Steeda Q767 Mach 1 Track Test at Bilsterberg Track, Germany - May 2nd

With the historic first Steeda Q767 built and registered in Germany as Europes first ever offically Steeda manufactured vehicle, we took it to the fantastic Bilsterberg track with the Steeda Germany team of Fiege Performance.

Preparation was done the previous day as the test planned was to compare various options setups from the stock setup OEM wheels and power up to including the Power Pack and the OZ Racing "Street wheels" pack and the Velgen VF5 lightweight wheels "Track wheels" pack, both shod with Michelin but the OZ with street focused Pilot Sport 4S and the Velgens with Cup tyres. The trusty transit was loaded and we were set, with fingers crossed for the weather.Camera equipment, drone, computer and data logging equipment was also needed so we could use the HP Tuners "Track Addict" and "Race Render" data logging and video setup, as well as upload the custom tune for the Power Pack upgrade, using the HP Tuners RTD dongle.

When we arrived on Tuesday morning, the weather gods had not smiled on us. Bilsterberg was soaking wet and freezing cold! Our carefully laid out comparison schedule was scrapped, and we attended the briefing held by Marius and the Pro Racetrack team who were the track day organisers.and did a great job all day. The other attendees mainly comprised a very large group of the German Porsche Owners Club, who came almost 100% equipped with GT3, GT3RS or GT4RS cars in a glorious selection of elite German track day metal! We also met up with our driver and all round initial tester and driving guru, Wolfgang Weber of WW Motorsport, who was going to bring a professional drivers eye to the setup process and help us test out the tyres from Michelin and set some times if the weather allowed.

To set the scene famed German auto mag and channel "GRIP" had created a video on youtube putting up a stock Mach 1 vs a BMW M4 Competition at Bilsterberg, and it set a benchmark of performance, we wanted to show that Steeda could surpass. Here is the video:

If you dont watch it all, the Mustang Mach 1 lapped in a time of 2.02.55 while the BMW M4 Competition clocked a 1.56.46. all in perfect sunny conditions, and driven by the very talented DTM Race car driver Laura Kraihamer.

The morning session basically saw Wolfgang just taking us all for super enjoyable passenger drift sessions as the track was like an ice rink in the cold and wet conditons and he sailed by everyone else out on the track, going sideways all the way. On my few laps with him, I don't think we were straight for more than a second or two! However, Wolfgang told me he was extremely impressed with the Q767 wet weather handling saying it was extremely predictable and gentle, and was super fun to drive. Which was a good start!The gloom was beginning to get a little depressing, but around 11 am I noticed some clear (ish!) skies in the distance and we held out hope that the afternoon would be better. We closed out the morning by fitting the "Street Pack" OZ Racing Hyper XT HLT 20" wheels shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyes in a 265/35/20 and 285/35/20 stagger. The wheels were a 20x9" and 20x10.5" with the tyres 10mm wider than the stock tyres 255 front and 275 rear. We also added the Power Pack via the HP Tuners MPIV OBDII dongle which allowed on the spot rapid tune uploads, to give us a nice bump in power and torque, as well as enhanced throttle response. Sadly power was the last thing needed in the current conditions!

Below: Cold and wet team in the Steeda pit box at Bilsterberg. Max temp reached in the day was 8C.... and that was later on! Although as soon as we left the sun came out!One thing you can say about Bilster Berg is that it is a first class facility and lunch soon lifted everyones spirits as well as our temperatures with super classy food and drinks getting us ready for the very short remaining time..The clouds had defintely turned from dark to light and the rain had stopped and the track was slowly beginning to dry, helped as cars started to put in laps and further shift moisture and add heat. Wolfgang began to put the Q767 through its paces once again, but more seriously now. We immediately equalled the stock Mach 1 time that GRIP got, even though it was still incredibly slippy and cold, which boded well if things kept improving track wise.

As the track had dried a little more and time was running out, we brought the car back in to switch to the Velgen Wheels VF5 lightweight wide 20" wheels in a 20x10 and 20x11 setup, with Michelin Cup tyres. Sadly for the intial test Michelin had no stock of the sizes we wanted so all we had to start with was a set of 275/35/20 Cup Rs for the front and 305/30/20 Cup 2 tyres in the rear. But that would have to suffice for the day! At least we would gather data.....

Above: Temperature sensor used to check heat distribution and overall tyre temps to control pressure and check alignment effectiveness.

With the Velgen VF5s fitted we were ready for a last hurrah and went out to get some initial feelings from Wolfgang. With a stop for a pressure change to the tyres and then to get some fuel, Wolfgang was ready for the final lap, after which we were out of time! It would be time to hand the track back to the Porsche club for their exclusive track time.Wolfgang pushed for one glorious lap and when he came back we had recorded a fantastic 1.56.7   an amazing achievement considering the conditions and the total lack of prep time on the day.

 MIssion Accomplished!You can watch the lap here and see the cool data logging and track mapping ability the HP Tuners Track Addict and Race Render Software offers you. This video was just quickly put together with default settings but its super customisable so we will release a nicer one soon!

Wolfgang also reported that the mismatched tyres defintely impacted the time as he was suffering badly from understeer. You can see the impact in the video above as Wolfgang tries to enter the home straight to the finish line. When we returned to the pits we saw the front CUP Rs had never gotten into their temperature range and had been scrubbing like crazy and were wrecked whereas the rear Cup 2s were still in perfect condiiton and had delivered great grip and poise. Michelin are now sending improved rubber, now back in stock so we are setup for the next outing.... Nurburgring here we come!

 

 

BIG Thanks to the Steeda Germany team / Fiege Performance for the organising and preparation, as well as to :

Wolfgang Weber (instagram @WWmotorsport)
Pro Racetrack https://www.pro-racetrack.de/
Michelin https://www.facebook.com/MichelinUK
OZ Racing https://www.facebook.com/OZracing
Velgen Wheels https://www.velgenwheels.com/
HP Tuners   HP Tuners Europe Facebook page
Basse TV : https://www.youtube.com/@basseTV_official

You can download Race Render Software from HP Tuners for FREE here: https://racerender.com/Products/index.html

Download Track Addict their phone based data logger on the App store of your smartphone.

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Getting ready to leave!
From Left: Max Fiege, Alex, Wolfgang Weber, Gregor Fiege, Michael, David, Jens Fiege, Robbie, Jorg Fiege

Bilster Berg Track Layout:Steeda Germany are so hot right now!

 Porsche Club brough some serious metal!

 The Pro Racetrack teams Mercedes AMG 45Jurgen crosses the line!David from Fiege did sterling work all day in difficult circumstances.Stefan from Basse TV strapped into the transit for some rolling shots!

Jorg Fiege in drone mode!

Jens Fiege in charge of data logging and car cameras

Steeda Robbie and Wolfgang Weber at the end of the day