This past weekend I participated in my 2nd track day event. This time it was at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. This was a really fun track because it was 3 miles long with 1/2 being technical and the other half being a nice long banked curve that lets you open the car up and go!
I took my wife and youngest son with me and they both had a blast even though they didn't get to ride along. They spectated and took video of me. I also invited a friend who came in his BMW 425i. There were 4 gens there total which was cool. There was a black bk1 who ran in the same group as me. He might have been better in the corners, but I blew him away on the straights. The other 2 gens were in other classes.
I was really eager to get out there and just lay into the throttle and I do my best. Because I was in the novice group, it was a bit annoying the first 2 sessions. Session 1 was a slower, just learn the track kind of session which is ok for me because I want to have a chance to learn a new track before getting sideways. But unlike the last event, the 2nd session was also for training and this time they wanted us to practice the point by passing techniques. Since I was single and not with an instructor, I was grouped with other singles and we were instructed to grid first and practice amongst outselves. Heh, well, we did this for a lap or two and then the faster of the group (myself, an M6 and a Porche) had had enough and lost everyone on the straights. By lap 4 we ended up catching up to the instructor led group which was super annoying because we just had to sit there behind these guys.
While I understand the need and appreciate that they want to make sure these guys learn the point-by rules, it felt like a waste of my time and money. I spent $225 to have fun and i felt robbed of a session due to that. Next time I will be going for the lower intermediate group. I don't think I'm skilled enough as a driver to necessarily compete with them, but I know the rules so they won't get pissed at me.
So, how did the car do? It did very well! Since last track day I swapped in Castrol SRF brake fluid and man, it made a world of difference. I did not have any fade and I was hard on the brakes this time going from ~120mph to ~35mph in a short distance. I also removed the cowl strip (I'll post about this later) to help with the heat. I'm pleased to say that oil temps never went above 220 and coolant was in the 180's the wole time. I was doing upto 130mph on the straights. Last track day I saw oil get to 230 and I wasn't pushing it as hard so the cowl strip mod helped.
Tire wise I had problems still. It took me 2 sessions to get the tire pressures good enough to be aggressive. I realized yesterday that my digital pressure gauge is inaccurate and unreliable so that really sucks. Keep reading to find out why. I think what I'll do next time is drop pressures to 30psi cold and confirm with a mechanical gauge.
So what problems did I have with the car? Well, I ended up not being able to stop on a very sharp 90* turn (turn 3) so I had to come in hot which was scary, but I made it. The problem was the pads glazed over. This also prevented me from hitting top speeds which hurt times. So while I didn't have brake fade, I still had problems. Add to that I think the stock rubber lines got really hot and became soft so brake pressure wasn't what it should have been. I plan on getting some braided stainless steel lines and slotted rotors. The rotors will prevent pads from glazing and the ss lines should help line flex when super hot.
Another issue I had was during the 3rd session I had some shifting issues. I think the trans fluid got too hot to function correctly. It's old and it's factory fluid anyway, so time to change it. I'll be going to redline mt/85 fluid.
I'm also considering a front splitter. When hitting the banked section on turn 1 I was feeling a bit of understeer which had I broke loose would have smashed me into the wall. I kept it around 105mph which still felt sketchy but it worked. I think a splitter plus proper tire pressures will improve that. On the straights I did get to 140mph but I think one of my wheels is bent so I had a vibration that concerned me so I kept it at 130mph and under. Going to see if I can get the wheel corrected or at least road force balanced (i should ahve done this before going anyway).
I am considering buying a set of track day wheels and tires though. I think it would improve my times, but I also want to learn to control the car on street tires, so we'll see. I'm buying a new car next month to DD so I can have the gen down to make it more track friendly, but add in house remodeling and money gets tight, so we'll see.
How did I do? Well, I could have done better I'm sure. The funnest session was session 3 which was open without instructors. I ended up with a time of 2:15 but I think I could ahve gotten 2:10 but I had to deal with the shifting problems which cost me. I kept missing shifts and had a hard time engaging the gears. I went from 3rd to 6th on the straight so that really hurt me.
On the last session of the day I got my fastest lap time of 2:13. The very next lap I spun out and called it quits. The day was cloudy and cold for the first 2 sessions. session 3 was a bit warmer and sunnier which was nice, but by the 4th session it was hot with full sun and the track was hot and slippery. I believe now that my tire pressure was far too high and that contributed greatly to me spinning out. But I was pretty tired by then and I was ok with calling it a day.
A decent time would have been under 2:00 but I'm not concerned about that yet. I think the car as is could get me there, but I need more practice. I met Jim at the event who was driving a blue bk1 that's been raced out. He was instructing the noobs and he has been giving me tips and advice as well as Ryan who also races a blue coupe. Both are at much higher levels than me, so I'm happy to know them and get their input.
