race track?
05-04-2007, 03:03 AM
#1
Rice Police
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: California
Posts: 654
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
race track?
Hey guys , ive been wondering what tracks are available in southern california. Ive never been to a track before so i dont know anything about the rules and what not. Is there some kind of "beginner class" or something. Ive seen some videos of people at the track with an (Instructer?) i think. I need something like that to teach me how to drive properly at the track. Any info would be appreciated! THX. Oh and i heard if you get into an accident at the track the insurance doesnt cover anything? That kind of sucks lol. Is that true? 
05-04-2007, 09:17 AM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
taking a car to a track and enrolling in Driver's Ed (DE) is a great, and safe, way to explore the capabilities of a car. check with local SCCA clubs (SCCA.COM has a regional locater tab).
yes, you will start in a beginner group - usually called the green group, and an instructor will be with you all the time. usually there is a classroom session, followed by driving, followed by discussion/critique with the instructor. it's not racing - passing is limited for safety. your instructor may sign you off at some point for driving alone (blue group).
equipment: you need a helmet, with whatever rating (usually Snell 2005) your track requires. also, most tracks require a technical inspection of your car to make sure it's trackworthy (brakes, tires are good, etc.) you should switch to a higher temp brake fluid - like ATE Super Blue. roll bars are needed for convertibles, but not coupes - the RX8 is OK as is.
track time - usually at least 4 or as many as 6 sessions of 20 minutes each, depending on the track and the number of cars.
access: most tracks are not public, i.e. only drivers and crew allowed. check local clubs in the area - Porsche clubs, Corvette clubs, Mustang clubs etc. Contrary to what you might think, almost everyone I've met at tracks are just "car nuts", not necessarily hooked on their brand only.
insurance: a gray area. if you ask - they may say no. there is a theory that since it's driver's ed, that it's covered, but I'm not sure how many people have tested the theory in real life.
I took my Boxster out 4 times, and have taken my RX8 out once. had a blast every time. learned a lot about the car every time. good instructors. good comraderie.
autocross is another option -
good luck and have fun!
yes, you will start in a beginner group - usually called the green group, and an instructor will be with you all the time. usually there is a classroom session, followed by driving, followed by discussion/critique with the instructor. it's not racing - passing is limited for safety. your instructor may sign you off at some point for driving alone (blue group).
equipment: you need a helmet, with whatever rating (usually Snell 2005) your track requires. also, most tracks require a technical inspection of your car to make sure it's trackworthy (brakes, tires are good, etc.) you should switch to a higher temp brake fluid - like ATE Super Blue. roll bars are needed for convertibles, but not coupes - the RX8 is OK as is.
track time - usually at least 4 or as many as 6 sessions of 20 minutes each, depending on the track and the number of cars.
access: most tracks are not public, i.e. only drivers and crew allowed. check local clubs in the area - Porsche clubs, Corvette clubs, Mustang clubs etc. Contrary to what you might think, almost everyone I've met at tracks are just "car nuts", not necessarily hooked on their brand only.
insurance: a gray area. if you ask - they may say no. there is a theory that since it's driver's ed, that it's covered, but I'm not sure how many people have tested the theory in real life.
I took my Boxster out 4 times, and have taken my RX8 out once. had a blast every time. learned a lot about the car every time. good instructors. good comraderie.
autocross is another option -
good luck and have fun!
05-04-2007, 11:05 AM
#3
I have been a SCCA member for 30 yrs. In that time I have participated in corner working, Solo II autocrossing and road racing. With that said, in my area, they aren't setup for anything like taking your street car to the race track. I would suggest you get in touch with NASA (not the rocket guys). They started out in SoCal and have lots of on track events suited for you.
Read this: http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/firstday.html
Read this: http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/firstday.html
05-04-2007, 12:19 PM
#5
Insanely Yellow
Heartily agree with a DE class - track days are wonderful things. I haven't actually done a track day yet with my RX-8, but have done numerous ones with previous cars - RX-7, 944, Acura Integra, Acura NSX, M5, and others (some mine, some not). About as much fun as you can have with your pants on.
That said, personal responsibility is the realm you're in here - crash damage? Forget insurance. You can buy a track collision insurance package from a few places, but the cost is so ridiculous that you might as well enroll in Skip Barber school. Also, if something breaks on your car from the abuse, you can also forget about your warranty. That's why I haven't done it with my 8 YET. Once it's out of warranty, good to go.
