Hey guys, I wanted to share my experience over this past holiday weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). It was my first trip to VIR and I must say, the track lived up to my high expectations! I ran a 3 day HPDE with FSR PCA (their great - I'd check them out if you're in the south east and want some track time) and was treated to two and a half beautiful days of track weather with ambient temps around 85 degrees. The second half of Saturday, however, was a torrential downpour. I was running in the "Blue" group (intermediate instructed) and was promoted to intermediate solo by the third day.
I did do some data logging on the third and hottest day and got peak coolant temps of 209 and 211 and peak oil temps of 236 and 245 (I'm running 5w30 Amsoil signature series). VIR has two loooong straights and is very much a "power" track, so given the amount of full throttle as well as pretty high ambient temps and humidity, I was happy to see the Mishi radiator and oil cooler did their job! I'll be getting an oil change soon and will get an oil analysis done to confirm that the oil wasn't overly broken down.
I also ran on brand new Falken Azenis rt615k+ tires (215/40 r17) on my 17x8 Rota Grid wheels. I REALLY liked these tires. They are quite sticky, but held up to the abuse I put them through all weekend like it was nothing. I ran them at 36-38 PSI hot and they didn't grease up on me. I got the front driver up to +40 PSI and that’s when I noticed a bit of greasiness, but nothing unmanageable. I previously had Dunlop Direzza ZII's and I must say, I actually prefer the rt615k+'s. The main reason why is because I think the tire itself fits my wheels better than the ZII's. I found the ZII's sidewall rolling over on my driver front when pushed, but with the 615k+'s, the wear was right at the little triangle. I think I'll be going back to the 615k+ once I trash this pair.
Overall, if you're looking to try a REALLY fun track, I'd definitely recommend going to VIR. The compound it’s on is top notch (the surrounding area is pretty backwoods however) and the track itself was kept up perfectly. I drove the six and a half hours down and back from Philly and plan on doing it again sometime soon. Totally worth it.
Now, some pics from the track:
I did do some data logging on the third and hottest day and got peak coolant temps of 209 and 211 and peak oil temps of 236 and 245 (I'm running 5w30 Amsoil signature series). VIR has two loooong straights and is very much a "power" track, so given the amount of full throttle as well as pretty high ambient temps and humidity, I was happy to see the Mishi radiator and oil cooler did their job! I'll be getting an oil change soon and will get an oil analysis done to confirm that the oil wasn't overly broken down.
I also ran on brand new Falken Azenis rt615k+ tires (215/40 r17) on my 17x8 Rota Grid wheels. I REALLY liked these tires. They are quite sticky, but held up to the abuse I put them through all weekend like it was nothing. I ran them at 36-38 PSI hot and they didn't grease up on me. I got the front driver up to +40 PSI and that’s when I noticed a bit of greasiness, but nothing unmanageable. I previously had Dunlop Direzza ZII's and I must say, I actually prefer the rt615k+'s. The main reason why is because I think the tire itself fits my wheels better than the ZII's. I found the ZII's sidewall rolling over on my driver front when pushed, but with the 615k+'s, the wear was right at the little triangle. I think I'll be going back to the 615k+ once I trash this pair.
Overall, if you're looking to try a REALLY fun track, I'd definitely recommend going to VIR. The compound it’s on is top notch (the surrounding area is pretty backwoods however) and the track itself was kept up perfectly. I drove the six and a half hours down and back from Philly and plan on doing it again sometime soon. Totally worth it.
Now, some pics from the track: