bsclywilly

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Took the 4 Cross Turismo out to Laguna Seca on Wednesday with HOD. Open passing group on a weekday, pretty much had the track all to myself. It’s a heavy car built for the street, not the track. So if you’re into eeking out every last tenth of whatever you got, it’s still pretty fun. If you want to go stupid fast lap after lap, then tires, brakes, and double the power would be much better!

Check out the video from the Track Precision app. Cool little wheel spin and under/over-steer icons too:



A few interesting learnings:
  • This car is fast for 5200lb and 375hp. Either there is something about the consistent power delivery or the power is significantly underrated, or both. I was hitting 117mph down the front straight which is a tick higher than my M3 with a better P-W ratio.
  • The power and how smoothly it’s delivered made it very uneventful between turns. It felt slow and I was expecting to pull some 1:50 times but instead was able to consistently run in the 1:47s
  • The stock brakes and summer tires (Pirelli P7blue, yuck!) were the worst part, but not unlike any other street car spec. These two parts are usually the first to upgrade for any car that frequents the track. Tires progressively lost traction from the first lap (that’s standard for almost all street compounds) and the brake feel was inconsistent under heavy braking due to the regen/mechanical derived feedback to the pedal.
  • You have to plan out your power consumption carefully so you can make it back to a fast charger. I had checked on ABRP that it would take me about 7% charge to get from the track to the EA station in Salinas. And you can get about 3-4% charge between sessions in the garages. So starting from a full charge, you’re left with a budget of about 47% per session if you charge after the second session. Or 32% per session if you want to get 3 sessions before charging.
  • Don’t expect the Porsche nav to work if you’re leaving the track with a low SOC. It kept on wanting to direct me to a nearby 50kw charger because it thought I wouldn’t make it based on prior driving.
  • The new 350kw chargers in Pacific Grove actually work! Closer than Salinas and I was able to pull 244kw at the end of the day. This charger will save more than 15 min of transit/charge time over the Salinas 350kw charger.
  • No overheating or power cut issues. Battery temp was 118F on a 70F day after 11 total laps (6-7 hot laps). *Not sure what the max temp it hit before cooldown lap.
  • I didn’t try with PSM on, but with PSM Sport (Sport Chrono option gives the sport option rather than “off”) I was pretty happy with the lack of intrusion from driver nannies. Even ABS, I suspect, allows significantly more slip before it kicks in.

First session recorded laps on sport chrono but haven’t downloaded yet. 9 laps
SOC 92-55%

Second session:
11 laps
SOC 58-8%
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca 88877871-8CFB-41CD-B2DC-0DE75084FA8E


Skipped third session to charge. Made it to Salinas with 2% left. When I left the track, the dash said I had 8 miles of range to make the 16mi trip.
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca 305B9ACB-F918-43F7-B8F0-54FDA0A6307F


Fourth Session:
10 laps
SOC 94-52%
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca 2B861C8B-F4CD-4FD7-A59C-09DE9FE0AC83


Fifth Session:
This was the most consistent with the fastest lap coming after a cool down lap.
9 laps
SOC 54-11%
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca 3EFE1036-C474-4971-B185-EA4F34F178CF


Drive out to Pacific Grove EA took another 5% but glad the fast chargers worked despite no confirmation from PlugShare (until now).
SOC 11-6%
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca C300016E-0911-4176-B2B1-0A932AEFF5F5


Tire pressures ran 41/38 (front/rear) hot. Temps were hot in the middle but I think that was safer than cooking the edges of the tires. Could have run a psi and a half lower perhaps. I had really low expectations of the 20” Pirelli P7 blues but they actually held up pretty well and did not degrade significantly even though the grip was annoyingly low. The front tire mid and second to inside rib was looking a wee rough though.
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca 2181A2B6-1E09-4C51-B63B-5012947F3134


Rears were fine.
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca C661EE76-8BD7-4D57-A7A5-CC3F89DBFCA6


Edge wear was also ok. The XL load rating probably gives the sidewalls some extra support but they still felt vague and not responsive.
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca D4BFAC46-2D08-47B4-924D-4E08F5C04769


Temps taken after cooldown but still kinda representative of distribution since the reading is taken with a probe at the carcass, not surface temp.
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca C4301533-8C74-4639-8ED8-BFB71330820D


Will likely do more track days in the CT, just don’t tell my wife!

