TDP Racing Track Days!

It started about 30 years ago.  I joined the SCCA and autocrossed in Akron, every other Sunday, for years.  I won the EP class with my built 91 Civic Si hatch, taking down a Corvette in the process!  It was epic fun.

We did some drag racing as well.  Set times in the 12.1 range with that same all motor Civic and then took the Odyssey on track, yeah, the van, and hit 14 seconds with that thing breathing a 100 shot of nitrous!

Then, years...decades later, I started to track!  Nelson Ledges, Mid Ohio, et al.  Running some FAST time!  We even did a stint in Vegas at Speed Vegas.  The instructor asked if I raced before "not on a road course...why?"  

"You're fast!"  

I smiled to myself, at almost 60 years old,  I still had it!  So now it's on to more aggressive drives in the FL5.  We ran the TLX Type S, fast for a heavy, big sedan, but the Type R?!  That'll be fun!

Stay tuned!

Where to begin! First off, I want to thank Blaine, one of the guys on here for coming out to witness all of this stupid fun! You can ask him....he'll tell you...it was epic!!!

So first off: I've been on 3 track in my life, last year out in Vegas, a 1.3 mile roadcourse with some high end machines! And today. I used to autocross, for years...maybe 35 years ago?!  Won a few trophies, but by no means am I 'seasoned' but...I think I missed my calling. I've never been to Nelson Ledges. It's a FAST course. Fastest course this side of the Mississippi. So power and torque is critical to pull out of the fast sweeping corners and down the front straight!

I was nervous. Didn't want to look like a fool with my 'souped up' 4 door sedan! But as we eased around the track following the instructor for 3 laps, just getting a feel for lines and such....I felt better. The mix of cars was pretty epic: Audi R8, 2 new vettes, M2's, S4's....there were about 10+ cars in my group that went out throughout the day.

Other contenders? Subaru BRZ, VW beetle!?, Mustang GT, some new and older Porsche and then a few club racers that were in the test and tune. So around 25 cars total in the 'street car' category....

So first off let's talk parts:

Brakes: COOKED! The rotors did fine, but the factory pads are SHOT! LOL. Type S is a fat heavy car dammit! I had my red "brake" light come on twice by the end of 2 of the 3 sessions....and they are gone up front. Things were smoldering! LOL

Suspension/Handling: The TEIN springs with factory stuts did fantastic! The big fat heavy Type S handles superbly....better than I could have imagined, truly. An the AWD system is phenomenal! It almost felt like there was a pivot point right in the middle of the car, I could feel the back end just move around from left to right, putting me in the correct spot on the corners. BTW, I ran it in SPORT+ and SPORT mode on the pushbutton.

Transmission: FLAWLESS! I NEVER thought to myself that I was in the wrong gear....it downshifted to redline and kept me in the powerband EVERY...SINGLE....CORNER/Straight/Apex....superb!

Tires: hahaha....these Vredestein Hypertrac Verti+ are WICKED! Not a scrub, not a squeal! Astounding summer tire for sure!

Tune: So this is where the car REALLY shined. it was FAST. yeah, best time was a 1:22.60 according to Dragy! Which puts me UNOFFICIALLY in the top 20 lap times! Top speed I hit was 119 mph. And the car was perfect! not a hitch, not a hiccup....nothing. Just....FAST!

So more on that: Not one car passed me the entire day. I hung with the: R8, 2 new vettes, M2, Audi S4, Mustang GT, and then passed them as this car was BETTER in the corners....and just as fast or faster in the straights. How the Type S hung with the Audi R8 and Vettes on the straights is beyond me, but I had to let up a bit. Ask Blaine! LOL...he was laughing his ass off. Every lap one of them was in front, tying to lose me and then would just give up and wave me past...it was sooooo epic!

The guy in the R8 asked "hey, was that you in the white Acura??" I said "yup..." he just laughed and said "I'm not quite sure how I couldn't lose you...."

Anyway....it was a blast messing with the Euros! Not so great after all....but then, it's all in the driver as well? I didn't think I was THAT good at racing (regardless of what the instructor told me in Vegas last year), with only 3 tracks, now, under my belt. But one thing was for sure? I have no fear. I threw that car around sooo hard and so fast and it just stuck like glue. What an eye opening experience with a big heavy sedan!

Oh where to begin!   So we got the Type R setup for race day:  Paragon Rotors, EBC RP1 Race pads and Motul 660 RBF race brake fluid.  And then the past mods: wheels, sticky Kenda rubber, intercooler, downpipe, shift kit, intake, catch can, thicker 5w30 Amsoil oil and Purolator Boss filter, J's racing sway bars....amongst other small stuff.

