Race Tracking Your Supra - Information exchange

[Gabe]

This is something that nearly every student of mine runs into. They don't realize how hard their car can actually brake. So when theres no one around on track with us ill have them hit their brakes 100% well before a corner just so they know what it feels like and what the car is actually capable of

Yes. Is not intuitive. I think I’m braking as if I was street driving: lift, coast, brake softly and then press a little hard at the end. Watching videos of track driving I’m realizing that is somewhat opposite: no coasting, brake hard at the beginning and ether softening before throttle or just throttle.

But I see his line as being fairly off (then again I'm a perfectionist). Not using the pavement change for his line is the biggest part. Remember concrete provides higher of levels of grip in the dry vs asphalt, so use it to load up the outsude tires for more grip at Homestead.

thanks. Yes. Point taken. Hahahah. That sounds way above my skill for now. Its happening too fast still. Although my appreciation of the track improved over that weekend.

Need things like turning in earlier for T3 and staying tight, turning in earlier and tighter for T8, turning in later for T10, not going so deep in T11 and just getting the final grouping of turns smoother.

yes. My instructor pointed that out and I think I got it a few times right but was still very inconsistent. Something that also improved during the weekend.

Then again I don't know the skill level of the video poster so I dont want to hammer down too hard. Just here to help!

That’s my second track weekend. I really appreciate all the feedback back from you @razorlab and @FLtrackdays!

Its a brand new skill to me and takes time and practice! All these observations are very useful! After that weekend I felt like I understand better the instructions that I got and felt a little progress.

Hats off to my first weekend instructor: he was literally using his hands to show me how to turn the steering wheel and what the apex on each turn was!!!! Poor guy I might have made him age a couple of years during that weekend. ???

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[Mayday]

The AR1's run narrow so you should be good. For some reference, here are 275/35/19 AR1's on 19x10 square. You can see they should be fine on a 19x9 in the front (although not optimal), they are a pretty stiff tire

You’re right, AR-1 is narrow.

Front is 275/35/19 with 9 inches OEM wheels

Rear is 275/35/19 with 10 inches OEM wheels.

going to test the car today in the track and give a feedback

thanks again

 

[Davo307]

Yes. Is not intuitive. I think I’m braking as if I was street driving: lift, coast, brake softly and then press a little hard at the end. Watching videos of track driving I’m realizing that is somewhat opposite: no coasting, brake hard at the beginning and ether softening before throttle or just throttle.



thanks. Yes. Point taken. Hahahah. That sounds way above my skill for now. Its happening too fast still. Although my appreciation of the track improved over that weekend.



yes. My instructor pointed that out and I think I got it a few times right but was still very inconsistent. Something that also improved during the weekend.



That’s my second track weekend. I really appreciate all the feedback back from you @razorlab and @FLtrackdays!

Its a brand new skill to me and takes time and practice! All these observations are very useful! After that weekend I felt like I understand better the instructions that I got and felt a little progress.

Hats off to my first weekend instructor: he was literally using his hands to show me how to turn the steering wheel and what the apex on each turn was!!!! Poor guy I might have made him age a couple of years during that weekend. ???

It takes time! Just have fun, be safe and enjoy every minute. Not many people get to do what we do. Especially with such great cars.

 

[romanLegion9574]

Yes. Is not intuitive. I think I’m braking as if I was street driving: lift, coast, brake softly and then press a little hard at the end. Watching videos of track driving I’m realizing that is somewhat opposite: no coasting, brake hard at the beginning and ether softening before throttle or just throttle.

Sim racing has really helped in getting braking technique down. It really helps in keeping sharp during the PNW winter months for me.

 

[FLtrackdays]

One thing that helped me in my early track days was someone explaining to me "don't brake to slow down, brake to better setup for the corner ahead" and that was a lightbulb moment for me. It's not a circumstance of something before, it's a setup for what's ahead.

So view graduating from "Brake as late and as hard as you can" to what I mentioned above as a level to unlock.

This is something that nearly every student of mine runs into. They don't realize how hard their car can actually brake. So when theres no one around on track with us ill have them hit their brakes 100% well before a corner just so they know what it feels like and what the car is actually capable of.

But I see his line as being fairly off (then again I'm a perfectionist). Not using the pavement change for his line is the biggest part. Remember concrete provides higher of levels of grip in the dry vs asphalt, so use it to load up the outsude tires for more grip at Homestead.

Need things like turning in earlier for T3 and staying tight, turning in earlier and tighter for T8, turning in later for T10, not going so deep in T11 and just getting the final grouping of turns smoother. Then again I don't know the skill level of the video poster so I dont want to hammer down too hard. Just here to help!

This mindset then leads to trail braking to carry that speed to the apex with the grip at the front. Very helpful at several turns at Homestead.

Great advice!! Y’all are right ofc.

However, I still think if he focus on threshold braking to better setup for the corner ahead, like Bryan said, that would give him the best bang for the buck improvement. It’s so hard remembering everything. He can easily fine tuning his line later. I’m sure his instructor was great! But he’s got to start threshold braking, way before the turn (if there’s no one behind him - no check braking others ofc) and get more comfortable doing it. His car is so incredibly well planted. Don’t know what he did, but it doesn’t wander, wiggle or do anything wrong when slamming on the brakes. I did it repeatedly in those zones trying to bed in his brakes after the fact. But his rotors were warped, I believe. Regardless, she’s rock solid steady. So just reiterating that point, in those zones. No blind corners (like Sebring). Maybe threshold 15-1 instead of doing what most do 15-2 until he’s more comfortable. Otherwise those other threshold braking zones are perfect to practice on

Edit: some of the older maps call it turn 14 instead of 15. So 14-1 or 14-2 full throttle, then threshold brake - otherwise those passing zones = perfect threshold braking spots.

