Open track day Advice

[leadf00t]

sorry for the thread jack. thanks for the info...looks like several events in my area -- think I found my new hobby.

No prob, sometimes it's easier than starting a new one.

 

[leadf00t]

I had to have a snell sa2000 or newer helmet. It turns out that they have some available for rent, but I spent half a day trying to find one that didnt cost an arm & a leg. I couldnt find one for less than $140, and that wasnt even full faced. Some of those helmets get upwards of $700. Who knew helmets were so expensive.

 

[8.5MS3]

Also make sure you take everything out of your car, spare tire, jacks etc (lighter is always better). usually they will have an area where you can set up the car before lining up. As others have said take your time. Cones can bruise the car up so bring plenty of blue/green tape and mask the front of the car. or buy the bra like i did. be sure to cover your plates & registration as well. dont want prying eyes voiding your warranty for track use

 

[Nliiitend1]

In my experience, car bras do more damage than they provide protection. Dirt gets in between the bra and the car's paint and them rubs into the paint...

My cars have also never sustained any permanent damage from hitting a cone (and that's with 3 different cars over the course of 9 years). The scuffs have always come right off my paint without an issue...

Also, most SCCA-related clubs allow you to use not only the SA-rated Snell helmets, but also M-rated helmets. Just make sure it's SA2005 or M2005 or newer. The only places I've had to use an SA-rated helmet at were full-on road courses (and not even all of them require the SA rating - some of them are OK with M-rated helmets).

 

[8.5MS3]

thats true, bras over time do degrade the paint due to dirt, but i only use it on track days or long roadtrips after washing & waxing the car thoroughly as the paint on these cars chips so damn easily

 

[irnbru83]

So much good advice in this thread.

Driving the course, instead of the cones, is paramount. Too many people drive in a short-sighted manner and get caught up staring at the next cone. You gotta know what is beyond the cone in front of you so that you can properly enter/exit corners.



Having an experienced driver ride-along is also essential.

 

[leadf00t]

I'm going to inquire about having someone ride along when I get there.

 

[gonerogue]

I had to have a snell sa2000 or newer helmet. It turns out that they have some available for rent, but I spent half a day trying to find one that didnt cost an arm & a leg. I couldnt fine one for less than $140, and that wasnt even full faced. Some of those helmets get upwards of $700. Who knew helmets were so expensive.

In the grand scheme of things, it's a small price to pay to protect your noggin. I would look at the 200-350 range for a full face. I would definitely go with a full face because you want the helmet to last quite a while and you'll need a full face in case you want to do any HPDE or track days.

 

[martispeed]

I use myautoevents.com. Do an Advanced search per your area and filter for autocross.

One other thing for the OP, you may have heard this before but stick with second gear. Launch in first of course, and maybe hold it through the first turn if that's appropriate. But then shift to second and leave it for the rest of the course. The time wasted downshifting is likely to be greater than the time gained by using first gear in a tight corner, esp in a car with as much torque as ours have.

Have fun! I much prefer autocrossing the speed3 to driving it on the street here in Michigan.

^^^ then come to the july 19th event at belle isle!!!!!

 

[lasermp5]

Hands follow the eyes!

 

[leadf00t]

It was an absolute blast. It is great to just get out there, and drive the hell out of your car without having to worry about traffic laws !! It took a little while getting used to the tire, and brake odors coming into the car, but man this car handles awesome. I rode along with a guy in an 08 M3, omg that thing was fast, and brakes on it were unbelievable. My buddy has an S2000, and that is a great handling car also.

 

[Nliiitend1]

Yup. As one of my good trackday buddies always says, "It's about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on."

(lol2)

Glad you enjoyed yourself! (thumb)

 

[fastdreams]

Eyes follow the hands!

Isn't it the other way around?

I think that is one of the most important lessons for me out at the track. Look as far ahead as you possibly can.

Lots of great advice in this thread, I'm not going to try to add to it.

Beware the addiction of track time!

 

[tiagotiago]

Isn't it the other way around?

+1 The hands will follow the eyes. ALWAYS look where you want to go, not at what you want to avoid. It sounds obvious enough, but doing that in the precious few fractions of a second when the car is out of shape and heading towards something you want to avoid (a barrier, a wall, a telephone pole, a concrete post, a cliff, a person,etc ) this is what you want to be doing, not giving up and staring at it and thinking "oh s***". I have avoided 1 big accident because of this; to this day I have no idea how I didn't crash. I do remember going sideways, locking my eyesight to the road and thinking frantically "lookwhereyouwanttogo lookwhereyouwanttogo".

----

And to the OP, I'm really happy you had such a good time!! Sounds like you caught the racing bug, so keep us posted on how you do on future events!

 

[leadf00t]

Will do. I was driving home thinking better pads,springs, sways, stickier tires, faster laps... As if the modding bug wasnt bad enough before.

On a side note a guy with a new (only 5000 miles) bmw 135i blew his motor yesterday 3 hours into the day. He said it started to lose power, and then he heard knocking noises, then lots of smoke, and then flames coming out of the exaust pipes when I drove by. We broke for lunch while they got him off the track. I almost didnt want to take my car back out after that, but ran the rest of the day without any issues. His back bumper was burnt, and covered with black soot. He had no coolant in the resevoir when he removed the cap. bad way to lose you daily driver.