If you don't know the Rat then you don't know Jack, but if you ever do get to run with Group 52, the east coast's best, expert only, invitation only, open track club you will have know Jack.
We talked about Group 52 before here, it's where you go when you've had enough of the various car club "driving schools" and you are grown up enough to be fully at ease on track and just as good at looking ahead while keeping an eye on the mirror so you don't panic when 600HP (OK fine, 450) crashman trucks roar inches from you into a braking zone. It's all cool, everyone there is (mostly) in total control and (generally) an adult. I've now been to quite a few of these events and every time I'm amazed at how well having essentially a single rule (don't be an a-hole or you'll go home and never return) works.
It was my first time back at Watkins Glen since the catastrophic engine explosion in my MCoupe exactly one year ago and I was happy to see that despite year old track tires I was able to do a few laps in the 2:12 range, the same as with the old expired S54. I did however have some issues...again with a leaking differential which kind of ruined my first day. But, I ended up fighting the urge to quit and the diff problem was resolved. That interesting issue and how it was resolved in my next post.
I was there with Axis Adil who was running his newly acquired 997 GT3 for the first time. He did very well, running in the low 2:10 with ease. There is no way around it, 997 gt3 are awesome cars. (you might want to turn the volume down for this one)
It was also interesting running the "Short course" for the first time. Having that long straight after the outer loop sure puts a different prospective onto "turn 10" (which becomes turn 6, I think). Here are a couple of rather slow I'm afraid, laps right before I was black flagged for leaking diff oil...again.
Group 52 is by invitation so by all means I encourage you to seek someone who can recommend you (including us). Remember though that those who sponsor are responsible for your actions and will also be sent home if you mess up. Not an issue if you are ready. How good do you have to be? hmmm let's say that if you can drive a Mini Cooper S around the Glen like this guy you will be fine!
"If you've been participating in "run group" formats at Drivers Education and Club events, and you're wondering what comes next.............we have a suggestion.
David Murry Track Days is a forum for experienced drivers to explore the limits of their skill and equipment at some of the most famous race tracks in the United States.
"As the 2009 track season gets underway, I'm pleased to announce the inaugural David Murry Track Days event at Virginia International Raceway this October 20-21. This event will be pure "open track" format, with participation limited to very experienced drivers, club racers and instructors. There will be no run groups, no students and very limited attendance. We'll offer approximately seven hours of open track each day. I will begin each event day with a dynamic, interactive classroom session, tailored specifically to the track that we're visiting. I will be on hand throughout the event to answer questions, offer advice, etc.". ---David Murry
If you're a club instructor, racer or current open track participant (with verifiable credentials) we're pleased to invite you to participate in a David Murry Track Days event.
With the on-site participation of sportscar legend David Murry, we offer dynamic, interactive classroom presentations, available personal coaching with current professional racers and the unparalleled opportunity to experience world -class racing venues in a true "open track" format.
Each event day will begin with a formal instructional session, hosted by David. These sessions will incorporate professional video, data and static (PowerPoint) elements and will be specific to the race track we're visiting. Once the track goes green after the morning session, David will be available throughout the day to answer questions and offer setup suggestions and driving tips to help you find that "extra tenth" that you've been chasing.
Working together with an experienced team, David's principal objective is to ensure that all participants enjoy the event in a safe and controlled environment without unnecessary intrusion or regulation, but with the underlying knowledge that inappropriate driving or behavior will not be permitted.
David Murry Track Days events are run with an open pit lane enabling unrestricted access to the track. Access will remain unrestricted and the pit lane will remain open for the duration of each event day. Participants are simply requested to respect the "rules" and their fellow drivers. Home
When the brutal forces Adil and CG subjected the Axis-Martini Exige S to proved to be too much for a crucial aerodynamic component, a solution had to be engineered on the spot...
As you know, the Exige body generates a generous amount of downforce, so much so that it proved fatal for the pretty carbon fiber front spoiler CG and Adil had installed on the Axis-Martini Exige toy.
OK, that and the fact that Adil had previously cracked it at an autocross and thought he would cover the crack with a single SCCA sticker. Obviously the speeds at Watkins Glen made the blingy carbon fiber piece fold under and scrape itself into oblivion leaving the car without a chin.
