I took my IS350 to track day for the first time on Friday (04/18) at SOW (Street of Willow). After running 5 sessions (~40 laps) here are some of my thoughts and observations:
1. The track is fairly smooth so driving on it was an enjoyment.
2. At a short track like SOW with many turns and short straight aways, high horsepower cars (like mine) have limited advantages. The real "kings" are those nimble and tossable cars like MiniS, Evo, WRX, Civic, and S2000.
3. The paddle shifter on my car works better than I expected, I was able to toggle between 3rd and 4th gear around the track "almost" like a car equipped with real manual tranny.
4. The IS350 is a worthy car on the track at hands of an experienced driver. My instructor (Sherman) took my car around the track at an amazing pace, some of the stuffs he did were pretty amazing and I'd never thought were possible. He operated the paddle shifter just like a real manual tranny and much to my surprise he said he actually like using it! Maybe those auto editors should talk to Sherman next time before they decided to bash the IS...
5. Even with the Eibach springs, there are still too much body roll in my opinion. So before I take it to the track again next time I'll try to get the strut and sway bars installed.
6. The stock brakes on the IS350 performed superbly, it never faded.
7. The stability system (VDIM) on the IS350 was very intrusive. At one of the turns if I carry too much speed into it, the VDIM will go active and cut off the gas. It was very annoying but later on I've learned to adapt my driving according to it. On the other hand, I think IS350 is a very safe car to take to tracks because it is impossible to spin out due to the intrusive VDIM. There were numerous times I could easily spin out but was saved nicely by it. I thought about using the "paddle dance" to have it disabled but decided against it due to my inexperience.
Overall I think it was a pretty good first try for me and I had really learned a lot by having Sherman ride with me for 2 sessions. I would definitely do it again probably as soon as later this year when the weather gets cooler.
