scathing

The line that MT specifies for the kink into T2 (even though MT and a lot of people refer to it as T1, Wakefield officially reports it as T2 and the kink is T1) is exactly what other people have been telling me.

However, I'm still struggling to find that line that'll have me braking in a straight line to the turning point. The turn itself is more than 90 degrees, I think, which is why its a late apex. The correct line through it would be a J curve, not the U curve you get on an obtuse angle (measured from the inside) corner.

Depending on if I've had a good run down the straight (ie if I didn't have to overtake and then return to the edge of the track) I can sometimes get away with lifting at the kink, otherwise its a gentle dab on the brakes. Most of the times when I've tried braking hard for that first hard turn after flying through the kink, I've had a little steering attitude on, which got a lot bigger when I got hard on the brakes and unloaded the rear.

I have dynamic drifted that turn once doing that, and I almost needed a change of underwear. I hope it looked impressive from the outside, but from the seat of a driver who's driving their new car and just gotten their car sideways trying to brake from 160km/hr, it was a mixture of snap counter-steer and clinging on for dear life.

I'm not bad on the rest of the track, aside from that. Its only the first and last turns that really catch me. Anyway, photos to come.

(I might copy and paste that into another forum where I've made mention of the open day.)

scathing

Well, Wakefield was fun and I managed to pretty much wear out my tyres. Will have to start shopping for a new set.

The day was excellent. Perfect weather. Cold, but cloudless and high visibility. Once you got the tyres up to temperature, you could wring the car out and feel relatively confident that the engine / tyres / brakes wouldn't cook themselves for a few laps.

I still can't manage to get the line out of the kink into Turn 2 right, which means I can't stay on the throttle like the more experienced guys do. I keep exiting out of the kink towards the turn-in point with a little steering attitude, which means I can't apply the brakes as hard as I'd like.

The Popcharger / HT combo makes my car sound like a race car down the main straight, and the extra depth and volume when I come across the pit wall and get reverb sounds excellent. Everyone loved the sound of it as I drove last the start finish line flat-throttle in fourth. (I also popped it back into third and revved out the gear through the airport tunnel, and it sounded great).

I was hovering around the 1:15ish mark all day, and I'd time myself on one lap each session.

I think with new pads (which haven't arrived yet) and fluid, so I can trust the brakes a little more, and road legal semi-slick tyres, I could probably break into the low 1:13's.

Best time that I personally measured (with 2 people in the car):

DavidM

Thanks for the report Scathing. 1:14.79 is pretty good considering that you had someone in the car. A passanger in the car adds to the time so you'd be quicker without him. How much is hard to tell, but I'd guess that it'd be at least 1/2sec. Did you manage to notice what speed you were pulling on the main straight this time?

With R-spec tyres you should go another 2sec (or so) quicker, so I would not be surprised if you dip into 1:12s just by doing the same thing.

I still can't manage to get the line out of the kink into Turn 2 right, which means I can't stay on the throttle like the more experienced guys do.

From what I hear, there's a fair bit of time to be made up here. Not sure how much, but staying at full throttle for a bit longer always has to count for something. Considering that I've never been there, I'm by no means someone who knows Wakefield, but from what MT mentions, it sounds like they do it with any/every car and that means that with cars that are hittng close to 190kph on that strainght (and hence through the kink).

scathing

I had the digital meter set to speedo on my non-timed laps, and I was lifting at around 160km/hr or so (I'd say those were 1:15-1:16 laps).

The people following me noticed how early I was braking into the kink. For whatever reason, I couldn't get the line right through there. Previously, I'd just lift before the kink and coast it around before braking. This time I was braking into it.

Still, its responsible for consistently quickish laps so maybe the slowness I carry between the Kink and Turn 2, which allows me to take Turn 2 smoother, gets made up as I power out of Turn 2. I was turning a lot slower than I could, but on that 1:14 lap I was "showing off" as such, so I was working the brakes and tyres a lot harder than I was otherwise.

I don't doubt that there's at least a half a second to be made from doing the Kink flat and using the stock brakes and tyres to their fullest capacity all around the track. Its just that they won't be able to sustain that effort for more than 3-4 laps before going off, whereas I was doing 20 minute sessions and coming off with full use of my brakes, and the tyres only moderately overheated and mildly greasy.

DavidM

had the digital meter set to speedo on my non-timed laps, and I was lifting at around 160km/hr or so

I'm pressuming that there's another 10kph or so in the car as at the BFYB last year they 'radar' clocked the 350Z at 171kph at the end of the straight. I pressume that it involves taking the kink flat out, and braking as late as possible for the turn 2.

scathing

Undoubtedly. I've done 165km/hr down the main straight before, and even then that's not braking at maximum effort.

I don't know what their setup is, but even with the Track model, if they're doing one-lap dashes then the braking distances between their model and mine wouldn't equate for too much difference.

DavidM

I don't know what their setup is, but even with the Track model, if they're doing one-lap dashes then the braking distances between their model and mine wouldn't equate for too much difference.

As far as I know the cars are left as they are delivered by the dealer/manufacturer. That means stock, on OME tyres, but they do raise the pressures to something 'safer'.

Also, from what I gather, the 'pro' driver does a 3-lap-flyer to clock the time. That is one warm up lap, 3 flyers, and one cool down lap. That is about the same as one does at club sprints, and adds up to ~10min of track-time.