Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca

[tbinmd]

Stock pads on Porsche steel brakes just are not up for the task of track work on any Porsche. Upgrade the pads and fluid.

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[npx]

OP you are a madman and I love it. I'd die to do Laguna or Sonoma in my Turbo but frankly, I know I wouldn't be able to push it hard like I used to in my S4, and do in my $3000 NB Miata...

1:47 is an impressive time on those shit (for the track) tires. Well done.

 

[bsclywilly]

OP you are a madman and I love it. I'd die to do Laguna or Sonoma in my Turbo but frankly, I know I wouldn't be able to push it hard like I used to in my S4, and do in my $3000 NB Miata...

1:47 is an impressive time on those shit (for the track) tires. Well done.

Thanks!

Your track cars sound similar to mine. I have an M3 and a Civic. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) it’s a steep inverse relationship between the value of the car and how fast it goes.

I find it is fun no matter what I’m driving but the way I drive is much different. I set pretty conservative mental limits with the Taycan so I was not tracking out, or hitting some apexes like 6 so tight. But I still really enjoyed learning a new car. I feel like the overall running costs and time of an EV track car would be pretty good too.

I paid a total of $8.06 for electricity for the track day which is kinda funny.

 

[Edward]

Nice lap video! I can tell you definitely know your way around that circuit. Did you find similar turn-in points as the M3? I came from a rear-heavy 911, so trail braking wasn't particularly effective on the Taycan.

Also, this is the first Track Precision video I've seen from a Taycan! It's much better data than what I can get from Harry's Lap Timer on my non-Sport Chrono 4S.

Re: tires, I found 2-3 seconds around COTA switching from 20" Michelin Pilot Sport 4 summer tires to MPS4S! That, and I was running very low cold pressures, maybe 29 psi.

Re: brakes, I was down to the wear sensors after 2 track weekends. Castrol SRF made a difference on my second track weekend. I was on the factory fluid for my first track weekend, and it felt like it hit boiling point pretty quickly. The SRF allowed the brakes to stay in the game much longer, but the brakes were pretty tired after ~12 laps.

Re: charging, good for you to find the EA 350kW station! I would be too anxious to drive there with only 2% SOC remaining! My COTA sessions used 7-9% SOC per lap. I'd guess your laps used a little less charge given the actual lap times? (1 minute shorter at Laguna Seca versus COTA)

 

[bsclywilly]

Nice lap video! I can tell you definitely know your way around that circuit. Did you find similar turn-in points as the M3? I came from a rear-heavy 911, so trail braking wasn't particularly effective on the Taycan.

Also, this is the first Track Precision video I've seen from a Taycan! It's much better data than what I can get from Harry's Lap Timer on my non-Sport Chrono 4S.

Re: tires, I found 2-3 seconds around COTA switching from 20" Michelin Pilot Sport 4 summer tires to MPS4S! That, and I was running very low cold pressures, maybe 29 psi.

Re: brakes, I was down to the wear sensors after 2 track weekends. Castrol SRF made a difference on my second track weekend. I was on the factory fluid for my first track weekend, and it felt like it hit boiling point pretty quickly. The SRF allowed the brakes to stay in the game much longer, but the brakes were pretty tired after ~12 laps.

Re: charging, good for you to find the EA 350kW station! I would be too anxious to drive there with only 2% SOC remaining! My COTA sessions used 7-9% SOC per lap. I'd guess your laps used a little less charge given the actual lap times? (1 minute shorter at Laguna Seca versus COTA)

Tire compound and under-tired fronts definitely needed earlier turn in to compensate for the understeer. Still trail braking but it's asking alot from the front tires and with the size of car, not going to feel the same kind of rotation as a lighter car. Having said that, I'm pretty impressed with the suspension kinematics, made the best use of the tires. I was running about 0.6deg less camber in the rear than stock which I hope helped with the balance a bit.

I've got to play with the Track Precision app a bit more but so far it's pretty sweet having the extra channels for brake press., throttle, steering, tire pressures, SoC, PSM, etc. etc. I was about to go down the rabbit hole of CAN bus mapping with my Racecapture DAQ. Next time I'll need to figure out how to connect my Gopro to the video feed to avoid the phone camera vibration. Also, I don't see a good way to compare laps from session to session, so that is one downside.

Here's another example screen shot braking in to 5 showing some of the trail braking, throttle and steering transition.

Thanks for the comparison notes on tires and brakes!

 

[philbur]

nice Race Turismo

 

[hhf2]

Wind buffeting when just the front windows were down. So I had to drop the rear windows too.

Some onboard shots going down the corkscrew.