Enter gaffers tape and years of study in a wind tunnel and you have this awesome looking and aerodynamically perfect (it has to be, just look at it) solution. As a bonus point, it proved to be 87% more structurally rigid than the original Lotus part!
Here are a few more pictures from the Group52 track day at the Glen earlier in June.
If there is a measure of how cool Group 52 is it has to be that with 52+ cars, most of them racers and with one of the two days rather nasty and wet, there was not one crash, not one weird incident, not one warning, maybe a spin or two but that's it.
This with a group where pretty much everyone was going balls out...(sorry ladies, I know there were a few of you driving... I blame Stee entirely for my choice of words!) yet it always manages to be utter coolness! I think we all are extremely grateful to be in with this crowd.
On a personal note it was also great to run into more and more of our readers, NICE! Awesome that some of the Nascar truckers read Axis... you guys DO need to bring those trucks to the Nürburgring, they would love you there!
We all had a great time, Stee drove his car with a properly set rear toe and was immediately more confident. Adil drove CG's 997s and loved it and was smiling despite more issues with the Exige S (tach not working, engine weak, a cracked Sector 111 carbon fiber soiled which folded under at speed and required a gaffer's tape repair which I'm sure was infinitely more solid than the original part!).
CG and I both improved our personal best lap times. Pretty close actually, with him just below 2:12 and me just above. On the screen grabs from the Traqmate software you can follow our laps, a battle of a little more grip vs more power, better gearing and I think, much better aerodynamics in the Porsche.
Our lines are a bit different with him driving the classic Porsche line but for example, our braking points are almost identical. The only difference that I carry more trail braking towards the apex in turn 1 and 7 ("the toe").
The other big difference is our line in the "outer loop" (the right sweeper after the chicane). I shift to 4th, carry more speed and stay way inside, cutting distance by a lot. In the end though, I wonder if it's worth the effort as we both have the exact exit speed... I'll have to ponder that one.
I made a side by side video, CG on the left me on the right. The quality is not so great as an embed but if you want you can press the "HD is Off" button and follow the link to the Vimeo site where you can get a pretty quality good full screen of it.
I also added the same on their own just in case the side by side is too annoying!
So the final tally is CG 2:11.997 (ironic no?) and AC 2:12.159. Not too shabby for street cars with radios, air conditioning and navigation.
But check this out, if you cheat a little bit and on the Traqmate software move the lap start from the actual Start/Finish to the uphill section after the "toe of the boot" the best lap times are as follow:
AC 2:11.850, CG 2:11.585.
But that not nearly as crazy as our "Theoretical best lap" times, 2:11.704 for me and 2:11.246 for CG. See, there is always room for improvement!
First day of Group 52 was a bit of a wash out. Rained pretty much all day, we all practiced driving slicks in wet and semi-wet conditions... not fast but entertaining.
In other news Stee found out why his Franken-Boxster was a little weird, having been "aligned" with 1 mm toe-in on one side and 6mm on the other. Adil's Exige also tried to either kill him (or commit suicide) we found a burning piece of rubber liner as he pulled into the pits! We are hoping for a little dry tomorrow.
Long day jumping in and out of student' cars...must have done at least 100 laps between all. Improved my lap time to 2:13.5 but I managed to pull out a flange from the diff and made a mess with the fluid. Flange was popped back in with a jack handle and a rubber mallet (thanks Bill!).
Still trying to figure out why the flange is popping out.
Next two days, Group 52 open track, open passing....yes!
Four track days in a row! Monday and Tuesday instructing for BMW CCA and then the classic Group 52 open track rubber shredding madness with the rest of the Axis fiends. Updates when possible.
We haven't had time to edit video from the latest awesome two days at Watkins Glen with Group 52 yet but I did not want to keep pictures from the event all for myself!
Once again Mark and Gary put on a great event. As I mentioned before, these are track days for "adults", open track and open passing with one overriding and simple rule: don't be a jerk. Amazing how well the formula works.
