Benchmarking

I think its safe to say that most people probably reading this already know me personally but if not I am an avid autocross and track day enthusiast. I first got involved by signing up for an auto x event with some friends in 2013. I had an 2006 STI, played Forza Motorsport and thought I knew how to drive.....clearly I did not.

Things escalated from there and got hooked on doing track days with local clubs like SCCA, NASA NW, EESCC, WMC and now that I'm in the Bay Area SpeedSF. If you want to ever get started in grassroots motorsports please visit MotorsportReg.com and sign up. Its one of the best things you could possibly get involved with as a car enthusiast. With that being said one of the first things I wanted to do before really modifying the GTI was to get a ballpark or benchmark performance measure at Laguna Seca. Before doing so there are always a couple of staples you need to do before hitting the track.

  • Upgrade brake pads - this goes for almost all cars even most super cars could benefit from a proper track pad and fluid

  • Upgraded fluid - something like RBF600 or ATE Type 200 works great for track applications

  • Stainless Steel brake lines - I personally do this because I like the feel and extra security to battle heat and possible OEM rubber lines bursting

SS Lines

Swapping to track pads day of

With the car prepped for its first outing at Laguna Seca I headed out.

This was my first time ever at Laguna Seca and it has always been on my bucket list to drive. With that being said it was almost comical how similar my line and inputs were in person compared to Forza Motorsport. Overall the car was very predictable in stock trim and the biggest weaknesses were exactly what I expected. Them being:

  • Tires - OEM all seasons (or no seasons) fell off quick and had no confidence in them

  • Alignment - OEM alignment is not suited to aggressive driving and has no camber adjustment in the front due to the MacPherson strut design

  • Stability Control - OEM stability control does not fully turn off so you will get input when the car begins to slide (I don't drive hard enough for this to be a primary addressable problem)

Overall the car was still great in stock trim and I'm sure a more experienced driver could get more out of it than I (queue Randy Pobst) but managed a best time of 1:58.99.