Nugget Nationals Winton - Easy PB is still a PB

This was the first track day with the new brakes and tyres combo so the 3 second improvement came easier than usual. If in doubt, just throw money and mods at it!

Stock as a rock: 1:47.4220

Better brakes/tyres: 1:44.1580

This update is 3 months late, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. But a huge thanks as always to the crew and Nugnats for another great event, and to Steur Imagery for some awesome pics!

Attacking the S. Love this shot!!

Why is it I can always see a few tenths when watching the video but had no idea on the day?!

More action shots courtesy of Steur Imagery

Feels (and looks) like it corners fairly flat. Not bad for OEM suspension.

Forgot who I got this shot from, but thanks! WTB wing!

How the RS3s looked after some abuse

Kicked up a lot of dust and muck in general all over myself, and check out how dusty the PMU pads are.

Drained the battery on the GoPro when I forgot to turn it off so I was charging between sessions.

Some random pre-Winton work I did....

Flash back: My own fire extinguisher mount. Just another Import Monster one.

Battery charger cable fitted and found the perfect little gap to tuck it into.

Investigating the metallic ping led me to adjusting the handbrake.

For reference:
Natsoft Official Timing - 1:44.1580
Racechrono Timing - 1:44.18
Racechrono Optimal - 1:43.41
Laps: 29

Power/Handling/Brakes: Stock
Tyres: Hankook R-S3 (32 psi hot, Track Count:1)
Engine Oil: Redline 5w30
Diff/Gearbox fluid: Motul Gear 300 75W90

Tracking App: RaceChrono Android
External GPS: Qstarz GPS (5Hz)
Camera: GoPro Hero 3
Overlay Software: RaceRender Povo Edition

The power of the BRZ revealed. Dyno shootout!

When buying a used car you never really quite know how much power there is at the engine. If you're lucky you might get a monster engine making more than expected, but if you're unlucky, you might have an old tired engine.

So one way to find out is to put it on the dyno and luckily enough, I managed to score a spot with the Nugget Nationals dyno day at Weltmeister Eastside literally down the road from me.

How much power did I think I would have? The stock engine is 147kw on paper... Drivetrain losses... Coming up to 4 years old... Feels healthy with "only" ~15,000km on the odo... Heavier-than-stock tyres... So maybe 100kw at the wheel?

The results:
Run 1: 105.3
Run 2: 107.1
Run 3: 107.9 kw

Woohoo! Got more than my estimated 100kw so no complaints!

Fellow crew and BRZ mate (Hi Jorge!) was also there with his basically-new MY17 BRZ with its more powerful 152kw engine on the same dyno, same day, under the same conditions. It is no better baseline to compare my engine to and he got a mighty 110kw.

Given everything, with just under 3kw difference between us, I'm happy my engine is fit and healthy! Now lets go racing! 😁

Hanging out with some cool S2Ks

Game time!

The results! I can see the infamous torque dip now despite not really feeling it all that much whilst driving.

See anything different? This is not me. This is the MY17 BRZ!

Super clean Evo 6 TME in the best colour

Justice... Salvation... Love Others... Human Dignity... Compassion... 

TME and a heap of nuggets

I never heard of Weltmeister Eastside prior this event because I've never had a Porsche

Love these tofu cars! They're the reason I almost got a 86 GTS instead of a BRZ

 

Stood underneath this 86 whilst we watched the runs and kept looking up to admire the suspension and brakes 🤤

EXE Winton - Cars are meant to be driven!

The race track is where the car and I really come to life... The feeling of being back at the track was nothing short of amazing. The sounds of engines and tyre squeal and the smell of rubber and fuel, and sight of everyone strapped into their cars chasing down PBs. It's good to be back!

BRZ driving impressions? It is a fun car to drive at the (my) limit. Initial turn-in can have a bit of understeer, but through the corner and on exit it is very planted. *Insert not enough power to break traction jokes*, but I was also on the stock tyres which are OK but not really up for track duties. I did have a moment where I got greedy when gunning for PBs and lost the rear coming out of the S (see video!), but other than that it was more understeer than oversteer. Overall, great handling car and quite forgiving even at the limit.

The objective: Go fast and PB. PB was by default and at a fast-ish 1:47.4220 in exact Natsoft numbers. The theoretical PB was 1:46.56, but the tyres were way too hot by the middle of the day that I didn't feel like they had it in them anymore for the day. 

Other than the tyres, the brakes were getting a bit sketchy too. They felt a little rough and looking at them afterwards the brake rotors have been scored quite badly in the front passenger side, but they have similar marks all round. I suspect the stock pad material must have overheated and got a bit weird on the rotors.

Time for some new brakes and tyres, and a new PB next time!

Looking a little angry whilst waiting to get out there.

Could not have asked for better weather than this!

Summary of the day. Happy I got under 1:50, but a little disappointed I couldn't get it closer to that 1:46 once I knew what was possible...

PB analysis. Overall happy, with a few exceptions like corner 11 exiting the S. If I had stayed calm and not lost the rear that would have saved me several tenths

Not enough green! Or maybe the acceleration is so dismal it thinks I'm coasting! Poor BRZ. Just kidding, I still love you 😆 

More analysis: I hit the limiter coming out of corner 9, so it looks a little yellow there when it should have been flat green. 

Note to self: Remember to change gears!

Tyre squeals courtesy of the OEM Michelin Primacy HP

Natsoft Official Timing - 1:47.4220

Racechrono Timing - 1:47.39

I didn't fill up after arriving in Benalla and decided to see how many laps I could do. 25 laps later I got fuel light.

Heavy scoring on the brake rotors. This was the worst of them. Unlikely something got stuck in all 4 of my brakes, so maybe the compound of the stock pads do some weird things when hot?

The only other pic I took for the day: A very very very fast Lotus getting ready to go very very very fast!

Thanks EXE Crew and track friends for another successful track day!

For reference:
Natsoft Official Timing - 1:47.4220
Racechrono Timing - 1:47.39
Racechrono Optimal - 1:46.56

Power/Handling/Brakes: Stock
Tyres: Michelin Primacy HP (32 psi hot)
Engine Oil: Redline 5w30
Diff/Gearbox fluid: Motul Gear 300 75W90

Tracking App: RaceChrono Android
External GPS: Qstarz GPS (5Hz)
Camera: GoPro Hero 3
Overlay Software: RaceRender Povo Edition