My Track Day at Circuit of the Americas.

"Slow4o" (Slow4o) 03/24/2014 at 11:32 • Filed to: None

8

27

This past Friday I was able to cross an item off the bucket list: I got to spend a day driving the Circuit of the Americas.

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD! This event was put on by the BMWCCA, and was an all weekend affair that included an HPDE, time trials, club racing, and an autocross on Saturday. I signed up for the HPDE on Friday, and was placed in the blue run group, which was the lowest. The interesting thing about this event was that to even qualify for the lowest run group, you had to have been to some sort of HPDE before. While I am no Senna, I have been to several other HPDE events, so I at least qualified to run at the track. And it was honestly a genius idea to make sure even the most inexperienced driver at the event at least had some track time, because Circuit of the Americas is a track unlike any I have driven before.

The layout of the event for my group was a class in the morning, on track for 30 minutes, lunch, class, track, class, then last track session. The class was more informative for me than most HPDE class room sessions, as we actually discussed the multiple lines that can be taken throughout the course. In our second session, we were actually shown a lap video and that was quite helpful in discussing lines and visualizing them. After class, I finished prepping my car. I thought I had swapped from my street to my track pads, but in actuality I did the opposite. I must have forgotten to swap back to my street pads after the last event (doh!). I also swapped on my brand spanking new 285 Continental/Hoosier slicks. I got these tires from Hoosier for cheap, since they are a discontinued compound from last years Continental Challenge series. They are mounted on 18x10" Vorshlag wheels, which look kick ass and are super light. After the car was prepped, we gridded up for our first time out on the track.

Now I would be lying if I didn't say that I was more nervous driving this track than I had been at any event since my very first. First of all, in the fine print we were told if we damaged any part of the grass or safety barriers, we were going to owe A LOT of money. Second, there were FIFTY people in our run group (give or take a handful), which to me seemed insane. Also, with only 210 horsepower to the wheels, I figured on this track my car would be pretty outgunned. Also, this would be the first time I would ever run on slicks, so I had no idea how the car would handle. I met my instructor in the grid, who was a PCA instructor that had driven COTA a handful of times. He asked me my goals for the day, and I said that honestly my goal was to just drive the track, so anything beyond that was just bonus. So off we went, bringing my slow, underpowered American pig onto a god damn F1 track.

We were actually the last car on track in my first session, which definitely helped me relax a little more. I had been told that this track was big, and would take a while to learn, but good Lord, the size of the place made it very hard to remember what line you were supposed to take. Luckily, my instructor was fantastic and never quit talking to me. The brakes on my car didn't feel quite as grabby as they had in my last event, which should've tipped me off that I had the wrong pads on. The tires felt much grippier than my Nitto 555's, but I didn't explore the limits since, like I said, I wanted to take it easy. Unfortunately, this session was cut short because we were behind schedule, which pissed a lot of people off since we paid over $300 a day for 1.5 hours of track time, and only got about 15 minutes in our first session. It also didn't help with me learning the line, and after this session I knew I was still going to be getting lost on track in the next session. Memorizing the line for 20 different turns is HARD it turns out, especially when you have 2 gigantic straights to break the track up, which took an eternity in my underpowered car. My instructor offered a ride for me in his batshit insane Diasio track rocket you see below, but unfortunately our schedules wouldn't align until after my second track session.

For lunch we went to Wild Bubba's Wild Game Grill, where I had a yak burger with spicy mayo and cheese. It was amazing, and I highly suggest if you go to COTA to skip the concessions inside and drive a mile down the road for this place. I should've taken some pictures here, but the place has fully embraced the track. F1 and other racing memorabilia is everywhere, and they even sponsored 2 Fiat 500's in some sort of race series. After lunch, we went back out on track for our second session. As I figured, I was still getting lost until about halfway through this session, when everything started clicking for me. I began hitting the lines more consistently, and trying some alternative lines through some of the complexes.

