Once you get comfortable with the limits of the car you will find that you are much quicker with the stability control off. Don't turn it off yet. You definitely need to master the slow in/fast out, but once you do and get comfortable with the car sliding ever so slightly you will pick up some time with the stability control off. Stickier tires will help too, but once you master the balance of the car with those tires you will really appreciate stickier tires when it is time for replacements.

 

I guess it really depends on who you talk to in regards to traction control on/off for beginners. I have received conflicting opinions from instructors and both make perfect sense to me so it is kinda hard to stick to one train of thought.

1. Turn it off - Drive slow and learn to actually control the car without the nannies. Won't cover up bad habits, like poor throttle control, that'll be much harder to unlearn later on.
2. Leave it on - Save yourself from potentially wrecking your daily driver. Learn to drive fast without traction control kicking in, then progress to turning it off.

Both have their own merits and both are situation dependent. For example if you are doing DE days in your DD vs trailering a "fun" only car to the track.
I agree about progressing and appreciating stickier tires and all the "fun stuff that comes along with track driving as your skill level increases.

 

Just tossed up a review on the ZSpeed shifter I installed about a week and half ago:

https://www.myg37.com/forums/drivetr...-assembly.html

 

This is just my 2 cents so take it for what it is worth. I have been doing track days in a wide variety of cars for about 20 years and have been asked to be an instructor a few times. To this day I still do at least the first lap with the stability control on just so it can catch me if I make any mistakes in judgement (ie. track surface, tire temp, car balance, etc.). This is especially true on a new track, a car with some new modifications, or it starts raining. Looking at how hot you are coming into corners and complaining about not being comfortable with how the car was getting loose I would say it is probably best to leave it on at least until you are comfortable with the car getting loose and you can catch it and also once you have figured out how much faster you can be going in slow and coming out fast of a corner.

The good news is that our cars are well balanced and have very predictable handling. I don't think I have ever initiated a slide that I lost control of in this car. Have an instructor ride along or drive so they can show the proper techniques. The best mod for your car is to improve the abilities of the person behind the wheel. Best of luck!

 

I hear you and am all ears to take in as much knowledge as I can from seasoned drivers. When you get the time could give me some feedback as to which corners you feel I'm going into way too hot? I'll post a video of the track line I'm following and other videos from faster drivers that I've watched with the understanding that my skill level is no where near their level nor their car set ups. Also to clarify I'm very comfortable with traction on, the little sliding that does occur I can control. It's when I try TC off that it gets me since I have basically no experience in controlling a RWD oversteer occurrence, that's also why I'm going to be signing up for some car control coaching.

Here is the line:


Here is one of my past instructors:

 

The TCS in this car is so conservative that I think it will be impossible to learn anything about the car's limits.

It stops the car from getting anywhere close to the limit, I feel.

But...I will add a comment that I absolutely NEVER use TCS. Snow storms, Ice storms, rain, track use....RWD, AWD, FWD...never.


Everyone is different. My track S2000 has VSA which I shut off literally anytime I enter the car. But when I had a couple of friends track it...I noted they left the VSA on. I called them derogatory names, naturally. But as soon as the VSA turned off...then came the skids and spinouts. Maybe they were just used to leaning on it? Idk.

I'd try shutting it off at a track that's safe enough to try out.


The only traction control I've experienced that lets you dip into the car's limit was on a 991 GT3RS in "race" mode or whatever the most dialed back option is. My friend has 2 of them that we were sharing at COTA. I am still 200% sure I could have gone significantly faster without the stability on, and not come anywhere close to wrecking the car. But...he felt more comfortable if we just left the PSM or whatever turned on. I obliged since I'd never been to COTA and I didn't have enough cash on me to wreck those cars.

I noticed it most when I wanted to deliberately cause some slip to set the car on a particular section(s) of the track for successive corners. Or to use throttle/brakes for steering. Instead of sliding wide, the car would just hang to the inside.

As annoying as that was...and as tempted as I was to turn it all tf way off....

• I did not know how to operate the various buttons
• it wasn't my car

 

I agree with you 100% about the stability control kicking in WAAY too early. I turn it off anytime I actually want to have fun driving the car. Even with the super sticky tires I run, it still kicks in too early on the street. We refer to the stability control as "fun suck" mode.

Lude- I will try to watch those videos when I get some more time.

