Yaris & Z3 @ TH3

I just got back from a Golden Gate Lotus Club track day where I brought both my Yaris and Z3.

Z3 on East

I’ve owned my Z3 for about 2 years, but due to a variety of issues, I’ve only driven it on track a handful of times, and never on Thunderhill East. So I was pretty eager to see what it would do. Today, we were running the Bypass configuration, and my best lap was a 2:15.7. I was using the bargain 205/55/16 Maxxis VR1 (old stock from 4-5 years ago) that are still on sale direct from Maxxis for just $60 per tire.

Racebox Mini

I just received a Racebox Mini that I purchased when it was in its Kickstarter phase. The hardware and software are very simple. Shown below is a screen grab of a lap comparison. I think the Racebox Mini is very well designed with a self-contained battery and a magnetic base. It was really easy to take from car to car. It’s surprisingly inexpensive. I highly recommend it.

Yaris

The testing plan for the Yaris was two-fold: make sure it is running well, try a couple tire configurations.

The Yaris felt great on track. The steering is even better with the hard-mounted front suspension. It’s 100% ready to race.

The mix of 225/45/15 RS4 front and 205/55/16 VR1 rear works very well. There’s just a tiny bit of lift oversteer. I’d like more, but I think the various guest drivers in the upcoming race will find it reassuringly neutral. Mounting the VR1s on all 4 corners wasn’t as good. It’s a change of 1″ higher ride height in the front and a corresponding change in angle. It felt like I was driving a bus. Also, the tires rubbed under hard braking or cornering. So I’m just going to use the VR1s on the rear.