An assortment of in-car track day vids from the past couple years
07-15-2011, 09:56 AM
#1
TECH Addict
Thread Starter
iTrader: (19)
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Where the Navy tells me to go
Posts: 2,397
Received 106 Likes
on
88 Posts
An assortment of in-car track day vids from the past couple years I've captured a number of videos and never really shared many of them, so I figured I'd just post a bunch in one thread. These are in chronological order, and you'll see that the videos get more advanced as I add more toys to my video setup. 
Back in the fall of 2009 I was stationed in Bangor/Bremerton, WA, and made a trek down into OR with Proformance Racing to run at Portland International Raceway and Oregon Raceway Park. Apparently Proformance had been doing yearly trips down to PIR, but it was the first time they also ran ORP, which had just opened that year (or maybe late 2008, I can't remember). At that point my car had a completely stock drivetrain, the KWs, and was running on street tires.
PIR:
And ORP:
As the descriptions on the videos say, PIR was a decent track, but with no elevation change it just didn't do much for me. ORP, on the other hand, was an absolute blast. It was out in the middle of nowhere - we drove a few miles on an oiled gravel road to get to the dirt entrance to the track - but it is a very fun track.
In 2010 I was transferred to the Pentagon, putting me back in the Mid-Atlantic region within a few hours drive of a number of excellent tracks. The combination of some good tracks in the area and a job that allowed me to take some more frequent leave meant I got plenty of track time. In the first year I think I did 12 or 14 days on track, which was more than I had done in the previous 3 or 4 years combined.
V Day 4 @ Summit Point Main was one event. I've posted this video here before, but I'll post it again.
I also got to run 3 days (2 days at one event, 1 day at another) on one of the Grand courses at VIR. (I've seen this configuration referred to as both the Grand East and Grand West course, and I'm not sure which is actually correct. It's the same configuration that Car and Driver uses for their annual "Lightning Lap" issue.)
That's a Nissan GTR that points my by at the beginning and then follows me around. Eventually he turned up the wick and pointed him back by.
In the winter 2010/2011 "off-season" I added Chase Cam's DM10 and OBD2 cable to my existing 2 camera setup, so I was able to datalog and do gauge overlays. Unfortunately, sometimes I forget this extension cord or that power adapter, so not all of my videos end up with all the overlays.
But the gauges and track map make things look way cooler. 
So, first video of the season I didn't have the OBD2 cable hooked up, so I didn't have all the cool gauges yet. This was a DC Region SCCA PDX at Summit Point Main:
For the second day I got the OBD2 cable hooked up, so I added the gauge overlays. Ooooooh! Aaahhhhhh!
A few weeks later I was down at VIR again, this time on the Full Course running with the Audi Owners Club. I had some technical difficulties with the camera setup at that event (due to user error), so no internal shots, but my brother did get this clip of me blasting by on the front straight:
As I pass by the tire barrier at the end of the pit entrance I'm probably in the 100-105mph ballpark, and as I pass the start/finish tower I'm doing upper 120s.
A couple weeks after that event I was at VIR again, this time with Trackdaze.com, and this time I didn't screw up the video. :p
In June I once again headed to a Trackdaze event at VIR. I drilled a hole in the back of the driver side of the front crossmember so I could mount one of the Chase Cams down there, looking out at the front suspension. That got me some pretty cool video:
Unfortunately, the event was cut short in rather dramatic fashion as the #5 rod and piston decided they didn't want to play anymore:
Enjoy!
Back in the fall of 2009 I was stationed in Bangor/Bremerton, WA, and made a trek down into OR with Proformance Racing to run at Portland International Raceway and Oregon Raceway Park. Apparently Proformance had been doing yearly trips down to PIR, but it was the first time they also ran ORP, which had just opened that year (or maybe late 2008, I can't remember). At that point my car had a completely stock drivetrain, the KWs, and was running on street tires.
PIR:
And ORP:
As the descriptions on the videos say, PIR was a decent track, but with no elevation change it just didn't do much for me. ORP, on the other hand, was an absolute blast. It was out in the middle of nowhere - we drove a few miles on an oiled gravel road to get to the dirt entrance to the track - but it is a very fun track.
In 2010 I was transferred to the Pentagon, putting me back in the Mid-Atlantic region within a few hours drive of a number of excellent tracks. The combination of some good tracks in the area and a job that allowed me to take some more frequent leave meant I got plenty of track time. In the first year I think I did 12 or 14 days on track, which was more than I had done in the previous 3 or 4 years combined.
V Day 4 @ Summit Point Main was one event. I've posted this video here before, but I'll post it again.
I also got to run 3 days (2 days at one event, 1 day at another) on one of the Grand courses at VIR. (I've seen this configuration referred to as both the Grand East and Grand West course, and I'm not sure which is actually correct. It's the same configuration that Car and Driver uses for their annual "Lightning Lap" issue.)