What can you expect? LowCG said it very well. My last experience (last year in my brother-in-law's Boxster) which was NOT a DE day but just an open track day, I was grouped with like-minded and like-car'd drivers - similar objectives/similar powered cars, and got four 20 minutes sessions on the track (actually 2 for me, 2 for my brother in law) over two days - so 8 sessions in all (2 each day for each of us).
There was very little passing - if a car was overtaking you, you were required to slow on the straight and let them go by. If you were approaching a corner, within 200 yards of the braking markers there was no passing at all - so if you're overtaking a much slower car, you'd best brake hard and early if you were catching him at a corner. I passed more than others, my brother in law never passed.
What does it do to the car? Well, this Porsche - very little. We were running street tires, and the shoulders of the front tires were shot by the end of the second day - chunks out of the rubber, and generally burned off. He was planning to buy new tires anyway. I'd seriously recommend track tires, or at least street tires that you only plan to use for the track. You can also completely cook through a set of stock brake pads in a single weekend. If your brakes are worn, you can use them up on a single RUN! On the cars that I have owned and done track days with, I pulled the stock pads for the weekend, and replaced them with a set of competition pads - Brembos, Performance Friction, whoever makes good after-market performance pads. Then after the weekend, I put the stocks back in, and if there is more than 50% of the thickness of the pads of the performance pads left, I'll box them up and put them on the shelf for the next time. I've found that with good, fresh pads, this saves both the rotors and the brake fluid from heat damage.
I agree with whoever said that it's also a good idea to upgrade your brake fluid. Boiling brake fluid is not your friend. That said, I've only done that on one or two cars.
You'll want to strip as much extra weight out of your car as you can, within reason - I wouldn't go to the extreme of taking out seats or anything, but I've always emptied the trunk, removed the spare, etc. I only run the factory-recommended fuel, not racing fuel, and usually run with about 3/4 of a tank of it - that will burn down VERY quickly. Our Boxster, which got 22 mpg going to and from the track, got 5.5 mpg at the track!
Other things to think about: Make sure your cooling system is full, and if your car is more than a year old, flushed and filled with new coolant. Change the oil prior to your track day, and then immediately afterwards as well. Not necessary to change the filter on the "post track day" change - but the engine heat is hell on the oil.
The thing to remember is that in daily driving, even if you drive like a complete blithering idiot, you are using perhaps 4/10's of your car's capacity. At highway cruise of 85 mph, you car is still only at perhaps a 25% throttle opening, and is running at 30% of rated power. On the track, you are usually WOT from corner to corner (unless you have a hugely long straight (like at Road America where I usually go) with a track day speedlimit, so your car is pulling 100%+ of rated power output for 20 minutes straight. It will not be a surprise to break something. Therefore, it's imperative to make sure your lubricants are in the best possible condition and full to capacity (but not overfull!), your coolant is fresh, your brake pads are fresh, and ideally are competition quality, etc.
I did a track day exactly once in a "box stock" car - my '95 Acura Integra GSR. The car had 16,000 miles on it, a fresh oil change, and fresh coolant. But stock tires and brake pads with 16,000 miles on them, etc.
I got through my second track session of the day, and when I came into the pits, I was told by one of the track workers that my tires were throwing visible chunks. They looked like hell. Also, my brake pads were literally smoking - the brakes kept getting weaker and weaker with each lap, so by the time I did my last lap (at RA, a 20 minute session is about 6 laps), my speed was WAY off my second lap, which was my fastest. My choice at that point was either buy competition tires on site (WAY expensive) and buy brake pads and see if could find someone to wrench them for me on site or go home. Well, I stayed, but I sure learned my lesson.
Have fun if you go, but learn the lessons of those of us who have gone before you.
Stew
That said, personal responsibility is the realm you're in here - crash damage? Forget insurance. You can buy a track collision insurance package from a few places, but the cost is so ridiculous that you might as well enroll in Skip Barber school. Also, if something breaks on your car from the abuse, you can also forget about your warranty. That's why I haven't done it with my 8 YET. Once it's out of warranty, good to go.
What can you expect? LowCG said it very well. My last experience (last year in my brother-in-law's Boxster) which was NOT a DE day but just an open track day, I was grouped with like-minded and like-car'd drivers - similar objectives/similar powered cars, and got four 20 minutes sessions on the track (actually 2 for me, 2 for my brother in law) over two days - so 8 sessions in all (2 each day for each of us).
