport exhaust and steering but I left suspension on comfort, so perhaps that is a factor as well. Issue is the roads are not greatly surfaced here.
Would stiffer sport suspension mode reduce this?

I have no track experience and this is my first fast rwd car so looking to hear from experienced track drivers here please ✋️

I'd say the soft settings aren't doing you an favors. Do you have any of the nannies on that may be trying to "steer" the car for you? I'm told some of these cars may have some wonky alignment settings from the factory. I'd try that if none of the in-car settings work. Always try the free stuff first, of course.

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[Supra_UK_]

I'd say the soft settings aren't doing you an favors. Do you have any of the nannies on that may be trying to "steer" the car for you? I'm told some of these cars may have some wonky alignment settings from the factory. I'd try that if none of the in-car settings work. Always try the free stuff first, of course.

Thank you, yes the TC/VSC nanny settings are partially on too, I do hear a lot about alignment complaints too on this forum.
Might bring it to a bmw specialist shop then at some point.

 

[kaj]

Thank you, yes the TC/VSC nanny settings are partially on too, I do hear a lot about alignment complaints too on this forum.
Might bring it to a bmw specialist shop then at some point.

Make sure lane assist isn't on. I've seen it come on during some REALLY inopportune times. You will know if it's coming on when you see a green light flashing that looks kinda like this:

but you would also feel the wheel pulling side to side, assuming you aren't holding on too tight, etc. TC won't cause the problem you are describing and I also don't think VSC should. For me, those have only kicked in when the car gets out of sorts during acceleration. That's a whole other can of worms.
Other than that, try the suspension on "Sport". I've accidently done a track day on the basic setting and found the car to be unpredictable in certain situations. Yeah, if the car still seems sketch, get the alignment checked. Hopefully, you will have a better time finding someone willing to an alignment than I did. I ended up having to do my own LOL.

 

[Supra_UK_]

Make sure lane assist isn't on. I've seen it come on during some REALLY inopportune times. You will know if it's coming on when you see a green light flashing that looks kinda like this:

but you would also feel the wheel pulling side to side, assuming you aren't holding on too tight, etc. Other than that, try the suspension on "Sport". I've accidently done a track day on the basic setting and found the car to be unpredictable in certain situations. Yeah, if the car still seems sketch, get the alignment checked. Hopefully, you will have a better time finding someone willing to an alignment than I did. I ended up having to do my own LOL.

Thanks
No worries lane assist is OFF fo sho. I did that on day 1 from collection after it nearly killed me on the motorway lmfao

 

[Driver608]

Hi all - hope this is the right thread as I'm looking for information exchange as the thread suggests regarding driving technique and/or setup.
...
When I brake hard from high speeds approaching a corner i.e. 90-100 mph and I feel the rear end get loose and slightly want to "rotate"
...
I have no track experience and this is my first fast rwd car so looking to hear from experienced track drivers here please ✋️

I can tell you the path I took and maybe give you a couple pointers.

First off, learn to drive the car you have. This is important because you won't know what you need to do until you understand how the car handles. That takes seat time.

If you're just starting and have never driven on a track, learn car control first. Go to some autocrosses and pay attention to your instructor. Most clubs in the US have performance driving schools or car control clinics, there are probably clubs in the UK that do the same thing. These are worth their weight in gold even if you never track your car. They teach you things like emergency braking, skid control, accident avoidance, and the car's limits in a safe environment.

When you're ready to go to the track, get an instructor. Most HPDE events will have instructors available. This is critical, you will be completely lost the first time, at least I was, and an instructor will be able to help you get the driving line, rules, passing, flags etc down. An instructor will also help you understand what needs to be improved for the most critical component, the driver. Keep getting instructors for as long as they'll let you, even very experienced drivers benefit from coaching.

Once you've gotten some seat time, there will probably be a few things you will want to tweak. The only thing I've done to my Supra so far are suspension upgrades, cheater tires and a good track alignment. I didn't make any changes to the car until I tracked it a couple times to see what it needed.

 

[Traxion]

When I brake hard from high speeds approaching a corner i.e. 90-100 mph and I feel the rear end get loose and slightly want to "rotate", what are the key dos and donts in that situation to ensure you keep the car stable in terms of foot inputs and steering inputs?

The key don't is don't do it on public roads.

But the short of it is the beginning point to performance braking is only brake in a straight line and stand on your brakes to ABS until you're ready to release and turn. Since you're not track experienced the easiest thing to do is make sure you're only giving minor corrections to the steering wheel to keep the car straight. Once you are at a speed where you have completely let off the brake, then start turning into the corner. What you are experiencing is most likely normal since you'd be on street tires and a non-track surface.

 

[Rocksandblues]

Car only has 100%. Can’t steer 60-% and brake 70%. Has to add up to 100

 

[Evolution]

Okay, fine. When I get beat by someone with sway bars, THEN I'll look into installing some. ?

