NE NJ local meets on Tuesday nights
02-26-2008, 12:22 AM
#1602
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heh well if you do any sort of racing you'd best not be "playing around" 
... but after the day yesterday i'm ever further convinced that ice racing is the best way to get into racing in general...
not only is it really easy to get out there wheel to wheel (vs spending thousands on NASA school), but mistakes cost you very little... In 4 hours on the ice yesterday i got stuck in a snow bank twice (once during practice, once about 2 hours into the race), and had 3 more spins in the center of the track. Had this been a real track I think that first little messup would have ended the day for me (tire/concrete walls are much less forgiving than snow).
With so little traction to work with, you are forced to pay attention to weight transfer and work out any bad habits very quickly.
... but after the day yesterday i'm ever further convinced that ice racing is the best way to get into racing in general...not only is it really easy to get out there wheel to wheel (vs spending thousands on NASA school), but mistakes cost you very little... In 4 hours on the ice yesterday i got stuck in a snow bank twice (once during practice, once about 2 hours into the race), and had 3 more spins in the center of the track. Had this been a real track I think that first little messup would have ended the day for me (tire/concrete walls are much less forgiving than snow
).With so little traction to work with, you are forced to pay attention to weight transfer and work out any bad habits very quickly.
HPDE events from NASA are probably a better way to get onto the track. With the professional guidance and education: 45min On track 45 in class for a full day will improve your abilities as a driver. 4hrs on ice is not for beginners!!!
http://www.nasaproracing.com/
Find a program near you, its the best time you can have with your car. Show n Go is all fine but to learn on track will blow you away.
02-26-2008, 02:42 PM
#1604
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HPDE events from NASA are probably a better way to get onto the track. With the professional guidance and education: 45min On track 45 in class for a full day will improve your abilities as a driver. 4hrs on ice is not for beginners!!!
http://www.nasaproracing.com/
Find a program near you, its the best time you can have with your car. Show n Go is all fine but to learn on track will blow you away.
http://www.nasaproracing.com/
Find a program near you, its the best time you can have with your car. Show n Go is all fine but to learn on track will blow you away.
Prior to this ice racing season I had not done any racing, not even auto-x. I survived 
Of course, some people learn better when they have direction but for me, for now, it's enough to read up on a bunch of theory then go out there and toss the car around getting a feel for things. I think that for assimilating the basics, paying for an instructor is a waste of money. Once I have a firm grip on the basics then I will pay for driving school, and get alot more out of it The big advantage (from the point of view of forcing you to learn) of ice over pavement is you have NO room for error. Of course, this requires a certain approach (starting slow and working your way up, not the other way around), but your mistakes are exposed very clearly (vs on pavement where you can cover up for mistakes with grip and power, and would therefore need an instructor to point them out to you).
I'm not saying everyone should rush to the lakes and start tearing it up, but if you bring the right attitude you get a great crash course (figuratively speaking) in car control, racing lines, and especially paying attention to what's around you.
02-27-2008, 08:14 AM
#1609
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I'm a beginner Prior to this ice racing season I had not done any racing, not even auto-x. I survived Of course, some people learn better when they have direction but for me, for now, it's enough to read up on a bunch of theory then go out there and toss the car around getting a feel for things. I think that for assimilating the basics, paying for an instructor is a waste of money. Once I have a firm grip on the basics then I will pay for driving school, and get alot more out of it
The big advantage (from the point of view of forcing you to learn) of ice over pavement is you have NO room for error. Of course, this requires a certain approach (starting slow and working your way up, not the other way around), but your mistakes are exposed very clearly (vs on pavement where you can cover up for mistakes with grip and power, and would therefore need an instructor to point them out to you).
I'm not saying everyone should rush to the lakes and start tearing it up, but if you bring the right attitude you get a great crash course (figuratively speaking) in car control, racing lines, and especially paying attention to what's around you.
Prior to this ice racing season I had not done any racing, not even auto-x. I survived Of course, some people learn better when they have direction but for me, for now, it's enough to read up on a bunch of theory then go out there and toss the car around getting a feel for things. I think that for assimilating the basics, paying for an instructor is a waste of money. Once I have a firm grip on the basics then I will pay for driving school, and get alot more out of it The big advantage (from the point of view of forcing you to learn) of ice over pavement is you have NO room for error. Of course, this requires a certain approach (starting slow and working your way up, not the other way around), but your mistakes are exposed very clearly (vs on pavement where you can cover up for mistakes with grip and power, and would therefore need an instructor to point them out to you).
