Summit Point

I had my second track event, at Summit Point (after VIR for NSXPO). I can see a lot more of this in my future.

It's fun being in the large-payback part of the learning curve; over 109 laps, my times fell from around 1:42 in the beginning to a 1:29.5 by the end:


Here are a couple of videos, although the speed/other info isn't all that well synced to the video and the audio is complete crap. I appreciate any comments/criticism.
Personal best:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/GxeuS_F943M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

One sec off best, but with OBD info:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PWtvXRlF1is" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>

My god thats a wash board track surface down the straight! Only from watching the video of the quickest lap I would suggest lining up turn 4 later so the entry to turn 5 is more from the right side, that'll widen the arc for 5 so you can be on throttle smoother/sooner to avoid the wheel spin, it'll also give you a more settled car for the 6-7-8 combo.

Awesome job, you look like you are really in control and putting the car where you want it to be. Kick Ass!

Thanks for the feedback.

The guys experienced with the track seemed to like dive bombing into 5, probably because they carried a lot more speed through 4 into the braking zone. 4 is off camber down the hill and is one of the two placed where apparently a lot of cars meet their end. But I would be interested to try a variety of lines through there. I was finally getting some degree of consistency towards the end of the weekend.

I think the vibration is largely an artifact of the camera/mounting as it didn't feel so bad. The track generally has some bumpiness though.

Gear selection

I have a question regarding gear selection. In two places on this track, I was unsure of the best approach because I would have shifted to fourth shortly before the corner. If I left the car in fourth, then it didn't have great power coming out of the corner. If I downshifted to third, it seemed like I might as well have stayed in third and saved myself the back-and-forth.

In the videos above, the corners are turn 3 and turn 10. The second video shows OBD/gear info (albeit with some lack of sync).

Is there an approach you would recommend to someone like me who is just starting out? Shift to fourth and just deal with the lack of torque out of the corner or stay in third and coast into the braking zone?

jwmelvin said:

I have a question regarding gear selection. In two places on this track, I was unsure of the best approach because I would have shifted to fourth shortly before the corner. If I left the car in fourth, then it didn't have great power coming out of the corner. If I downshifted to third, it seemed like I might as well have stayed in third and saved myself the back-and-forth.

In the videos above, the corners are turn 3 and turn 10. The second video shows OBD/gear info (albeit with some lack of sync).

Is there an approach you would recommend to someone like me who is just starting out? Shift to fourth and just deal with the lack of torque out of the corner or stay in third and coast into the braking zone?

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The gear issue may take care of itself as you learn to be faster, as you learn to carry more speed the option to downshift will be gone. For me it is better to stay in the higher gear and work on getting the line perfect and spend less time on getting the shift perfect. It may feel slower at first, hell it may even be slower at first, but eventually as you start to carry more speed through the corner you will need the higher gear. With a six speed you will find the RPM drop from shifting third to fourth will bring you down to 6266rpm from 8000rpm, this is still in the heart of the TQ band and not near the VTEC drop off so 4th is a better choice than 3rd near the limmiter. My home track has several corners that I have this same issue, after resolving myself to driving the track in forth gear and skipping at least 4 gear changes I quickly found I was able to run the same times and soon starting shedding more time. Without the need to worry about the extra gear changes and rev matching and over braking for the downshift the line was easier to maintain and it is also much easier on the equipment.

Dave

Dear lord you're brave! If I heard the tires squealing like that I'd back off in an instant!!!

I hope to someday work up to your pace :smile:

A squealing tire is a happy tire! I have to admit that the higher speed corners were a bit unsettling at first but once I got to know the feedback from the tires more, that gave me more confidence.

Thank you Dave for the help. I kind of figured that would be the case and that was where I ended up. It's definitely nice to hear from someone who understands tracking the NSX though.

If any of you have driven VIR in a 6-speed, was Oak Tree the only second-gear corner?

Nice lap! I have driven that track a bit so I might be able to give some notes to try next time. The notes below are coming from a Corvette driver, so take with a grain of salt.

• On the straight between T2 and T3, do not follow the curve on the track. You can actually make a straight out of this, so you are driving a little less distance and your braking zone is in a straight line. Go straight from the track-out of T2 to the turn-in point of T3. (You do this really well on the bridge straight for your braking zone for T10).
• Turn-in for 3 is a hair early, you can get on the power earlier for the straight if you apex a smidge later.
• I sometimes take T5 even later than what you did, and really dive-bomb into the apex of T5 to stay on the gas longer and "throw away" T5. This is subjective to the car you drive, but do what works best for you. Remember, how you enter T5 affects how you are set up for the carousel so try a couple different lines and look at the data to see what works best.
• Your T7-T8 line is a perfect "school line". I have been trying a different something different where I go straight from the apex of T7 to the apex of T8, then use the inside curbing of T8 to turn the car and set up for T9 on to the bridge straight.

Overall, you seem to really know your way around for only your second event there: Congrats!

I'll upload some videos later today as examples.

Thanks for the notes, I will make sure to review them before I am back there. I would love to see any video you have from Summit Point. (This was my first time at Summit, but my second-ever event. I'll be at VIR in April and SP Shenandoah in May.)

No problem. For the first time there you look really good, and I'm surprised this is your 2nd event.

This first video is more of a school line around the track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yURp3RDxc44

Here is where I changed up that line from T7-T8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_RuLt1h2Qk

There is also a video on my YouTube page of the new pavement at VIR. The track will be a lot wider in some places than when you were out there last year.

Wow, VIR looks really great with the new pavement. Looking forward to my trip in a month.

Thanks for the Summit Point videos. Did you find you preferred the straightened line through T7-T8?

jwmelvin said:

Wow, VIR looks really great with the new pavement. Looking forward to my trip in a month.

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What group are you going with? I'll be there with NASA in early May.

jwmelvin said:

Thanks for the Summit Point videos. Did you find you preferred the straightened line through T7-T8?

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Honestly, the school line felt better. Relying on the curbing to turn the car isn't too fun. But it doesn't hurt to try new lines and see how they feel.

Hokie said:

What group are you going with? I'll be there with NASA in early May.

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I'm going to VIR with BMW Tarheels. The head instructors were at NSXPO last year and we got along well, so I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

Is NASA a good group to run with? I'm considering some of their events. They seem to be a little more expensive than most others.

jwmelvin said:

I'm going to VIR with BMW Tarheels. The head instructors were at NSXPO last year and we got along well, so I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

Is NASA a good group to run with? I'm considering some of their events. They seem to be a little more expensive than most others.

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BMW runs great events from what I hear. I have no experience with the marque-specific groups.

NASA Mid Atlantic runs a nice event, and go to VIR as well as Summit Point. They mix racing in the same weekend, so there is a lot going on. The hot-pulls and rolling grid keep the down-time to a minimum. Last year I tended to stay towards HPDE-only events, which is more calm and usually has more track time.

My personal ranking for track events in this area is: Chin Motorsports, TrackDaze, then NASA. I'll be trying a Friday at the Track (FATT) put on by Summit Point later this summer, but I have heard good things about this group as well.