Phillip Island Trackday Debrief

Bridgestone RE-01r

With the excitement of inxile's first track day in the past, it was time to sit down and reflect on the cars performance. Top priority was the vibration throught the steering wheel i experienced on accel out of turns 3 and 6. Checking the oils post event showed that i did not lose a drop all day, which was very welcome news. The not so welcome news was the oil temps i experienced on track, where unfortunatly, i had seen engine oil temps of 150*c for much of the faster laps. Braking and handling were not on par either. The standard rotors with sumitomo pads gave very average performance. Performance box showed me registering an average of 0.6g's decel in the braking zones. The left hand rear shock also felt as though it was a bit slopy during cornering.

It was time to go back on the hoist for an inspection. A check over the front suspenion found a left lower outer ball joint that had given up on life and the right one that was next in line. While in the air we decided to pull the shocks out for a look. Unfortunally we scored a 3/4 in the shocks are OK department. As suspected the gas had escaped the LHR shock and the shaft moved through its travel with very little resistance. With no spare parts on hand it was time to reassemble. Knowing that the suspension was going to have to come out again regardless we decided to fit some HKS lowering springs that i had lying around. They were from a R32 GTS-t and as such have left the nose a little lower. While i was at it i screwed on my NISMO shifter.

So in preperation for the next event an oil cooler, dampers, brakes and ball joints will all need some attention. Not such a bad result for the mechanical side of things first time out.