Howdy, all!

Just wanted to give a quick recap of my first track day in my F-Type V8S, at Thunderhill in Willows, CA, with NCRC.

After a very pleasant and uneventful drive from Sacramento to Willows (stopping, like everyone else, at the gas stations right off of I-5 to top off), I arrived at the track and found covered parking, which was a good thing since we had some light drizzle to go with our overcast/sunshine early on, and I always drive with the top down, when possible. And I was pretty sure that NCRC required convertibles to be run top-down. I unpacked the cooler, helmet and other stuff, and taped up my headlights and put my painter's tape numbers on the sides of my car. I also lowered my seat considerably, so that I could pass a broomstick test if need be. This reduced my visibility a fair amount, but caused no major issues during the day, other than having to guess where I was in Turn 5, over the Crow's Nest.

A gentleman named Loren came up to me and said he wanted to meet the other F-Type. I was so excited to know that I wasn't alone there in that regards, that I gave him a hug and asked to see his car, too. Lo and behold, it was no ordinary F-Type - Loren brought his Project 7 for the day! We talked about the cars, and parted company to attend our driver's meetings (I'm still a track newb, so we were in different meetings).

My car felt great out there. Clearly quite heavy, but down the straights, it was wonderfully quick and if I balanced the car nicely, I could get around that sweeping first turn at a good 73-75 mph. Through long sweepers, it felt very planted and composed, despite the greasy tarmac we had started the day with (24 Hours of Lemons was there over the weekend, and they left a fair amount of oil). As the day got warmer and I got used to the feel of the car and how hard I was comfortable pushing it, speeds ticked up a bit, and I eventually managed 129 or so on the main straight (between Turns 15 and 1), and 112 on the back straight (between 13 and 14).

The lighter and more track-focused cars, from Miatas to Corvettes to GTRs, came up behind me and passed me, but I had such a good time, and the car felt relatively at-home on the track, that I didn't mind. I purposely let the car break just a little loose here and there, and recovery was easy and painless.

Overall, while I agree with others' sentiments (both here on the forums and at the track), that this car isn't the best track weapon one could choose, it's definitely a happy little tail-wagging kitty that can hold its own and entertain its driver when called upon to do so. Stock brakes and pads held up just fine, and I didn't feel any fade there. The Michelin Pilot SuperSports tires I put on a month or two ago performed admirably.

If you haven't had a chance to get out onto a performance driving surface with your F-Type yet, I'd recommend it highly. It was a tiring, but truly fun and educational day for me. I'm looking forward to exploring Sonoma and Laguna as I can find time to do so...

Professional photos by GotBlueMilk for my car (and the P7) can be found here:
My car and The P7 .

My crappy cell phone camera shots of various cars in the paddock (but mostly of Loren's stunning P7) can be found here:

Crappy phone pics

Hope to see you all out on the roads (and occasional track!) soon!
SP

 

Oh, one quick additional piece of information - during my first session, the windscreen between the headrests came loose at 125mph, flew forward and hit my rear-view mirror before falling innocuously into the passenger seat. I immediately secured it, thankful it didn't fly OUT of the car or bother anyone else. It was, however, noticed by the track marshals and I was flagged for it. I left it in the paddock with the rest of my stuff on subsequent runs.

 

Sounds like you had a great time. I will track mine one day.

 

the physics involved there must've been covered in a class i didn't take because that is mind boggling to me.

 

Silly,

Sounds like you had a great day. Glad you had fun and enjoyed your first track in the Jag. Sorry to sound like a noob, but why do you tape your headlights?

Thank you

 

Have you spent much time in convertibles? The wind comes over the windshield, creating a circular turbulence which curls around and pushes forward into the cabin. That's why in many 2-seat convertibles including the F-Type, wind-screens behind the passenger seats are popular to shield against wind buffeting the back of your head.

It's generally only an issue over 60 mph or so.

 

When you hit something, they don't want glass all over the track

 

Lifetime zero minutes. Thanks, Ohio!

 

Thank you sir. I would hope you didn't hit anything, but I guess to be safe than sorry. I didn't see anyone else with their lights taped that's why I figured I would ask. As always thank you for your responses. Each day I learn at least 1 thing from this forum and all you wonderful people.

Thank you

 

The guys covered the questions - it's funny that most of the wind you get in a convertible is from behind, though it kind of makes sense, since the windshield is covering you from the front, and the sides shouldn't be expected to bring in much turbulent air, in most situations.

As for taping the headlights, it's exactly right - you don't want broken glass on the track in case someone kicks up a rock and it shatters. And our headlight casings are HUGE, compared to my former E46 M3, anyways. I also considered taping up other things like the chin spoiler, since it's so low and I'd like to protect as much of the car from wear and tear, but decided it wasn't much of a risk and it would make the photos look bad.

NCRC, the group I ran with on Monday, used to have more strict track rules - insisting that convertibles run top-down, doing actual broomstick tests before track entry, requiring that headlights be taped, etc., but it appears that they've relaxed a few of those rules in the 5 years since I've been able to go. There were no major incidents the entire day (knock on wood!), which I'm very glad for.

 

Whats the cost of the different beginner programs?

 

What settings did you run, auto or manual? Any issues with the E-Diff? How many laps at a time and total?

Thanks for your input.

I have done over 170+mph with the top down and had no issues with the wind screen, may not have been fully locked in.

 

Sorry for the late response - wife and I took a long weekend up to Reno with the car... So nice to have a vehicle that can do anything I ask it to: track, foothill drives, comfortable highway cruises...

Anyways, to answer questions... NCRC charges about $150-160 for a day at Thunderhill, during which you get 5 20-25 minute sessions across the day. (Side note: I never run all 5 sessions... After the 4th, I'm usually exhausted and am ready for the 90-mile drive home...) While some days have a Driving School group, they didn't on that day... They ran four run groups: 2 Solo groups, one Point-By and one Open, and all are the same price (driving school, too!). Add in a few extra bucks if you're not an NCRC member for the season (it doesn't make sense for me to join, doing only 1-2 days a year...), and if you're paying by PayPal, which I did. I think it was in the $175 range total for booking, plus, of course, lots of gas. Oh, and the chicken strips at Thunderhill are super-delicious... I can't tell if it's because I'm really hungry, or if they're just that good. Either way, I'm very happy with them each and every visit there...

I ran the car in Manual with Dynamic and Sport on. Did not turn off traction control. No issues at all, though I'm far from experienced enough to have the car "holding me back" or anything like that. The few times the car started to get away from me a little, it was really easy to get it back in line, even if that made me slower than if I'd handled things smoothly throughout. It was actually kinda nice to overcook a corner or two, and have the car reassure me that I could handle it. I did 20-minute sessions, so I'd say about 8 laps per session on the 3.1-mile course. My first session was curtailed due to the windscreen issue, so that was a half-session, maybe 5 laps. I'd say I did 29 or 30 over the day at full speed. Aside from the obvious scent of brakes, the car did just fine - the temperature gauges didn't move at all, from what I could tell.

I've resecured the windscreen - I'd had the car at Jag for some glitches a week or two earlier, and they may not have secured it properly. I'll give it as good a testing as I can the next time I'm tearing up the foothills (maybe this weekend... Anyone in the Sac area wanna come with?).