I also purchased a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE001’s (aka Adrenalins). I read a lot of good things about them, and was expecting good things from them. They have a noticeably stiffer sidewall than the Nankangs they were replacing, and the shoulder of the tread block is more like a semi slick than a street tyre, so a good improvement in overall grip was expected.
Last but not least, I had a standard viscous limited slip diff installed in place of the locked one. The locked diff was totally unsuitable for a street driven car (chirping the inside wheel around car parks etc), and was giving me massive understeer on the track. Aside from the benefits of a better behaved street car, I was expecting improved turn-in at the track.
Despite the promise of good weather all week, it was overcast and damp when I arrived in the morning. The first session wasn’t timed, so it was a good chance to familiarise myself with the new track (it had been resurfaced and widened a bit since my last visit), and not push it too hard. Corner exits and braking zones were trickier on the wet surface, but all was well.
In time for our first timed session, the weather had cleared and the racing line had pretty much dried. I was super keen to post a good time early, and had a great uninterrupted session. I checked the board to find I’d posted a 1:14.4. Before the day, I didn’t know if I’d be able to break 1:15, so to see that after the first timed session was great – there was still more time to be had.
The car felt fantastic with the LSD – much more eager to turn in at the sharper corners, and still very stable under acceleration. The brakes were also great – nice and stable, and with plenty more stopping power than the two piston S13 brakes.
In time for our first timed session, the weather had cleared and the racing line had pretty much dried. I was super keen to post a good time early, and had a great uninterrupted session. I checked the board to find I’d posted a 1:14.4. Before the day, I didn’t know if I’d be able to break 1:15, so to see that after the first timed session was great – there was still more time to be had.
The car felt fantastic with the LSD – much more eager to turn in at the sharper corners, and still very stable under acceleration. The brakes were also great – nice and stable, and with plenty more stopping power than the two piston S13 brakes.
As I’d hoped, I dipped into the 1:13’s before the end of the day with a 1:13.8, and did a lot of laps in the mid to low 1:14’s. It was a top feeling to see the changes you make to the car reflect in a respectable time. Considering I was faster than a couple of S15’s on semi-slick tyres, I thought the time was quite respectable.
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