So I took the R to Winton Raceway here in Victoria last Monday. It's quite a tight technical track, but a good one - they host a round of the V8 Supercars.

There was a fair mix of cars there that day, including some older 911's and a new Cayman GTS, plus a couple of Lotus Exiges.

My general impressions were;

• the R was fast... VERY fast. Actually, probably excessively fast for this track, as I was hitting 210km by the end of the main straight and was only in 6th
• carbon brakes were magic - not one bit of fade all day. Pulled the car up very quickly, although in TracDSC, I noticed a tiny bit of wheel lock, so the ABS must be dialled back a bit in that mode
• Standard Pirellis were average in terms of grip, although they wore pretty well. Looking forward to replacing them with Pilots
• the tail happiness we see in the review videos is there if you want to induce it, but the car is incredibly controllable around corners if driven properly (I.e. NOT in "it's not my car so who gives a crap" car reviewer mode). I didnt totally lose the back even once all day, despite pushing hard, although there were a number of (enjoyable) power slide moments and a few little backside wiggles
• I was in Dynamic Sport all day, on the paddles, and was alarmed to find that the car did let me (accidentally) downshift into 1st at about 90-100kmh, immediately redlining it - ouch
• got a console warning light half way through the day saying "e-Diff not available". Disappeared after letting the car cool down for 20 minutes and didnt come back again during later sessions
• the exhausts were obviously generating a serious amount of heat. The chrome has discolored to that sort of brass look. Can anyone suggest a good way to polish them back to original?
• the car simply walked past the Porsches - both the dedicatd track-toy 911's and the Cayman GTS. The face of the Cayman owner, in his brand new race suit, matching shoes and gloves, spoke volumes - he was seriously unimpressed that his brand new baby could not come close to hanging on to the R in the straights, as well as being out-braked in the turns. LOL

Very happy with the day and the car. Got huge numbers of compliments on the looks and sound of the car from the other drivers (except the Cayman guy ). Very happy with the lap times too - 6 seconds better than the last time I did this track in my RS5.

As an aside, I discussed tire pressure with the four pro-driver instructors at the track, and mentioned that a couple of members on this forum advocated "dropping" tire pressure for tracking, not raising it (see earlier threads). They all looked at each other incredulously, and the consensus was, "that is a completely [insert derogatory swear words that mean 'stupid' here] idea". Before anyone dismisses it, these are professional drivers, not weekend warriors like most of us. Having said that, the reason we were discussing it was because I had forgotten to pump my tires up that morning and was running it at factory 36psi, and I was satisfied with the results, although I'd still probably raise them next time.

So... Get on out there, guys - these cars are born to be driven hard!

 

Sounds like fun! Poor Porsche guy!

 

Nice write-up, Oz!

I've also scratched my head every time I've seen the suggestion to drop pressures for the track on this forum. I don't think there's anything different about the F-Type specs and set-up that reverse the laws of physics.

 

Thanks for the write-up!

There's a HPDE at Laguna Seca in a couple weeks that I'm seriously considering taking my R to. The only reason I haven't signed up yet is that I would insist on track day insurance just in case something bad happened, and it's a little pricey.

But it would be totally worth it even just for one day to let the car loose on a track and drive her the way she's meant to be driven.

 

The R actually tops out in 6th gear. The top speed in 6th, 7th and 8th gear is 186. 7th and 8th are purely for efficiency.

 

Thanks - probably would've made more sense to say, "only just in 6th before the braking zone". There was a lot more speed there to be had, just not a lot more track.

Actually, that track has a short dog leg left then a right at the end of the straight - almost a chicane. One of the Exiges got to the end of the straight at full pedal, just to find he had absolutely no brakes! Thank goodness he had a big grass run-out in to the centre of the track. They had to bring him in on a flat bed. Oddly, after sitting in the pits for a while, the brakes magically re activated, but he was done tracking for the day - I think he had to go home and change into a new set of underwear!

 

Yes, you should give it a go - you learn heaps about your car (and your own skills and limits).

I've never taken out insurance for a track day. Better just to go out there with an attitude that it's about skills development, not racing, and work your way up to your limits, rather than letting the red mist descend and totalling it on the first corner.

But I'd highly recommend it to everyone that owns one of these cars. You'll never find its potential on the streets, no matter how how many laws you're prepared to break!

