I do about 2-3 trackdays (roadcourse, not 1/4 mile) a year and will be taking my TL for the first time this weekend. If any of you have been to the track with the TL, I'd appreciate your comments, insight, tips, etc.

Thanks!

 

Your brakes will be soft after a few laps. If you thresh-hold brake and or trail brake from speeds over 100 mph, give the car a few laps to cool off. Keep the VSA on and use S-Mode. Short shift at 6k and keep the revs above 3k if you can to stay in the sweet zone of the power band. Be smooth on the gas, and make sure to accelerate smoothly through the turns. The SH-AWD will perform smoothly and flawlessly every time. It will make you look like a better driver than you really are. Also make sure your tire pressure is 38 psi front and 35 psi rear with cold temps. They will heat up to 42/38 or more after a few laps.

Most importantly, enjoy yourself and be safe! Bring the video!!

 

Your tires will let you know if you're pushing it too hard in the corners much like the brakes will let you know if you're going too hard on the straights. If track temps are in excess of 100 degrees, it's easier to find the limits gracefully; you'll find their limits on 70 degree asphalt pretty quickly. The SH-AWD will stick if driven properly without eating them. If you're chunkin/squealing every corner, don't plan on them being around for the next track day.

 

Thanks guys. I have the 6MT so no s-mode here. Thanks for the recommendations for tire pressures.

 

I never took mine nor would I ever do it. I am not sure I would feel comfortable pushing my car to limits put under normal driving conditions. In addition, insurances co are very strict in Canada and I would hate to take my car to the track, have a mishap and then try and justify what I was doing at a race track with a street legal vehicle. Finally, I am just chicken shit and although leather seats wipe easily, not sure any air freshener could bring back the nice smell of my TL as it is now

That being said, kudos to you guys for taking the car to the track and acting responsibly and not race on the streets and put anyone in harms way

 

Now that I got my TL, I would love to take it to a track... unfortunately the City needed the land that our local race track sits on for a landfill, and has taken the land back. I really would have liked to see what this car would do at the track compared to my other cars. Having driven literally thousands of laps at the local track and spending many days there, I really don't know what I will do this year.

If you are a novice, it is always good to take a performance driving course or at the very least have an instructor or an experience driver take you around the track a few time and give you some pointers. Do warm up and cool down laps... and make sure your fluids are topped up. On a street car, it is good to keep sessions short... 20 minutes. Like someone said before, your brakes might not last that long. You might need to do a few fast laps and a couple of slower laps to cool down your brakes.

No need to worry about explaining/justifying to insurance as your street insuranace doesn't cover you at a race track. Take it easy at the track and you'll be fine.

 

Agreed. If you crash they will not cover you. People run their car off the track all the time and try to collect a repair from their street INS CO.
EVERY INS CO has connections/spies at the local tracks. If you claim a loss they will deny your claim and possibly drop you. This happened to a guy at the shop that worked on my 911 after crashing into another car on the track at PIR.

 

^i've heard of somebody flipping his car on the track, then he drove it out, and flipped it on purpose on the street to try to claim insurance, not sure if he was successful or not....

 

I'm not a novice; I have 20 years of track experience. My question was directed specifically to what to expect with the TL, not what to expect generally. (See my OP.)

Thanks for the tips though. I'm sure there are others that might find it helpful.

 

i cant imagine anyone wanting to take a heavy 4door sedan to the track....i just dont see how that is fun...

however, for a few thousand dollars, you can buy a decent used sport bike, and that is a straight gas at the track...

 

"Agreed. If you crash they will not cover you. People run their car off the track all the time and try to collect a repair from their street INS CO.
EVERY INS CO has connections/spies at the local tracks. If you claim a loss they will deny your claim and possibly drop you. This happened to a guy at the shop that worked on my 911 after crashing into another car on the track at PIR".

What...you have got to be joking...Anyhow...OP (jmho) tracking any "sport sedan" to me it just nuts...But have fun....

 

Do a pop-a-wheelie!

 

the naysayers = booo.


Have fun! like stated your brakes will start to fade

 

I took my TL to the track about 9 times last year, to much to list, send me a PM with your phone number and I would be more than happy to discuss. Great car at the track for sure.

 

I've found that using my e-brake around the corners is the only way to go....

 

bi+ch please, you drive a fwd..

 

Am I missing something here? E-Brake? What are we thinking that a TL is a WRC rally car?

 

Using the E-brake to throw the car around corners will destroy the rear tires in no time.

It's asphalt concrete tracks we are talking about, not off-road dirt roads.