So we were ready to roll!  And we did!!  Drove down to Mid Ohio Sunday and pre registered.  So got up early Monday to some misty rain, which dampened and slicked things up a bit, but was a good test of the amazing Kenda rubber!  Btw, got stuck in a DOWNPOUR heading down and the tires did a great job in the water, FYI.  They are Kenda UHP Max+, 285/35-18's.

We'll take this in stages.  

First off were those tires... They stick like glue!  We did get a BIT of 'dogs are barking' moments later on as I built up speed and took corners just wicked fast, but they still never squealed, just bit and grabbed!  What a GREAT tire for a budget price!!  Everything with them was very predictable.  You point the nose and they go there!  Now they are a bit noisy on the freeway....thrumming along.  But it's to be expected with the type of tire they are.  And I didn't mind as long as they stuck like glue!  For 1/2 the cost of some of the others out there!

Even my instructor uses them on his ex cop car Crown Vic...yeah, he tracks that thing basically STOCK aside from some pads and those tires!  LOL...and at 4400 lbs +?  It was sick flying around the track, I know, I was in it!

So screw the expensive Michelins and BF G's, or the overpriced Conti's and Pirellis...and save your money!  Go Kenda, you won't be disappointed!

Next?  Brakes!   After having Firestone change out the fluid at the last minute...don't ask...and just adding the Paragon slotted 2 piece to replace the factory set, I added the EBC RP1 race pads for good measure.  And Blue stuff rears along with Paragon slotted there as well.  So EVERYTHING was new and ready to abuse!

And Abuse I did!  Hitting the brakes at 120mph is pretty sweet when things all work right!  HOWEVER....

We did have an issue:  After about 4 hard laps, the brakes started to vibrate/chatter Really bad.  We'd come in, let it cool and....back to normal!?  What the.  So it's not the brake pads or rotors...but what's going on.....

My instructor grabbed some gloves and we pulled the wheels off Monday later in the day.  We were bound to figure this out.  Pins were ok...pulled the pads and.....hmmmm....they were a BIT tight going into those Brembo calipers....we guessed the heat expanded them enough to catch on the caliper and not sit straight on the rotor.  So chatter!

We found a race team with a grinder and took a mil off each side of the pads.  Slid them back in place and the next morning hit the track!  Result?  FIXED!  The pads were just right to fit, but had no 'room to grow' under high heat.  So with that tackled we tackled the track!

The Times:

We ended Monday with a fast lap of 2:02.  I guess ok seeing as how it's my first track time with a manual since my autox days.  And first track time with the FL5.  I a was used to SH AWD....so had no clue what to expect aside from the rave reviews.  Anyway...

By late morning Tuesday I did what i wanted to do: 1:55 lap time!  Sub 2 minute!  It.  Was.  AWESOME!  And that was with some traffic!  So we could have been in the low 50's/high 40's easy had we had more room!

The car:

Ok, so it's interesting.  I'm used to automatic AWD cars on the track.  The TLX Type S was pretty wicked, and since way back in the day, MY only track day in recent times was with that car.  Handled great for as big and heavy as it was.  Tune, suspension work and no fucks given made for some fast Nelson Ledges times.  I was running only a few seconds off the pace of prepped touring cars on that track!  1:22 was my fast time.

So going to Mid Ohio with FWD track prepped weapon was exciting stuff!  And the reviews had me curious.  Seeing as how it's been 5 mos of daily driving a manual, I thought about it, but didn't.  I just went out and did.

Surprisingly that was the least of my worries!  I just shifted!  Always in the right gear and easier than I imagined.  And with the auto rev matching?  it was pretty sweet!

But boy does that car handle!  There never was understeer. Never.  With the grippy Kenda UHP Max+ 18" rubber on my forged wheels and those paragon brakes bringing the speed in check, it was a dream!  You could feel the back end just coming around, just enough, to keep you pointed in the right direction!  And the faster you went...the better it handled!  Just toss it into those corners!!  Tighter turn in?  No worries, it just went anywhere you pointed it!  

Poor guy in the Toyota GR Corolla couldn't lose me in the straights for sure OR the corners!  Just wish the idiot would have MOVED over or waved me over, so I could get on about setting personal records!

We finished Monday with a fast time of 2:02, according to the +R mapping.  And went into Day 2 with fixed brakes and a mission to go sub 2 minutes.

And the first session out we did!  With a bit of traffic, we hit a fast time of 1:55!  And the instructor called it a good 1:52 or less had we had a clear track to play.  But way to many drivers out there to really get into it.

So all in all it was fun.  I wouldn't do Chin track days again.  Too many drivers out there and way too much money!  I'll maybe hit Nelson again this fall for fun, we'll see.  But the car exceeded expectations  and was a blast to run!!  

Can't wait til fall!