Advice for 1st time Track Day?

[BMW86]

Excellent thread and some really good advice in here. I'll be attempting my first timed lap track day as well and love the responses.

The main thing for me is keeping my ego in check. I know there will be a lot of slower cars that will pass me but I need to remember these other drivers have a lot more experience than me. It's like anything, practice will be key. There's always some faster.

Also important to remind yourself that if this is your DD to be extra cautious and prepared for all consequences, as a lot of other guys put their track car on a trailer and have a car to drive to work the next day.

These are tips I've picked up from other enthusiasts on this board who have a ton of experience.

I also recommend doing a stud conversion kit, it makes changing wheels/tyres a hell of a lot easier.


Anyways, I have a question for others, what is the optimal cold tyre pressures at the track?

[int2str]

Originally Posted by BMW86

Excellent thread and some really good advice in here. I'll be attempting my first timed lap track day as well and love the responses.

Hope you did a lot of instructor accompanied laps before this.... Would never start out with a clock running.

Anyways, I have a question for others, what is the optimal cold tyre pressures at the track?

No such thing...

Tire pressure depends on so many factors, none of it mentioned here. Which tires, what size, which track, what car, etc... Even then, cold tire pressure is hard to figure out.

I know that hot my NT-01's seem happy around 38-40psi. So I start around 30-32, knowing full well I might have to bleed some air later. It's always easier to let some air out, rather then put more air in (at the track).

[Dan Parker]

What's a "timed lap track day?"
A DE should not be timed so this doesn't make a lot of sense.

38 psi hot seems ideal to me. (stock tires). Whatever cold psi it takes to get them to 37-38 would be best.

[pixelblue]

Originally Posted by BMW86

what is the optimal cold tyre pressures at the track?

it really depends on your tires optimum temps for a particular weight category. whatever that may be, you usually start 4-5 psi lower before a session. you'll be surprised how much 1 psi makes a difference in how a car handles.

Originally Posted by Dan Parker

What's a "timed lap track day?"
A DE should not be timed so this doesn't make a lot of sense.

probably means time trials

[gazz]

Instructors or old hands can help with tyre pressures. I start with my standard street pressures, do a couple of laps and come in to bleed to 35 psi all round.
For me smoothness comes with not trying to go too fast into corners and, number one thing - lift your eyes and look well ahead through the corner, after you have picked your apex in advance. Don't get visually fixated on the apex, your car will go where you look so keep those eyes up. It can sometimes help to lower your seat so that you are just seeing over the wheel. If you come away from the day with just one thing let it be this.
Personally, I would try to maintain your learning of heel and toe as on the track is where it is of most benefit as an aid to smoothness.

Beware the RED MIST. If you find your heart rate and breathing are not controlled then slow down to 80% and settle yourself. You won't learn much, except for what a big moment feels like, if you are not in control.

Do a cool down lap at 50 % without using your brakes and when you pit do not apply the handbrake, the pads on the disc can cause a hot spot and warp the disc, in fact, depending on how hard you have used the brakes you could roll the car a little, ( engine off and in neutral of course ), every minute or so after the session so the pads aren't sitting at the same place on the rotors while they cool down.

Good luck.

[djafactor]

Originally Posted by Impervious

It was sarcasm, I was hoping I could get a rise out of an instructor on here.

Lol, worked, got my blood boiling!

[Mnime]

Originally Posted by BMW86

The main thing for me is keeping my ego in check. I know there will be a lot of slower cars that will pass me but I need to remember these other drivers have a lot more experience than me. It's like anything, practice will be key. There's always some faster.

Yeah don't get upset because you get passed by a MINI or Miata. HP isn't the only thing making the car fast.

[BMW86]

I just checked the website and it's 'timed practice laps.' It doesn't matter to me anyway as I'll be going at my own pace.

Thanks for the advice on the tyre pressures, I'm sure I'll play around with it on the day. I'll be using 225/40/18 255/35/18 Bridgestone Potenza RE-11's.

[Powerbeast]

Track days are awesome!

[RaptorKTM]

Everyone has hit the dot, only thing I can recommend is getting some Trakk Tape to protect your front end.

[DooBs]

Just bumping this thread because I'm finally hitting the track.
I never got to make it to the last one this was meant for because it happened to land on the Supercar Sunday event.

I'm finally going to hit Big Willow at Willow Springs next weekend 3/24/12!
Extremely excited and heading over with a few friends.
Any additional advice would be much appreciated.

Originally Posted by RaptorKTM

Everyone has hit the dot, only thing I can recommend is getting some Trakk Tape to protect your front end.

Thank you for the Trakk Tape advice. I'm thinking of also putting some right behind the front wheel and on the front part of the rear fender.
Will having the Trakk Tape on for about 2 days leave any effects?

Originally Posted by int2str

Btw. the San Diego BMW club is doing a 2 day event at Chuckwalla in March (17th/18th). They have great instructors and it's a great track to learn on.

BUMMER Seems I missed out. I'd love to join in the next one. Chuckwalla was the other option for next weekend, but they were all filled up. Have a good time and maybe we'll go on the next outing

[M///1rider]

One word of advice

Dont take traction fully off!!!!!

Mdm will be fine!

[ayao]

Originally Posted by DooBs

Just bumping this thread because I'm finally hitting the track.
I never got to make it to the last one this was meant for because it happened to land on the Supercar Sunday event.

I'm finally going to hit Big Willow at Willow Springs next weekend 3/24/12!
Extremely excited and heading over with a few friends.
Any additional advice would be much appreciated.

I just did my first HPDE at Thunderhill yesterday with HOD. It was an intense experience.

I didn't do anything special to the car other than go through the checklist they provided before the event: check fluids, tire pressures, lug nut torque, etc. Basic maintenance stuff. I just ran the tires at factory spec (35 psi according to the door jamb.) They asked us to install the towhook prior to going on the track, so maybe get familiar with removing the little towhook panel, etc.

Most guys had their own helmets already but I rented one at the track.

Remove anything in the cabin or trunk that could flop around. We ran with both front windows open. They talked about a guy who had a coffeepot (?!) underneath his driver's seat that then proceeded to lodge itself under the brake pedal. No es bueno.

Somehow plan ahead to make sure your car is warmed up immediately before you head out on the track. Some guys left their cars idling for an extended period of time while we waited on the grid.

Retorque the lug bolts after the first or second session. My coach's thought were that the heat generated can cause expansion etc that may make them loosen up more than you'd expect, particularly on a stock vehicle.

Keep an eye on your fuel gauge. I went in with more-or-less a full tank and was down to less than a quarter left at the end of the day. I got about 12 MPG. Fuel at the track was $5.99/gallon for 91. Oil temps were typically at about 250, sometimes a tick below, occasionally a tick above.

Towards the end of each session, try to run the checkered flag lap with less intensity. I kept getting more and more excited and kept wanting to run harder but then you end up bringing your car back hot and bothered ... you want to let the oil and brakes cool down before parking the car. They suggested not setting the parking brake because this could encourage hot pads contact the same spot on the rotors leading to warping or deposits. (I thought the 1M's parking brake was drum style, but anyway, the principle makes sense.)

I had an instructor the entire day for 6 sessions -- very helpful. I never found it a bother. He's got a vested interest in keeping you driving safe but towards the end he was really pushing me to go faster, brake harder, etc. The last session things felt like they were actually clicking -- that was a probably a combination of track familiarity, luck, and skill development. By the end of the day my coach felt I was safe enough to drive solo but would benefit from additional instruction. One highlight I must say was getting a point-by by a more experienced driver in an E92 M3.

I found that driving the line as a novice took an -immense- level of concentration and any lapses would lead to borking the driving line and apexing early or whatever else. My ability to concentrate and focus waned significantly later on in the day.

Make sure to leave your ego at home. Red mist leads to dangerous driving. In my run group there was a GT-R, 911 turbo, STIs, Elise, 1M, MS3, even a 530xi wagon. Point-by anyone who wants to pass. It's not a race!

The highlight was a couple of rides I took in the coaches cars. One was a race-prepped RX-7 (louder than hell, exhaust fumes in the cabin the whole time, no speedometer, insane speed, couldn't even independently strap myself in with the multipoint harness etc) and the other was a modified E36 M3. Sensory overload. They were doing the same sort of stuff they were teaching me, but with so much more intensity and speed. Unreal.

I ran all my sessions with full DSC on, and the traction control light was flashing almost constantly. You'll barely ever look at the speedometer, though. One thing I would have done differently was run MDM for the last session, just to explore the car's limits a little more. Coming out of corners DSC definitely cut power until some semblance of traction was regained. All nannies off would have been disastrous for me.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole slow-in-fast-out thing. Scrubbing off speed with the brakes, THEN down-shifting (no heel-toe for me yet), choosing the line, hitting the late apex, then accelerate out. I tend to revmatch the downshift first, then brake, and the rest.

Hope this is remotely helpful. You are guaranteed to have a good time, regardless!