In the winter 2010/2011 "off-season" I added Chase Cam's DM10 and OBD2 cable to my existing 2 camera setup, so I was able to datalog and do gauge overlays. Unfortunately, sometimes I forget this extension cord or that power adapter, so not all of my videos end up with all the overlays.
But the gauges and track map make things look way cooler. So, first video of the season I didn't have the OBD2 cable hooked up, so I didn't have all the cool gauges yet. This was a DC Region SCCA PDX at Summit Point Main:
For the second day I got the OBD2 cable hooked up, so I added the gauge overlays. Ooooooh! Aaahhhhhh!
A few weeks later I was down at VIR again, this time on the Full Course running with the Audi Owners Club. I had some technical difficulties with the camera setup at that event (due to user error), so no internal shots, but my brother did get this clip of me blasting by on the front straight:
A couple weeks after that event I was at VIR again, this time with Trackdaze.com, and this time I didn't screw up the video. :p
In June I once again headed to a Trackdaze event at VIR. I drilled a hole in the back of the driver side of the front crossmember so I could mount one of the Chase Cams down there, looking out at the front suspension. That got me some pretty cool video:
Unfortunately, the event was cut short in rather dramatic fashion as the #5 rod and piston decided they didn't want to play anymore:
Enjoy!
Last edited by AAIIIC; 04-27-2013 at 09:27 PM.
07-16-2011, 07:37 AM
#5
Pat, have you registered at the recently constructed V site? Might be nice to post this great thread over there to get the V1 forum rolling. It is far more user friendly than CF, and better organized than either site supporting V1s.
Concerning the cameras and datalogger, were they Chase Cam cameras that you were using before adding the databox and cable?
Concerning the cameras and datalogger, were they Chase Cam cameras that you were using before adding the databox and cable?
07-16-2011, 09:38 AM
#6
TECH Regular
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Gillette, WY
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great videos! It was really cool to the see the progression of data logging capabilities.
As for the blown engine, I can't believe that. You are one of the only V1 guys that I have ever heard of blowing the engine (never been cracked open for mods, I assume) on track.
What do you think led to the failure?
As for the blown engine, I can't believe that. You are one of the only V1 guys that I have ever heard of blowing the engine (never been cracked open for mods, I assume) on track.
What do you think led to the failure?
07-16-2011, 12:12 PM
#7
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: The Old Dominion
Posts: 566
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Awesome vids, thanks for sharing! What do you use to capture the video w/ overlays?
My two cents, the in-picture window is distracting, you can't see very well when you turn into right handers. Maybe make it smaller and put it up top?
My two cents, the in-picture window is distracting, you can't see very well when you turn into right handers. Maybe make it smaller and put it up top?
Trending Topics
07-16-2011, 06:07 PM
#8
TECH Addict
Thread Starter
iTrader: (19)
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Where the Navy tells me to go
Posts: 2,397
Received 106 Likes
on
88 Posts
I didn't know there was a recently constructed V site, so no. Where is said recently constructed V site?
Yeah, everything is Chase Cam - their PDR, the SS1000 video combiner (to run the 2 cameras), DM10 datalogging interface w/GPS antenna and OBD2 adapter. Altogether a rather expensive setup, but it's fun to play with.
Well, there aren't very many people tracking these cars, so it's not surprising that you haven't seen many V engine failures on track. One of the only other guys that I know of that regularly tracks his car here in the mid-Atlantic (vsam) is on his 3rd engine.
Based on what I can see thus far, the rod bolts on #5 failed. As to why exactly that happened, I don't know, but extended hard running with high oil temps I'm sure didn't help. The engine was all stock.
Chase Cam includes their DashWare software with the DM10 unit.
I've been experimenting with where to put it and what size to make it. There are 2 sizes to choose from - the ORP video has the small PIP, the latest suspension-cam vids are the large PIP. For the suspension-cam vids I intentionally went with the bigger PIP window because I wanted to see the rotor and suspension movement better. As to which corner to put it in, I've had mixed results. I prefer to cover up the dash, since that's just the dash. I could angle the windshield camera up more (so there's basically no dash in the field of view) and then cover up some of the extra sky with the PIP. Maybe I'll try that next time.
Based on what I can see thus far, the rod bolts on #5 failed. As to why exactly that happened, I don't know, but extended hard running with high oil temps I'm sure didn't help. The engine was all stock.
07-16-2011, 07:42 PM
#10
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: The Old Dominion
Posts: 566
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ah, I didn't realize when you first said "chase cam" that it was a brand vs just sort of a description of the camera. I just checked out their website, cool stuff, though expensive!
07-17-2011, 10:26 AM
#11
TECH Regular
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Gillette, WY
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Your comments about the blown engines are very surprising to me. I was under the impression that the LS6 was a hardy motor. I have not heard of a huge amount of C5 Z06 engine failures.
It makes me want to think twice about tracking my car if the engine is something I am seriously going to have to worry about, which up until now has been the last thing I would worry about.
