Anyone do a track day with their Taycan?

TontoTaycan

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I'm interested in registering for a track day at Laguna Seca and seeing what this car can do.

I'd be interested in hearing others' experiences at the track.

Also, I will be getting PPF for the front end before, but other than tire wear, can I expect any significant wear on other parts of the car with one day at the track?
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daveo4EV

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brakes will wear as normal - and you’ll have to manage consumption - it will be extreme - if you’re going to Laguna there is unfortunately no fast charging solutions near the track.

when I tracked my Model 3 with HOD @ Laguna I used 30-40% battery in one 15 min session (I cut the session‘s short due to the crappy Model 3 brakes and consumption). Without a local fast charging solution - you won’t be able to recover enough charge between sessions to run a full 5 session 25 minute session schedule…I’d be surprised if you can do a full 3 sessions - remember to leave enough battery to get from the track to a fast charger to get home.

Laguna has few if any NEMA plugs out in the open- and the one’s in the garages are only 30 amps (NEMA 6-30’s) which is only 24 amps of charging.
 


daveo4EV

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quick survey of tracks vs. fast charging logistics (my criteria is at least 100 kW - 50 kW is too slow)
  • Thunderhill Hill - feasible - 350 kW fast charging 7 miles from track - that means 10 min to charger - 30 min charge - 10 min back - probably run two sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon - fast charge again before going home
  • Autoclub speedway - feasible - 350 kW fast charging less than 8 miles from the track
  • The Thermal Club - feasible - 350 kW fast charging less than 15 miles from the track
  • Daytona - feasible - 350 kW fast charger 5.9 miles from the track
  • Roebling Road - feasible - 350 kW fast charger 9.2 miles from the track
  • Virgina International Raceway - mixed bag - closest fast charging is an unreliable 25 kW fast charging station - but it's super close only 0.5 miles!!!
  • Laguna Seca - awkward - closest faster chargers are > 11.3 miles away (but a 25 min drive each way) - and only 50 kW
  • Laguna Seca - awkward - closest fast chargers are Salinas 14 miles away - so at least 1 hour travel time (there and back) + charge time - but they are 350 kW - and there are the Salinas 350 kW chargers 24 miles away
  • Pocono Raceway - awkward - 350 kW fast charging 29 miles from the track
  • Sonoma Raceway - awkward - closest fast chargers are EVGo 50 kW - 10 miles away very congested highways to get there
  • Circuit of the Americas - awkward & risky - single 62.5 kW fast charger 8.6 miles from the track
  • Miller motorsports track - awkward - 50 kW fast chargers 7.7 miles from the track
  • Portland International Raceway - awkward - 50 kW fast chargers less than 5 miles from the track
  • Summit Point Motorsports Park - awkward - 150 kW fast chargers 21.5 miles from the track
  • Buttonwillow - awkward - Chargepoint 50 kW @ starbucks listed in chargepoint app - reliability unknown at this time
  • Willow Springs - very awkward - closest working fast charges 20 miles from track - figure 30 min each way just in travel time & 25 kW max power
  • Chuckwalla - very awkward - 50 kW fast charger about 30 miles from the track
  • Limerock - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • New Jersey Motorsports Park - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • Watkin's Glenn - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • Barber motorsports - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • Spring Mountain Motorsports Clug - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • Mid-Ohio - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • Road America - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • Palmbeach International Raceyway - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • Seabring Raceway - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • Oregon Raceway Park - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • The Ridge Motorsports Park - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
  • Pittsburg International Race Complex - infeasible - no fast charging remotely near the track
updated Jan 20th, 2021 - Monterey EA chargers now online.
 
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daveo4EV

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Anatomy of a track day with an EV…

The enemy of a track day for EV's is power consumption - your battery that will get you 200-300 miles at normal highways speeds will deplete at a rate of about 50% charge for 1 20 minute session - so power management is the major watchword of the day.

Now many many tracks have NEMA 14-50 RV hook ups and these can help - but are no where near sufficient to replinish the power your used while on track between sessions. So a good reliable and accessible fast charging solution is required if you want to track your EV for more than 2 20 minute sessions and then still be able to drive it home.

