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First DE at Sebring

716 views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  CancerJCC 
#1 · (Edited)
Wow, what a day. This was my first DE event ever. I went with Chin Motorsports last Sunday and had an absolute blast. I had a full 3 hours of total track time available to me, and was only able to get in about 2 and 1/2 (oil temps were getting a little over 300). Guess who my instructor was? V-sam on here (John) with the Silver 05 V. How cool is that?!

For weeks leading up to the event I watched a Sebring instructional video about 5 times a day, but the first lap around the track for me it was just sensory overload. I took it easy for the first session, getting used to the track, turn in points, etc. and then starting in the second session I started pushing it a bit harder. One thing I must say is this car held up great. Once I got comfortable with the car and the track, my instructor had me try later braking points using ABS braking, and I couldnt believe just how quick this 3800lb car could decelerate. Pads held up good, didnt get any brake fade even into the last session. By the next event I'd like to have an oil cooler and a decent harness setup; I was sliding around in the stock seats pretty good. Im probably going to go with the Schroth ASM 4 point with the shoulder straps mounted to the rear seat belt bolts, and for the oil cooler I'm torn between a Mocal matrix cooler or drop the $$$ and go with the Ron Davis radiator with an integrated oil cooler. Other than that, probably get some dedicated track pads (Carbotech) and call it a day. Tires still have plenty of meat on them (NT-05) and I'm going to replace the rotors soon with just NAPA blanks.

My only little "issue" I had on the track was turn 17. I learned the hard way that you really need to brake a good bit where the braking zone cones are, turn in towards that cone in the middle, straighten the wheel a little and brake some more, then make the full sweep around turn 17. I didnt scrub enough speed before turning in, and while turning in I realized I was carrying too much speed, so I tried to brake a bit (bad idea) and right at the corner workers station the back end came out and we went for a little ride, but I had the tires pointed in the direction of the slide and was looking into the slide, finally got the back end to settle and all was good. Definitely learned my lesson; a.) scrub more speed before turning in to turn 17 and b.) trailbraking is not for rookies. I'm sure John can chime in on this as well, it was quite a ride!

Heres a video of my cleanest lap without traffic. I had the camera mounted on the driver's side front bumper, but for some reason there is a ton of wind noise and it started to fog up a little. I think I just didnt get a good enough seal on the GoPro when closing it in the case. Anyways, turn down the volume and enjoy. Feedback is appreciated! This lap was a 2:49.8.




Here is another lap with some traffic:



Here is a video playing around with mounting points on Johns Silver V. I wish I would have taken another video facing forward, watching him outbrake the Porsche GT3's in the corners, lol. Damn 2GB memory card!




I cannot wait to get back onto the track, I am addicted.










 
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#3 ·
Great writeup and I'm glad you had lots of fun. That is what it is all about. If you do this enough your competive side will come out and as you start putting down some fast laps, it will be really cool to see how many cars (more expensive, much lighter, etc.) that you can hang with.
 
#5 ·
#6 ·
ah, I forgot to bring that up. I actually tried the star washer fix to help grounding the wire, and that didn't do crap. I think the next step would be to get the reflash done at the dealer.

Question: could a tuner do the same reflash that the dealer does, while tuning the car, and if I get it done at the dealer, if I get the car tuned would it "reset" the dealer fix?
 
#7 ·
sebring is a great track to learn on. the track is wide and you can carry a lot of speed through the turns. Easy on the brakes too. Ive done a few days there in a few different cars. Need to watch out on the pads. the more aggressive the pad the more they eat your rotors. I like to use a hp+ pad. They don't kill the rotors. I usually out brake most cars in my group that are not caged cars. Our braking is awesome. It helps to make up most of the difference in power compared to lighter cars. Glad you had a good time. hope your saving up because this ends up costing a lot when you do it a lot lol.
 
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