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Track report - Streets of Willow CCW

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1st time at Street of Willows – CCW as a noob enthusiast.
1. Traffic on the uphill middle of turns 9 and 8. Turn 2 and 1.
2. Instructor didn’t want me to brake late or care about the time. The goal is to learn the line and be smooth. I don’t blame him. I probably will feel the same if I was him since it’s my first time on this track.
3. Some cars won’t "point by" even though I am tailing them. Since I am not in the advanced group, they only want is to overtake in the middle of turn 9 to 8 and turn 1 to 14.
4. Lesson learned – M3P can be pushed beyond my feeling of the car’s limit.
5. I need racing seats and harnesses to control the car. I’m all over the place each turn. Every brake is bad. I can’t brake hard without holding the steering wheel to control myself moving forward and then turning hard, while using my knees to stop myself from moving left and right. You cannot control the car to its full potential like this under pressure and stress.
I am hoping Mountainpass performance starts selling their seat package.
6. Rear tires sidewall has more wear and tear than the front due to track mode 30/70
7. 30psi cold. 36 psi hot after 1st session.
8. I charged the M3P 98% at home. 95% once on the track 94% on the turn.
  • 1st session ends and I have 70% battery left.
  • 2nd session ends and I got 40% battery left. I drove to the supercharger with 36% left, and charge 85%. Got to the track with 78%.
  • 3rd session, 40% left. By this time, I knew there was no point running since I still want to go home. I should have skipped the 3rd session, charged the car 90%, go to 4th session in hopes that there are fewer people running.
9. Lots of traffic. I won’t return to this track event again. I will only attend if it’s a private event with my friends or fewer cars like socaldriversclub (40 cars limits). I rather spend more money to get more time on the track. Also, I should’ve gone up a group. Although, I will lose my instructor since he is running on that group.

PB 1:32. It's slow but I am confident I can break into the 20s if there's no traffic , and no point-by-pass in certain turns. Going to a private event and paying more is much better. Lesson learned.

My Tesla chasing BMW M4 outside camera

My Tesla chasing BMW M4 inside gopro camera

My Tesla chasing Lexus IS-F inside gopro camera
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Nov-19-2022-Extreme Speed (Sat) [[6f57c201c2]] - 4-Orange - session 1 turn 14 - WS8_0094_Nov19...jpg
1.jpgNov-19-2022-Extreme Speed (Sat) [[6f57c201c2]] - 4-Orange - session 1 turn 14 - WS8_0094_Nov19...jpgNov-19-2022-Extreme Speed (Sat) [[6f57c201c2]] - 4-Orange - session 1 turn 14 - WS8_0296_Nov19...jpgNov-19-2022-Extreme Speed (Sat) [[6f57c201c2]] - 4-Orange - session 1 turn 14 - WS8_0343_Nov19...jpgNov-19-2022-Extreme Speed (Sat) [[6f57c201c2]] - 4-Orange - Session 2 turn 6 - WS8_0039_Nov192...jpgNov-19-2022-Extreme Speed (Sat) [[6f57c201c2]] - 4-Orange - Session 2 turn 6 - WS8_0425_Nov192...jpgNov-19-2022-Extreme Speed (Sat) [[6f57c201c2]] - 4-Orange - Session 2 turn 6 - WS8_0542_Nov192...jpg
 
1st time at Street of Willows – CCW as a noob enthusiast.
I've never run The Streets CCW. That would actually be pretty interesting. The front straight might be a bit fast coming off the turn downhill. One could really use this straight to get comfortable with late braking from high speeds as the skid pad at the end would provide a ton of run off (though if I were rubbing the event, I might ditch a chicane somewhere in it to bring down the speeds a bit. The bowl would become a decreasing radius banked turn but may start off with a relatively slow entry as you'd be coming uphill into the blind chicane preceding it.

