HPDE Observations: Car; Groups; Other Cars; Tires; Temps; etc.

[Stealth]

This thread addresses my HPDE with SpeedVentures (“SV”) at CA Speedway yesterday and attempts to touch on some issues that relate to both Gen Vs and HPDEs. My car is a 2014 Viper GTS and is stock except for Castrol SRF brake fluid, MGW shifter, Arrow PCM and Corsa Cat-back. I have OEM Corsa tires and 4,700 mi.

First, SV was just excellent. Well run, good track time, addressed feedback from drivers, etc. They also had NICE cars. Too many HPDE Club groups i SoCal now do NOT have nice cars in the upper run groups, and also have too many low-budget race cars running with street cars. My run group had a Ferrari 458 and 430 Scuderia, Porsche Turbos, Mercedes AMG SLS Black Series, M5, M4, M3 and M2s, F-Type Jaguar Coupe, Porsche 911S, Cadillac CTS-V, Audi S5, etc.

Second, CA Speedway (Autoclub Speedway) is a professional, high speed track which includes part of the high-banked oval and the infield. It has a few heavy braking zone.

Third, I chose to run in the highest, non-open passing group: passing unlimited on the various straights and point-by in other areas. This was a downgrade from my usual open-passing group but was really perfect and safer. We all got to go as fast as we chose and were not really delayed. The open passing groups, on the other hand, attract more race cars (homemade) and other cars on race tires. These drivers push their cars harder, take more chances and throw more rubber, all of which increases risk and wear and tear on your car. If you want to approach racing conditions with your street car, then this is a different matter. I just enjoy lapping time on a great track.

Fourth, a bit about heat and its effect on the cars, including my Gen V. It was about 85F at the track and this was actually cooler than forecast. Many cars had heat issues. A C7 Z07 owner told me that yes, he did have loss of power/heat issues after several laps but that he was ok with this for an OEM car. We were not in the same group and I did not see him run so I do not have further input here. An F-type Jaguar Coupe (supercharged) owner indicated that he experienced loss of power after the heat build up. A MacLaren MP12-C had a “Transmission Failure” message after 4 easy laps. A modded Mitibushi something (500hp+ at the wheels, race tires., etc.) overcooked it brakes and had engine heating issues, etc.

My Gen V saw its highest Oil temps yet. In May at this track with 72F temps, I saw Oil temps of 224F or so. Yesterday I saw 261F briefly but mostly around 225—242F. Temps cooled even a corner or so later. Admittedly, I was going relatively fast and pushing at times. When I aggressively heel-towed down from 120mph or so for low speed corners (and consequently had the rpms singing), this definitely elevates the temps (vs. clutching, using the brakes and then rev-matching). The car quickly cooled down to low 230sF when I backed off a bit, and temps quickly dropped on the cool-down lap. I am on factory coolant and have 4,700 mi. on the car. There were no signs of any degradation of the car’s performance. The car also did not appear to burn a drop of oil. I was in “Safe” oil measured before and after the event. As a precaution I added a ½ qt. before leaving home. I am running factory fill (0-40w?).

Fifty, tire pressures were very interesting. My car has factory Pirelli Corsas. I started at 29psi cold before I left home. After my first session I was as high as 36.5psi, depending on the tire. I let the air out to around 32.5psi after my first session. The wear was generally going down the tire to the edge of the Tread and did not continue to the sideway so it appeared to be just right. In my two afternoon sessions, when it was hotter and I was definitely moving on track, twice I received a “Low Pressure Warning” and it showed I was at 28-29psi. I thought that this was a bit unusual but verified my post-session temps as 31.5psi or so. So, I was likely a bit under-inflated the last two sessions. Has anyone else experienced this?

Sixth, the MGW shifter is AWESOME! I have laguna leather and the stock shifter had a very nice feel so I was reluctant to change. I had a MGW shifter with the Viper logo even before I purchased the car. It has a long cylinder shape. It was just awesome for shifting at the HPDE.

Seventh, a comment about some of the other cars. The AMG SLS Black on Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires was fast! It was a beautiful car and well-driven—carbon fiber and alcantara everywhere. I think it runs around $300k. My car has Corsas and TA Exterior Aero. My appeared to be very evenly matched with the SLS Black. Neither car pulled the other on the front straight or other comparable areas. I can see why the Magazine comparison was close. There were areas of the track where the AMG’s double clutch appeared to provide an advantage. For example, I could see that car shifting and I would lose just a little bit of ground as I clutched and shifted (I do not "speedshift").

The Jaguar F-Type Coupe (550hp?) was also impressive. It was OEM stock except for the tires according to its owner and had an automatic transmission. The owner was a relatively new driver and did very well. He had larger-than-OEM Pirelli Corsas mounted and was quite fast. As noted, he did have some minor heat issues, but was not aware of any of his guages

Finally, I need to find an alternative to Blue Tape! My car has clear bra protection, but this will not always stop a rock, etc. and you may need to replace the clear bra and/or repaint which is something I want to avoid. The blue tape works, but looks silly any needs constant maintenance. Blue tape is also a bit dangerous—I had a fist-sized ball of tape come off the center of the hood, swerve toward the windshield and then hit the driver’s side rear-view mirror at high speed. The broken MacLaren had sloppy Trac Rap (which still looked much better than my blue tape) but it was unclear how it would hold up since the car went down after 4 easy laps. Does anyone have any good solutions here other than just hope for the best?

Overall, the Viper was again just awesome. From the street to the track and back again without incident. Dodge definitely has built a great machine!