Added some notes on brake performance and wear in below post. Summary, 2mm wear in front, and 4mm wear in the rear. Overheated pads and had some bad scoring on the rotors, esp. the rears.
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca Image from iOS (83)
 
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Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca 7AFE3078-63FC-4671-97D5-A5999091C469
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca F82800AC-8A8F-4574-A70C-05994F8D3D70

Wind buffeting when just the front windows were down. So I had to drop the rear windows too.
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca E35ABCAE-2706-44C2-ABFB-36500411F754

Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca 3DF2749D-8FAE-48EC-866E-C4CE82AAA284

Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca CA8A4EFF-637B-4E9C-9744-26FA9C32CAFA

Some onboard shots going down the corkscrew.
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca corkscrew side

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


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.

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

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Took the 4 Cross Turismo out to Laguna Seca on Wednesday with HOD. Open passing group on a weekday, pretty much had the track all to myself. It’s a heavy car built for the street, not the track. So if you’re into eeking out every last tenth of whatever you got, it’s still pretty fun. If you want to go stupid fast lap after lap, then tires, brakes, and double the power would be much better!

Check out the video from the Track Precision app. Cool little wheel spin and under/over-steer icons too:



A few interesting learnings:
  • This car is fast for 5200lb and 375hp. Either there is something about the consistent power delivery or the power is significantly underrated, or both. I was hitting 117mph down the front straight which is a tick higher than my M3 with a better P-W ratio.
  • The power and how smoothly it’s delivered made it very uneventful between turns. It felt slow and I was expecting to pull some 1:50 times but instead was able to consistently run in the 1:47s
  • The stock brakes and summer tires (Pirelli P7blue, yuck!) were the worst part, but not unlike any other street car spec. These two parts are usually the first to upgrade for any car that frequents the track. Tires progressively lost traction from the first lap (that’s standard for almost all street compounds) and the brake feel was inconsistent under heavy braking due to the regen/mechanical derived feedback to the pedal.
  • You have to plan out your power consumption carefully so you can make it back to a fast charger. I had checked on ABRP that it would take me about 7% charge to get from the track to the EA station in Salinas. And you can get about 3-4% charge between sessions in the garages. So starting from a full charge, you’re left with a budget of about 47% per session if you charge after the second session. Or 32% per session if you want to get 3 sessions before charging.
  • Don’t expect the Porsche nav to work if you’re leaving the track with a low SOC. It kept on wanting to direct me to a nearby 50kw charger because it thought I wouldn’t make it based on prior driving.
  • The new 350kw chargers in Pacific Grove actually work! Closer than Salinas and I was able to pull 244kw at the end of the day. This charger will save more than 15 min of transit/charge time over the Salinas 350kw charger.
  • No overheating or power cut issues. Battery temp was 118F on a 70F day after 11 total laps (6-7 hot laps). *Not sure what the max temp it hit before cooldown lap.
  • I didn’t try with PSM on, but with PSM Sport (Sport Chrono option gives the sport option rather than “off”) I was pretty happy with the lack of intrusion from driver nannies. Even ABS, I suspect, allows significantly more slip before it kicks in.

First session recorded laps on sport chrono but haven’t downloaded yet. 9 laps
SOC 92-55%

Second session:
11 laps
SOC 58-8%
88877871-8CFB-41CD-B2DC-0DE75084FA8E.png


Skipped third session to charge. Made it to Salinas with 2% left. When I left the track, the dash said I had 8 miles of range to make the 16mi trip.
305B9ACB-F918-43F7-B8F0-54FDA0A6307F.jpeg


Fourth Session:
10 laps
SOC 94-52%
2B861C8B-F4CD-4FD7-A59C-09DE9FE0AC83.png


Fifth Session:
This was the most consistent with the fastest lap coming after a cool down lap.
9 laps
SOC 54-11%
3EFE1036-C474-4971-B185-EA4F34F178CF.png


Drive out to Pacific Grove EA took another 5% but glad the fast chargers worked despite no confirmation from PlugShare (until now).
SOC 11-6%
C300016E-0911-4176-B2B1-0A932AEFF5F5.jpeg