Turn 1, up the hill off the main straight, is HUGE when you are driving it. Like, big enough for 8 cars to take the turn at once. There are a couple lines through there, and I mostly went wide , braked late, and late apexed it. Turn 2 downhill is a lot of fun, but very easy to pick up too much speed and miss the apex of 3, which can screw up the whole complex of esses. The next several turns are basically 2 larger esses, followed by 2 tighter ones. While you see some series take these at almost a straight line, it is a lot harder than it appears. The 2 later esses can be very technical, but if you set it up right, you can make up a lot of ground going through 7 and 8. The downhill hairpin (11) is pretty simple, and good lord the back straight is LONG (like this post right about now). I was getting close to the top of 4th gear. I am not sure about speeds, since the different size tires were messing with my speedo. I need to search for a gearing calculator to try and figure out where I was, but I'm guessing 125ish. Turn 15 has several lines through it, and everyone does it differently. 16, 17, and 18 are a carousel, and my instructor really taught me how to let the car track wide through 17, and use the gas to bring it back inside to late apex 18 and really carry a lot more speed into 19. 20 is basically a "throw away" corner, in that as long as you slow down enough to hit the apex, it doesn't really matter what line you take through it. And I have to say, speeding through the grand stands is pretty damn awesome.

So after my second session, it was time for a ride in the Diasio. This thing is an 1100 lb race car powered by a 1L Yamaha motorcycle engine with a sequential transmission. My body was ready. So we strapped in, and I had to grab an "oh shit" handle on the cage with my left hand (you can see me doing that in the picture below, sorry about my friend's thumb) so that my instructor had room to shift. I am glad that handle was there, because I needed it. Good lord was that car freaking insane. I have never experienced cornering like that, and I was amazed at how well my instructor was able to drive it. Since this was the instructor group, there was no need for point by passes, so we had some fun passing a time attack prepped GT-R in Turn 9 that made my butthole pucker. That ride was truly one of the most fun experiences of my life, and I just kept wanting to turn laps riding shotgun in that thing.

Session 3 was fun because I actually began chasing down some cars, like a 335 wagon and an older BMW 2002, which I backed off of once gas started dumping out his tail pipe. After we were done, I swapped back to my street tires, packed everything up, then hit the road.

All in all, this was truly one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life, and if you ever have the chance to do this, take whatever steps you need to to get there. The track is both complex and rewards high horsepower (this is the first time I have felt severely underpowered at a track day), and will offer a challenge to even the most seasoned drivers. I will leave you with the last few pictures I had, but I could've been taking pictures of all the ridiculously nice BMW's and Porsche's for hours (for once I was the only Mustang at an event).

EDIT: Forgot to say that in my 3rd session, I had to come in a little early because my shift knob popped off on a downshift! My shift knob is a screw on, so what happens is with all the shifting, I eventually turned it all the way to the left. I only missed about 2 minutes of that session though. Also GoPro video will be coming at some point.

Harris Lue > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:35

0

Looks like an awesome group of cars!! Your Mustang is pretty sick too!

McChiken116 - Patrick H. > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:37

0

You lucky dude.

Party-vi > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:38

0

Love the plate on the booger-green Cayenne.

doodon2whls > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:40

1

Awesome headlight covers !

doodon2whls > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:40

0

Awesomeheadlight covers !

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:41

0

Those rims look incredible on that Mustang!

Also, for some damn reason, I love that green on the Porsche Cayenne (last pic)

Looks like you had a blast!

Slow4o > Party-vi 03/24/2014 at 11:43

1

Just in case you can't make it out, the license plate is SNOT RKT

Slow4o > Harris Lue 03/24/2014 at 11:44

0

Thanks! Your track day looked fun as well!

Slow4o > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 03/24/2014 at 11:44

1

Yea they look pretty sick. I kind of wish I could put them on as my street rims haha.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:45

0

Can you buy street tires that fit it? Better yet, just use the slicks. Go fast enough and the cops won't be able to tell what tires you got!

Slow4o > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 03/24/2014 at 11:47

1

O yea I could. But these wheels are so light compared to my other ones (2010 GT500 replicas in gloss black) that I want to keep the slicks on them. Also, this thing ain't outrunning anything no matter what tires are on it haha.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:48

0

I remember you saying you had questions about tire fitment for your Mustang?

