I recently bought a used G37S and love it. I was looking for a practical car that was fun to drive, a daily driver (I work from home so use the term "daily" loosely) and occasional track car. I had my first autox (or track for that matter) day yesterday and had a blast. It was with Porsche Club of America and about half of the 45 not being Porsches. Here are some notes, I'm hoping for those experienced with tracking our cars to provide some advice (other than get rid of the spare tire/weight and keep practicing, I know those).

Course: Long course for autox on a parking lot surface. As reference, Miatas and S7s with experienced/instructor drivers were running 86-89sec, Porsches (all different kinds) with experienced drivers were running 89-94sec depending on car, rubber, etc. It was a 95+ degree day in Houston, TX.

Driver: Newb but has owned fast cars previously, understands racing lines, apexes, etc but sometimes forgets them in the heat of the moment.

Car: 08 G37S 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, Hotchkiss swaybars, SPC front and rear, SS clutch and brake lines, Project Mu B-Force pads, Stillen oil cooler, +20 whp and +12 wtq (cb exhaust, hfc, Uprev dyno tune)

Settings: Car is dropped but not slammed, -1.7 camber front, -1.4 camber rear, 49.9% cross-weight (all set by GTR track guy), Hotchkiss rear on middle setting, damping at middle setting (8 out of 15) all around

Times: 1st Run - 103sec (VDC on, still getting to know the track)
2nd Run - 97sec (VDC on)
3rd Run - 96sec (VDC on)
4th Run - 96sec (VDC off, car felt very loose)
5th Run - ~ 95sec (VDC off, was thrown off by cone being in middle of track and didn't get a rerun)

I know my car will never be a Miata (nor do I want it to be off the track) and I know that I have things to work on (tighter slalom runs, better lines, better braking times) but what threw be off was how loose the car felt with VDC off. I was riding with my buddy when he clocked a personal best time of 90sec in his completely stock Cayman S and his car felt planted compared to mine. I know that I'm comparing apples to oranges there but I thought my car would feel more stable than it did.

With VDC off, on hard turns and through slalom, anything more than maintaining my speed threw out by back end. I don't think the car is over powered, could it be a rubber issue (either width, type, or temp)? Car weight issue (either total weight or f/r distribution)? Suspension settings? Anyone else have a similar issues out at the track?

Any and all advice welcome and appreciated.

 

You definitely don't want your VDC on in an AutoX that's a start, learn the track by going slow the first time, as you will need to go sideways a bit (it's a RWD remember?)

Focus on your driving I guess, that's how you can increase your times. Harder & Later braking before the turn, zero braking inside it.

 

what tires are you running and what type are you allows to run in your class?

 

G37Sam,
That's exactly what my buddy out there said. I know I have to work in the technical side of it. What part of the UAE are you at? The wife and I just moved back from Dubai (Marina).

Q8y_drifter,
There were guys running slicks out there but I'm not going to take it that serious. I'm running what came from factory, Bridgestone Potenza RE050As. Can you recommend a better brand/tire for track and street use?

 

I've tried the stock Bridgestone Potenza's, Michlen Pilot Sport 2's and Hankook V12 Evo's (current tires) and I prefer the Michlens for street/track use. It's at the upper end of ultra performance street tires.
Any higher and you'll get into the more expensive and not very street-able racing tires like the Michlen Pilot Sport Cup, Nitto NT01's, etc.