So I had my first track day yesterday with the Cayman R, and here are some observations and lessons learned:

• The car seems quite controllable, to the extent that it seemed that I'd have to be really clumsy to make it spin (or deliberately try to spin it). Almost too easy to drive at the limit. But maybe that just means that I need to learn to keep it at the limit more of the time, rather than primarily in the sharper curves.
• I definitely felt PSM kicking in at times, though it didn't feel unnatural - just more of a helper. I do wonder though how much PSM was helping even when I didn't notice it. I didn't try turning PSM off, though I may do that eventually.
• I was pushing pretty hard and the tires seemed to take a good beating. I'll have a closer look at them tomorrow. A couple people suggested that I look into increasing the negative camber. Any thoughts on that? Is the car not already set up fairly well for the track?
• The car is definitely underutilized if its only driven on the street.
• The brakes seemed strong and I didn't notice any fade, though this track doesn't require a lot of heavy braking (eg, has a series of turns where you just gradually keep accelerating).
• I've been practicing heel/toe on the street for just a few weeks now, and I decided to apply it on the track also. It went OK, but I did sometimes find it difficult to maintain optimal threshold braking while blipping the throttle. I guess it will just take more practice. My instructor said that, with a synchro transmission, you don't even need to blip, which I found surprising. Do you guys agree (or disagree) with that?
• At track speeds, the car could certainly use a bit more power. I found that I need to stay above about 4500 rpm to get decent acceleration, and was often in the 6000 rpm range.
• The exquisite throttle sensitivity is a real asset on the track. I experienced much more than ever before what it means to 'steer with the throttle'.

How about you guys? What have your experiences been with driving the car on the track?

 

- I agree about PSM. It is subtle in its interaction.
- The 987 chassis definitely is easy to control at or near the limit. In my case, it makes a marginal driver look like a much better driver.
- The R has *slightly* more negative camber than the S/base models, this is due to its 20mm lower springs. So no, it isn't already well set up for the track. You'll eventually end up putting adjustable LCAs on front.
- You'll still need to heal & toe when downshifting during braking. What your instructor was referring to is double-clutching, which is similar to H/T but not necessary with modern day synchro transmissions.

 

Thanks, good comments.

My instructor said that PSM probably isn't kicking in as much as I think. It would be nice if that's true, because then I can take more credit. But I guess turning it off will be the only way to really find out.

Other than putting on adjustable LCAs, is there a greater negative camber setting which would be better suited for the track/autox, while still acceptable for road use?

I'm going to stick with using the H/T method, since that's what almost everyone recommends, plus it makes sense. Considering my limited experience with it, I think I did OK, so I'm encouraged by that.

 

I had the opportunity to ride in the completely stock Cayman R driven by a Porsche Performance Driving instructor... and he was so skilled in the art that he moved through the track (Sebring-48hrs course) full of race-prep 911's, turbos and GT3's with ease. I know some folks got dizzy from riding shotgun with the driver.
At any rate, as you're starting out, I would suggest you spend money on more seat time at the track (less on equipment). On top on that, you should also consider doing a couple autox sessions with local clubs. And if they hold the autox at an open field (no trees or curbs - things that may damage your car)... that gives you a controlled and safer environment to test the car's limit without PSM. Low speed spin @ autox is much less expensive than high speed spin @ DE with tire walls, gravel traps, etc. You can also invest in a contour or go pro cam to play back your sessions - also a good learning tool. Good luck and drive safe!

 

All good suggestions.

I totally agree that once you have a good car, best to invest further time and money in learning how to drive it, rather than fiddling with the car. My interest in adjusting the cambers is mainly out of concern for tire wear.

I've done two autox with the CR so far, and plan to do many more this season. I also hope to fit in at least 10 track days this season. Some of this will be with the 911, but probably most of it with the CR.

I also like the idea of getting a Go Pro, so that I can review what I did right and wrong, and think about what to do differently next time.

 

Consensus is that camber settings in front of -2.0 to -2.5 degrees will help turn-in and help with track tire wear while not messing with wear associated with street driving too much.

 

gopro is really nice for comparing your lines. I just did an autoX with one as prep for a track day and thought I had decent lines. I got home and watched the footage and saw tons of room for improvement.

fun on track is always about more power than traction. I've been bored to death in a 500hp car, and scared to death in a miata.

as you get more experience you'll start using your brakes and tires more, you'll also find that you will naturally start to heel / toe correctly. It only really works when you are at the limits.

 

Thanks, it looks like getting to -2.0 degrees or more may not be so simple?

http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxst...-settings.html

Also, is the consensus to leave rear cambers unchanged?

 

Nice to run into you outside of ATP!

I'm not following you on the bolded part. What is it that only works at the limits?

 

heel toe's purpose is to keep the car balanced. If the car is already balanced because you're not really doing anything special it almost becomes awkward and sometimes unbalances the car. I'll rev-match on the street every single time, but I only heel toe when driving hard and threshold braking.

best practice is to just brake normally but with your foot in the heel toe position (ball of you foot safely on the brake, heal hovering towards the gas). It won't take long before you're frustrated and stabbing the gas with your heel (as you push the clutch in) without even thinking about it.

 

I'm still not following. If you're braking before a corner, and need to downshift before turning, seems that H/T is a must? For example, the track I was on has a long straight where you can get over 125 mph and 5th gear seems right, then it ends with a sharp hairpin where you need to get on the throttle around or before the apex in 3rd gear (I might even try 2nd next time). I wouldn't want to downshift in the middle of the hairpin, and waiting to downshift until exiting the hairpin would slow you considerably.

 

I reread you first post. I guess I was giving advice for a little more of an amateur who is practicing on the street and thinks are not working out smoothly.

You're 100% correct. Sounds like it's just more practice to perfect it. Your instructor is right that you don't have to on a transmission with syncros but it's upsetting and abusive to the car. (especially if you're not in a perfectly straight line).

The 370Z had an auto rev-matching feature where the ECU revs for you and you just focus on braking and shifting. cool stuff.

 

Love the Cayman R's. Which track did you take it out to? I track my Cayman S, Gen I car so a bit different from your Cayman R, but these cars are amazing and fun to drive. If you don't get LCA's, you will probably spend double on tires if you do a lot of track days because you will basically cord the outside of your tires, and have like new tread on the inside. Outside of that, maybe a little suspension and you are all set to go. It's pointless going after horse power mods, there isn't much there. I got a softronic tune recently to allow me to try to left foot brake, as the car will cut throttle if you try that without a tune.

 

On the heal-toe - just takes practice. You can practice on the street, as you slow for a turn or when you turn into your drive way... whenever you need to slow down via brakes and downshift. I use the ball of the foot on the brake and lower right side of the foot to blip the throttle. Some aftermarket pedals set will help close the gap between gas & brake... making it even easier.

 

I went to Summit Point in WV. Did the Summit Point circuit, but they also have two other circuits, one of which is very 'technical', and I plan to do all three of them.

Yup, the outside of the tires really showed some wear. I don't know if that means I drove hard or poorly, or that's just the way it is with the stock cambers. A couple guys mentioned the possibility of flipping the tires so that the outside becomes the inside, but I don't know if that can be done with the stock PS2 tires.

Agreed on the horsepower mods. The post about the Porsche school instructor passing all those cars in the Cayman R makes it crystal clear that I'm the weak link right now, not the car, so I'd much rather work on improving my driving. And looking back, even I can see several parts of that circuit where I could have gone much faster, which I'll try to do next time.