Photo by Kirk Myhre

Since the shakedown day, there have been a few minor upgrades made to the car.  First up were Ferodo 3.12 front pads and DS2500 rear pads.  With the Cobalt XR2 front pads still not available for the Elantras, this was the most logical pad setup for me.  I had the same pad setup in the GTI for most of this season and it exhibits amazing and lasting braking performance.  Other upgrades included a brake fluid flush, SS brake lines, camber bolts, and an alignment (-2.0 F, -1.7 R).  Stock alignment was aggressive coming from the factory and the rear even had an astonishing -2.2, which might have contributed to some of the oversteeriness I was facing in the previous day.  Still running the Nankang AR-1s and was shooting for hot pressures at 33 F & 32 R.  These tires have very similar driving characteristics to the Kumho V730s, which I enjoyed on the GTI and they seem to be indicating they will last for many days.

Other than the setup, I did not have a specific goal or direction in my driving, I mainly wanted to see what my baseline with the car was with proper brakes.  I finally was able to run 15 minute sessions without any braking performance issues.  Immediately, I was able to run a high 1:55 lap time, still adjusting to the brakes, and my first impressions of the car were very good.  The brake pedal is quite soft in the Elantra and is misleading as the 3.12 pads have a strong initial bite, so the pedal feel is not at all indicative of the braking power.  It took me a few sessions to get used to, but I still was able to throw down a 1:55.40 time as my new overall PB at the Ridge. 

The only adjustment to my driving I wanted to make, prior to the first session, was using manual mode and adjusting my shift points.  For example, in T1, I found that rolling through and saving my downshifts just before T2 entry made my roll speed much easier to manage and quicker.  Throughout the day I was finding I was rushing my corner entries and focused on patience in areas such as T6.  Braking and getting to the slow point earlier was the key here.  Braking late, as seen in my morning sessions, only caused more issues in the longer radius turns as I would find myself out wide and rushing the exits to recover.  I started to improve on this throughout the day, but there is a major opportunity in T15 from this as well.  I also began to focus on T2-3 roll speed as it is part of the setup through T5.  This is a challenging area for me and my slight throttle hesitation kills the momentum here.

In the final session of the day in 82F heat, I had a great session and strung together some solid laps and finished the run with a 1:55.40 again.  While I was starting to improve my T1-6, the deciding factor that kept me from a 1:54.xx was both the heat and my patience.  T4-5 was difficult to set up as I ended up running slightly wide and being down power in the heat did not contribute positively either.  The nail in the coffin was rushing T15, with my positioning and braking being too late for the entry.  Looking at the data with theoretical bests, a 1:54.xx is already there, however, it does hurt to see the goal missed right at the end.  This ends up working out, as it gives myself a focus for my next outing.  

If there’s a lesson from this day’s driving is that trying to simply go faster doesn’t equate to a quicker lap time, in some cases it can make you slower.  As my final date of the season approaches, I’m a few adjustments away from the 1:54s, which would be an incredible way to finish my year.  Enjoying my track time thus far with the Elantra and motivated to progress further!