 

[Yalemaier]

Alignment question. I HPDE with my Supra in either intermediate or advanced groups. Use Hankook RS4 tires 275 front 305 rear setup, SPL front lower control arms, sway bar end links, and caster bushings, Cusco sway bar front and rear. Saw a post once that says this is the ideal alignment (pic 1), and my last alignment is pic 2. What do you all recommend? Any thoughts on the “recommended” alignment spec? Thanks!

 

[spaghettihoes]

Alignment question. I HPDE with my Supra in either intermediate or advanced groups. Use Hankook RS4 tires 275 front 305 rear setup, SPL front lower control arms, sway bar end links, and caster bushings, Cusco sway bar front and rear. Saw a post once that says this is the ideal alignment (pic 1), and my last alignment is pic 2. What do you all recommend? Any thoughts on the “recommended” alignment spec? Thanks!

Hmm, with your caster bushings you should be able to even out the 1 degree difference. The spec otherwise looks good other than getting more rear camber (around -2.5 degrees rear with -3 front which is doable with stock arms). Rear toe is a bit aggressive (but in spec for a track setup) and will be very predictable on corner exit. Rear tires are going to wear a bit faster.

 

[FLtrackdays]

Alignment question. I HPDE with my Supra in either intermediate or advanced groups. Use Hankook RS4 tires 275 front 305 rear setup, SPL front lower control arms, sway bar end links, and caster bushings, Cusco sway bar front and rear. Saw a post once that says this is the ideal alignment (pic 1), and my last alignment is pic 2. What do you all recommend? Any thoughts on the “recommended” alignment spec? Thanks!

That’s some wide rear tires. I can only speak for a square setup on mine. More neg camber the better of course if you can get by w/out rubbing. If you prefer a quicker turn in, you can add some toe out up front. I did on mine and love it ? And for more stability under hard high speed braking, toe in on the rear is preferred on our cars.

 

[Yalemaier]

That’s some wide rear tires. I can only speak for a square setup on mine. More neg camber the better of course if you can get by w/out rubbing. If you prefer a quicker turn in, you can add some toe out up front. I did on mine and love it ? And for more stability under hard high speed braking, toe in on the rear is preferred on our cars.

Great! Thank you! Do you have recommended specs I could send my alignment shop? They are working on it tomorrow.

 

[Yalemaier]

Hmm, with your caster bushings you should be able to even out the 1 degree difference. The spec otherwise looks good other than getting more rear camber (around -2.5 degrees rear with -3 front which is doable with stock arms). Rear toe is a bit aggressive (but in spec for a track setup) and will be very predictable on corner exit. Rear tires are going to wear a bit faster.

Great! Thank you! I appreciate both you and FLTrackDays commenting and for your wisdom. Would you have recommended specs I could send my alignment shop? They are working on it tomorrow.

 

[FLtrackdays]

Great! Thank you! I appreciate both you and FLTrackDays commenting and for your wisdom. Would you have recommended specs I could send my alignment shop? They are working on it tomorrow.

Thx man. Not much wisdom here. Just a lot of learning from my stupidity ?

Unfortunately my specs would differ from yours. It’s going to depend on your tire size, ride height, spacers, etc. Since I’m on a square 18 setup, my car is inherently lower than OEM and had to be adjusted. It took a bit to get her dialed in, so to speak. But no alignment machine spec sheet. The guy that does mine uses a string setup and pen and paper. I’ve asked before and quickly forget because we change it so much.

I do know we’ve got as much front neg camber as she’ll take. It’s around -3.5 to -3.7, the rear is -2’ish and a small amount of toe out up front and toe in -in the rear. Somewhere else I posted my toe. I‘m not one for list & let the experts do it. Sorry broham. But it doesn’t take much toe, front and rear. But that’s the general idea. Pinch out up front and pinch in on the back will help a lot. The person that is doing yours should know to give enough room to avoid rub on high speed compression & tuck under the fenders. Avoiding rubbing there as well.

Start with small amounts with everything and increase as you get more outside tire wear. If you can’t get the car to rotate or have a hard time turning in, that’s where you’ll benefit from the small amount of toe out up front. Most peeps on here keep the front toe at zero. So make sure you’re comfortable with her turning in faster and the back end coming around quicker as well. You’re still going to want toe in on the rear for stability. Enjoy amigo!

 

[kungfujedis]

I joined the big boy club this weekend!

 

[rwense]

It takes time! Just have fun, be safe and enjoy every minute. Not many people get to do what we do. Especially with such great cars.

This is something I have to remind myself here and there. "Remember, this is supposed to be fun and engaging. Many people would kill to do this, so take any opportunity you can to enjoy, learn, and build a skill"

...then the instinct to gap all corvettes rears its hear ?

 

[kungfujedis]

Another successful roof rack excursion. I got to find out what happens when you crest a hill and come across an escaped horse and have to brake hard with the tires on the roof. Nothing, nothing happened, solid as a rock

Glad i brought the rack, as I had to switch wheels between days. I got 10 days of 5-6 full sessions out of the tires, I think I'm happy with that. (v730).

 

[Traxion]

...then the instinct to gap all corvettes rears its hear ?

Gapping corvettes you say? It's even better when it's at a track designed for them, NCM Motorsports Park. The TTU Corvette was an interior stripped c8. Hot lap video to come later. I'll have to see if any of my practice session videos from Friday have me bullying any Corvettes from behind.

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