Track Day Event info for noobs

[scotaku]

Ross Bentley's Speed Secrets books are excellent off-season reads. I think his #2 book is good for the weekend warrior looking for a better understanding of the mechanics of setting up the car as well as some early mental preparation for safety and speed.

[ItsA96]

Words to live by:

If you know everything - you know nothing!

If you don't learn something new every day (in this case at the track) - you're doing something wrong!

[CHETVW007]

I am a little confused on why the R-compound tires are not recommended on the track? I though R-compound was specifically for use between track and daily road use.
I have Toyo T1Rs on my GLi and I have really become quite comfortable with the way my car handles now, and all of the suspension characteristics seem so much clearer to me no.

I am definitely going to Summit Point this year in May with Track Daze. I am very excited to learn how to drive on a closed road course. And hope to meet a lot of like minded people.

[granracing]

Its not that they are not recommended on the track, its R-coumpound tires are not recommended for a novice. Other tires give a bigger warning that they are approaching their limits (squeel) whereas many novices find that the warning R-compounds give is when they find themselves spinning around on the track.

Have fun at Summit - it's a fantastic track!

[mgyip]

To clarify, R-compound tyres are specifically for "Competition and Track Events ONLY". Unlike street tyres, R-compounds have a very finite heat-cycle span during which they're sticky as bubble gum and after that, they're like ice. Street tyres are engineered to endure seemingly countless heat cycles without changing the tyre's properties because of their intended usage. R-compounds use the same logic - short number of heat cycles because after 8-10 heat cycles on a race car, the tyres are either worn out or (if the team has $$) they're replaced with fresh rubber.

[autobahnimports]

Thank you for making this post. I am a shop owner and car enthusiast. I am very capable of making a track worthy vehicle. In fact I have two. I have an 87 GTI 16V and an 87 BMW 325i. I live in south west Michigan and I am interested in getting both on the track but don't want to spend a lot of money doing so. considering I Just opened shop and, I'm just looking to enjoy the reason I got into this profession in the first place. Driving cars. Any recomendations?

noob

[scotaku]

I recommend you prepare yourself for a glut of highschool kids with E30's on the specialty forums. E30tech.com and r3vlimited.com are decent, just stay out of the general discussion areas... the testosterone with choke you.

Seriously though, I'd say just get out there. Take one of the cars and give it a go. Spending money to improve your car before getting involved is just a waste, imho. The seat time and new skills are more valuable. Any money spent afterwards will be more wisely spent on things that are really needed/actually work.

Are there any track nuts in the regional forum here? Ping them for events and sign up!

[number9]

I wanted to make a few additions to this thread. After thinking things through, i thought it might be easier to simply add a few threads instead. I made these additions on the bottom of my first post.

[couch god 5000]

i was hoping this thread was involving information on proper procedure for track days...not how to modify your vehicle....ive been doing scca autox for almost 4 years now and finally built a race only scirocco specifically for track racing. we need a forum with information on class specifications for racing, ie displacement and modifying rules and regulations, saftey specs and neccesary equipment needed to run the class as well as weight and power....i think i'm going to get on that...anyone think its a good idea?

[mgyip]

The challenge is that there are several different sanctioning bodies (SCCA, NASA, EMRA, etc) - each has their own take on "mandatory safety equipment" and car prep rules are vastly different across the board.

ImprovedTouring.com is geared towards the serious amateur road racer and probably a better resource.

[scotaku]

I second. Plus, with each sanctioning body, there may be changes to their rules. 'Best bet is to get their most current competition guideline/rulebook and go from there.

[couch god 5000]

Quote, originally posted by mgyip »

The challenge is that there are several different sanctioning bodies (SCCA, NASA, EMRA, etc) - each has their own take on "mandatory safety equipment" and car prep rules are vastly different across the board. ImprovedTouring.com is geared towards the serious amateur road racer and probably a better resource.

i was actually hoping on someone saying somthing like that...good job....i was specificly thinking scca...but eh..whatever

[number9]

Quote, originally posted by couch god 5000 »

i was hoping this thread was involving information on proper procedure for track days...not how to modify your vehicle....ive been doing scca autox for almost 4 years now and finally built a race only scirocco specifically for track racing. we need a forum with information on class specifications for racing, ie displacement and modifying rules and regulations, saftey specs and neccesary equipment needed to run the class as well as weight and power....i think i'm going to get on that...anyone think its a good idea?

