Long overdue post but here we go. I'm been preparing mentally to track my car for the last year and finally made the plunge. My first outing was a Laguna Seca about a month ago on a 92db day which resulted in losing 1/2 of my 2nd session. More on that later

Modifications done prior to event:

1. Removed 20" anchors and replaced with 19" OZ Ultralegerras on MPSS
2. Brembo Type III PCCB swap
3. Motul RBF 600 fluid
4. SS lines
5. PFC08 pads
6. Not shown in pics but removed Werks 1 lip and replaced with OEM (Dealer Tech did it as he did not want me to damage my shiny lip. VID997 I know I know I'll put it back on)

My Impressions:

The track- aside from sound restrictions LS is probably one of my favorite in the greater SF bay. It's a great track for beginners as I dont' believe it too technical, at least relative to Infineon. Also climate wise it is perfect and always cooler than the other tracks. I've been a passenger @ LS 3x's prior to the event which I believe helped significantly. I had a good friend, also an exerienced driver ride along with my all day to coach. For anyone considering a DE event get a coach and ride along with someone who knows the track.

Handling/Grip- What can I say the car is amazing, very forgiving as I learned during a lift on turn 3. The Bilsteins did well and I did not feel any body roll, the car just felt tight. Due to nerves I forgot to engage PASM to stiff so I ran 4 of the 5 sessions in normal mode!!! I did not have sports chrono engaged as I just felt like the sensitive throttle response would hinder rolling on throttle during track out. Turn 9 a very challenging turn is not a good place to have a jumpy throttle. MPSS did theyre job, I started with a 29-30 psi cold temp and saw a 7-8 PSI jump after each session, not sure if this is good/bad/normal. Understeer- I did experience it usually on turn 2 which can be related to many factors, my take is I was turning in too fast and basically doing a 1/2 double apex, not the racing line nor the student line somewhere in between Turn 2 was definitely for me the most technically challenging. Outside the track swapping from 20's on PS2 to 19's on MPSS was a huge improvement to road feel.

Braking - holy crap! with the exception of Turn 11 I found myself braking short in every other braking zone. The PFC/Brembo setup is unreal. I dont' have a comparison with the PCCB's as I never ran them on the track but WOW. When I orginally did the swap I was dissapointed, I did not like the lack of intial bite and new nothing about track pads/rotors. The hotter I worked the PFC's the better they got. My simple lamens explanation is, they brakes worked so well I felt like my pads were going to squeeze through my rotors. No fade, no judder, just stopping short of turn in. Outside the track- Brembos bed-in procedure is a pain, my result in going to jail. HOLY BRAKE DUST BATMAN, yeah it's bad and I miss my PCCBs for that reason alone. Yes you can still use them on the street and they will squeal on slow speed stops. Also there is a bit of noise from the rotors at speed which you can hear when you're close to a side barrier, its a ticking noise which is common on true floating rotors as every other bobbin is loose to allow for the radial/axial float.

Power/exhaust- More than enough with my ST tune and tubi exhuast. Having guys pass you in cars with 200 less horsepower says something about driving abilities. Yes you can catch up on the straights but in a few turns you're behind again. At times I feel like I had too much power, turn 11 before the front straight can get hairy with that much power. Regarding exhaust I was meatballed and registered a 94.4db and I was not under full load. From what my buddies say the Tubi street exhaust sounds great, loud as hell but overall sounds great.

So in summary I had my first track day in my garage queen, broke 10k miles on the track, she didn't blow up, got her dirty/slapped her around a bit, gave a nice shower afterwards and back to the garage. Attached are a few before and after pics. Thanks for reading.

 

Great writeup!

Glad you had fun! Was this your first time on the track or just with this car?

How much did the conversion from the PCCB to the Brembo/PFC setup entail?

 

nice writeup, very interesting

I also tracked my new to me turbo once so far and blew away my prior 1M.

As you said, grip is unreal. slow in and fastttttttttttttttt out!

great feedback on the PFC pads, I just installed some for my next track day in a couple weeks. great to hear they did so well!

how much track experience do you have?

 

Ahh yes, the first time, beware its a slippery slope!
Enjoy
C

 

This was my first time. Conversion is not cheap rotors and pads will set you back near 5k.

You will enjoy the pads just make sure to get some heat into them. It was my first time, blush blush

Already sliding Chris!!! Thanks.

 

Aint that the truth.

 

Ditto, I slipped so freakin far of the edge . New seats/6 pt harness and roll bar going in next week, with a set of Hoosiers ready to rip.

 

Very nice write up! Love the OZ wheels, much better then the 20's in my opinion.

 

What seat did you end up going with? Good move on the 6pt - you don't want be singing an octave higher LOL.

Next for you is a dedicated track car, trailer and tow vehicle

 

Status Ring GT - being custom made, black with yellow stitching with embroidered "turbo" in yellow on the headrest, yellow roll bar from AP

Ahead of ya. New custom trailer is being built and have a new (to me) 2500 HD Silverado crew cab with DVD player for the kids for pulling. I don't just jump off a hill but a canyon ledge.

 

That's awesome.

 

+1. I can see how this sport can turn into an obsession. Congrats on the setup.

 

Boy, I hear ya. Bought a stock 996turbo, and after one DE event was hooked.
It's a disease I tell you.
I'm at a point where I run out of talent before I run out of car now.
Need to learn skillz before I invest in any more pards..ha