Tire pressures ran 41/38 (front/rear) hot. Temps were hot in the middle but I think that was safer than cooking the edges of the tires. Could have run a psi and a half lower perhaps. I had really low expectations of the 20” Pirelli P7 blues but they actually held up pretty well and did not degrade significantly even though the grip was annoyingly low. The front tire mid and second to inside rib was looking a wee rough though.
2181A2B6-1E09-4C51-B63B-5012947F3134.jpeg


Rears were fine.
C661EE76-8BD7-4D57-A7A5-CC3F89DBFCA6.jpeg


Edge wear was also ok. The XL load rating probably gives the sidewalls some extra support but they still felt vague and not responsive.
D4BFAC46-2D08-47B4-924D-4E08F5C04769.jpeg


Temps taken after cooldown but still kinda representative of distribution since the reading is taken with a probe at the carcass, not surface temp.
C4301533-8C74-4639-8ED8-BFB71330820D.jpeg


Will likely do more track days in the CT, just don’t tell my wife!


View attachment 37259








.
thanks for sharing! there's en EV event in Sonoma and I was not interested in participating because I have the RWD but this video gives me confidence, it's not about competing, it's about having fun!
 
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bsclywilly

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thanks for sharing! there's en EV event in Sonoma and I was not interested in participating because I have the RWD but this video gives me confidence, it's not about competing, it's about having fun!
Is that the Holley even in July? Should be interesting. I would encourage you to go, especially if you haven't been on track before. I'm curious what the turn out will be for the track event. There are two EA stations nearby but if there are alot of non-Tesla EVs, those could quickly become filled up, especially on a weekend. Their schedule is built out to allow for charging time - 2 morning sessions, a long lunch break, and 2 afternoon sessions.

I was thinking if tracking EVs in the future become popular, it would make sense for cars to have as small battery packs as possible for a single session. Then have a charging hub or personal fast chargers to recharge between sessions.
 

jenzfc

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Is that the Holley even in July? Should be interesting. I would encourage you to go, especially if you haven't been on track before. I'm curious what the turn out will be for the track event. There are two EA stations nearby but if there are alot of non-Tesla EVs, those could quickly become filled up, especially on a weekend. Their schedule is built out to allow for charging time - 2 morning sessions, a long lunch break, and 2 afternoon sessions.

I was thinking if tracking EVs in the future become popular, it would make sense for cars to have as small battery packs as possible for a single session. Then have a charging hub or personal fast chargers to recharge between sessions.
yes, that's the one! last year it was a success!
 


whan

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I need to make it to Sonoma Raceway one day - super close to my home right across the 37. I haven't taken my 458 out to the track for fear of accelerated maintenance costs but just might with the Taycan given EV powertrain and Porsche's usually being a bit more track-ready. Doesn't look like I'll get the car in time for this year though
 

daveo4EV

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Took the 4 Cross Turismo out to Laguna Seca on Wednesday with HOD. Open passing group on a weekday, pretty much had the track all to myself. It’s a heavy car built for the street, not the track. So if you’re into eeking out every last tenth of whatever you got, it’s still pretty fun. If you want to go stupid fast lap after lap, then tires, brakes, and double the power would be much better!

Check out the video from the Track Precision app. Cool little wheel spin and under/over-steer icons too:



A few interesting learnings:
  • This car is fast for 5200lb and 375hp. Either there is something about the consistent power delivery or the power is significantly underrated, or both. I was hitting 117mph down the front straight which is a tick higher than my M3 with a better P-W ratio.
  • The power and how smoothly it’s delivered made it very uneventful between turns. It felt slow and I was expecting to pull some 1:50 times but instead was able to consistently run in the 1:47s
  • The stock brakes and summer tires (Pirelli P7blue, yuck!) were the worst part, but not unlike any other street car spec. These two parts are usually the first to upgrade for any car that frequents the track. Tires progressively lost traction from the first lap (that’s standard for almost all street compounds) and the brake feel was inconsistent under heavy braking due to the regen/mechanical derived feedback to the pedal.
  • You have to plan out your power consumption carefully so you can make it back to a fast charger. I had checked on ABRP that it would take me about 7% charge to get from the track to the EA station in Salinas. And you can get about 3-4% charge between sessions in the garages. So starting from a full charge, you’re left with a budget of about 47% per session if you charge after the second session. Or 32% per session if you want to get 3 sessions before charging.
  • Don’t expect the Porsche nav to work if you’re leaving the track with a low SOC. It kept on wanting to direct me to a nearby 50kw charger because it thought I wouldn’t make it based on prior driving.
  • The new 350kw chargers in Pacific Grove actually work! Closer than Salinas and I was able to pull 244kw at the end of the day. This charger will save more than 15 min of transit/charge time over the Salinas 350kw charger.
  • No overheating or power cut issues. Battery temp was 118F on a 70F day after 11 total laps (6-7 hot laps). *Not sure what the max temp it hit before cooldown lap.
  • I didn’t try with PSM on, but with PSM Sport (Sport Chrono option gives the sport option rather than “off”) I was pretty happy with the lack of intrusion from driver nannies. Even ABS, I suspect, allows significantly more slip before it kicks in.

