Closest track is about 50 miles away, finally got a chance to go with winter pricing in effect. I had 4 30 minute sessions, although I couldn't get through any of them till the end due to either excessive brake fade or coolant temps getting up near the 3/4 mark. In my first run out, part of my splash guard came loose and I had to pull in and take it the rest of the way off. Anyways, it was a blast and the Jaguar surprised a lot of people there, including myself. I'd never driven on a road course before in any vehicle, so there was definitely a learning curve and some bad racing lines. The track is 2.55 miles long, and I went from running 2:25+ laps to 2:16-2:17 with some room for improvement. The track is High Plains Raceway, out in the middle of nowhere, and we were running the full course:



The map doesn't show the elevation changes too well, but I of course had my GoPro with me . I was hitting 120 on the back straight.

Here's my 2nd session:


Here's my 3rd session (got a little loose trying to get by a Mustang I passed in my 1st session). The black BMW is also mine, I was letting a friend drive it and he knows the lines real well.


My 4th session. I was starting to get better lines and was bringing my lap time down:


Also, I got about 5 mpg during racing .

 

That is so friggin' cool! Thank you for sharing your experience with us!

 

Very cool, thanks for sharing!

 

Cool, looks like you had a blast!
Thanks for sharing!

 

So jealous!

 

Any idea on the cause of the temperature rise? The car should be able to handle those speeds?

Sounds like a lot of fun! Do you have to qualify as a driver first?
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I had a great time watching your videos. Its fun to watch the more nimble cars like the S2000 and track-prepped 914 holding their ground against the STR in the corners, only to get reeled back and passed on the straights. Just goes to show you that power is king!

I'm also curious as to how one can get involved in this? Do you have to have some qualification or is it like open track day at the drag strip where anyone can run what they brung? I would love to do this but my local track, Palm Beach International Raceway, has a very short area of grass before you hit the barrier walls and I wouldn't feel comfortable putting my only car out there like that lol.

 

Awesome videos, thanks for sharing. It was so funny watching the str fly past the s2000 at the end of the first video! And your car sounded great

 

It was open lapping, all I needed was a helmet (and $100) and anyone was welcome to go out there; no qualifying or anything like that. They don't let out vehicles with high centers of gravity like a truck or van, and convertibles must have a proper roll bar. Other than that, its run what you brung and you can pass anywhere on the track. They did split us in to two groups depending on what you signed up for (fast and slow) and obviously I picked the slow group based on my lack of track experience. There was everything from a Saturn Ion to a Lamborghini Aventador out there, as well as competitive race-prepped Porsches and BMWs, and a couple open wheel vehicles.

I think the temperatures were getting warm just from being at higher RPMS for 15+ minutes straight and I do have the 3# pulley. Near the end of the first video I started running warm and was able to "cruise" behind the line of cars as my temps dropped back down to normal. I did have to come in due to brake fade and there was a LOT of brake dust and smoke after each session, but I still don't have any shaking when braking, so the rotors were able to properly cool without warping.

I was also able to ride along with a couple other people to get better ideas on the proper racing line, which I will apply next time out. I went with a 335i (equiped with race tires and brakes) in the fast group and their driving is far more aggressive and they will get right on each others' bumpers and assume you know the braking points and the correct line at every turn. I will definitely stay in the "slow" group.

Another note: I left traction control on for my 1st (and maybe 2nd?) session so I could get a feel for the track first. Obviously I had it off when I was battling the Mustang and got pretty loose; but the times were better and I didn't get the power cut off out of turns and it was easier to predict and drive faster with it off.

 

Is there an age requirement? I would love to do this but might not be old enough

 

I wonder if Sebring offers open track days? May have to look into this!

 

The race track I was at required drivers to be at least 18 years old unless they hold a competition license. 16-17 could drive without a competition license as long as a track instructor was with them at all times on the track.

