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HPDE 1 @ VIR, July30 & 31

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    HPDE 1 @ VIR, July30 & 31

    Just thought I'd share my experiences about my first event.

    General:
    Had a great time at the event, lucky to have a good instructor. The weather was relatively dry on Saturday, soaking wet on Sunday. My most fun sessions were definitely in the pouring rain. Our event was running north course. Did quite a bit of passing, and pointed quite a few by in turn.

    Brakes:
    Having the balls to compress my braking zones into turns 1,4, and 9 were the hardest parts for me. I'd find myself a little more worried about my shifting technique going into turn 1 than about getting my car slowed down, and would often carry too much speed through the turn, pushing the front tires all the way through. If you're going to your first event, and are practicing toe-heeling for it, I would definitely recommend practicing under heavy braking, as it seems to be a whole different motion.

    I was running PBR metal masters, stock rotors, and valvoline synth bfluid. I experienced quite a bit of fade by the end of the 20 min sessions. By the end of each day, I had also gotten quite a soft pedal, and was forced to bleed the brakes each night after the sessions.

    Tires:
    My RT215 (or whatever the old falken azenis are) seemed to dissappoint me a bit. They had great traction for the first 4 or 5 laps, but once they got hot, they were quite slippery. The outside front tire would squeal through turn 1, almost regardless of how much speed I carried through it. In the rain, the moisture must have kept the tire temp down, because they felt 100% better. Their grip didn't have nearly as much variance w/ tire temp.

    Great car, great track, most fun that you can have without breaking a law! :twisted:

    #2
    Actually did your instructor tell you to use heal toe or did you do it??

    When I instruct students, I ask them if they are smooth with heal-toe or not.... if they are not... I tell them to focus on the line, allowing faster cars to pass, and just increase the skill on the line. Once you know the line, then you brake deeper... and then when you can brake deeper then hopefully they know how to use heal-toe technique...

    A lot of students want to do heal toe but they are not smooth at it.. it makes them frustrated and unhappy....

    It just depends on the instructor and the student... but if you want to practice it, the best is a small open parking lot at low speeds...

    Good to hear that you had fun! If its not fun, theres no point.

    Comment


      #3
      ^Nah, he never mentioned it. It was just something I had been accustomed to tinkering with on the street. I should probably practice it a little more before bringing it out on the track again. I'm fine w/ rev matching, just a little rough on the transition between full brake and brake+gas.

      Comment


        #4
        i went to my first school EVER in march running the VIR full course. i bought my m3 a few months before in October and taught myself how to drive stick and heel-toe at the same time. i rev-match and heel-toe EVERY where on the street. i'm now working on double-clutching, but that's quite a bit harder.

        my first or second lap at the 2nd event (VIR north in early July) i overcooked turn 1 and almost lost it and was at my limit on a few more turns. i then backed down and let the speed build as my consistency improved.

        all of my instructors seemed VERY surprised i'd only been driving stick since october, so i guess all my practice on the street and forcing myself to learn proper technique is the reason. i think also my many many many hours playing video games and watching racing on tv helped with knowing what a "line" is. there were some really bad students in the D and C groups, which surprised me. doing my "homework" before the events gave me an advantage.

        i'm still not comfortable under hard braking like turn 1 as i can't really duplicate that on the street. my last instructor had me braking at 5 instead of 3.5 where i was trying to brake. this actually caused me to exit faster as he was showing me how to get the most out of my m3. he understood that e30 m3's need to be driven differently, focusing on trail braking. i can't wait until my next school to work on this more.

        turn 7 where it turns uphill is still my struggling point. turning in while trail-braking and looking WAY ahead gives me problems on all the major turns as i feel like i'll drive straight off the track looking that far ahead. and the transistion from trail-braking to the gas i'm very inconsistent in. i guess that's why i'm a low-C student (started the july school as a D, but moved to C)
        James
        '88 M3

        Comment


          #5
          good shit. I'm kind of surprised your instructor wanted you to get into trailbraking so early. Might have something to do w/ your near off-track excursion 8)

          what event are you going to next? we'll have to meet up in the paddock somewhere.

          Comment


            #6
            that instructor was Mark O'Dell, a very serious racer and an excellent instructor. he's raced a JS e30 m3 and was showing me how to carry the most speed through the turns instead of the normal school approach of braking in a straight line, THEN turning in while getting slowly back on the gas. my instructor on saturday, holland hale, is also a veteran e30 m3 racer and great instructor. i think he was holding back as i was in the D group at the time. he had to leave, and o'dell was the only instructor available so i got bumped to C. o'dell was much more vocal and was focusing heavily on my turn in point and unwinding way earlier than i was actually comfortable with. he got pretty excited when a porsche gave me a point-by, i thought that was cool.

            i'm not signed up for the o'fest school so my next will probably be march or whenever the first tarheel school is held at VIR.
            James
            '88 M3

            Comment


              #7
              Just asking, didn't mean to step on any toes.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by tommyboy
                Just asking, didn't mean to step on any toes.
                i hope you don't think i was all bent out of shape by your question. i was just lending my experience with different instructors. i've had 3 instructors in 2 schools so i've gotten a good feeling for different types. it really makes a difference if you get an instructor that is comfortable with you and YOU are comfortable with. i want to be instructed, not babysat
                James
                '88 M3

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