Tracking the Taycan at Watkins Glen International

[Detect]

How did you charge the car between sessions? Awesome laps. I’ve tracked mine at Thompson in CT but it’s a much smaller track. The car is a lot of fun on the track for something of that size and weight.

They have nema 14-50 outlets by the garage for RVs ($50 fee to use), but stupidly I didn't check my porsche mobile EV charger beforehand and it only worked on level 1, not level 2 (incompatible cord w/ the J-plug), so I didn't even bother with that. Even on level 2, it would have only charged 10% battery for an hour in between sessions (maybe enough to get two sessions in before fast charging if managing for SOC). I used the EVolve/EA charger (level 3) in town (15 mins away from the track) after every session. There was never a queue there. Fast charging after each session is a bit of a pain, but it is what it is. Plug and charge helps a little.

Thompson is great. They installed two level 2 Autel chargers there recently. I use the Chargepoint (level 3) at McGee Toyota of Putnam (10 mins away) if I can because there's only one charger and it's only 60 kW. Otherwise, I'll use EA at Auburn mall (20 mins away). I haven't run into thermal limits yet at Thompson because it's a smaller track.

Sponsored

 

[Detect]

Tire wear is an issue as well. If you push, the weight of the car kills/cooks the tires crazy fast.
No way to track seriously the Taycan. This car is ca. 800kg heavier than a GT3. GT3 also needs fresh tires after ca. 80-100 laps max.
Just imagine how about a Taycan with its weight and camber.

Yes, it's unfortunate. I'm on my third set of Bridgestone RE-71RS tires (200 treadwear) this season. Each set lasted about 4-5 track days and 3,000 street miles. I bought multiple sets of tires on sale new old stock on TireRack, which helped minimize the cost. The fronts wear slightly more than the rears on my Taycan.

For someone who just wants to do a track day here and there, 300 treadwear tire like a Michelin Pilot Sport 4S would be sufficient. If doing multiple track days per year in a Taycan, I would recommend 200 tw tires for a balance between grip and wear.

 

[evlover]

how big of a difference has the square tire setup made on the track for you? Assume you were experiencing understeer.

Does your car have pdcc?

 

[Detect]

how big of a difference has the square tire setup made on the track for you? Assume you were experiencing understeer.

Does your car have pdcc?

Combination of tire compound/treadwear change and square setup helped with understeer a lot. This season, I tried square 20x9.5 rims and 20x9.5 front, 20x10.5 rear. Next season, I'll try square 20x10. Being able to rotate tires/wheels easily helps.

This Taycan doesn't have PDCC. The last Taycan Turbo S I had did.

 

[bsclywilly]

Thanks for sharing! I love Watkins Glen, one of my favorites to drive in the east, especially around this time of year. Those cars you passed looked like they were standing still... Sounds like you're taking the Taycan to the track pretty regularly and that's great!

 

[Detect]

Thanks for sharing! I love Watkins Glen, one of my favorites to drive in the east, especially around this time of year. Those cars you passed looked like they were standing still... Sounds like you're taking the Taycan to the track pretty regularly and that's great!

It was your track wheels thread that got the gears turning for me!

 

[Zcd1]

Fun stuff, and I appreciated the video.

I took my Model 3P to a HPDE in 2023 - similar overall experience to yours, except that I was able to plug into a NEMA 15-50 outlet between sessions which meant I didn't need to leave the track to charge. I only ran every other session, which was fine as it was plenty of track time for me.

https://forums.quattroworld.com/lrqc/msgs/95648.phtml

 

[daveo4EV]

you'd probably get more "gain" from running the thermal cooling system at "max" and allow "Pre-cooling" - i.e. put the car in sports plus and have a "mod" that when in sports plus run thermal cooling @ max rather than ramping in response to demand - this would allow you to pre-cool the battery while the car sits in the pit in sports-plus mode but not actually using that much power…

I'd be unsurprised if you could get more stamina from more aggressive/continuous cooling vs. messing with regen under braking…you're not on the brakes for that long - couple of seconds going into turn 2 @ Laguna for example,, but you're on full power all the way from turn 11 into the turn 2 braking zone…way longer than you're on braking

my $0.02 YMMV

Porsche's recent press release for Macan EV GTS - emphasis mine! Porsche seems to agree with me…pre-chilling the battery is an effective stamina improvement technique…

The Macan GTS is fitted with the Sport Chrono Package as standard which has been enhanced with the Track Endurance Mode that was introduced on the Taycan. This mode prepares the Macan for a particularly dynamic driving style. When activated, it cools down the battery to delay potential power reduction due to battery heat, also known as thermal derating. The result is a noticeable increase in duration of high-performance driving.

 

[Zcd1]

Porsche's recent press release for Macan EV GTS - emphasis mine! Porsche seems to agree with me…pre-chilling the battery is an effective stamina improvement technique… When activated, it cools down the battery to delay potential power reduction due to battery heat, also known as thermal derating. The result is a noticeable increase in duration of high-performance driving.

Tesla's "Track Mode" has always done this... the cooling fans cranking up to max is an obvious giveaway when the mode is activated

 

[Detect]

I'll be at Watkins Glen again 4/17 - 4/19 if anyone wants to join.

4/17 https://www.motorsportreg.com/event...apr-17-2026-watkins-glen-international-814285
4/18 https://www.motorsportreg.com/event...apr-18-2026-watkins-glen-international-936979
4/19 https://www.motorsportreg.com/event...apr-19-2026-watkins-glen-international-161608

 

[Detect]

2:18 today. PZero PZ4 tires screaming and holding on for dear life. Hope to pick up a few seconds tomorrow if I can find some clean laps.

 

[Detect]

2:17 today. More folks today. Couldn't find enough clean air before hitting thermal limits (usually around lap 4). Garmin says 2:14 optimal, which seems do-able in the first few laps with near 100% charge and a clear track. I think a couple cars out front identify as F1 cars . By the end of the day, car is tired and throwing all the errors and warning lights at me (HV battery, electrical service, turtle mode, inflate tires). One more try tomorrow.

 

[ebarron]

2:17 today. More folks today. Couldn't find enough clean air before hitting thermal limits (usually around lap 4). Garmin says 2:14 optimal, which seems do-able in the first few laps with near 100% charge and a clear track. I think a couple cars out front identify as F1 cars . By the end of the day, car is tired and throwing all the errors and warning lights at me (HV battery, electrical service, turtle mode, inflate tires). One more try tomorrow.

Via the Porsche Club, or something else?

 

[Detect]

Via the Porsche Club, or something else?

MassTuning, not PCA

 

[Detect]

2:31 on the last day on a wet track. Weather was crazy; we saw rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog, and finally some sun. Bummed I wasn't out on track when it was suddenly white-out conditions (full course black flag for safety/visibility reasons); that would have been a funny video "tracking the glen in a blizzard". Taycan actually did really well today, since it has all the adjustable suspension, drive mode, and traction control settings. I started with normal drive mode, normal chassis, and normal height and as the day progressed gradually switched over to sport drive mode, sport chassis, and kept normal height. Traction control was on for the whole day. Didn't use as much juice on the straights and it was 30's to 40's F ambient temperature, so never hit thermal limits, which means I got to stay out whole 25 minute sessions (makes tracking an EV much more enjoyable). 300 tread wear tires did well on the cold, wet track. My favorite/most fun video of the bunch, even with the slower pace. I had a passenger ride-along in the fast lap session, so didn't push it as hard as I would have solo, but the Taycan was fast and more than capable in the wet as you can witness. Enjoy!

Sponsored