Second HPDE completed. Car still has all its paint.
I just finished my second, two-day High Performance Driving Education event at Watkins Glen, with Trackmasters. Since my first event, in early June, I have replaced the rear sway bar with a 22 mm Progress bar, and installed camber bolts, giving 0.7 degrees negative camber (I'd like closer to -2 deg, so I may add a second set). I had also replaced my brake fluid with Motul RBF600, installed new rotors, and bedded them against a set of CarboTech XP10 brake pads. Tires are still showroom stock Michelin, all season.
The car handled beautifully! The photos aren't up yet, but it looked like there is still quite a bit of body roll, but the understeer has been reduced considerably. A 24 mm sway bar might have helped even more. I'm glad I didn't get the 19 mm one!
The brakes were also rock solid. After 2 days, totalling 4 hours of on-track time, there is still plenty of pad left. They never got soft or mushy. They certainly did get hot, though. After one of the sessions, I was sitting in the car, being de-briefed by the instructor, when I noticed wisps of smoke drifting past the passenger window! I jumped out of the car, but nothing was on fire....just the right front caliper letting off a little smoke.
In the center of each wheel, there is a little, round piece of plastic with the Honda "H" on it. It is held in place by plastic tabs. It covers the hub in the center of the wheel. One of the wheels got so hot that the plastic tabs got soft, and bent back, so now the hub cover won't stay on. I noticed it laying on the ground, next to where I had parked the car. I didn't realize that it was mine!
So, how fast was I going? My best lap time for this session was about 3 seconds quicker than it was in June, before the suspension mods. Top speed is still just shy of 120 mph. I don't know if the faster lap times are from me getting better, or the car being set up better. Probably some of both.
I did have one especially educational experience, during the first session. On about the third lap, as I was starting to build my speed, I went wide coming out of turn 5 (aka, the Carousel). When I tried to tighten the steering as I was driving over the alligator teeth, the car started to fish tail. It went about 3 cycles back and forth, before I came to a stop. I didn't actually spin, so I can't claim membership in the "720 club". That's for another day. Fortunately, it was right where the "NASCAR straight" comes off the rest of the track, so I just wound up taking a little shortcut. Didn't get any grass stains on the tires, or any ARMCO scrapes on the body panels. It sure was exciting! Nothing feels quite like going sideways at about 70 mph.
Several other people in the group had more powerful cars, but less track experience. As a result, I was able to pass 3 of the Corvettes, 2 of the BMWs, and one of the Porsches. I also passed one of the Acura NSXs, though he had backed off a bit after passing me 2 laps earlier. One of the Corvettes was going so slowly, up through the "Esses", I nearly ran into his back end! However, when the Corvettes, BMWs, and Porsches were being driven by more experienced drivers, they blew past me like I was standing still!
There was also a 2009 Civic Si coupe there. He was complaining bitterly about the lack of torque at the lower RPMs. That's one area where Honda really made the Si better in the 9th generation. There was also a full-race converted 9th gen Si Coupe. He wasn't in the student group, though.
So, my next mod will definitely be brake cooling ducts up front. Soon. Also, a second set of camber bolts. Coil overs, lower springs - next year. Dedicated track tires and wheels...who knows? Christmas is coming....
