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Just come back from a great day at the Goodwood motor circuit with the V6S. I was a bit concerned because I was put in a group with all the 5 litre V8 XKRs, but the F more than held it's own. Allowed 2 cars past all day, but went past dozens. A tuned 617 bhp XKR spun off into the field in front of me which was quite exciting - he and the car were fine (slight damage to the car). The F recorded 134 mph by the end of the lavant straight before braking for the tight bend. Did this each lap for about 20 of the laps, but a bit pxxxxx because I never saw 135 - chickened out each time as the corner rushed up! Discovered the car also has a "G" meter which was fun - measures the maximium G you pull left, right, accelerating and braking. Pulled 1.02 G on the left hander at St Mary's. Think that's pretty good? I've not done much of this in the F before. Must do it again!
Few pics of my car below
Taking the flag Pit lane, waiting for the off.
My wife as passenger, sitting nervously in the car! Think she trusts me.
I used to have an XKR and found it really hard work on a track. The power comes on all of the sudden then you lose traction and the dts kicks in and locks up the wheels, you have to ease off when your instinct is to push down harder on the accelerator. You can turn off the dts but then you risk spinning it off as old mate did.
On the same (small) track I found I could go much faster in the v6S (luckily they were Jag's cars, not mine), you can get the power down better, the gearbox is better suited and it is much more controllable. They arent as quick in the straights, but going into and coming out of the corners is much, much better.
Did you run with DSC on, Trac DSC, or totally off?
On to start with, then Trac when I felt more confident. To be honest, didn't notice a difference when I went to trac, so went back to On. Particularly after watching the XKR S go off in a cloud of debris! Pulled the 1.02 G with DSC on, no sign of letting go, and I'm not sure I'm good enough to take advantage of Trac.
Nice! V6S FTW! Great to see someone who's happy with the track capabilities btw.
How did the tyres and brakes do? Anything left of them?
Brakes were fine, I've got the performance brakes, (although red calipers?) and they showed no sign of fade. Tyres were very hot, and a little worn at the edges, but held up well. They'd only done 1000 miles before the day. MP4s
Nice to see that there are more of us who enjoy the handling. I never quite understood the guys who whine about that the F-Type is heavier than say a Lotus and therefore no good on the track.
The v6S absolutely fantastic even on a tight track. The harder you push it the better it goes. The p400 is actually better. With the R I felt like I was fighting the front end a bit, but maybe I was going faster
The v6S absolutely fantastic even on a tight track. The harder you push it the better it goes. The p400 is actually better. With the R I felt like I was fighting the front end a bit, but maybe I was going faster
Hmm, do you mean that the 400 handles better than the V6S, and if so how can that be considering that the cars are exactly the same except 20 horses at the top end and some trim?
no, I mean that it is quicker but handles exactly the same, lol. You actually feel the extra 20 horses when you give it stick, personally I liked it the best out of all of the pre-modded f Types, though I havent driven the SVR. The trim is a bit flashier too.
Ok, interesting, didn't think it would have been noticeable. I've never driven a base car so can't compare but that's also what I've seen in back to back reviews between base and S - that those extra 40 horses clearly are noticeable if you push it.
You obviously met the noise restrictions, which band were you in - 98 or 105dB?
We were in 98, but they couldn't noise test before the start properly because in neutral as you'll probably know, there is a rev limiter so it would only go to about 3,000 revs for the test. Also, I had the noise button off! So they gave me a sticker anyway. Once out there, I kept the exhaust valves shut to start, and all was well. I then opened them, and I did get a noise board held up, but that only means "you're on the limit, don't get any worse" I didn't get black flagged. Kept them open for the rest of the day, and never got bothered again. So I guess they were either being generous, or it just makes 98!
Ok, interesting, didn't think it would have been noticeable. I've never driven a base car so can't compare but that's also what I've seen in back to back reviews between base and S - that those extra 40 horses clearly are noticeable if you push it.
They certainly are, the base loses a bit of oomph after about 110 - 120kph and you really notice that more on the straits, whereas if you are in the S or R it is still going pretty hard. That said I find it hard to check the speedo on the track, I can gauge it more be whether I have another car on my **** or if I have left it behind.
I thought that the p400 was more responsive at lower speeds as well, when I used it on the Jag smart cone setup, and I really spanked it in that whereas I had not done particularly well in the 340hp XE. Oddly enough torque is almost unchanged over the V6 3 tunes, my prior experience was with turbos where you would get huge torque increases by tuning the cars.
I found the stiff chassis of the F-Type to be much better than I expected at the track. The chassis stiffness hides a lot of the weight. If you are in a 3700lb Mustang, it feels all of 3700lbs. The chassis seemed to hide a lot of the weight of the F-Type in a good way. The F-Type is a lot better on the track than people give it credit for (as long as the OEM tires are changed out ).
I found the stiff chassis of the F-Type to be much better than I expected at the track. The chassis stiffness hides a lot of the weight. If you are in a 3700lb Mustang, it feels all of 3700lbs. The chassis seemed to hide a lot of the weight of the F-Type in a good way. The F-Type is a lot better on the track than people give it credit for (as long as the OEM tires are changed out ).
Agreed, I love my Mustang but IMO it is not really a sportscar, it is a GT like it says. I was a bit surprised that the harder you push it into a corner the more it bites and the better it turns, and there are things you can do to improve it (I have a strut brace and forged rims on mine) but stock they are a bit wallowy until you get used to pushing the weight around. You dont get the confidence that you do driving the f Type hard, in the v6S or p400 you'd be unlucky to lose control, but then I've never had the mustang on a track, and also I would say that while I am a reasonable driver, I'm not about to get recruited by a racing team that's for sure.
...I never quite understood the guys who whine about that the F-Type is heavier than say a Lotus and therefore no good on the track.
It all depends upon your priorities. If you're just there for the experience and don't care about the lap times, great. If lap times do matter, physics dictates that weight is something to be rid of. Period. It's all about what the driver wants, so for "whiners", lap times matter.
05-03-2022, 04:46 AM
Great Track day at Goodwood
Great to see someone who's happy with the track capabilities btw.
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