Went to VIMC for the first time on Saturday - what a day! It's definitely not a bicbaws track day without some setbacks. On a positive note, shoutout to Axon for sponsoring this event - I like VIMC better than Ridge, but I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to try it without the promotional rate (reg price + ferry cost is just slightly less than a ridge weekend). I wasn't going to track this year as I was trying to save some money - I overspent last year for track days and prep.
As a result of cost savings, I decided to run a pretty drifty setup. 275/35 front 235/40 rear. The 235s are from my E46. (At ridge last year, I ran 275/35 front and 255/40 rear - 255s from my E46). I put in over 4 hours at Axon (sim racing) prior to Saturday, driving strictly the FL5 (super drifty as well) at VIMC to practice handling FWD oversteer. I'm happy to say it paid off.
Along with tire cost savings, I also run used brake pads. They haven't failed me yet. The one time I bought new (but cheap) pads, they exploded. I put on Hawk HP+. I haven't had good experiences with HP+ in the past, but it has worked well for others with FK8. I went out for the first session - lead/follow and I didn't like the way it felt. It was what you expect from HP+. A strong bite, but no actual stopping power. Right after the first session, I decided to skip the next session so that I have more time to swap pads. If you guys remember, at Mission, I was able to swap my pads quickstyles without missing a session. It was unfortunately not that easy this time. The Brembo caliper pins refused to go in properly.
I swapped in a (used) set of Endless CCRGs. My friend didn't like the way they felt, but I love the way they feel. The bite is similar to Project Mu Club Racers, the stopping power feels about the same if not better, but the heat tolerance is significantly higher. It could be the difference of tracks, but I found that I didn't need CD laps (I still did them if I felt any drop off in braking power/heat soak). I had a great session with them on - re: monkey mode.
Like I said, it wouldn't be a bicbaws trackday without some interesting stories. On the session after lunch, at T15, I heard a big bang. I thought my brake pad exploded (again) but instead of the brake pedal going to the floor, it felt like it was stuck. Thankfully, pit lane is close to T15. I rolled into hot pits hoping it would be something minor but all I saw was metal shavings on the front left wheel.
(1:10 is around T15 where the big bang happened)
Big shoutout to 320icar + friend who quickly diagnosed the issue.
I ended off the day setting a PB of 1:28.85, but I have no footage. My GoPro ran out of batteries and amongst everything going on with my car, it was the last thing on my mind. VIMC is definitely a lot of fun and the 235 on the rear was less sketchy than I thought. I can't WOT on T1-T3 without the rear end feeling like it'll step out.
Great to see a few RSers tho - Aznboi, 320icar, LP700 (bro i never remember ur username). Noob's Pro Tip: Check ALL of your nuts and bolts. Even if you haven't touched them in awhile.