There was very little passing - if a car was overtaking you, you were required to slow on the straight and let them go by. If you were approaching a corner, within 200 yards of the braking markers there was no passing at all - so if you're overtaking a much slower car, you'd best brake hard and early if you were catching him at a corner. I passed more than others, my brother in law never passed.
What does it do to the car? Well, this Porsche - very little. We were running street tires, and the shoulders of the front tires were shot by the end of the second day - chunks out of the rubber, and generally burned off. He was planning to buy new tires anyway. I'd seriously recommend track tires, or at least street tires that you only plan to use for the track. You can also completely cook through a set of stock brake pads in a single weekend. If your brakes are worn, you can use them up on a single RUN! On the cars that I have owned and done track days with, I pulled the stock pads for the weekend, and replaced them with a set of competition pads - Brembos, Performance Friction, whoever makes good after-market performance pads. Then after the weekend, I put the stocks back in, and if there is more than 50% of the thickness of the pads of the performance pads left, I'll box them up and put them on the shelf for the next time. I've found that with good, fresh pads, this saves both the rotors and the brake fluid from heat damage.
I agree with whoever said that it's also a good idea to upgrade your brake fluid. Boiling brake fluid is not your friend. That said, I've only done that on one or two cars.
You'll want to strip as much extra weight out of your car as you can, within reason - I wouldn't go to the extreme of taking out seats or anything, but I've always emptied the trunk, removed the spare, etc. I only run the factory-recommended fuel, not racing fuel, and usually run with about 3/4 of a tank of it - that will burn down VERY quickly. Our Boxster, which got 22 mpg going to and from the track, got 5.5 mpg at the track!
Other things to think about: Make sure your cooling system is full, and if your car is more than a year old, flushed and filled with new coolant. Change the oil prior to your track day, and then immediately afterwards as well. Not necessary to change the filter on the "post track day" change - but the engine heat is hell on the oil.
The thing to remember is that in daily driving, even if you drive like a complete blithering idiot, you are using perhaps 4/10's of your car's capacity. At highway cruise of 85 mph, you car is still only at perhaps a 25% throttle opening, and is running at 30% of rated power. On the track, you are usually WOT from corner to corner (unless you have a hugely long straight (like at Road America where I usually go) with a track day speedlimit, so your car is pulling 100%+ of rated power output for 20 minutes straight. It will not be a surprise to break something. Therefore, it's imperative to make sure your lubricants are in the best possible condition and full to capacity (but not overfull!), your coolant is fresh, your brake pads are fresh, and ideally are competition quality, etc.
I did a track day exactly once in a "box stock" car - my '95 Acura Integra GSR. The car had 16,000 miles on it, a fresh oil change, and fresh coolant. But stock tires and brake pads with 16,000 miles on them, etc.
I got through my second track session of the day, and when I came into the pits, I was told by one of the track workers that my tires were throwing visible chunks. They looked like hell. Also, my brake pads were literally smoking - the brakes kept getting weaker and weaker with each lap, so by the time I did my last lap (at RA, a 20 minute session is about 6 laps), my speed was WAY off my second lap, which was my fastest. My choice at that point was either buy competition tires on site (WAY expensive) and buy brake pads and see if could find someone to wrench them for me on site or go home. Well, I stayed, but I sure learned my lesson.
Have fun if you go, but learn the lessons of those of us who have gone before you.
Stew
05-04-2007, 12:27 PM
#6
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
One thing to add
Stew's synopsis is excellent. Add 4-5 lbs extra tire pressure is all I can add. You might want to mark your tires with chalk or white shoe polish where the tread meets the sidewall. If it wears consider adding more air.
Track days are almost as much fun as sex.
Track days are almost as much fun as sex.
05-04-2007, 02:02 PM
#7
Rice Police
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: California
Posts: 654
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
lol thx alot guys for all the good info , seems track days are very expensive but from what i can see , seems worth it. Im going to save up money for what stewy said , getting new brake pads etc for specifically track days.
05-04-2007, 02:51 PM
#8
Yeah, I changed my brake lines, clutch line, brake fluid (ATE S-Blue), air filter (Green), pads (HPS+), oil (RoyalPurple), tires (245's), and midpipe just to prep the car.
Its an expensive proposition...but hitting that track pipe IS almost as fun as sex...
Its an expensive proposition...but hitting that track pipe IS almost as fun as sex...
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Touge
Canada Forum
0
09-18-2015 12:21 AM
Touge
Canada Forum
3
09-10-2015 08:07 AM
Touge
Canada Forum
0
09-01-2015 10:47 PM