I took my G37 to a ProFormance track day yesterday. This was my first time back after I took their driving class 3 years ago in my old GTO. I had a great time, the car was fantastic, met some really cool people, and drove my *** off.

Since it was my first time back I had an instructor for 2 of my 5 sessions, the comparison between my first session and my last was incredible. I was going way faster, driving much harder, braking later. At one point I even passed a guy in a prepped viper (I think it was one of the older club racers).

After I finished my final session my instructor was raving about the car and how balanced it was. He was basically silent for most of the time and said later that he was having too much fun to say anything. Apparently I was taking a couple of different lines than normal, but they were working really well for me.

The only bad thing about the whole day was that I had to manage the G37's stupid limp mode thing it does after 15 minutes of hard driving. If I revved all the way to redline and kept my foot in it through the straight the car would start reducing power and eventually dropping the redline. After my first session I started short shifting at 6500RPM and coasting the second half of the front straight. This allowed me to go 20-25 minutes per session before I'd get cut off.

I had my camera mounted on the rear window so you can see my driving, since it was sunny, the view out the front is a bit washed out. I'll have to set the camera's white balance manually next time.

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niI3OzdX0jE&fmt=18

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3v8ZyGmFvM&fmt=18

I should get some more pictures from the race photographer later, here's one from the paddock.

 

awesome vid!

 

Great vids...quite capable car we own huh?

 

hey thrillhouse, i posted in the other thread about engine cutoff. i wanted to ask, why are you riding the redline on the straights (as opposed to shifting up, even if its just for a few seconds)? this could be the reason for the power loss by increasing temps faster (higher rpm for longer). i guess it depends on how long youre holding the redline...

btw, thats a sick track you went to. i dont think we have anything like that in cali. it would be nice racing through a forest...

 

Thrillhouse, nice videos. From what I can tell, you are doing an excellent job rev matching on your down shifts. Are you heel-toe-ing? I have a tuff time with this because my legs are long. I brake and roll my foot over on to the gas, but its a reach. I'm thinking of adding an aluminum plate to widen the gas pedal to make it easier. Have you done anything to your pedals?

 

Thanks for the compliment.

Yes, I'm heel-toe-ing. My pedals are stock, and I do it the same way you do. Foot on brake, then roll over to gas. I agree that the pedal layout isn't ideal for this sort of thing. My roomate's Evo X is much easier.

What size feet do you have? Mine are size 11 and I seem to be able to make it work reasonably well most of the time. I also have long legs (I'm 6'3"), but they don't seem to get in the way too badly.



gshb: I'm not sitting at redline down the straights, I'm in 5th gear the whole way. In my most recent track day I've tried using 6th gear down the straights and it has helped prevent limp mode for a longer period of time, so I think there may be something to the higher RPMs increasing heat.

 

I'm 6'2" and a 14-W. But it must be how I place my foot on the brake, probably higher, and the gas pedal narrows away from the brake at the top. I notice if I wear my Keen sandal/shoes, when I'm not on the track, they have a wider sole that sticks out past the shoe, and that works well. But my racing shoes are smooth and narrow. I think if I could get the gas pedal about a half inch closer to the brake, it would work better. I make out OK rev matching, but occasionally I don't get a smooth brake as I am rolling on and off the brake pedal. From the video it looks like your helmet is close to the roof, like mine. I actually removed the driver side assist grip because my helmet was tapping it too frequently. It looks like you are riding with the sun screen pulled back from the moon roof. I'm still looking for a solution on the pedal. Someone even suggested widening the brake pedal instead. Haven't decided what I want to try.