Thats going to happen very soon haha!

Ya I know, I have high hopes.

 

[razorlab]

Hi all - hope this is the right thread as I'm looking for information exchange as the thread suggests regarding driving technique and/or setup.

I drive a 3.0 Manual, 100% stock, not track driven but I do enjoy a spirited drive on a quiet twisty road.

When I brake hard from high speeds approaching a corner i.e. 90-100 mph and I feel the rear end get loose and slightly want to "rotate", what are the key dos and donts in that situation to ensure you keep the car stable in terms of foot inputs and steering inputs?

I must admit, I realized I set my Sport mode to sport exhaust and steering but I left suspension on comfort, so perhaps that is a factor as well. Issue is the roads are not greatly surfaced here.
Would stiffer sport suspension mode reduce this?

I have no track experience and this is my first fast rwd car so looking to hear from experienced track drivers here please ✋️

Sounds like you are trail braking without wanting to trail brake. Make sure you are done braking before you start turning, or don't turn while you braking.

 

[kaj]

Thats going to happen very soon haha!

Ya I know, I have high hopes.

Nah. You got this. I have faith in you! ????

 

[3TMagnetMan]

Hi all - hope this is the right thread as I'm looking for information exchange as the thread suggests regarding driving technique and/or setup.

I drive a 3.0 Manual, 100% stock, not track driven but I do enjoy a spirited drive on a quiet twisty road.

When I brake hard from high speeds approaching a corner i.e. 90-100 mph and I feel the rear end get loose and slightly want to "rotate", what are the key dos and donts in that situation to ensure you keep the car stable in terms of foot inputs and steering inputs?

I must admit, I realized I set my Sport mode to sport exhaust and steering but I left suspension on comfort, so perhaps that is a factor as well. Issue is the roads are not greatly surfaced here.
Would stiffer sport suspension mode reduce this?

I have no track experience and this is my first fast rwd car so looking to hear from experienced track drivers here please ✋️

Best thing to do is go to a track day event and learn from an instructor. This will help you learn about your car and help you be a better driver.

 

[3TMagnetMan]

Okay, fine. When I get beat by someone with sway bars, THEN I'll look into installing some. ?

Im sure there are a few drivers here that would take your challenge lol. Time to call Vegas and place some bets ?

 

[FLtrackdays]

Hi all - hope this is the right thread as I'm looking for information exchange as the thread suggests regarding driving technique and/or setup.

I drive a 3.0 Manual, 100% stock, not track driven but I do enjoy a spirited drive on a quiet twisty road.

When I brake hard from high speeds approaching a corner i.e. 90-100 mph and I feel the rear end get loose and slightly want to "rotate", what are the key dos and donts in that situation to ensure you keep the car stable in terms of foot inputs and steering inputs?

I must admit, I realized I set my Sport mode to sport exhaust and steering but I left suspension on comfort, so perhaps that is a factor as well. Issue is the roads are not greatly surfaced here.
Would stiffer sport suspension mode reduce this?

I have no track experience and this is my first fast rwd car so looking to hear from experienced track drivers here please ✋️

Yup, trail braking. Not recommended at high speed or on track until really learning the dynamics & feel. The front end becomes “loaded” with more weight, front input become more exaggerated and the car can begin to rotate. Fast forward many track days, you slowly learn how to manage this transition during a high speed turn.

Like @Traxion said, there are clubs you can join at your nearest track. Just have to look them up. You will have a blast! Enjoy that ride ?

 

[Supra_UK_]

Thanks @all for the replies ?

 

[BrettG782]

Happy Monday Y'all,

Has anyone run into this issue when out on the track? Last two track weekends this has plagued my 2020 3.0 auto where coming into hard braking for a hairpin corner the car will not downshift & even goes into limp mode. Throw in some elevation changes or geometry changes from a curb and it enhances it even more. Usually get's stuck in 5th where visually dash says your dropping to 4th/3rd and nothing happens or it will downshift into say 3rd but no power is available until you bump it to 4th or 2nd and it sorta resets.

Prior to the last two track weekends I had Toyota do a Trans Flush and it seems to be correlated to this so wondering if this is an over/under fill causing me pain. They can't recreate situation on the street so I'm going to try a drain/fill with the FCP Euro service kit myself and see if that resolves. Wasn't sure if anyone had run into this. Trans temps I kept an eye this last session and never got remotely too hot. It actually seem to act up only on the beginning or ending of a 20 minute sprint...

All my searching on here seem to yield folks having issues only when they add a big turbo or some hard launches on the drag strip/street pulls... I have a JB4 but run map 1/2 and have had it since I bought the car in 2019. Ran a couple stints back to stock with same issues too.

Been lazy and haven't gotten around to this, but knocked it out this weekend.

4L came out, 5.5L went in.... We shall see if this fixes things next track day...

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