The main purpose of this thread was to simply help out those individuals who are just getting started with track events/HPDE's. I sort of used myself when i put this together. And tried to cover questions/issues that seemed relevant to most noobs. I didnt think covering detailed topics with information on the different class specifications for racing was/is pertinent for a noob.

What youre referring to is a great topic, and youre more than welcome to try to put something together. However, its a _very_ difficult topic to address. You have to deal with providing detailed and accurate info on all the different sanctioning bodies, as well as all the different classes within each of those sanctioning bodies. Beyond all that, youre also going to have to be able to deal with all the varying interests of each and every car.

The one and only way that i have seen people approach this, is by having one thread, dedicated to one specific car, that is competing in one specific class, for one specific sanctioning body. For example, i have seen knowledgeable Evo guys, who compete in Autocross, put together a thread specifically for guys with Evo's who are looking to compete with SCCA in the SM class. Then, several well known Regional and National champions/members discuss all the rules, and all the various different issues and what not. How things work for them, vs. BMW guys, or Honda guys who are competing in that specific class is not the same.

Good luck with your venture.

[gt40mkii]

Quote, originally posted by couch god 5000 »

i was actually hoping on someone saying somthing like that...good job....i was specificly thinking scca...but eh..whatever

If you want to go racing locally, your best approach is to figure out what sanctioning body is the most active in yoiur area and has a class you're comfirtable racing in.

For me, that was NASA. The SCCA is fairly active in my area, hoever, at the time I was looking, the only classes my car could race in were either American Sedan (AS) or IT-E. Both of which are very competitive classes and require huge infustions of cash and car development to be competitive. (It';s not unusual to stt AS motors costing over $10k and blowing up with some regularity.)

NASA's Camaro/Mustang Challenge (CMC) and American Iron (AI) was just getting started at the time and the fields consisted of mostly old American Sedan cars from the SCCA and open-track cars converted to racing use. Perfect for me. My car already had a good start on the brakes and suspension -- all I needed to do was install a cage and get rid of excess weight.

Since then, both CMC and AI fields have become more competitive and thus more expensive, however, they're still a lot cheaper than AS and IT-E, IMHO.

As far as differing safety rules, most of them, differ only in minor details. I see a lot of cars running in both NASA classes and SCCA classes. from a safety aspect, the rules are very similar.

[scubb]

These are really good points and all are great ideas.

[combatready_2003]

As a noob with a modded car (coil-overs, big turbo, LSD, etc.) would it be harder for me on my to learn my first time out with these mods???

[lonepatrone]

As a noob with a modded car (coil-overs, big turbo, LSD, etc.) would it be harder for me on my to learn my first time out with these mods???

Yes. Last year I watched a early twenty something spin a turbo S2000 off the track. Take it easy, do your best to keep your ego in check (most people, myself included, have this problem), and focus on learning.

[Light on Fuel]

I also have a modded car and was going to go with a turbo for my VR...until now. It's a good thing that I read this.

This is a very informative post and I'm glad it exists. I have a few questions that I didn't see covered in here, though.

First; I've been looking into doing a HPDE/PDX for a few months now. After being an avid racing fan for the past 15 yrs (F1, DTM,ALMS,LMS,GrandAm) I'm finally going to break my cherry, so to speak, and I'm very excited about it. But I'm not sure which would be the best club for me to join. I think that the SCCA is the most active in my area (North Jersey) but I'm not entirely sure. Is there anyone on here that lives in my area who can recommend a club for me?

Second; My current car (01,GTI,VR6) is what I'd be driving. So looking down the road somewhat, when I'm ready for Time Trials and the like. I'm wondering how heavily I can modify this car while still keeping it street legal? I haven't been able to find info for any specific class where the cars would still need to be street legal. I know it's an unusual request, but I would like to (at some point) compete with similarly (heavily) prepped cars, but I don't want to sacrifice my car's legality. The car isn't my daily, but I do like to drive it around on the weekends. Is this an unreasonable expectation? Any input would be greatly appreciated.