[wjones14]

Went to Watkins Glen with SCDA this past Monday 13-Jul-2020. I've been to 6 tracks within 350 miles of CT, and the Glen is easily my favorite. It's the speed and rhythm, the length, and the huge elevation changes that do it for me. Lime Rock is my next favorite track, and it's similar with the elevation changes, but Lime Rock is like the minor leagues compared to Watkins Glen in my book.

I've taken the Camaro to 3 track days so far: Lime Rock in 2018, Palmer Motorsports in 2019, and now the Glen. One thing I noticed - my car was practically free of rubber this time. I gave the car a normal two-bucket wash a few days later without using anything to remove the rubber bits, and there just aren't many black marks on the car at all.

I picked one bit of rubber that was stuck to the inside of a wheel, and that was it. One bit.

There were a lot of cars on the track too - 35 in the Intermediate 1 run group - that's almost a full NASCAR field on track each session. So I'm assuming they were shredding rubber too, but I just didn't seem to be picking it up.

Compare that to last year's trip to Palmer Motorsports, where I literally picked a baggie full of tire bits stuck to inside of the wheels. See attached picture from last year. Not to mention the rubber marks on the nose and rocker panels - really, there was rubber on every exterior surface last year other than the rear bumper and trunk lid. There was even rubber above the windshield. I spent hours on the weekend following Palmer cleaning off the rubber.

I have a theory. Because of the high speeds at the Glen, I may be more conservative driving there. I assume the margin of error is smaller at higher speeds, so maybe I'm only pushing it 6/10ths at Watkins Glen, compared to maybe 8/10ths at Palmer and Lime Rock? Maybe it's respect for the Glen?

For perspective, my lap times are mediocre. I'm usually among the faster cars in the Intermediate group, but that's due to it being a Camaro rather than my skill! I do one track day a year. The car is 100% stock including factory alignment. I'm just out there to enjoy the car and the experience of being on real race tracks, but not looking to scare myself, and definitely not taking crazy chances. I do have goals to do better each time, but within my own comfort zone. Consequently, my best lap times are:

Lime Rock: 1:05.15
Palmer (CCW): 1:58.48
Watkins Glen: 2:19.37

Here's a 5 minute video of two laps at WG: https://youtu.be/ecbVv6gxddg

So my question is, does anyone else notice less rubber marks on the car when driving high speed tracks compared to lower speed tracks?

[JD_]

The question I would ask is when you are seeing less and more rubber bits on your car, do those track days coincide with events where there is real racing or just HPDE and Time Trials? Seems the racers would be laying down a lot more rubber than us weekend warriors. Just a thought.

[samr350]

I never really clean it off so I'm not really sure lol. Honestly I feel like it's less speed dependent and more depends on conditions, number of cars at the event, what tires they're running and also track layout to some extent.

[Move_Over]

WG got resurfaced not long ago. I would attribute that to less tire wear.

[evanescent03]

Originally Posted by JD_

The question I would ask is when you are seeing less and more rubber bits on your car, do those track days coincide with events where there is real racing or just HPDE and Time Trials? Seems the racers would be laying down a lot more rubber than us weekend warriors. Just a thought.

I’m not 100% but I tend to agree with this sentiment ... when there are more guys going full bore I’m sure there’s more clag. Also probably more Hoosiers throwing chunks? Level of driving, tires being used, track temperature and track condition probably all play a role.

[R3ctivision]

Another thing: did you ever go off line? I think a lot of my wheel clag comes from going offline into marbles to pass, making a mistake, etc.