First session recorded laps on sport chrono but haven’t downloaded yet. 9 laps
SOC 92-55%

Second session:
11 laps
SOC 58-8%
88877871-8CFB-41CD-B2DC-0DE75084FA8E.png


Skipped third session to charge. Made it to Salinas with 2% left. When I left the track, the dash said I had 8 miles of range to make the 16mi trip.
305B9ACB-F918-43F7-B8F0-54FDA0A6307F.jpeg


Fourth Session:
10 laps
SOC 94-52%
2B861C8B-F4CD-4FD7-A59C-09DE9FE0AC83.png


Fifth Session:
This was the most consistent with the fastest lap coming after a cool down lap.
9 laps
SOC 54-11%
3EFE1036-C474-4971-B185-EA4F34F178CF.png


Drive out to Pacific Grove EA took another 5% but glad the fast chargers worked despite no confirmation from PlugShare (until now).
SOC 11-6%
C300016E-0911-4176-B2B1-0A932AEFF5F5.jpeg


Tire pressures ran 41/38 (front/rear) hot. Temps were hot in the middle but I think that was safer than cooking the edges of the tires. Could have run a psi and a half lower perhaps. I had really low expectations of the 20” Pirelli P7 blues but they actually held up pretty well and did not degrade significantly even though the grip was annoyingly low. The front tire mid and second to inside rib was looking a wee rough though.
2181A2B6-1E09-4C51-B63B-5012947F3134.jpeg


Rears were fine.
C661EE76-8BD7-4D57-A7A5-CC3F89DBFCA6.jpeg


Edge wear was also ok. The XL load rating probably gives the sidewalls some extra support but they still felt vague and not responsive.
D4BFAC46-2D08-47B4-924D-4E08F5C04769.jpeg


Temps taken after cooldown but still kinda representative of distribution since the reading is taken with a probe at the carcass, not surface temp.
C4301533-8C74-4639-8ED8-BFB71330820D.jpeg


Will likely do more track days in the CT, just don’t tell my wife!


View attachment 37259








.
the RWD seems a better match for the track - same battery size - less power consumption (and less heat into the battery) is more efficient for laps - my Turbo blows through more power in fewer laps (98% to 47% in 8 laps)…the RWD seems to be the sweet spot for tracking a Taycan.

lap times are in line with expectations as is tire behavior - 118F is only 14 degrees F from max battery temp - you may have been only a few degree's F from max battery temp - or you did hit it during lapping - but didn't notice - when you're at max battery temp Taycan limits throttle response but it's soooo subtle you may not notice - it's still quick, but less sharp and no warnings are thrown - the only way to notice would be to see the "blue line" on the power meter can only go to about 2 or 3 pm on the dial vs. 5 pm for full power…

I reached max battery temp in the 2020 Turbo at lap 6 or 7 - RWD lower power output would yield less battery heat due to discharge and 10 laps would seem about right (you're also not feeding two EV motors lower the current flow - again less heat being forced into the battery due to power discharge demands)

this is excellent data - and yes the Taycan is fun on track - all EV's are super fun - last time I was at laguna w/HOD GT3's were coming up to after the session wondering what voodoo magic I was employing to make the Taycan sooo fast - EV power is a wonderful thing…
 
