gcmak
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2021
- Threads
- 13
- Messages
- 238
- Reaction score
- 259
- Location
- San Francisco
- Car(s)
- 2021 Supra
- Thread starter
- #1
Originally I was booked for the free track day with NASA via Toyota/GR. That got cancelled due to the open recall - which I actually addressed a few days prior to the event. I had emailed NASA if they'd let me run if I paid - they said yes, and I signed up for HPDE 3; originally I was assigned HPDE 1 and a coach. I'll add my thoughts on the event at the end. To preface, we had ~40 cars in our group (outrageous) - and ambient temps were ~100F and ~150 AQI from the nearby wildfires - so it was trying on both our bodies and cars.
Fastest lap of the day - 2:03.
Helmet cam - MUTE your audio...mostly garbage.
I had some close encounters with the wall at T-11. I saw my rear fender hump and the wall next to each other in my side mirror expecting a formula D smack...got real lucky there's no contact.
Helmet cam - MUTE your audio.
Experienced 4 off because I was mentally distracted by the Sentra and not thinking ahead. No damage or problems - kept it safe and sane.
Then came on the hottest session of the day and also a hot head...I was rightfully addressed by officials later for overdriving the entire track.
I had no issues with the car till I was ready to go home. Had the A/C on MAX - which was the case all day long for every session lol - and let off the brake to let the car roll forward and it just stalled. Infotainment told me to put the car in park cause it was still in Neutral. Restarted the car and it was fine. VERY ODD.
Baseline temps:
After hotlapping:
The Apex V601 Tires were good - they've seen Laguna and some b-road time prior to Sonoma. Took me a while to dial in the pressures - seems like 35 PSI hot is where they want to be, but what that means a pretty low starting pressure, because the PSI climbed ~10 from cold temps. Good wear characteristics and fairly consistent if you're not overdriving them. They're far less greasy than the PSS once you heat those up.
Rear/Front on both sides look the same to me in terms of wear characteristics.
Brake pads - CSG CP - have been good to me at Laguna and felt plenty sufficient for Sonoma. This is how the front/rear pads look after 2 Laguna days and 1 Sonoma day. I do not swap pads for the street as the noise is minimal to none, pedal feel is good, and the brake dust is way less than factory and way easier to clean.
Lastly - good news! Oil level has remained full after Laguna and Sonoma!
As mentioned this was my first HPDE at Sonoma and my third HPDE with the Supra. My biggest take-away from the weekend is be way more patient with the throttle.
Open to feedback/thoughts - lots of experienced individuals in here!
And my NASA thoughts...
I definitely don't need HPDE 1, but a coach and general feedback I definitely can use. This was my first HPDE at Sonoma Raceway, and while I've been on the track in cars driving at an OK pace, those were 'experiences' and driving ~7/10ths max. I was frustrated - as were many others in HPDE 3 - due to the enormous range of skill (including awareness) and vehicle capabilities. Don't get me wrong, I understand HPDE is not racing, but when we have Sunday church drivers in their bone stock commuters, mixed with hot headed hot rodders, with everyone else inbetween it gets messy. The driver downloads were long, filled with tension and a laundry list of offenses documented by race officials, and frankly not filled with meaningful instruction to get the group moving forward.
I'll sign up for my free HPDE with NASA and that's probably it for me - they're a good organization if you plan to get into TT/Racing, but if you're just in it for HPDE, go with some other groups...there's no shortage of fantastic coaches eager to help you become a better driver.
Hope to see more Supras out there in the future...and hopefully I'm doing this right...haha.
Fastest lap of the day - 2:03.
Helmet cam - MUTE your audio...mostly garbage.
I had some close encounters with the wall at T-11. I saw my rear fender hump and the wall next to each other in my side mirror expecting a formula D smack...got real lucky there's no contact.
Helmet cam - MUTE your audio.
Experienced 4 off because I was mentally distracted by the Sentra and not thinking ahead. No damage or problems - kept it safe and sane.
Then came on the hottest session of the day and also a hot head...I was rightfully addressed by officials later for overdriving the entire track.
I had no issues with the car till I was ready to go home. Had the A/C on MAX - which was the case all day long for every session lol - and let off the brake to let the car roll forward and it just stalled. Infotainment told me to put the car in park cause it was still in Neutral. Restarted the car and it was fine. VERY ODD.
Baseline temps:
After hotlapping:
The Apex V601 Tires were good - they've seen Laguna and some b-road time prior to Sonoma. Took me a while to dial in the pressures - seems like 35 PSI hot is where they want to be, but what that means a pretty low starting pressure, because the PSI climbed ~10 from cold temps. Good wear characteristics and fairly consistent if you're not overdriving them. They're far less greasy than the PSS once you heat those up.
Rear/Front on both sides look the same to me in terms of wear characteristics.
Brake pads - CSG CP - have been good to me at Laguna and felt plenty sufficient for Sonoma. This is how the front/rear pads look after 2 Laguna days and 1 Sonoma day. I do not swap pads for the street as the noise is minimal to none, pedal feel is good, and the brake dust is way less than factory and way easier to clean.
Lastly - good news! Oil level has remained full after Laguna and Sonoma!
As mentioned this was my first HPDE at Sonoma and my third HPDE with the Supra. My biggest take-away from the weekend is be way more patient with the throttle.
Open to feedback/thoughts - lots of experienced individuals in here!
And my NASA thoughts...
I definitely don't need HPDE 1, but a coach and general feedback I definitely can use. This was my first HPDE at Sonoma Raceway, and while I've been on the track in cars driving at an OK pace, those were 'experiences' and driving ~7/10ths max. I was frustrated - as were many others in HPDE 3 - due to the enormous range of skill (including awareness) and vehicle capabilities. Don't get me wrong, I understand HPDE is not racing, but when we have Sunday church drivers in their bone stock commuters, mixed with hot headed hot rodders, with everyone else inbetween it gets messy. The driver downloads were long, filled with tension and a laundry list of offenses documented by race officials, and frankly not filled with meaningful instruction to get the group moving forward.
I'll sign up for my free HPDE with NASA and that's probably it for me - they're a good organization if you plan to get into TT/Racing, but if you're just in it for HPDE, go with some other groups...there's no shortage of fantastic coaches eager to help you become a better driver.
Hope to see more Supras out there in the future...and hopefully I'm doing this right...haha.
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