Slow4o > Paul, Man of Mustangs 03/24/2014 at 11:52

0

Yea I did sorry I never emailed you. I ended up figuring it out but still had to scramble to get everything shipped in time for the track day.

Stef Schrader > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:53

2

My Puffalump showed up in this.

I, unfortunately, had to work Friday. Sad trombone goes here.

Some observations from crashing the party later:

1. Snot Rocket wins at tow vehicle.

2. Clown Shoe Pilot wins at office.

3. I need to fix my cars and drive this again. Maybe bring the 944 sometime if I can keep it from poopin' oil.

4. Got a ride along in a 911SC. Yep, I need one.

5. So, uh, when's the next day that's open to blue students and not perilously close to a LeMons race? Need to drive moar. MOAR!

6. Dude, I need to do more trackdays. I need a tow vehicle for the 944 and I hate that I need a tow vehicle for the 944. Lulzcer = way too much fun; do not want to trade off.

7. The interior stairwell to the observation deck over the garages smells like ice cream. Can't explain it. Don't know why.

8. SQUEE AT EVERYTHING OMG

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 11:55

0

285 tires on a 210whp car is definite overkill

Slow4o > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 03/24/2014 at 11:59

0

Lateral grip is what it is all about man! Obviously I never have a problem putting power down haha. Also, at $110 a tire, these were worth the experiment. Also, the next big mod is going to be a supercharger. I just couldn't run many more track days on my street tires, so this was actually the cheaper solution.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 12:01

0

No worries. Let me know if you have any questions.

Slow4o > Stef Schrader 03/24/2014 at 12:03

1

I wish I would've known Clown Shoe Pilot would have been there, but I should've figured as much considering how many clown shoes there were! Also, I will eventually get a trailer to tow this with my wife's truck, but until then I discovered that you can fit in 4 wheels, a helmet, a tool chest, 2 jack stands, a jack, a little cooler, electric impacts, caliper kit, brake pads, GoPro stuff, a backpack, and a ratchet set into a Mustang with the rear seats down.

Slow4o > Paul, Man of Mustangs 03/24/2014 at 12:03

0

Thanks will do!

Harris Lue > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 12:07

0

I want to do one with my actual car now!! I need to replace my 4-banger with a 5.0 first though.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 12:24

0

I would love to do CotA one day. Alas, I just did a weekend at Roebling Road Raceway (outside Savannah, GA), and now it's front tire time.

Roebling Road tends to give Roebling Road Syndrome, where the front left tire will have plenty of tread, and absolutely no shoulder because it's all worn down.

Stef Schrader > Slow4o 03/24/2014 at 12:29

1

I <3 the Lulzcer for this reason. Part of me would love to drive and park a much smaller car. Part of me also knows that I can fit like, 8 944 wheels just in the back.

BKRM3 > Slow4o 03/26/2014 at 17:20

0

Yep, this writeup was fantastic. Awesome pictures! ...and HOLY crap that Diasio! I can't even imagine. So...you got those 285 slicks for $110 each? Is that still possible? I think I want some lol. That's like a third of the cost of a set of AD08Rs. How many days do you think they'll last? My car is similar in weight to yours (~3650lbs), although it has a wee bit more (ok, double-ish) horsepower.

Slow4o > BKRM3 03/26/2014 at 17:53

0

Thanks! Should be able to still get them. Check Hoosiers discontinued section. They are the GT-O compound. I have no idea how many days they'll last me, but since they're an enduro compound they'll probably last a bit. I'll let you know though haha.

OtisHoyt > Slow4o 03/27/2014 at 20:22

0

krobert > Slow4o 03/27/2014 at 20:38

0

4-285s in the back of a mustang?

the picture just answered all of my track day questions.

thanks. keep the shiny side up.

Slow4o > krobert 03/27/2014 at 21:37

1

No problem! It can actually fit a decent amount of stuff besides for the tires. And I was even being picky to make sure nothing scratched the lips.