Adil had not been to the Glen in a few years but he looked pretty comfortable with his Evo, Stee tried out the newly caged Spec Boxster and I dealt with the MCoupe's leaky differential stinking up the whole track. We had downpours and sunny 80+ degree weather (In October in Northwestern NY!). It was a great time.
You can also find some pictures of this and many other events at Track Time Photos
It has been a while since I've been to the track but the next two weeks are going to be busy: this Friday, Saturday, Sunday we'll be at the Glen with the Genessee Valley BMWCCA and then back again with Group 52 on October 8-9.
It was useful though to once again think about what to bring. The trick, especially with a small car, is to bring as little as possible but not be left missing that crucial bit.
Here is what I'll bring this time
4x Kumho v710.
Aluminum Jack.
Cordless impact gun.
Torque wrench.
Pressure gauge.
2 sets of spare brake pads, one street one track.
Motor oil (my engine needs Castrol 10W60).
Motul brake fluid.
Differential oil and crush washers for drain plugs (just in case).
Tool bag
extensive socket set ($99 from Griot's Garage).
set of wrenches, ratchet and normal.
deep socket set.
hex bit set.
torx bit and socket set.
allen wrench set.
long screwdriver for prying brake caliper clip.
short screwdriver for adjusting shock compression.
It's amazing to me how evenly matched the E46 M3 and the S54 Z3M Coupe can be. For the past few years AC and I have been having a blast lapping together at local tracks at HPDEs. Now that we have data acquisition (Traqmate) and in car video, we can do a post session analysis, compare our differences and similarities and find areas AC and I to improve. Some of the differences could be chalked up to driving style, others to car capabilities. Sometimes it gets hard to differentiate, but at the end of the day all you can do is give an educated guess based on the data recorded.
First, some info on our cars.
Both cars have the same stock S54 engine, the M Coupe is limited to 7600 RPM while the M3 revs to 8k. The engines are not chipped.
The M Coupe weighs in at ~3,000 lbs, 400 lbs lighter than the M3's ~3,400 lbs.
The M3 has SMG, the Coupe has a standard 5 speed but with a 3.46 final drive.
Both cars are on Kuhmo's magical V710 tires, which have enough grip to rip your face off. The MCoupe 245/45/17 and 275/40/17 while the M3 has a square 285/30/18 set.
The M3 benefits from newer suspension technology. Both cars have aftermarket shocks, springs and camber plates. Nicely set up but nothing extravagant or exotic.
The M3 has 4 wheel Brembo set, The MCoupe has stock BMW brakes with Performance Friction rotors in front. Both cars use Performance Friction pads.
Both cars retain full interior, air conditioning, radio etc.
Below is a comparison of AC and my fastest laps from our recent visit to the Glen with Group 52. AC in the M Coupe (affectionately known as "The Shoe") was able to cross the line first with a 2:12.3 and I was just behind in the M3 with a 2:12.7. Let's take a closer look:
The main thing to follow here is the graph at the bottom of each picture, the Velocity vs Distance plot. It's important because it shows who was going faster at which parts of the track. On the top right we show which car is leading overall, and by how much. The spreadsheet in the middle shows other interesting stats like time through that segment, min speed, max speed, max g forces and more.
Click on the images to enlarge them. Let's start the lap.
Through Turn 1 we are pretty much identical. Our minimum speeds are within a few tenths, we brake at the same time, and get back on the gas at almost exactly the time. Our net time difference at this point is negligible.
Through turn 2 we lift exactly the same amount, up the Esses we are dead even up to the shift to 5th in the back straight. This is where SMG shows its advantage with a nearly undetectable blip in the graph whereas the M Coupe's standard tranny shift is clearly evident. This extra shift time nets out to a .15 second advantage through that section for the M3.
Segment 3 is interesting. Both cars brake on the back straight at almost exactly the same point, the M3 brakes a little less and carries slightly more speed through the bus stop but the M Coupe carries more speed around turn 5, "the outer loop". The net difference in that segment is a .05 second advantage for the Coupe, which cuts the M3's overall lead down to .1 seconds.
