what to prepare for first time track day...?

[nm]

Don't use your ebrake after your session is done. Get a wheel chock block to stop your car from rolling while you let your car engine cool down. I let my engine idle in the parking area for a couple minutes to cool down.

With the little drum brake, this isn't really necessary. I've been using the ebrake for years with no ill effect.

Yes, you shouldn't turn the car off immediately though, let it cool for quite a while. Also, a good cool down lap is vital. Your last lap should involve no braking at all. Counter to what you'd think, use a high rpm (but little gas) to keep the water pump moving faster.

[wpmarky]

What? You mean your rear rotors arent bright red after your sessions? Maybe you need to get some xp99 pads =p

 

Jk, thanks for sharing. Good to know bout our ebrake, guess its just habit from previous cars

 

Btw got any plans for t.hill anytime soon? Would be fun to go track with ya.

[nm]

What? You mean your rear rotors arent bright red after your sessions? Maybe you need to get some xp99 pads =p

 

Jk, thanks for sharing. Good to know bout our ebrake, guess its just habit from previous cars

 

Btw got any plans for t.hill anytime soon? Would be fun to go track with ya.

My money is tight these days (unemployment followed by moving didn't do wonders for the debt), and I need to get my shocks rebuilt. Unfortunately going to be sticking to the AX for a bit.

Probably not going to be able to really afford a trackday for 6 mo to a year. Winter is great for thill though.

[StoplightAssassin]

There's nothing wrong with honing your skills at autox!

[nm]

There's nothing wrong with honing your skills at autox!

No, but track days are more fun. I used to do both pretty regularly.

[CombatCQB]

Autox can get a little frustrating for new people. You wake up early and spend 90% of your next 8-10 hours waiting or working the course.

 

It's nicer when you get more ride alongs to pick up tips from people. Definitely need to be with a group to pass the time.

[nm]

Autox can get a little frustrating for new people. You wake up early and spend 90% of your next 8-10 hours waiting or working the course.

 

It's nicer when you get more ride alongs to pick up tips from people. Definitely need to be with a group to pass the time.

Autocrossers are basically the friendliest group on nerds on earth though. Easy to make friends on the grid.

 

Track days, however, are just more fun. Few hours of driving per day v. 6 minutes to start. Just so expensive. . . .

[StoplightAssassin]

Autox can get a little frustrating for new people. You wake up early and spend 90% of your next 8-10 hours waiting or working the course.

 

It's nicer when you get more ride alongs to pick up tips from people. Definitely need to be with a group to pass the time.

 

Once they get to know you over the course of a season or two you'll get the better jobs, or just ask on the regional forum or get there early the day of the event.

 

But yes, autox for me is like a car meet where you actually get to do some legal racing to back up all the smack talk. Everybody is really cool, unless you start bothering some of the national guys getting ready for Lincoln. They can get a bit pissy.

[nm]

Once they get to know you over the course of a season or two you'll get the better jobs, or just ask on the regional forum or get there early the day of the event.

 

But yes, autox for me is like a car meet where you actually get to do some legal racing to back up all the smack talk. Everybody is really cool, unless you start bothering some of the national guys getting ready for Lincoln. They can get a bit pissy.

I was a safety steward for a while. That sucked, even though you think it is a good job, everyone hates you

Working the course is drama free and is exercise!

[StoplightAssassin]

I do the timing now. I just sit in the truck and plug in numbers into the laptop and bs with the other people in there. It's great. lol

[markc0220k]

Autocrossers are basically the friendliest group on nerds on earth though. Easy to make friends on the grid.

 

Track days, however, are just more fun. Few hours of driving per day v. 6 minutes to start. Just so expensive. . . .

 

 

i agree with you nm+, at autox we park closer (squeeze on one side of a lot! lol) and it probably takes longer to wait from one session to another, so we have more time to chat. unlikely autox, i feel little bit isolated in track day last time ... coz most of the time, either my friends or i were at the pit. fortunately it was close event, we all kinda know each other.

[boxkita]

The 6 minutes of AutoX time is a bummer. I started looking for clubs running test & tune days for autox. 30+ runs in a day is pretty instructive.

 

If you can find a PCA (Porsche Club of America) club near you, find out to sign up for the HPDE days. They have good instructors and will try to match them to you/your car. BMW & Audi are other clubs to look at, as well.

[StoplightAssassin]

Different strokes for different folks. I personally love autox.

 

"I know Solo only comes one minute at a time, but what an intense, non-stop, fast-forward car control exercise minute it is. Sure, the velocity is higher in road racing, but inside the car it is slow-motion in comparison. In Solo, the turns come like machine-gun rounds. "

Randy Pobst

[boxkita]

Dont get me wrong, I like auto-x. But the $50 for 6 runs vs $200 for 2 hours just doesnt add up for a noob trying to learn high-perf driving.

 

If I could afford the tire cost, I'd run autox all summer.

[nm]

The 6 minutes of AutoX time is a bummer. I started looking for clubs running test & tune days for autox. 30+ runs in a day is pretty instructive.

 

If you can find a PCA (Porsche Club of America) club near you, find out to sign up for the HPDE days. They have good instructors and will try to match them to you/your car. BMW & Audi are other clubs to look at, as well.

 

Test and tune AXes though destroy tires (and therefore cost as much as a track day)

[rob-2]

I think they're different events, track vs autox. Autox has tought my wife the limits of the car while at slow speed and low risk. Now she knows what it feels like to drive the car at it's limit.

 

I agree though, once you get serious about it autox losses it's interest fast. 2 seasons and 2 sets of tires and it will be all track for me in 2012.

[boxkita]

I think they're different events, track vs autox. Autox has tought my wife the limits of the car while at slow speed and low risk. Now she knows what it feels like to drive the car at it's limit.

 

I agree though, once you get serious about it autox losses it's interest fast. 2 seasons and 2 sets of tires and it will be all track for me in 2012.

 

If you thought AutoX ate your tires (1 set of tires per season), running on the track is going to be a rude awakening. I thought the same thing.

 

Your wife knows what it is like to drive AutoX at her limits. If you only used 1 set of tires in a season, she wasnt driving at the car's limits. :-)

 

Personally, I didnt lose interest in AutoX. I just did the minutes of runtime for dollars paid calculation. HPDE days were cheaper, at least for entry fees. In terms of actual dollars spent, I could have run every AutoX event in my region on really nice tires and still been money ahead.

[nm]

If you thought AutoX ate your tires (1 set of tires per season), running on the track is going to be a rude awakening. I thought the same thing.

Per minute of driving AX eats tires more though.

 

AX doesn't stop being fun though, particularly if you have a good class and course designer. Reno SCCA's events at Reno-Fernley are pretty good, for example. (noting as the poster you're replying to is in Reno.)

[dmanaenk]

6 minutes of driving is optimistic, unless one has a decently organized club around. Over here it's often 4 minutes, which is why I stopped going to autox. And tire wear is why sways are worth it even before major suspension mods. Put some sways, max-out neg. camber and outsides of the tires will last a whole lot longer.