Ran Laguna Seca this Sunday (March 30) with the Nor. Cal. Shelby Club with some HEAVY machinery present; i.e., Shelby gt300's, 500's, AC Cobras, Ferraris, Vipers, Lotus Exige, etc.

Laguna really is special. It's a lot wider than GT3 will have you believe, but you can run out of track very quickly if you blow a turn. The tarmac itself has A LOT of grip, and the track overall is very nice; the surface is glassy smooth, no sudden changes in surface composition, no "potholes," "dips." This is why there's so much grip. The suspension is allowed to work without any compromise to stability. The brums (i.e. gator teeth) are REALLY hard, and when you hit them, you FEEL it. I highly suggest you just brush the burms, not tackle them.

Moving on, every turn is different and most are off camber, deceptive turns. Turn 9, for example, is a decreasing radius turn, and you only really see that once you’ve committed to it. You're at speed, and you just start falling into this cavity, praying the car sticks, The corckscrew itself is actually, an easy corner, albeit one with a really, really late apex (I was turning in after the #1 brake marker). Immediately after you turn in, the car crests and you just floor it. On exit you get a tremendous amount of grip.

The rest of the track is series of individually technical corners, connected by long straights that allow you time to set-up and concentrate. As a driver, you feel the course was thought out. There is "a right way" through all the turns; none of which are there to make the track "interesting."

Took some laps in a Hennessy equipped Viper and it was the most brutal car I've ever been in; acceleration, braking (had 6 pot AP racing calipers up front and massive 2-piece rotors), but what shocked me was how forgiving the car seemed. I watched the inputs, and the car rotated quite slowly and casually; it appeared to have great balance, but the inputs had to be gentle.

HOWEVER, I came across the greatest (street) car ever: the PORSCHE GT2! This, in all seriousness, has got to be the most elegant, beautiful, and AMAZING street/supercar on Earth! It was unreal! The GT2 (stock) passed the Hennessy viper, on the straights, like it was at a standstill, and made it look like an oil tanker in a swimming pool through the corners. I'm in awe.

Lastly, whoever says Porsches aren't sexy, emotive, or even beautiful is blind! The GT2 exudes a bravado that gives the lines of a modern Ferrari a run for their money. It really is phenomenal, and it only restates its capabilities by its day to day utility: the owner drove it to the track, whooped on every car in his run group, packed up, and went home in it at the end of the day.

Cliff Notes: Laguna Seca rocks! If you get the chance to run there DO IT! Even if it means driving for 14 hours over two days! And, the Porsche GT2 is AMAZING!
Thanks for reading.




Modified by bb6h22a at 4:10 PM 6/1/2004

 

I'm jealous

Good to hear you had fun!!

 

There is a dip at T6, on the very inside edge, that can upset you if you aren't expecting it. Avoid it, though, and there is tons of grip available there for a full-throttle exit up the hill.
-Adam

 

It took me 6 days to get there.

The only thing that I didn't expect is the right hand bend before the corkscrew.

And the sound police.

And getting spun

And hitting the wall

 

Mity- You're right. The dip is actually at the apex of T6 (is that the one you're talking about), I was diving into that one all day. So much fun.

 

whoah, you, adam, at full throttle???

 

Nice post. I've actually had the pleasure of driving a viper for two full sessions at buttonwillow. It was stock except for brakes (stock viper brakes supposedly suck on the track) and tires--these were goodyear slicks, tons of grip. And you're dead on about its behavior, very controllable. At buttonwillow it would bounce all over the place on some of the bumps, but it was controllable and it bounced the same way each lap so it was easy to drive. That car makes you feel like a superstar, very well balanced, you could easily managed understeer/oversteer with the throttle and brakes. But it sure as hell needs to be treated with respect and a smooth touch. Try to throw it around and it bites you (although this was probably tire related, not so much chassis related). Anyway, really easy to go really damn fast once you know how to drive it.

 

I really would like to change platforms by the end of the year. Move from FF to FR; I intend on keeping my prelude, but I'd like to learn the dynamics of all the platforms: FF, FR or MR, then RR.

 

nice descriptive post. makes me feel bad for missing an event earlier this year. one of my 'things to do' this year is to do some lapping at laguna seca! can't wait for the pics.

 

Lucky b*st*rd! How did you finagle your way into a Viper? Are you talking about the new ones (500hp) or the old ones? Sounds like an older one.

Hopping back into your 'teg must be like slow motion. Like, "Dude, where's my power?"

It's good that you're still doing track events out there in SoCal and not spending your $$ on botox,

-al

 

Quiet, Tyson. You weren't there the second time I went.
-Adam

 

Yeah, it was a lucky day for me. I was there instructing for unlimitedlaps and there's this other instructor I know who has a red rt/10 (with the bolt on top). His car broke at a past event and I let him drive my car, so he wanted to return the favor I think. He walks up to me and says, hey let's switch cars for a session, and throws me his keys. Anyway, the next session rolls around and he walks back up, says, hey that was fun, let's do it again. Lucky me.

Then I met another instructor who has a new M3 with SMG. He let me drive that for about 5 laps too. Really lucky day for me! Although it was too much like a video game, I'd opt for the 6-speed if I was buying one (and yep, I've had the opportunity to drive one of those on the track too at a past event).

Anyway, yeah, I've been doing quite a few track days down here. I'm instructing for NASA So-Cal too so that opens up a lot of track time. How're your track efforts going?

 

Did Thill a while back. I'm mostly in autox mode now. Been car whoring to keep it interesting (eg turbo MR2). I still haven't done Sears Point yet.

Did the SMG "heel-toe" perfectly? Because a buddy of mine who did the last unlimited laps event said his student's M3 SMG wasn't downshifting perfectly smooth. He didn't note which mode it was in (grandma mode or Hans Stuck mode).

Going back to the topic. I remember getting rides with two friends at the last Norcal Shelby event at Sears Point. One was a souped up Taurus SHO and the other was a stripped and caged open header mustang cobra SN95 style. Buddy asked me, "you got ear plugs?" I say no. He says, "Ah, you'll be all right." Almost went deaf went he hit the throttle. Was like riding a roller coaster. We got stuck in a train of traffic and then on the back straight near T7, all these old school cars like Shelby 'stangs, AC Cobra (or kits) and muscle cars were are pulling out of line to pass. Felt like a muscle car challenge on Playstation GT.

-al

 

Actually, no it didn't. Under hard braking I'd feel a pulse through the brake pedal, like an ABS pulse, on downshifts. Just one, quick pulse. I don't know if the rear wheels were locking up but it didn't unsettle the chassis at all (I was braking only in a straight line). The car had r-compounds on it so maybe that lessened the effect. It also had a really stiff suspension set-up, too stiff for my liking, so that probably exaggerated the effect. Anyway, it wasn't too terrible but it was weird to feel that.

 

Did you by any chance find out what kind of tires the GT2 had on it? I think they come stock with Michelin Pilot Sports (at least the one I sat in did ), which is kind of surprising as that doesn't seem like the ultimate street tire or anything.

Some pictures of my neighbor's brother's GT2 (it was nice to wake up to the exhaust note of this beast).

http://photos.yahoo.com/ksadhal@pacbell.net

 

Now Imagine my frustatation being in a 200hp Honda.

 

He was on yokohama slicks.