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bsclywilly

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the RWD seems a better match for the track - same battery size - less power consumption is more efficient for laps - my Turbo blows through more power in fewer laps…the RWD seems to be the sweet spot for tracking a Taycan.
Yes, I was very curious to see how my experience would compare to yours. It seems the cooling is just unable to keep up with the Turbo output. Consider your Turbo a qualifying setup or 'party mode' :p
 


daveo4EV

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I think the answer to the question posed in the thread title is "yes" emphatically yes - but we need fast chargers at Laguna - then you could run 10 lap sessions all day…and all would be well with the world until you ran out of tire

but yeah - Taycan is impressive on track for 5,100 lbs sports sedan - and I can chase down GT3's and hold them at bay - until I hit battery thermals with my Turbo - for 5 passenger sedan - well that's saying a lot…
 

daveo4EV

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just did some investigation on the Spec's porsche site - it's all in the "max" power

Taycan RWS

Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 2.14.23 PM


vs. Taycan Turbo

Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 2.15.02 PM


460 - 240 kW = 220 kW "less" power being demanded of the same battery and cooling system…or a 47% reduction in power demands - this is a virtuous cycle - less power = less heat build up in the battery - and less consumption…

but the battery temp still rose (118F battery temp after a cool down lap still means battery temp rose during the session meaning the cooling system couldn't keep up)

but a 220 kW "savings" is going to elongate the time on track until enough heat has been dumped into the battery…

consumption was also down - so in terms of kWh's discharged - 240 kW nominal max (not in overboost launch control mode) means less consumption…

all around RWD is a better car on track from a heat/consumption point of view - and frankly not that much slower because of instant EV power/torque

this is great data - perhaps the 4S or GTS might also be better on track given lower KW maximum's

with the Turbo and TurboS having the highest power outputs but lowest stamina both in terms of heat soak and consumption…

220 kW difference in max power demands is less demanding on the battery for equal fun

in this case with the RWD - less is more.
 

daveo4EV

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taycan 4S…

Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 2.21.45 PM
 

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Taycan GTS

Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 2.22.37 PM
 

daveo4EV

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it's really quite simple -more kW = more heat = more consumption…but you're probably tire limited at Laguna more than power

OMG the RWD Taycan is the best track Taycan - cause you can run longer and harder due to lower peak power consumption (increasing bqttery life and taxing battery cooling less) and yet still have ample instant torque…
 

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Taycan 4 CT

280 kW is a big discount on heat/consumption vs. Turbo - with no obvious loss of fun - this explains battery temp and consumption differences.

Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 2.56.09 PM
 
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bsclywilly

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Another interesting data point is brake wear and performance. I was not completely confident with the brakes. For one, the pedal would go long after 3 laps. I was not exactly sure if it was the boiling of fluid, or if the regen/mechanical feedback of the pedal was doing funny things. Either way, I learned after the first session to take it a bit easy in braking zones and the performance was more stable. But still not confidence inspiring as lap after lap in heavy braking, the pedal force and travel varied a small amount.

Took a look at the braking data going into T2, and there are some interesting points:
  1. You can see the regen working as soon as you lift off throttle. About 20m from throttle lift to when brakes start building pressure. I think some of the uneasiness I was feeling is the fact that as you start applying mechanical brake pressure, you don't immediately increase decel. The purple line is longitudinal g's and it actually starts easing off a bit (upward slope) just as I get on the pedal. This only happened in the two heaviest braking zones entering T2 and T11.
  2. Another 50m of distance covered before reaching peak brake pressure and max decel. That is quite long, and it was a conscious effort of mine to avoid shocking the tires by not inducing alot of slip so early. With better brakes and tires it would be nice to just stand on those brakes as fast and hard as possible.
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca T2 brake trace


If anyone can confirm new brake pad thickness it would be good to know. I didn't measure pad thickness before but I have a service report from the dealership saying they were at 10mm thick at all corners.

Following this event, I measured 8mm front and 6mm in the rear. Allen keys come in handy for measuring! That's alot of wear on the rear. At that rate, 2 track days would be enough to go through a set. It would not surprise me if that were true. I was going well beyond the ideal temps for the stock brake pads and they began to score up my rotors pretty badly.

Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca Image from iOS (83)


Rear rotors were in rough shape, literally. Tons of brake dust too. And Porsche said the pads might last forever... (under normal use)
Porsche Taycan Is a base Taycan any fun at the track? -> Video, pics, data from Laguna Seca IMG_7758
 
 




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