zoomzoommo

For those of you that have tracked your Evo X's, I'm looking for driving advice. My normal DE car is an '07 Porsche 997. 911's have certain handling characteristics due to the rear engine layout (understeer in tight turns if too hot or too early on the gas, throttle lift oversteer, etc.).

Any advice for the Evo X at the track? I frequent a fairly technical 10 turn 1.8 mile track with lots of elevation changes. Should I replace the brake fluid with a DOT 4? Do the stock pads hold up well at the track? Any problems with engine temps during a 20 minute run session?

I've autocrossed the Evo a few times, and I love the fact that you can stay on the throttle even when the rear end starts kicking out.

Thanks for any advice...

UFO

iTrader: (7)

The VIII and IX brakes had a habit of boiling the fluid but the Xs don't seem to be as bad. However, switching to something like Motul Blue is never a bad idea. The stock pads are fine, if a little dusty, and shouldn't be a problem. Engine temps won't be a problem either; I've ran mine hard in hot & humid Houston weather for 20+ minute sessions and no problems at all. Take some wheel chocks with you and leave the car running in the pits for a few minutes after the session: oil coking in the turbo should be a thing of the past with modern synthetic oil but better safe than sorry, right?

As for driving tips: I turn ASC off. Hit the button once to start off with, unless you want to feel that ignition cut as you come out of a corner. Be careful on the trail braking as the car will rotate a fair bit more than the older models. Get on the power earlier than you would in the 911. Enjoy passing 911s .

[edit] I forgot: Keep the gas tank full. If you don't then look forward to fuel starvation issues.

Smike

iTrader: (8)

DOT4 fluid and brake pads for sure. I am a big proponent to having a track pads and having street pads. That is a major safety feature to being safe on the track.

I recommend the Hawk HT10 or 14 (street tires) or DTC (r comps), Performance Friction (r comps).

Ivan@AMS

AMS hosts several HPDEs each year. I have been the designated mechanic for quite a few of them. I can tell you that the Evo X can and will boil the factory brake fluid. Replace the with something like RBF 600 for sure. The factory Evo Xbrakes are incredible, but that does not mean you can abuse them and expect them to continue to function as new. The X is a heavy car and although the brakes can stop it on a dime, the heat this creates can not be dissipated fast enough. Repeated hard stopping will build up enough heat to melt your pads, boil your fluid and turn your calipers into "brownbos". For an HPDE, braking at 75% will extend the life of your brakes and keep you on the track and not in the paddock bleeding brakes and changing pads.

Pad choice is up in the air at this time as companies are still trying to get pads that fit the rears to market. There are adapters to fit the smaller Evo 8/9 pads in the calipers but this reduces the thermal capability of the pads and effects brake proportioning. I would imagine by spring there should be some good choices in pads.

AMS is working on a brake cooling kit for the X. On the 8/9, the gains were awesome.

Engine cooling has not been an issue for either of our shop Evo Xs. Both have road raced a HP levels doubling the factory output.

As mentioned earlier, the fuel tank is an issue. Being a saddle tank and having the pickup on the drivers side causes issues during left hand turns. On stock tires we would have fuel starvation issues at 1/4 tank. With stickier tires, 1/2 tank was now the limit. We ended up building some custom surge tanks for our X and several customers cars. We are working on a production kit. With the surge tank, we have been able to run till the gauge showed zero bars.

Do you have any mods done to the car currently?

zoomzoommo

Thanks for the advice. No mods on the car at this time. The track I frequent does require heavy use of the brakes, mainly due to the short length of the track and the significant elevation changes.

The 997 OEM brakes are supposedly sourced from Brembo, and they are great brakes. However, the 997 is about 350 lbs lighter versus the Evo X. My hope is that the superior handling of the X will allow me to carry more speed through the corners, with less braking

Given the size of the Evo gas tank, and its propensity to guzzle fuel, I'll probably have to purchase gas at the track. Any worries about using 98+ octane fuel?

I typically use the Super Blue brake fluid (DOT 4). We'll see if my Motive power bleeder fits the Evo...

gizmotoy

I think I've noticed the low fuel starvation issue myself on a roughly stock Evo (tire change: Dunlop Star Specs). My day started strong and when the tank started getting low I felt like I was losing time to previous laps. The track was pretty wide open and the brakes weren't showing signs of fading, so this was the only other issue I could think of.

I've had the stock pads on the track twice now with no issue, but I never braked at 100% of their ability and the track had only two hard braking sections per lap, so they didn't overheat. If they start to overheat, your experience will not be the same. I took an extra set of pads just in case.

Also, the tracks I've been to had a full compliment of octanes, including a standard premium 93 in addition to the usual racing blends. Still, I don't think a 98 is going to hurt anything.

spdracerut

iTrader: (2)

Definitely replace the stock brake fluid with something better; RBF 600, etc.

As for driving style, the Evo is very forgiving, you can do something completely idiotic and it'll save your ***. Not so in the 911. As you probably know, once that *** end comes around on the 911, you better hold on. Granted, the 997 generation is leaps and bounds better than the previous gens.

With the Evo, the thing that will probably boggle your mind is how early you can get on the throttle, and how hard you can get on it. It's not as necessary to 'roll' into the throttle smoothly as a RWD car.

I have not driven a X yet, but from those that I've spoken to, it'll basically pull you around on corner exit with the throttle to the floor. I'd suggest finding a 'safe' corner on you track and keep on feeding it throttle sooner and sooner until you find the limit.

goofygrin

iTrader: (5)

Stock pads are good for a newbie on the track, but for someone used to HPDEs then you'll smoke them in no time flat (I've smoked them and Ferodo DS2500's at an autocross!).

You need to change the stock fluid too, unless you aren't going to push the car hard.

The biggest issue is the body lean. You need to dial in more camber F & R and if you can, get the body roll under control (coilovers, springs, sways, whatever) or else you're going to feel out of control in any high speed corner.

I don't feel super comfortable trailbraking the X. I much prefer to get everything done brake wise, then turn in and hammer the gas (the stock turbo lag is a killer).

If you're pushing the car, you'll get around 4-5mpg. So you'll be filling up every 2 20 minute sessions or so. 98 will be OK, but hard on the wallet. Luckily the tracks I've been to have a reasonably priced gas station right there.