Track Sessions at Sydney Motorsport Park (Eastern Creek)

[POR997]

Did some track sessions last night at Sydney Motorsport Park (of which I'm quite familiar with).
could only manage 3 sessions (about 12 mins per session with say 6 laps).
started at 95% battery. had to stop when it got to 18% so I could get home!
- michelin PS4 went off after 6 to 8 laps - as expected
- Sport Plus netted only minor benefits in lap times over sport mode
- understeers at the limit - as expected... .it's heavy!
- Acceleration out of the corners is much better than expected.. a lot of grip off camber
- acceleration after say 150kph (top speed on straight saw 228kph) tapers off a lot... so much so that 911's were overtaking me at the end of the straight
- braking and re-gen - yes - that's all good, as is ABS feel
- I have Sports Chrono, PASM, etc.... the stopwatch is a bit of a gimmick (also have a dedicated track GPS device). It's annoying that the settings aren't kept after the car is turned off- so you have to select all those options again every time you go out.
- In Australia - we don't get the "lowered" option on the air suspension whilst stationary. It will only work at 100kph for sustained driving (like freeway). so it never got to the Lowered position whilst on track as speeds were up and down... that's disappointing
- Was surprised that the spoiler (that tiny lift) made some difference (activated on Sport Plus) on the high speed corners. it was noticeable.
- I turned off all the assists as it was annoying (and dangerous if passing). turned off traction on a few laps and did some (slow) slides... I'm not a drifter so only got a couple right.
- the best part was arrival and departure. Whilst others are checking pressures, putting on tow hooks, stickers, topping up octane boost, laptop tunes, etc... I just turned up and went straight onto the track (with helmet). then at the end of the sessions I just left... nothing to pack up - and got some groceries for the wife on the way home.

 

[Kingske]

Did some track sessions last night at Sydney Motorsport Park (of which I'm quite familiar with).
could only manage 3 sessions (about 12 mins per session with say 6 laps).
started at 95% battery. had to stop when it got to 18% so I could get home!
- michelin PS4 went off after 6 to 8 laps - as expected
- Sport Plus netted only minor benefits in lap times over sport mode
- understeers at the limit - as expected... .it's heavy!
- Acceleration out of the corners is much better than expected.. a lot of grip off camber
- acceleration after say 150kph (top speed on straight saw 228kph) tapers off a lot... so much so that 911's were overtaking me at the end of the straight
- braking and re-gen - yes - that's all good, as is ABS feel
- I turned off all the assists as it was annoying (and dangerous if passing). turned off traction on a few laps and did some (slow) slides... I'm not a drifter so only got a couple right.
- the best part was arrival and departure. Whilst others are checking pressures, putting on tow hooks, stickers, topping up octane boost, laptop tunes, etc... I just turned up and went straight onto the track (with helmet). then at the end of the sessions I just left... nothing to pack up - and got some groceries for the wife on the way home.

Thanks for this interesting update! Given your Taycan's color scheme, @felixtb must be your brother-from-another-mother.

 

[POR997]

@felixtb must be your brother-from-another-mother.

yep... was trying to work a way to get @felixtb wheels to Aust From Switzerland but it wasnt to be.

 

[andrewh3]

Really interesting post. You are braver than me to try your car on the track, but good to see a Porsche being used as intended. I am surprised the acceleration tailed off after 150kmh - did this seem more or less noticeable as the battery was depleted? My understanding is that this should not make a difference. Glad to healer the spoiler actually had an affect - on the road I have not noticed any impact and you cannot see when deployed as rear view is so limited.

 

[POR997]

I am surprised the acceleration tailed off after 150kmh - did this seem more or less noticeable as the battery was depleted? My understanding is that this should not make a difference.

acceleration up to say 130 to 150 is brisk.. .the car is out of the corner quicker than most other cars as the electric motors (instant torque) and all the electronics apportion traction accordingly... so this means that as soon as the car has passed the apex you can just mash it and it will go (point and shoot). Battery level didnt affect top end speed / acceleration.
Spoiler - adds to mid corner stability - turn 1 was probably 160kph so it felt more planted with the spoiler up. On slower corners of course, it's not up and doesnt have an impact.

 

[Kingske]

acceleration up to say 130 to 150 is brisk.. .the car is out of the corner quicker than most other cars as the electric motors (instant torque) and all the electronics apportion traction accordingly... so this means that as soon as the car has passed the apex you can just mash it and it will go (point and shoot). Battery level didnt affect top end speed / acceleration.
Spoiler - adds to mid corner stability - turn 1 was probably 160kph so it felt more planted with the spoiler up. On slower corners of course, it's not up and doesnt have an impact.

Interesting to read that battery level did not affect top speed or acceleration. I seem to remember that @daveo4EV experienced a performance drop upon battery depletion when tracking his Taycan? He also experienced the car limiting performance when the battery started running hot after a couple of spirited laps. Did you experience something similar? I wonder whether the recent software updates may have an impact on the Taycan's tracking behavior ...

 

[POR997]

Interesting to read that battery level did not affect top speed or acceleration. I seem to remember that @daveo4EV experienced a performance drop upon battery depletion when tracking his Taycan? He also experienced the car limiting performance when the battery started running hot after a couple of spirited laps. Did you experience something similar? I wonder whether the recent software updates may have an impact on the Taycan's tracking behavior ...

Perhaps if temps were warmer then lap times may have been affected. I have a GPS track timer which shows segment times, corner exit, G force and so on...none of these were affected... but my sessions only had 6 or so laps each so perhaps on a longer stint with hotter ambients the performance may be affected. I have another track (daytime) event coming up so will be interesting to compare.

 

[Kingske]

Perhaps if temps were warmer then lap times may have been affected. I have a GPS track timer which shows segment times, corner exit, G force and so on...none of these were affected... but my sessions only had 6 or so laps each so perhaps on a longer stint with hotter ambients the performance may be affected. I have another track (daytime) event coming up so will be interesting to compare.

Keep us informed!

 

[felixtb]

That's funny!

I am returning the car for a 2022....... (My electronics have been acting up a little too much..... The propulsion quite on me the other day doing north of 160km/h just for about a 10sec interval but the slowdown was very rapid and was almost hit from behind...... Not fun!)

Getting a chalk coloured one this time doing similar treatment but with black and gold...... Should be good....... sorry, leaving you brother!

 

[kort]

nice color scheme, is it a wrap or paint?

 

[POR997]

nice color scheme, is it a wrap or paint?

Frozen blue and a GULF decal pack

 

[jezzaj88]

Ahhh interesting I am going to sandown this week in my 4s will have to look at switching off aids especially collision detection warning that activated when I was changing lanes the other day…is this what you’re referring to ? Any tips welcome !

 

[POR997]

Ahhh interesting I am going to sandown this week in my 4s will have to look at switching off aids especially collision detection warning that activated when I was changing lanes the other day…is this what you’re referring to ? Any tips welcome !

On my first run with all aids on and other cars on track there were too many “false positive” reactions. So yes, I would recommend turning them off but leaving traction / stability control on until you’re comfortable with how the car behaves on track. Have fun. Let’s us know how the battery consumption went.

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