sometime in the next few months, 5 or 6 of my friends and i are planning to take our cars out to a track, just to have a little fun. to my knowledge, none of us are experienced on a track, so i'm just looking for some general tips or good guidelines from those of you who are. i dont imagine it being much different from street driving with the bonus of a clear road. am i wrong?

also, any recommendations for tracks in southern california would be appreciated.

my RX-8
GTO
G35
WRX
WRX
84 Porsche 944
evo

 

If you only remember one thing; keep lots LOTS of space between you all. Otherwise, I'd recommend to go to a track school first. What you need to know cannot fit on this thread!

 

WRONG, completely WRONG

just one advice for you: don't be a knucklehead, LISTEN to what the instructors are telling you, and LEARN how to drive

other than that, have fun

 

oh, and from the list of your buddies' cars, you'll probably be the fastest of the group right off the bat, because the 8 is just such an easy car to drive fast. all the other cars will take them some time to learn how to drive them fast.

 

300% wrong! Join a club - NASA, Audi Club, BMW-CCA, etc, get their study materials, read, memorize, be humble, listen to the instructor that rides and guides you, take it slow, there is an overwhelming amount of knowledge and skill to comprehend and internalize to a habit for a person new to the track.

It's work, and not a walk in the park. But it is fun.

Also you can kill or injure yourself and others by not paying attention, so be be safe and you may find you have a new hobby, or some call it an addiction!

 

OMG! Please tell me you have instructors with you and that you have a limit to the number of cars on the track at one time and that you know what "slow in, fast out" means and warm up laps and cool down laps and, and, and, and, and... I think all of you should attend a $250 driving school before you comtemplate doing this.

I am an experianced virgin... One track day with two off road excursions and an extremely hot close call drifting all the way around a turn, all on the first session of the day. And that was with an instructor.

Done right, you guys will have a blast! I'd like to here good things from you on this.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

 

man, #1 thing is... those straights... they are so long and you can go soo fast on them... but DONT GET CARRIED AWAY, you HAVE to brake early for the turn. a lot earlier than what youre used to during daily driving. It might feel wierd, but youll end up off the track if you dont brake early. If you dont get carried away, you can have tons of fun without haivng an instructor, but of course its better if you have one. they will correct a lot of bad habits.

ohh and have fun staring at that EVO's *** :p. its so much easier for a moderately skilled driver to drive the EVO fast around the track. that car can some times make bad drives look good and good drivers look great.

 

Play gran turismo first!

(kidding)

 

But of course you're not talking actually taking YOUR RX-8 out to the track - you're going to borrow one, right? Because the big brothers at Mazda who read this board will surely figure out that you have taken your car to a track, match you to their owner records, and void your warranty.

I'm not BS'ing here - it has happened. So therefore, please confirm that it won't be your -8 out there on that track that day, right?

 

thanks for the response.
the details are FAR from worked out, so as far as the instructor goes, i'll look into it. i'm careful already, and not completely trusting of my friends' driving ability, so ill definitely be keeping my distance.
'be careful' is good advice. im sure it easy to get carried away , especially on straights.

school sounds like a good idea. if any of you know any good schools or resources for finsing good schools, please let me know.

 

when i said 'my' rx-8 i meant the rx-8 i'll be borrowing

 

buttonwillow and streets of willow are popular tracks for track day events, check their websites for their event schedule

have fun and be safe

 

Im new to the forum so i wont be too embarassed if this is a universally understood joke, but is Mazda seriously cheap enough to search the internet to aid in their voiding of warranty?

 

It has happened.

 

No

 

I think Hooked On Driving has a school at Burtonwillow on March 10th. Very few spots left.

 

to some, yes. but it's simple.

take your license plate off.

if there are spies out there (or here, looking at pictures of you racing), good luck trying to prove you were racing with nothing to trace you.

 

um...but why would they void our warranties for taking it to the track? does it go the same for the drag strip???

 

they feel it is abusing the car above and beyond what is reasonably covered under warranty. look for the member 'abbid' to see how his was voided for taking it to a drag strip.

 

ahhh crappp...i hope they didnt spy on me when i took it to the drag strip...DAM YOU MAZDA!!

hahah btw...i just rewatched zoolander over the weekend...hahha, "WHAT IS THIS, A CENTER FOR ANTS?! IT HAS TO BE ATLEAST, 3TIMES BIGGER!"

 

i dont hide at all- ive made sure "they" know who i am

 

But you probably know ppl at Mazda too, unlike us ordinary folk

 

 

Seems Mazda does things differently in the US.

We track our cars in Australia without any warranty concerns. Indeed, Mazda Australia have run track days for RX8 owners. They also sponsored our National meet at a track in a limited way (all entrants became proud owners of rotary watches and 'best and fairest' received a handsome rotary-shaped clock).

Ignore any crap your dealer is telling you about track days voiding your warranty. Your warranty is with Mazda - not your dealer. Check the warranty documents carefully and see if it really is an excluded activity.

As for general advice - get an instructor for sure and take your time.

Some tips I've picked up:

1. Brake when the front wheels are staight and then turn in (sounds obvious but I've seen a few people get into trouble by ignoring this golden rule).

2. Don't turn DSC off your first time out - it can save your butt.

3. If you're losing it around a corner don't try and 'catch it', just hit the brakes.

4. Keep ample space between you and other cars and if you do catch someone or they catch you, only overtake on straights, never in corners or under brakes. Even in straights, wait until the car ahead signals you can pass.

5. Check for wet patches or debris and be aware they can affect your braking distance.

6. Use the cool down lap to cool down (seriously - try and avoid any hard braking) and if necessary do a few laps of any open space behind the pits.

7. Check tyre pressures and brake temps between sessions and never use your handbrake when parking after a session - it can warp the rotors - just leave it in gear.

8. Absolutely no loose objects of any kind in the cabin or boot (trunk).

9. Know the flag signals advised at the start of the day and obey them without exception.

There's much more to know but this gives you a flavour. Any good instructor will cover all this and more. Remember, it's only fun if everyone gets to drive home in the car they came with.

That all said, do it! The 8 is a natural track car and you'll find it can do a lot more than you thought it could. The braking ability alone is an eye-opener.

 

Wink, wink.