Do you and V-sam have very high-mileage Vs? Could that be the reason?
It makes me want to think twice about tracking my car if the engine is something I am seriously going to have to worry about, which up until now has been the last thing I would worry about.
Do you and V-sam have very high-mileage Vs? Could that be the reason?
07-17-2011, 10:29 PM
#13
i work with a guy and oddly enough when it comes to on track abuse that gm puts motors to on the dyno the ls2 handled it very well. it did something like 48 hrs of track abuse while the ls3 didnt even make it one full day.
we didnt talk much about the ls6 though.
we didnt talk much about the ls6 though.
04-27-2013, 09:27 PM
#17
TECH Addict
Thread Starter
iTrader: (19)
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Where the Navy tells me to go
Posts: 2,397
Received 106 Likes
on
88 Posts
After taking much of 2012 off due to work scheduling, I got to an event at the end of the year in November 2012. Unfortunately, the alternator died on the first day, so I got very little useful video. :bang
In March 2013 I signed up for an event in the V, but I waited until the last minute to finally do my oil cooler install, had a leak that I couldn't resolve, so I took my Subaroo instead.
Finally, in mid April I got the V back on track at VIR with the Potomac-Chesapeake Chapter of the Audi Owners Club. They run a couple of great events at VIR every year, so whenever the Navy has had me on the East Coast I've maintained an Audi Club membership just so I can go to the PCC events.
Here's some footage from the last session on the first day:
I ended up running with that red and orange Boxster in a few different sessions during the two days - we were actually pretty evenly matched for lap times, with me being a little bit faster so I would gradually pull away. He stopped by where I was parked in the paddock at one point and said something along the lines of, "How am I going to explain in my videos when I get passed by a Cadillac in my race car?"
My brother was attending the event in his 2004 BMW 330i sedan, and for the first time we were in the same run group. I had him go out ahead of me on the second day so I could get some footage following him. Here's the short clip of him letting me by on the back straight after I followed him for a couple laps. (Unfortunately the clip proves once again that the biggest weakness of the GoPro cameras is the crappy audio - you can hardly even hear my car on the video.)
In March 2013 I signed up for an event in the V, but I waited until the last minute to finally do my oil cooler install, had a leak that I couldn't resolve, so I took my Subaroo instead.
Finally, in mid April I got the V back on track at VIR with the Potomac-Chesapeake Chapter of the Audi Owners Club. They run a couple of great events at VIR every year, so whenever the Navy has had me on the East Coast I've maintained an Audi Club membership just so I can go to the PCC events.
Here's some footage from the last session on the first day:
I ended up running with that red and orange Boxster in a few different sessions during the two days - we were actually pretty evenly matched for lap times, with me being a little bit faster so I would gradually pull away. He stopped by where I was parked in the paddock at one point and said something along the lines of, "How am I going to explain in my videos when I get passed by a Cadillac in my race car?"
My brother was attending the event in his 2004 BMW 330i sedan, and for the first time we were in the same run group. I had him go out ahead of me on the second day so I could get some footage following him. Here's the short clip of him letting me by on the back straight after I followed him for a couple laps. (Unfortunately the clip proves once again that the biggest weakness of the GoPro cameras is the crappy audio - you can hardly even hear my car on the video.)
05-01-2013, 08:53 AM
#18
Launching!
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: May 2012
Location: PA
Posts: 265
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nice! Looks like you're around 2:15 which is moving around VIR. Are you on Rcomps?
Yup, ACNA puts on great events and PCC are my buddies that I've known and run with over the last 12-15 years since I had Audis before my V and was tracking my '01 A4 (RIP, why I have a V). Funny story, a got a message from one of the instructors at that event asking if I knew who the V was... I described your V with it being Stealth, big yellow calipers, lowered, louder than stock like mine, and moving quick. ...I figured it was you. They're talking about doing another fall Summit Point, which may be around V Day if that happens. Hopefully I can make more events this year and meet up again... I'm the guy that bought your Accessory wheels, Blizzaks, and NT01s.
Yup, ACNA puts on great events and PCC are my buddies that I've known and run with over the last 12-15 years since I had Audis before my V and was tracking my '01 A4 (RIP, why I have a V). Funny story, a got a message from one of the instructors at that event asking if I knew who the V was... I described your V with it being Stealth, big yellow calipers, lowered, louder than stock like mine, and moving quick. ...I figured it was you. They're talking about doing another fall Summit Point, which may be around V Day if that happens. Hopefully I can make more events this year and meet up again... I'm the guy that bought your Accessory wheels, Blizzaks, and NT01s.
Last edited by JDB; 05-01-2013 at 09:11 AM.
05-01-2013, 09:18 AM
#19
TECH Addict
Thread Starter
iTrader: (19)
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Where the Navy tells me to go
Posts: 2,397
Received 106 Likes
on
88 Posts
It would definitely be good to see another V out there - I think the last time I saw another V was at the V Days! 