The basic plan is as follows:
  • Drive to Hotel night before
  • Plan to charge to 100% so you leave for the track "full" in the morning - combination of fast charging and L1/L2 charging overnight to have the car full in the morning
  • Drive to track as gingerly as possible to use as little power as possible - measure your usage to the track - you'll need this much "buffer" to return to the fast charger later in the day
  • arrive right when gates open
  • stake out a spot w/NEMA 14-50 charger
  • plug-in the car and begin charging to refill the mornings drive while you unpack the car and drivers meeting
  • plan so that you can out on track for session #1 at or near 100% charge
  • have fun
  • don't focus on session duration - focus on consumption - come in from session 1 at 55 to 45% charge
  • plug into the NEMA 14-50 to maximize your charge between sessions
  • Session #2 - again have fun - push the car safely - and come in when you are approaching your "buffer" battery to get to the closest fast charger
  • Drive slowly to the fast charger
  • Plug into a fast charger - top the battery off to 80 or preferably nearly 100%
  • drive back to the race track
  • do sessions 3 & 4 in the afternoon if you can and based on battery usage, trickle charge the car on NEMA 14-50 between session
  • come in from last session
  • plug in the car while you pack up and get the car ready for the drive home
  • swing by the fast charger on the way out of town to top off for the drive home
  • drive as normal home using fast chargers as necessary to reach your destination
the Taycan is perhaps the best EV track car on the market today due to it's industry leading 270 kW fast charging rate - if you achieve that here is a concrete example of a day @ thunderhill
  1. fast charge the night before to 100% @ EA 350 kW charger @ Walmart in Willows, CA
  2. Drive to Holiday Inn Express - using about 2% battery
  3. Sleep overnight
  4. Drive slowly from HIE to Thunderhill using another 8% battery
  5. Arrive at track right as gates open @ 7 am
  6. Park next to one of many NEMA 14-50 RV hook ups -plug in the car
  7. Unpack, get the car ready - attend driver's meeting
  8. 1st session 9 am or 10 am - with 2 or 3 hours paddock time you should be able to reach 100% battery for your 1st session
  9. Grid up for 1st session - drive on track - target coming in at close to 50% battery
  10. come in and quickly plug-in to NEMA 14-50 - this should be able to restore 4-7% battery before session #2
  11. 2nd Session - go on track have fun - be aware you're going to be down below 20% battery at the end of the session
  12. come in around 10% battery to have enough charge to reach the Walmart
  13. come off track drive directly to the Walmart - 15 minutes
  14. The Taycan @ 270 kW can reach 80% charge in 22 min - but stay another 15-20 min to get close to 100%
  15. drive back to thunderhill slowly to preserve battery charge - 15 minutes
  16. total time for the fast charging session 30 minute driving + 40 min charge session - 70 minutes
  17. arrive back at track - plug into NEMA 14-50 to trickle charge before session #3
  18. Session #3 use 1/2 remaining battery
  19. 14-50 charge again between session #3 & #4
  20. Drive Session #4 - come in when you're at like 10% battery
  21. park the car - plug it in to charge while packing up
  22. Drive back to walmart in Willows, fast charge as necessary to reach your destination.
basically if the fast charger is close enough and powerful enough you should be able to do 2 sessions in the morning - charge over lunch - and 2 sessions in the afternoon - and fast charge once again to get home. The slower and farther away from the track the fast charger is the more tenious this plan becomes, although you should be able to do 3 sessions…even if the charger is slow/far form the track -because all that means is your lunchtime charging session takes longer…

for fast charging during a track day you need to consider the following:
  • can you actually use the fast charger you plan to use - some business restrict usage
  • how reliable is the charger - if it's offline/broken a lot (plugshare reliability rating) - it's effectively not an asset and you can't rely on it
    • are there recent check'ins where someone reported successful charging - or is the last checkin from Jun. 16th, 2017
  • how likely is it going to activate with out a phone call - you can easily lose 20 minutes on the phone with helpful customer service representative trying to remotely activate your charger because the point of sale system at the charger isn't functional
  • how many stalls are there - single stall chargers are very very high risk - congestion is an issue - you don't want to be on a schedule to get back to the track and arrive at the fast charger with the 1 or 2 stalls occupied
  • do you have a history with this fast charger? have you personally seen it delivery close to it's maximum rate - I often show up at 125 kW or 50 kW fast charger and never see anywhere close to the maximum charge rate - test the fast charger before you are at the track the next day - measure it's capabilities
    • test the charge rate - that way you'll have an idea how long your charging session will take
  • are there amenities near the charge, can you walk and get food and bathroom while your EV is charging - is there good cell coverage or wifi
I'm very excited about the Taycan - it's superior charge rate of 270 kW means that _IF_ you can find a 350 kW charger near your favorite track it's entirely feasible for a reasonable 20-40 min charging session to get you to 90-100% battery during a track day - meaning you can probably run 4 sessions at a normal track event. That would be great and not terribly inconvenient - but a PITA compared to a gas car.
 


daveo4EV

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I would LOVE _ANY_ factual consumption data from a Taycan track day as to % of battery vs. duration of session.

when I get mine I'll do a track day, but any data before that would be great!
 

ron_b

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Just wanted to mention @daveo4EV that there is an Electrify America charger in Salinas so 350kW 16mi/24min away with no traffic, I know that means you would be 90 minutes away from the track. But it is an option.
 

daveo4EV

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@ron_b thanks for the update - list is updated - one of the great things is we are in that phase of new EV charging locations coming online reasonably frequently - so we all need to stay flexible and consult the latest data sources.
 

CinVinman

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Dave,
If memory serves, there is an EA in a Wal-Mart parking lot no more than 8-9 miles from Mid-Ohio.
 

daveo4EV

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given only 4 sessions and abbreviated at that because of the battery overheating - I'd estimate I used 40 to 50% tread wear - I'm still driving on the track day tires and tread wear seems "accelerated" but still safe and street legal - I'm estimating 2 track days "maximum" for normal street tires - more like 1 1/2 days…
 

daveo4EV

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Great news! Safeway 761 (Pacific Grove, CA) at 1212 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 is now live.

not sure how practical it is from Laguna Seca - but I think it's closer than the Salinas one…
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