So, first time using my mobile charger connect. The garage plugs are NEMA 6-30 so you'll need an adapter. And don't forget to set your charger at 50% otherwise you'll be flipping breakers... For some reason I thought the charger would auto adjust power, but I guess not. Maybe the adapter fooled it.

Sweet man! Reminds me of my SkipBarber days a lifetime ago. Beating Dodge Vipers and Formula Dodges around this track. Laguna Seca is by far my favourite racetrack. The Nürburgring takes more balls and skills, but nothing beats the rush of coming up to the blind turn-in of the corkscrew and taking the elevator down.

Good driving, too man! Smooth operator. Now I wanna take mine there too, that I have a lap time to beat

 

[kwanyu]

thanks for sharing and documenting the experience. I live in San Jose and I am considering doing the same at some point.

 

[bsclywilly]

Another day at Laguna Seca. Today I decided I wanted to practice left foot braking since it’s not fair that one foot gets to do all the work. TLDR: immediately dropped 1 second off my lap times. Here’s a vid of a 1:42 lap in the 4CT.


A year ago with a fresh set of Bridgestone RE71RS I was running 1:43 on the old track surface. Was hoping to go faster today with the new asphalt but was only managing 1:43s as well so tires might be going off a bit. It was also a pretty hot day, into the 80s by noon. I had been practicing left foot braking for a while on the street but the last two track days I told myself I wanted to try. Well, I couldn’t get over the nervous feeling that my left foot just wasn’t as experienced as the right and it wasn’t until the last session of the day that I finally tried it. Lined up at the back of the group behind all the Miatas as I told myself I’d work up my braking points slowly. Started the out lap at an easy 70% pace and by the end of the lap was surprised that I felt so confident. I definitely wasn’t hitting the same braking points exactly that I was used to and immediately noticed the transitions from brake to throttle were much smoother and the car felt more settled. I would roll on the throttle earlier, vs right foot braking, I was usually trying to catch-up to the available longitudinal grip and hammering the throttle on exits. Passed all the Miata’s by the end of the second lap and was ready for a flying lap. Was super surprised when a 1:42 popped up on my first complete lap.

So, just letting y’all know, left foot braking is the way.

Here’s a turn 5 example you can compare with a post above. Notice the red and green lines crossing.

 

[WuffvonTrips]

Another day at Laguna Seca. Today I decided I wanted to practice left foot braking since it’s not fair that one foot gets to do all the work. TLDR: immediately dropped 1 second off my lap times.

Thanks for sharing. I've been wondering how effective left-foot braking might be in an EV, specifically how the motor power management responds to simultaneous throttle and brake inputs. You've encouraged me to give it a try in preparation for my next track session. I've just now downloaded the Track Precision app and hope I can get it working, was interested to see your post in a different thread about using it outside of lapping on track.

 

[bsclywilly]

Thanks for sharing. I've been wondering how effective left-foot braking might be in an EV, specifically how the motor power management responds to simultaneous throttle and brake inputs. You've encouraged me to give it a try in preparation for my next track session. I've just now downloaded the Track Precision app and hope I can get it working, was interested to see your post in a different thread about using it outside of lapping on track.

It’s a pretty seamless transition when you’re on both pedals. I think the mechanical brakes get activated immediately if you step on the brakes while already on throttle. But you’ll also notice your power meter reduced as you get on the brakes but it’s gradual with the more pressure you add to the brake pedal. With ICE cars left foot braking can have some benefits for altering the balance but I think the main advantage on EVs is just minimizing the transition time from off throttle to on the brakes and back on throttle again.

 

[WuffvonTrips]

It’s a pretty seamless transition when you’re on both pedals. I think the mechanical brakes get activated immediately if you step on the brakes while already on throttle. But you’ll also notice your power meter reduced as you get on the brakes but it’s gradual with the more pressure you add to the brake pedal. With ICE cars left foot braking can have some benefits for altering the balance but I think the main advantage on EVs is just minimizing the transition time from off throttle to on the brakes and back on throttle again.

Thanks- it sounds like a sensible setup, now I just need to safely develop a feel for it in the month I have before taking to the track again (where my Porsche instructor will be able to build me up on the SEC's own tracks before heading onto the circuit proper to hopefully not inconvenience the experienced folks).

 

[ciaranob]

It’s a pretty seamless transition when you’re on both pedals. I think the mechanical brakes get activated immediately if you step on the brakes while already on throttle. But you’ll also notice your power meter reduced as you get on the brakes but it’s gradual with the more pressure you add to the brake pedal. With ICE cars left foot braking can have some benefits for altering the balance but I think the main advantage on EVs is just minimizing the transition time from off throttle to on the brakes and back on throttle again.

Have been left foot braking for years - can't imagine going back ever !

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