5. I need racing seats and harnesses to control the car. I’m all over the place each turn. Every brake is bad. I can’t brake hard without holding the steering wheel to control myself moving forward and then turning hard, while using my knees to stop myself from moving left and right. You cannot control the car to its full potential like this under pressure and stress.
I am hoping Mountainpass performance starts selling their seat package.
I'd be pretty reductant to replace a seat with a lot of functionality unless it's a dedicated track car. I've suggestion if would offer is to put pressure on the dead pedal with your left foot during turns. This pushes you into the seat a bit more helping to keep you from getting tossed around.
6. Rear tires sidewall has more wear and tear than the front due to track mode 30/70
Sidewalls have wear? You might need to increase the tire pressure. I don't have experience with tracking the M3 so I'll defer to others on this one, but you really don't want to be rolling over onto the sidewall. You lose grip this way and certainly eats up tire life sooner. Camber can help here, but I tend to prefer to avoid alignment adjustments on a daily driver if I can help it.
 
what's your mod list?

-100% agree on the issue with the seat.. last event I did I was so sore after from trying to hold myself with the steering wheel, door and center tunnel.

I just ordered a schroth quick fit pro 4 point harness (BMW E90), there's a good deal right now with APEX performance parts (20% off and no tax). DM me and I can send you the info.
 
Nice! I had the same experience with stock seats on the track with good tires. Immediately ordered a pair of Schroths and a compatible HANS device.

Even with 3.2F and 2.5R camber and 42 PSI, I am pretty far down the outer edge of the tire. 30 cold sounds really low for a 4100lb car!
 

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I've never run The Streets CCW. That would actually be pretty interesting. The front straight might be a bit fast coming off the turn downhill. One could really use this straight to get comfortable with late braking from high speeds as the skid pad at the end would provide a ton of run off (though if I were rubbing the event, I might ditch a chicane somewhere in it to bring down the speeds a bit. The bowl would become a decreasing radius banked turn but may start off with a relatively slow entry as you'd be coming uphill into the blind chicane preceding it.


I'd be pretty reductant to replace a seat with a lot of functionality unless it's a dedicated track car. I've suggestion if would offer is to put pressure on the dead pedal with your left foot during turns. This pushes you into the seat a bit more helping to keep you from getting tossed around.

Sidewalls have wear? You might need to increase the tire pressure. I don't have experience with tracking the M3 so I'll defer to others on this one, but you really don't want to be rolling over onto the sidewall. You lose grip this way and certainly eats up tire life sooner. Camber can help here, but I tend to prefer to avoid alignment adjustments on a daily driver if I can help it.
What PSI are you running for start? 35PSI or 40PSI? i know it goes up 5PSI.
 
what's your mod list?

-100% agree on the issue with the seat.. last event I did I was so sore after from trying to hold myself with the steering wheel, door and center tunnel.

I just ordered a schroth quick fit pro 4 point harness (BMW E90), there's a good deal right now with APEX performance parts (20% off and no tax). DM me and I can send you the info.
Suspension
Tein Flex Z Coilovers
Eibach Anti-Roll F&R Sway Bar Kit (F: 32mm / R: 22mm) (front full soft, rear max stiff)
MPP Cyber Lower Rear Trailing Arms for Tesla Model 3
MPP Front Compression Rod Inserts for Tesla Model 3
MPP Solid Front Lower Control Arm Bearings for Tesla Model 3
Tesla Model 3 Megan Racing Rear Toe Arms
Tesla Model 3 Megan Rear Upper Camber Arms
Tesla Model 3 Megan Rear Upper Trailing Arms

Wheels and tires
Titan 7 T-S5 - 19x9.5 / +34 / 5x114
275/35ZR-19 HANKOOK VENTUS R-S4

Brakes
Stoptech STR-60 Big Brake Kit for Tesla Model 3 | MPP.R - 380mm
MPP Page Mill 2 Piece Rotors - Rear
Pagid RSL Track Brake Pads For Tesla Model 3 - Stoptech STR60 - RSL 29 front and rear
Castrol SRF Racing Brake Fluid
Tesla Model 3 Brake Master Cylinder Brace

Others:
Camber is 1.0 since it is my daily.
Cornered balanced
 
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Reactions: Lindenwood
what's your mod list?