There are so many benefits I believe. You get to learn your car better than any street driving and you can push/learn the limits of both yourself and your car legally. Not to mention its more fun than you can shake a stick at and is reasonably priced (at least at this track).

 

Ahh heat, the age old enemy.

Not sure what you could do about the brakes other than decent braided hoses and racing fluid/pads.

For the engine if you were going to do this on a regular basis have you considered something like a Killer Chiller? Would obviously leech power as it requires the aircon to be on, but the reduction in intake temperature would probably be worth the tradeoff.

 

This is awesome, love seeing Jags on the track.

 

My front pads were getting fairly worn already, maybe 4mm left, so I think they were having a little trouble dissipating the heat. Also, the brake fluid is likely original, so changing that out would likely do a lot of help as well; especially on a track like this that requires a lot of braking.

I have a low-temp thermostat, but maybe removing it may help a little more. I would only do occasional track days (maybe 2-5 a year) and likely would use my BMW for a couple of them, but something to help the coolant temps wouldn't hurt especially since I do 1/4 mile racing a bit as well.

 

Oh yeah!

 

About ten years ago, I did some road racing at Bondurant here in AZ in a SN-95 5.0 Stang and thought it was about the most fun you could have with your clothes on. Infinitely more fun than drag racing without a doubt.

Your vids are awesome, so number one thanks for going racing with your Jag, and number two thanks for having a go-pro and posting vids! It definitely looks like the STR holds its own in the twisties but the top end is where it shines, which is not bad considering you had about 500lbs or so on many of the cars I saw in the videos. I really like how our electronically controlled shocks keep everything flat in the corners, or much better than any car I have ever driven.

I also noticed that you had to make the tranny downshift a few times. That's one frustrating thing is that "S" mode will only hold the gear so long before it up shifts. Overall, it looks like the transmission did better than I thought it would.

Did you break anything?

 

I actually am running without the CATS setup , just V8 sport Bilstein struts and H&R lowering springs. I was using the J-gate on purpose (its more fun that way!) so most of the downshifts were premeditated by me. A couple times it seems to cut out might be because I had traction control on in the 1st video as I was still feeling out the course a bit since my first session got cut short after just a couple laps due to my splash guard coming loose and making all sorts of racket. I like the adaptive transmission, it was responding well and its adapted in sport mode to a very aggressive style due to canyon runs, drag races and now a road course. I think it would downshift pretty quickly at this point on its own, but I still prefer the J-gate for more predictability and control.

The only things that broke were a few egos from some other car owners . Both the Jaguar and my BMW made it out with no problems, and the BMW saw 2 additional sessions and almost twice the total track time the Jag did. Not bad considering its 22 years old with almost 200k miles on it.

 

very nice, thanks for posting! as someone before me put it, the track experience is the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

i have done some high performance street driving in my STR, surprising some much faster cars through 'spirited' driving along the twisties, the STR is actually a lot of fun to throw around for what it is...

with that said, i have no illusions, the jag is a tall and heavy sedan, and is really limited in that (track) sense,

most people dont realize what a sustained hot lap pace around a track, most cars will overheat their brakes within minutes/1-3 laps, soon after, the engine temps crest well over 220, oh and if you happened to haven an oil temperature gauge, you would be cringing!

even the so called 'performance' models of cars, will not always be able to run sessions longer than 20-30min...

So in regards to the STR, no surprised it heated up, no surprise you faded the brakes (i've done that on the street), at some point i would be concerned about oil and transmission temperature, and power steering fluid too!

In other words, if you were (foolish enough to be) building a dedicated track STR, all these things would have to be addressed... but this is true for track prepping ANY car, cooling/heat management and weight is everything,

i have a track car in the garage, and there is no substitute for light weight, high hp, and plenty of aero!

Still, awesome seeing your STR rip it around a track, must have been some sight for the others at the track!

 

EOT (engine oil temp) is readable via (jag-specific) OBD if you want to see it. Probably need to record data for later playback!