 

My recommendations once you get comfortable driving without the stability control on:

Without being overly familiar with that track I would recommend starting with corners that end before the longest straights and prioritize going in a touch slower so that you can carry more speed through the corner and accelerate earlier coming out of the corner. (You don't win races being the king of entry speed.) Ideally, you want just a touch of controllable slip, just beyond the limit. When your tires start screaming for grip in the middle of the corner and you have to overcorrect to stay on your intended path, it is usually because you came into the corner too hot. Conversely, every mph you can gain coming out of the corner gets multiplied by a higher top speed at the end of the straight. However, this means you now need to adjust your racing line at the end of the straight like you do at the beginning so you can effectively lengthen the straight a bit and change your braking zone to account for the extra speed at the end of the straight.

 

Appreciate the input, and it sounds like a solid progression plan, coming back to slow in/fast out as well.

 

Was back out at Laguna Seca this past Saturday 3/27/2021 with OnGrid and it went great. Pulled in a 1:53 PB down from my previous PB of 1:59 last month. Getting a lot more comfortable with the car while working on driving smoothly. Kept TC on until the end of the day where I did a few slower paced laps with it off. Didn't have too much slipping but quickly realized that driving with TC on certainly hides my poor throttle control. Had an off on turn 9 which was fun(not tc related), started drifting to the right and fixated on a cone...and..took it out while going all four off track lol. I know from riding not to fixate on any objects because that is exactly where you'll end up. Rather keeping eyes down the track and your hands will follow.

Car held up great again with no brake fade, oil temps maxed out at 245F and coolant at 216F. Weather was around 75F and although it felt warmer, track conditions were great. Met another G37 driver who progressed from high 1:50's to a 1:54 throughout the day himself which was cool to see. He was running BC coilovers, 275/245's, and FBO with an Admintune while I'm running stock power, sway bars, 245's, and track pads.

Here are two laps: 1:53 from the second session and 1:54 from the 3rd. Sorry for the poor audio again, the 1st lap has really bad clipping from the mic being in the trunk. 2nd lap is better but still a lot of wind noise.



Anyone have any advice on how to pick up good audio? I'm running and external lav mic to the rear of the car with a windscreen/fluffy/deadcat thing which is what everyone recommends but it still sounds like crap I tried the license plate, the bumper just below the trunk line, inside the car, inside the trunk, and nothing sounds good.

 

Shifter update :

Unfortunately the rattle and NVH have returned. It's not as bad as it was prior to the R&R with additional grease but it is noticeable for sure.
I reached out to Joe and this was his response:

"These are going to have more feel in them as they are not as damapened as the OEM shifter which is pretty common with any short shifter. You will feel more through it."

So I guess it is just something I'll have to live with if I keep the shifter. It does only occur between about 5,000 - 5,300 RPM which isn't too bad, maybe I'll get a video to help illustrate the NVH better.

One thing to note is that the factory leather shift **** dampens the NVH quite a bit more than my Mishimoto **** which is a metal core with a Delrin cover on it.

 

I wasn't really looking for an intake but Goldbug posted his Z1 intakes for sweet price and I was lucky enough to see the post minutes after he posted it so I swooped them up. I'll put them in sometime this month after ordering some replacement filters. Big ups @goldbug . Thanks dude!

I also threw in a set of ADD.W1 oil catch cans today.
Quality feels great and fitment is very acceptable as well.




Probably not for those who like minty engine bays but I don't care too much as long as it is not nasty grimy.

Quality bracket.

Don't mind our fat boy hanging out.

Slight contact with he factory passenger side air box. Which is going to be coming out away.

Hard to tell but there is space below the can and above the upper radiator hose.

A little hard to tell but the dip stick on the can touches the hood liner.

Liner contact, again no big deal as it just gives.

 

Keep us updated on blow by levels if any.
As for your mic, if it's a removable/remote, try placing the mic lower than the windows. Based off camera location, it's a spot that will see a lot of noise, also by placing the mic closer to the bottom/front of the car you'll get more engine noise which can be beneficial if you track your vids for improvement.

 

Nice work! Shaving off 6 seconds on a short track like that is a huge improvement. Just don't expect to make those types of gains every time you go out. Good advice on keeping your head up and focusing as far down the track as you can. If you get into a sticky situation while sliding, focus on where you want to end up and your body will react to try to get you there. (Don't focus on the wall or you will hit it.)

 

Will do in 1,000 miles. I'm expecting a good amount as there was already blow by in the factory hoses that I had just cleaned when I replaced the PCV valves a few thousand miles ago.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm using an external lav mic(which might be part of the problem) and a windscreen but I don't think the windscreen was 100% sealed against the cord causing the wind noise. I will try the passenger side floor board with the new Olympus mic and better wind screen I just got from amazon.

Tell me about it lol it was very exciting watching the time on the GoPro afterwards. I was thinking the exact same thing to myself too hah. "6 seconds is a lot but don't expect that again from here on out."