-100% agree on the issue with the seat.. last event I did I was so sore after from trying to hold myself with the steering wheel, door and center tunnel.

I just ordered a schroth quick fit pro 4 point harness (BMW E90), there's a good deal right now with APEX performance parts (20% off and no tax). DM me and I can send you the info.
how do i message you? i tried clicking that but it didnt work. - noob qs.
 

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Nice! I had the same experience with stock seats on the track with good tires. Immediately ordered a pair of Schroths and a compatible HANS device.

Even with 3.2F and 2.5R camber and 42 PSI, I am pretty far down the outer edge of the tire. 30 cold sounds really low for a 4100lb car!
are you running 42 PSI cold? that means it will go up 5PSI after a hot lap right?
I didnt really want to change the camber since this is my daily but it is tempting. lol
 
are you running 42 PSI cold? that means it will go up 5PSI after a hot lap right?
I didnt really want to change the camber since this is my daily but it is tempting. lol
I run race camber daily and with zero toe tire wear doesn’t seem too extreme (I am at about 5k miles since I started doing this).

Yes, I started at 42 PSI cold. I will go down to about 38 for AutoX, but the instructors at the road course recommended starting at factory settings.
 
I run race camber daily and with zero toe tire wear doesn’t seem too extreme (I am at about 5k miles since I started doing this).

Yes, I started at 42 PSI cold. I will go down to about 38 for AutoX, but the instructors at the road course recommended starting at factory settings.
Got it. I have a track day in the next 2 weeks. I will try 42 PSI cold and see how it reacts.
how many miles do you drive per week on those tires?
 
Sounds like you learned a lot on your first track day. While most newbies simply want to put down the fastest time for the day (Ego), others realize that the real goal is to learn and become a better driver.

Getting a 5 or 6 point drivers harness will significantly enhance your track day experience. Gives you much better control and situational awareness of how your car is reacting to inputs. Higher tire pressures are generally used for track Vs street driving. A better driver will be aware when they are overdriving their tires and smooth out inputs to optimize cornering speeds.
 
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For my edification, what data are you using to justify such low pressures? As mentioned, running no shims and 42 PSI cold I was still well into the sidewall on 200tw tires. Are you at 4-5 degrees of camber, or are your tires super stiff?I'
42 psi cold is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too high for a 275/35/19. On the track you will gain another 4-6 psi on top of that. The tire surface wont' be uniform enough for contact patch and you'll be hopping all of the place.
Tesla advertises high tire pressures only to maximize range,.. no other reason.

As a track junky I can tell all of the cars running 200TW or anything aggressive are in the 20s cold to start at the track (BMWs, Vettes, Stangs, Porsches, etc.)

Yes the Teslas are heavy but so are Camaros, CTS-Vs, GT500, etc.. and they don't run ridiculous tire pressures like this. I had a 2020 ZL1 1LE and it weighed 3850lbs and I was running 30-32psi cold on the street,.. on the track I went down to 29.
 
42 psi cold is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too high for a 275/35/19. On the track you will gain another 4-6 psi on top of that. The tire surface wont' be uniform enough for contact patch and you'll be hopping all of the place.
Tesla advertises high tire pressures only to maximize range,.. no other reason.

As a track junky I can tell all of the cars running 200TW or anything aggressive are in the 20s cold to start at the track (BMWs, Vettes, Stangs, Porsches, etc.)

Yes the Teslas are heavy but so are Camaros, CTS-Vs, GT500, etc.. and they don't run ridiculous tire pressures like this. I had a 2020 ZL1 1LE and it weighed 3850lbs and I was running 30-32psi cold on the street,.. on the track I went down to 29.
To be fair, I measured tread depth inner-center-outer on all 4 tires before and after my 50 laps I still surprisingly wore the tread evenly, down to the half-mm. And yes, I did see 6-7 PSI increases after the fastest sessions! Would lower pressures not have resulted on more outer wear, thus requiring more camber? I was running MPP Comforts at full-stiff, plus a UP rear anti-sway bar at full-stiff, but were the relatively soft coils and dampers (compared to sports or “Race” variants) masking the rougher ride?