Hey Guys,

original thread in case you missed it:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...TL+Track+Bound


Headed back to the track here in about a week and wanted to start another thread to hopefully highlight the improvements made to the car since my last track day in July.

First of all the biggest change will be that I basically have a brand new clutch setup. New oem clutch, master cylinder and even slave cylinder due to some unexpected failures with all three lol. The clutch was even slipping while at the track last time so this alone will really help being I won't have to nurse the clutch with every shift.

Other changes will include:
-DIY Custom fiberglass front splitter
-Rear carbon fiber wing
-Another 40-50lbs weight loss
-Race exhaust (just my resonator then a single straight pipe on back)
-Springs at least 1/4" stiffer and dropped the rear about 1/2"
-Custom Rear diffuser if I get the time next week
-Fresh brake fluid and a better bleed job
-2 Fresh Bridgestone 245/40/18's with treadwear of 140 (should be fun lol)


You can check out the results from last time in the other thread but basically the car was kinda tail happy and a few other small things so this time around I'm mostly looking for an all around neutral feel and just try to keep a bit more momentum going through the corners and increased high speed stability.

Also taking the wifey this time so at least I'll have some pics and video of the car.

 

You already know:

Brakes, Brakes, Brakes - upgrade Discs, Pads and Fluid.

And tires.



(fwiw - I've got a track day thread and an AutoX thread somewhere in the Photo Gallery.)

 

Good luck sir
Hope you do better this time around!!!!!!!!!

 

Check and check, The only thing I wish I would have had time to get in was stainless lines.

 

What did you do to get the 40-50lbs weight loss?

 

I just did my stainless steel lines, highly recommend it

also, you should be running RBF600 as well

 

Well with inspiration from your infamous diet thread!

Last time I Had a stripped trunk and no rear seat, but this time I ditched the rear bumper, relocated the battery and my exhaust will be an easy 20-30 lbs lighter too. hopefully It's noticeable. Lol

 

Waiting on results!

 

Ditched the rear bumper? That's some aggressive weight savings

 

keep her flat on the track for the win good luck

 

Just the rear bumper beam. Woulda ditched the front one too but I like having the tow hook there if I need it! lol

Of course I have gained some weight back with the splitter and what not.

 

Got any pics?

 

he will have vids like last time.

 

Yes I have some vids from last time but they weren't the greatest, too shaky and kinda soundless. But picked up a go-pro which should really help. I'll take a pic of the car tomorrow and get it up.

 

Here is the track setup for Monday. THIS IS A TRACK SETUP AND A TRACK SETUP ONLY SO BS COMMENTS ABOUT THE WING. I wouldn't ever run this setup on the street, not even the splitter being it would hit every curb around. I wasn't able to get the rear diffuser done but I did have the straight pipe exhaust made up and can probably get a video of it up tomorrow when I put it on.

 

Are you going to have anywhere near enough speed to make any downforce? I can't imagine the Tl breaking 80mph on most tracks.

 

did you have to drill holes to install the spoiler?

 

I was touching a little over 100mph on one of the straights, and close to 110 on the longest straight, at our track in oklahoma, in a near stock 05 6mt. Depending on what power he is making and what track he is going to, it could easily be doing 100+

 

That's better but still at the low end of making any appreciable downforce. I would just put the car at a slight rake and call it a day.

 

That'd be my opinion too. Might cause more drag than anything.


Do you have a link to the track your running?

 

So what exactly did you do to set up your car for the track? I'm guessing the lip and rear wing, tow hook, remove rear seat and racing belts. Anything else?

 

Wow a lot of responses, we run at bir which is known as the fastest road course in the country, I'll be hitting 135 MPH quite easily actually. Bir has two track setups and last time we only ran the shorter course last time but this event will include both tracks.

As for my full setup, check out the first post in each of my track bound threads.

Just Google BIR MN and you'll see the track. On the long course , turns 1 2 and 10 really will be where the downforce will noticed and Probably appreciated.

 

I drilled holes in the location for the OEM wing spoiler and made some brackets to line it all up. Worked great.

 

Pretty much raked it last time and got that crazy oversteer. So I really see no detraments from adding it. It weighs all but 3 or 4 pounds and it makes me feel easier about lowering and stiffening the rear end.

 

Cool. Looks fun.

 

Yep that's it... as you can see the main straight is plenty long enough to plenty of speed into turn 1.

I put the straight exhaust on this afternoon and just didn't think it was quite what I was after so I took it off and will pick it up again later on. Its very throaty but still too raspy for my liking.

 

With that being said, have you done anything to help out the handling balance and tested it before the track?

 

be careful with your aero add-ons. Sometimes things that make sense to you visually do not produce the expected results. Many times, it just makes it even more difficult to get your settings right. I have seen people go crazy with stuff like this only to find the stock car actually makes it around the track faster.