Turn 8, "the Laces", is the first segment where the two cars show an appreciable difference. In the M3 I'm able to brake 1/2 a second later and get back to full throttle slightly sooner than AC in the M Coupe (thank you Brembo and PF-01 :) ), which nets a .6 second gain in that segment. I'm now ahead by .7 seconds overall.
But, AC brings it back in 7, "the toe". He uses a lot of trail braking, and carries 4 mph more minimum speed through the toe.
Then he's able to storm up the hill and pull harder than the M3 in 3rd gear (this probably has something to do with the 400 lbs weight difference). Overall, AC is able to gain back .5 seconds in that segment and cuts my lead to .2 seconds.
Coming up to 8, "the heel", I brake a fraction of a second later, we go through the turn at nearly the same speed, but AC gets on the gas a fraction of a second sooner, and again, the M Coupe out-pulls the M3 in 3rd gear. AC gains another .1 seconds in that segment and cuts my lead down to just .1 seconds.
For the off camber turn 9, I brake slightly less but I only gain .05 seconds. My lead is only .15 seconds.
Through the fast left turn 10, we are both identical with identical segment times.
In turn 11, AC gets on the gas a fraction of a second sooner than I do and again is able to out pull me in 3rd gear. That seemingly tiny difference nets out to a .45 second advantage through that segment and gives AC the faster lap time by .35 seconds.
Here is a side by side video of the above laps. It is a 33 meg download. If you want to hear the individual engines just pan the audio to one side or the other.
I think all us agree that our two days with Group52 were amongst the finest ever track days. Group 52 is a small group which organizes essentially unpublicized events held twice a year at Watkins Glen. Sold out way in advance, entry is as much by recommendation as application and is limited to 52 entries (there are 52 garage spaces at the Glen) give or take a few. It's open track, open passing and limited to very advanced level drivers.
I love Watkins Glen at this time of year, the weather can be perfect and everything, green. Not so the day before the event when Stee CG and I made our way up to out favorite luxury accommodation, the Relax-Inn in Montour Falls in a tropical thunderstorm....and yes CG was driving on shaved RA-1 tires!.... No matter, the next day the sun was out and the temperature perfect.
At the track we found all manner of machinery, most of it made our cars look like they stood still. Highlights a Palmer Jaguar and a bunch of 997 GT3Cup cars most there in the care of Farnbacher-Loles.
CG was running his and Adil's new Gulf (or is it Sunoco?) painted Exige S. It is a stunner of a car. I'm sure when the engine will get a little extra power and get sticky tires it will be uncatchable. I sure enjoyed taking pictures of it!
Amazingly both Stee and I destroyed our previous lap times at the Glen. I found it fairly easy to consistently run at a mid 2:14 sec pace. Running any faster required getting everything cooled and gettign into a "one lap" mindset. Both Stee and I got pretty good at it and in the end he got down to a 2:12.5 and I to a 2:12.3. Reasonable times for cars with full interior and air conditioning!
Going fast uses brakes and I discovered that Walter from OffCamberMotorsport (our #1 brake pad vendor) was right when he said that Performance Friction pads work ALL the way to the backing plate! check this out... and braking performance was still there.
After the first day and after the obligatory stop at Walmart for some great deals on micro fiber cloths and 50lb bags of cow chow (I kid you not...look at the picture). we headed for another of the Glen's secret trasures, the Stone Cat cafe. It's a fantastic restaurant on the east side of Seneca Lake a few miles out of town. Excellent organic local food and BBQ, reasonably priced and quite the change from the average track food!
We all had just purchased ChaseCam PDR-100 setups hooked up to our Traqmates and the system performed very well, I will have a separate write up later next week. I can confirm that the Chase 3 suction cup mount is good to at least 138mph...that was my top speed when I got a tow drafting Stees M3 through the back straight. That's 4 mph faster than I can go on my own very cool!
Here is a video with Traqmate data overlay of that first day's 2:12 lap. The video quality is not the best as I have yet to figure out which video format TrackVision likes to ingest....in fact I cannot wait until they come out with the long awaited 2.0 version of their product.
It comes out at 2:12.6 because of where I put the timing marker in Trackvision. My Traqmate time was 2:12.5