I'm not saying everyone should rush to the lakes and start tearing it up, but if you bring the right attitude you get a great crash course (figuratively speaking) in car control, racing lines, and especially paying attention to what's around you.
Where ICE Racing will be advantageous in teaching you how to handle unexpected loss of traction, throttle control, and love for ice which is very important to control.
Try an HPDE before you brush it off, you will find it an amazing experience and worth every penny. Your not always with the instructor. It is just for the beginning so that he can make sure your not going to be the black flag on the field. Regardless his points are very important. Most important, the instructor will try to understand how well you know your car and will base his advise on that. If you can't go 120 into turn 2 then he's never going to advise it. Slow and smooth makes Fast.
PHDE will teach you things you can use for developing the FAST way around a track.
Key Factors that are different from ice racing:
- available traction
- how fast is the turn
- handling characteristics (different tires, balance, etc)
- late apex turns
- early apex turns
- the line
- brake control
- loading the tires and suspension
- initiating the turn
- hitting the apexes
- and many more...
Both sports will trash your car faster than you can imagine and you don't have to crash for it to happen. Tracking / Racing a car will load the car's mechanical parts which will produce a quicker rate of change than driving on street.
Before doing anything prepare your car and your self.
02-28-2008, 10:36 AM
#1613
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Where ICE Racing will be advantageous in teaching you how to handle unexpected loss of traction, throttle control, and love for ice which is very important to control.
Try an HPDE before you brush it off, you will find it an amazing experience and worth every penny. Your not always with the instructor. It is just for the beginning so that he can make sure your not going to be the black flag on the field. Regardless his points are very important. Most important, the instructor will try to understand how well you know your car and will base his advise on that. If you can't go 120 into turn 2 then he's never going to advise it. Slow and smooth makes Fast.
PHDE will teach you things you can use for developing the FAST way around a track.
Key Factors that are different from ice racing:
Both sports will trash your car faster than you can imagine and you don't have to crash for it to happen. Tracking / Racing a car will load the car's mechanical parts which will produce a quicker rate of change than driving on street.
Before doing anything prepare your car and your self.
Try an HPDE before you brush it off, you will find it an amazing experience and worth every penny. Your not always with the instructor. It is just for the beginning so that he can make sure your not going to be the black flag on the field. Regardless his points are very important. Most important, the instructor will try to understand how well you know your car and will base his advise on that. If you can't go 120 into turn 2 then he's never going to advise it. Slow and smooth makes Fast.
PHDE will teach you things you can use for developing the FAST way around a track.
Key Factors that are different from ice racing:
- available traction
- how fast is the turn
- handling characteristics (different tires, balance, etc)
- late apex turns
- early apex turns
- the line
- brake control
- loading the tires and suspension
- initiating the turn
- hitting the apexes
- and many more...
Both sports will trash your car faster than you can imagine and you don't have to crash for it to happen. Tracking / Racing a car will load the car's mechanical parts which will produce a quicker rate of change than driving on street.
Before doing anything prepare your car and your self.
)From your list above, there are a couple of things that will be exactly the same between the ice and track, after accounting for the difference in traction:
- the line
- - initiating the turn
- - hitting the apexes
- - late apex turns
- - early apex turns
- brake control
- and many more...
Things that will be different due to added traction on track:
- available traction
- - how fast is the turn
- - handling characteristics (different tires, balance, etc)
- - loading the tires and suspension
- and many more...
In my mind the only real difference will be in things directly related to added traction - speed of the turn, balance, suspention setup (due to added cornering forces).. The fundamental techniques don't change and it's alot easier to work on those in a limited traction situation - since you can push it over the edge "easier" and the consequences of messing up aren't as severe (spin at 30mph vs spin at 70mph
)I can't wait for the next event..
BTW if anyone is interested they are also having a "time trials" event near Boston, so if anyone wants to get on the ice without the risk of bumping into other cars, PM me for details.. Less seat time than a real race, but should still be lots of fun.
02-28-2008, 02:25 PM
#1617
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would be nice i cant wire anything.....connecting my cable box too my tv was hard lol
ill even pay someone to run wires for me
air/fuel
oil temp
oil pressure
sanwich plate is installed
ill even pay someone to run wires for me
air/fuel
oil temp
oil pressure
sanwich plate is installed
02-28-2008, 02:28 PM
#1618
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if the sandwich plate is installed those shouldn't be too difficult to install..
i wont be around on weekends for the next month or so, though if you can wait that long i can def help you out thou (dont expect to get paid, i'm not that good lol )
i wont be around on weekends for the next month or so, though
if you can wait that long i can def help you out thou (dont expect to get paid, i'm not that good lol )
