mmmmtorque
Full Access Member
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It was a beautiful day at VIR, mid 70's , sunshine (a little breezy) but overall a perfect day for hitting the track. I was joined by a couple of friends from work, Ted driving a stock 2000 C5 and Ron driving a 2007 STS-V.
It was a Car Guys track event, they assign "instructors" to the beginners and intermediate drivers to help improve your line and driving skills. You get (4) 30 min sessions on the 3.27 mile full course....Its actually a 2 day event but we opted for the single day option.
There were everything from modified Busch series cars, custom track cars, Porsches, Vipers, BMW's, Mustangs and a myriad of Vettes from the stock C4 to a Supercharged C6 Zo6.
I ran in the intermediate group along with Ted, which was comprised of a long list of very fast cars.
Now at these events, you can really see how driving skills impact a cars performance. In the beginner group, Ron's STS-V ran roughshod over Vettes, Porsches, New Shelby GT500 and even a Viper. I was really impressed by his STS-V auto and brakes holding up all day with no issues.
Anyway, I had made several changes to the truck since the last time I hit the track and was a little frustrating dialing it in and learning a new line.
**Review**
QA1's - Awesome, a must have mod for any Ram SRT-10 owner. The ride is incredible, even with the lower kit....Wish I would have done this mod first.
Porterfield Pads - I installed a set of R4-S pads the day before I hit the track. I don't think I had them seated yet, as the first session resulted in some nice smoke shows in heavy braking. As the day wore on, they came around with little to no fade and very little build up, so modulation was never an issue. They feel different than the stock pads, so I took it easy most the day on the straights...I did torture them a little on the last and was very impressed with the performance. Overall better than the stock pads.
General Grabber Tires - I think I am the first to put these tires to the test at the track. So far I have been happy with the ride, handling and wet weather performance of these tires. On the road course they didn't perform as well as the Pirelli's. They were quick to over heat and didn't grip under heavy abuse as well as the P-Zero's. Now, to be fair, they didn't squeal like a pig(like the Pirelli's) and with the QA1's, I was putting more pressure on the outside tires due to the stiffer suspension. Overall they weren't bad but I am sure there are better track tires than the General's.
**Review over**
Overall I had a great time and look forward to the next event. The truck got alot of attention and alot of praise from fellow track goers. I scared the hell out of my instructor
He didn't trust the truck's handling or my driving (he wanted me to run a different line) so I earned my solo sticker out of fear. I ran much faster with him out of my ear but was about 10-15 seconds off my best times most of the day. I need to dial in tire pressure and the QA'1s some more and now that I am comfortable with the new pads, I should be back in the 2:20's again.
Will post pics and some vids later..need to download them..
It was a beautiful day at VIR, mid 70's , sunshine (a little breezy) but overall a perfect day for hitting the track. I was joined by a couple of friends from work, Ted driving a stock 2000 C5 and Ron driving a 2007 STS-V.
It was a Car Guys track event, they assign "instructors" to the beginners and intermediate drivers to help improve your line and driving skills. You get (4) 30 min sessions on the 3.27 mile full course....Its actually a 2 day event but we opted for the single day option.
There were everything from modified Busch series cars, custom track cars, Porsches, Vipers, BMW's, Mustangs and a myriad of Vettes from the stock C4 to a Supercharged C6 Zo6.
I ran in the intermediate group along with Ted, which was comprised of a long list of very fast cars.
Now at these events, you can really see how driving skills impact a cars performance. In the beginner group, Ron's STS-V ran roughshod over Vettes, Porsches, New Shelby GT500 and even a Viper. I was really impressed by his STS-V auto and brakes holding up all day with no issues.
Anyway, I had made several changes to the truck since the last time I hit the track and was a little frustrating dialing it in and learning a new line.
**Review**
QA1's - Awesome, a must have mod for any Ram SRT-10 owner. The ride is incredible, even with the lower kit....Wish I would have done this mod first.
Porterfield Pads - I installed a set of R4-S pads the day before I hit the track. I don't think I had them seated yet, as the first session resulted in some nice smoke shows in heavy braking. As the day wore on, they came around with little to no fade and very little build up, so modulation was never an issue. They feel different than the stock pads, so I took it easy most the day on the straights...I did torture them a little on the last and was very impressed with the performance. Overall better than the stock pads.
General Grabber Tires - I think I am the first to put these tires to the test at the track. So far I have been happy with the ride, handling and wet weather performance of these tires. On the road course they didn't perform as well as the Pirelli's. They were quick to over heat and didn't grip under heavy abuse as well as the P-Zero's. Now, to be fair, they didn't squeal like a pig(like the Pirelli's) and with the QA1's, I was putting more pressure on the outside tires due to the stiffer suspension. Overall they weren't bad but I am sure there are better track tires than the General's.
**Review over**
Overall I had a great time and look forward to the next event. The truck got alot of attention and alot of praise from fellow track goers. I scared the hell out of my instructor
He didn't trust the truck's handling or my driving (he wanted me to run a different line) so I earned my solo sticker out of fear. I ran much faster with him out of my ear but was about 10-15 seconds off my best times most of the day. I need to dial in tire pressure and the QA'1s some more and now that I am comfortable with the new pads, I should be back in the 2:20's again. Will post pics and some vids later..need to download them..