Sam

 

I track my TL often the stock body is good to around 130 or so. The Butt will stay with some if you follow me softer stiff stuff, it must dampen when that time comes. The TL from the factory is a very well equipped car. The roll comes from the car itself we have welded cross bars in the interior of the car to make it more rigid. What you are feeling is the roll of the car nothing else but that. All your body mods, no offence might make you more confident is the turns but are really doing nothing to help that car must be a brick and let the suspension absorb all the rolls and bumps. Just my penny's

 

we have the same wheels lol are yours powdercoated too?

 

Pics of front diffuser? I am looking at making one for my car but I am debating on mounting points and trying to work around the a spec front lip.

 

Alright fellas,


Just got home from the track and saw the new posts so I felt necessary to comment quick before I do my full write-up from today's events.


wraithvr442- Talked to a guy with a G37S Sedan today and he asked me about my splitter as well. He had run one previously but found that because the car was at the stock ride height, the splitter was just too high off the ground to do any good. This being said, My setup is pretty vastly different than that on a stock G37 sedan and given the track that I run at, the splitter/wing made no hinderance at all.

ethenol- Your two cents are appreciated and I do agree that a lot of the TL roll is pretty necessary actually and you should see in the pix to come that I do let my TL roll a fair amount through the corners. And if you track your TL as you say, I'd like to see your setup and see where we differ.

IHC- The funding and time were just not there to add a whole lot more to the car this time around. But I do have a laundry list of things to come for it as I will probably not be using it as a daily driver much longer.


Overall I'd like to just make a few points for the benefit of the thread. I'm doing all of this because I have a genuine interest in the sport of road racing and what to experiment on behalf of the entire TL community to see just what the TL is capable of on the track. So, I worked my way up to a IMO solid baseline setup for my first track day in July. This time, my main focus was to improve what I thought were the car's weaknesses last time in order to give me more confidence on the track and improve lap time plus account for the difference between the short and long tracks at BIR. I see no reason to say that I haven't done that. The only way to do this right is to make little changes at a time and keep everything else as consistent as possible to make those changes easy to account for.

I'll do a full write up on the track day tomorrow but to give you a quick summary basically the car kicked that track's ass. I passed cars I never thought I would but I'm sure a lot of that comes down to track experience. I got a great go-pro video of my last session today and it is a pretty good representation of the entire day. It was truly an amazing track day.

 

Can't wait to see the video. Glad it's working out well. Any interest in track only suspension settings?

 

Fix it for you. Just to add a point of clarity.

With all oem suspension, my car will slide around turns with no perceivable body roll. Taking 110 mph curves on the freeway has no perceivable roll either. And, my car has a very high ride height too. Amazing what no weight can accomplish.

 

well I just wrote up the whole review and then the fucking site timed me out and I lost it all. So I'll rewrite it later then. OH joy....

 

ethenol- Your two cents are appreciated and I do agree that a lot of the TL roll is pretty necessary actually and you should see in the pix to come that I do let my TL roll a fair amount through the corners. And if you track your TL as you say, I'd like to see your setup and see where we differ.

What I have done to the car is some hillbilly stuff, but it worked very well. First off a good friend of mine owns a machine shop so this was fairly simple. Here is when I'm going to get some shit. We took a set of bomz racing coilover sleeves for the 03 TL, so they said. 75.00 bucks. Took the sleeves and measured everything out in the suspension and started to cut the fronts down to fit correctly. I cut the strut hats down and a few other things and measured a little more and everything went together well the rear I knew I wanted a rake as IHC commented a few posts earlier. This was accomplisged by tiggin a 2 in collar on the end and machining it with the thread to match the nuts. Again the hats were cut down a little and things went together well. It is springy in the back we are working on that since it is a little bit above the stop. I have a adjustable strut back there right now but still could use a little work, but none the less it does work well. Tire combination is 275/40/17 BFG g-force on stock wheels. I will be going to a 16 in the front so I can lower the back further down on the stop and still keep the rake. All of my sway bar bushings are new and over tourqed for a good tight feel. Small trick I learned from an old volk guy who auto crosses. Coolong ducks to the brakes and a very very healthy engine. The wheels are also spaced 1/4 in. Might just be all in my head but it felt like it made the butt have a little less roll. The interior bar is from the seatbelt bolts cross wise to the floor seat belt bolt if you follow me. That is as far as I have gotten. We will see if I go any further I like where the car is for now and it still scares me sometimes, so until I have learned the car completely............... Cant wait to see the vids.

 

Nice setup! All of those little things add up. I've been thinking of adding spacers to the stock wheels for a while now. How did those 275s on the stock rims work out for you? People always tell me my 255s are too wide for the stock rims. I would be very interested in your setup. The Nittos I run tend to run on the narrow side. I would love it if a 275 would work ok.

 

awesome thread! definitely want to see pics and a vid

 

So the go pro video I took was over 30mins long, anybody know a good program to edit it with? Just looking to chop it up and shorten it to uploadable size.

 

I use Vegas Pro 8.0.

Fairly intuitive for basic editing chores. Very popular program. So, it is easy to find help on the internet on how to do stuff with it.

Free Trail Download (click here)


To save for YouTube -
File > Render As > (use settings shown below)