[nachob]

Originally Posted by Dan Parker

Look ahead, use smooth inputs from feet and hands, check mirrors and gauges on the straights, relaxed grip on the steering wheel, be predictable, but most of all leave your ego at the gate. As soon as you think you're fast an old e30 will be in your mirrors.
Last thing, have fun and listen.

+10

Wisdom comes from few, albeit important words!

Nachofucius (Circa 2012)

[EINSER M]

Originally Posted by DooBs

Just bumping this thread because I'm finally hitting the track.
I never got to make it to the last one this was meant for because it happened to land on the Supercar Sunday event.

I'm finally going to hit Big Willow at Willow Springs next weekend 3/24/12!
Extremely excited and heading over with a few friends.
Any additional advice would be much appreciated.




Thank you for the Trakk Tape advice. I'm thinking of also putting some right behind the front wheel and on the front part of the rear fender.
Will having the Trakk Tape on for about 2 days leave any effects?



BUMMER Seems I missed out. I'd love to join in the next one. Chuckwalla was the other option for next weekend, but they were all filled up. Have a good time and maybe we'll go on the next outing

man, have a blast and stay safe
take lotsa pics and vids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nachob]

Originally Posted by M///1rider

One word of advice

Dont take traction fully off!!!!!

Mdm will be fine!

OH CRAP...I forgot, don't take it all the way off for your first time. MDM is great. Great point m///1rider!

[firechicken99]

Thanks for all the input guys. looking to do my first HPDE in early may with the 1M!

[johnnyb84]

Originally Posted by ayao

I ran all my sessions with full DSC on, and the traction control light was flashing almost constantly. You'll barely ever look at the speedometer, though. One thing I would have done differently was run MDM for the last session, just to explore the car's limits a little more. Coming out of corners DSC definitely cut power until some semblance of traction was regained. All nannies off would have been disastrous for me.

I ran on MDM after the first couple of laps. With full nannies on, it felt like it had the worst turbo lag ever. On MDM, the car came alive.

[Blue55]

Originally Posted by DooBs

I'm finally going to hit Big Willow at Willow Springs next weekend 3/24/12!
Extremely excited and heading over with a few friends.
g

Hi Doobs

[DooBs]

Wow what an experience. That was an absolute blast.

First a shout out to Trakk Tape! I shot an email the week of, and received the package of 3"x100 and 6"x100 in two days. This product as many have already stated and heard is absolutely amazing and performs as stated. While taping the car, I questioned if it would actually be necessary, and on the first lap I could hear little pebbles and bugs bouncing of the car. This continued for the rest of the day, and I heard from many that the tape was a great idea. I put it on Thursday night, kept it on until Friday night. The wind did peel a bit at the edges, but there was no more than an inch of tape flapping anywhere. I found that putting the tape on without bubbles is almost an impossibility. I really didn't care too much about appearance and simply performance so I just threw it on there and it did a great job. Covered part hood, front bumper, front of fenders, right after front wheels and front of rear fenders. Peeled them all off Friday night and even though the sound made me worry about the paint, it came off and revealed beautiful untouched, unmarked, residueless paint. There was a distinct line however where the car was covered in dust and where the tape had been haha.

Track day what an event. Big Willow what a place. I began with full traction on,... my goodness what understeer haha. Pushed that MDM, amazing and such a transformation. The day began with point by after point by, at the end of the day I was proudly passing a Ferrari California, Porsche Boxster Spyder, R35 GTR, and many more. I was neither the quickest or the slowest, but I could have been the happiest.

Before the last session I checked my tire pressure (which I forgot to do earlier) and found it was far too high. Maybe it had to do with this or it didn't, but that session I happily dropped about 2-3 seconds off my time.

I attended this track day with a few friends, but for a close friend and I, it was our first event, and now MOST DEFINITELY not our last. I can't wait to go again, we all had such a great time and luckily drove home in one piece.

Wow, I've seriously been missing out, but more than excited to have finally joined the party.
Thanks everyone for the advice, it really helped out there

Heres a few pictures of the event, a couple buddies I went with (white GTR, red s2k, white 335 sedan, black 335i coupe), funny how you meet everyone from the event again at the nearest gas station afterwards

[BMW86]

Glad to hear you had fun and new appreciation for the car. You will be even more excited for the next event because you know what you're in for now

[1M SUSI]

Ahh Ha!! See, I knew you would love it

Nice job on the track tape.

Just like I said the beginning of the best days of your life. Wife disclaimer ---> (except for your wedding day and the day your first child is born)

Now that you swallowed the hook. Let us know about your next track day.