 

Who is running the HPDE? I see that NASA is going to be there at the end of July, but no HPDE. They'll be at Sonoma Raceway in June though, and I recommend them. They know how to run an event well, and safely.

I love Sonoma (that's my home track) but a chance to run at Laguna Seca is special. I have spectated there many times, and had the privilege of racing there once (motorcycles) and it is a beautiful track; fast, smooth, challenging, and scenic.


Depending on the organization, first-timers might be required to have an instructor in the car at all times. This is a great learning opportunity.

 

Turn 1 at Phillip Island will be interesting for you :-) sounds like you had a great day.

Surely Cayman boy was a bit delusional if he thought he was going to have anything like the performance. Different class of car really, nice enough thing but apples and oranges.

 

It's being run by Hooked on Driving. I've taken a look at their website and some videos, and they seem like a very good outfit, so at this point I'm definitely leaning toward going.

 

Yep - turn 1 at Phillip Island is REAL fast. Last time I did that track was last September in an R8 V10 (Audi High Performance Day). We were taking that corner at about 150kmh, with a real clenching feeling in the seat of your pants! The R8's were topping at out close to 280kmh down the straight. I'd expect the Jag to be up there too.

 

I did the first "southern" California Hooked on Driving Event at Buttonwillow a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. They had the track reconfigured to make it more fun, and I really liked the flexibility as they allow you to pick the group you're comfortable with as well as allowing you to change up or down in skill level based upon what you want to do. If you want an instructor you can have one but it's not required. It was the best track experience I've had of about a dozen trips over the past few years (mostly with SoCal Audi Club).

I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

Oz, I'm surprised you didn't mention that Stratus Grey was the fastest of the colors tracking that day...

 

I've done Skip Barber and the Jaguar Performance Driving Academy. Totally agree, but I want to wait a year or two before I track my F-Type.

I did major suspension damage to my old X-Type last week cornering too fast on public roads. Need to remember the old X is not an F-Type.

Hooray for JLR for building these Porsche eating cars!

 

congrats and enjoy the car in good health .... alas you are a better driver than Richard Hammonds .... then again, probably most people are ...

 

Just one question, why would you be in 6th gear at 210k/mh or some 125mph? That should be like 4th gear, close to redline or then 5th gear.

 

I think the Jaguar Performance Driving Academy is a terrific bargain; $900 for Level 1, $1850 for Level II and if you prang the car you don't have any liability. I did Level 1 last July, it was my "test drive" of the F-Type before I bought it. At two places on the Monticello track can you touch the max power of the R: at the beginning of the straight and in the back after the hairpin where you can get the car sideways in total control. I would have spun off the track in a lesser car on several of the corners. The electronics and the E-diff on the R are brilliant.

This year I'd love to do Level II, but I pranged my old X-type last week trying to corner it like my F-Type can so the money needs to go into repairs :-(

Davy Jones, of Jaguar LeMans fame, is the lead instructor. I followed him ("Try to catch me, you won't") pushing the F-Type R as hard as I could. Then I did a hot lap as passenger with another instructor at the wheel, definitely kicking it up to beyond what I could do. We came into the pits hot with smoking brakes -- the car didn't have the $14,000 ceramic brake option.

These cars are monsters on the track, the most fun I've every had with my clothing on.

 

Not sure what you mean by reversing the laws of physics. The recommendation to lower cold tire pressure from factory 36 psi is so that the hot tire pressure on track is at its ideal operating temperature. Ideally you'd run it and get a temp gauge to see how the temps are, but most guys don't have the equipment...so we rely on rule of thumb from past experience. FWIW, lowering the cold tire pressure down from factory 36 PSI is a recommendation made by Jaguar. You are right, it's less to do with the F-Type than the tires. Put on different tires and the recommended cold temps will be different because the ideal hot temp will be different as well. And the cold temp will also change from track to track.

 

Here's a PDF from Jaguar https://www.jaguar.com/Images/F-TYPE...m76-110851.pdf

Pirelli P-Zero: 31psi/31psi front/rear. Tyre pressures will increase
during track use as the tyres increase in temperature. Please note
that, due to the fast rate of change in tyre pressures during track
use, TPMS warnings may be triggered.

Continental Force Contact: 35psi/31psi front/rear (note: not
recommended for use in the wet).

 

This///////


On a side note, it's good to see some owners getting these cars out on the track


MC