I had a lot of fun though and again, I'm super happy with the choices I've made with the car. Obviously I could have made different choices to better suit track days, but for my originally intended purpose I'm happy and now I get to start on other areas outside of my expertise.
Some high speed passes showcasing my exhaust
Fastest lap of the day
Last lap of the day
Full session 3 (best session of the day, lap time of 2:15)
I took my wife and youngest son with me and they both had a blast even though they didn't get to ride along. They spectated and took video of me. I also invited a friend who came in his BMW 425i. There were 4 gens there total which was cool. There was a black bk1 who ran in the same group as me. He might have been better in the corners, but I blew him away on the straights. The other 2 gens were in other classes.
I was really eager to get out there and just lay into the throttle and I do my best. Because I was in the novice group, it was a bit annoying the first 2 sessions. Session 1 was a slower, just learn the track kind of session which is ok for me because I want to have a chance to learn a new track before getting sideways. But unlike the last event, the 2nd session was also for training and this time they wanted us to practice the point by passing techniques. Since I was single and not with an instructor, I was grouped with other singles and we were instructed to grid first and practice amongst outselves. Heh, well, we did this for a lap or two and then the faster of the group (myself, an M6 and a Porche) had had enough and lost everyone on the straights. By lap 4 we ended up catching up to the instructor led group which was super annoying because we just had to sit there behind these guys.
While I understand the need and appreciate that they want to make sure these guys learn the point-by rules, it felt like a waste of my time and money. I spent $225 to have fun and i felt robbed of a session due to that. Next time I will be going for the lower intermediate group. I don't think I'm skilled enough as a driver to necessarily compete with them, but I know the rules so they won't get pissed at me.
So, how did the car do? It did very well! Since last track day I swapped in Castrol SRF brake fluid and man, it made a world of difference. I did not have any fade and I was hard on the brakes this time going from ~120mph to ~35mph in a short distance. I also removed the cowl strip (I'll post about this later) to help with the heat. I'm pleased to say that oil temps never went above 220 and coolant was in the 180's the wole time. I was doing upto 130mph on the straights. Last track day I saw oil get to 230 and I wasn't pushing it as hard so the cowl strip mod helped.
Tire wise I had problems still. It took me 2 sessions to get the tire pressures good enough to be aggressive. I realized yesterday that my digital pressure gauge is inaccurate and unreliable so that really sucks. Keep reading to find out why. I think what I'll do next time is drop pressures to 30psi cold and confirm with a mechanical gauge.
So what problems did I have with the car? Well, I ended up not being able to stop on a very sharp 90* turn (turn 3) so I had to come in hot which was scary, but I made it. The problem was the pads glazed over. This also prevented me from hitting top speeds which hurt times. So while I didn't have brake fade, I still had problems. Add to that I think the stock rubber lines got really hot and became soft so brake pressure wasn't what it should have been. I plan on getting some braided stainless steel lines and slotted rotors. The rotors will prevent pads from glazing and the ss lines should help line flex when super hot.
Another issue I had was during the 3rd session I had some shifting issues. I think the trans fluid got too hot to function correctly. It's old and it's factory fluid anyway, so time to change it. I'll be going to redline mt/85 fluid.
I'm also considering a front splitter. When hitting the banked section on turn 1 I was feeling a bit of understeer which had I broke loose would have smashed me into the wall. I kept it around 105mph which still felt sketchy but it worked. I think a splitter plus proper tire pressures will improve that. On the straights I did get to 140mph but I think one of my wheels is bent so I had a vibration that concerned me so I kept it at 130mph and under. Going to see if I can get the wheel corrected or at least road force balanced (i should ahve done this before going anyway).
I am considering buying a set of track day wheels and tires though. I think it would improve my times, but I also want to learn to control the car on street tires, so we'll see. I'm buying a new car next month to DD so I can have the gen down to make it more track friendly, but add in house remodeling and money gets tight, so we'll see.
How did I do? Well, I could have done better I'm sure. The funnest session was session 3 which was open without instructors. I ended up with a time of 2:15 but I think I could ahve gotten 2:10 but I had to deal with the shifting problems which cost me. I kept missing shifts and had a hard time engaging the gears. I went from 3rd to 6th on the straight so that really hurt me.
On the last session of the day I got my fastest lap time of 2:13. The very next lap I spun out and called it quits. The day was cloudy and cold for the first 2 sessions. session 3 was a bit warmer and sunnier which was nice, but by the 4th session it was hot with full sun and the track was hot and slippery. I believe now that my tire pressure was far too high and that contributed greatly to me spinning out. But I was pretty tired by then and I was ok with calling it a day.
A decent time would have been under 2:00 but I'm not concerned about that yet. I think the car as is could get me there, but I need more practice. I met Jim at the event who was driving a blue bk1 that's been raced out. He was instructing the noobs and he has been giving me tips and advice as well as Ryan who also races a blue coupe. Both are at much higher levels than me, so I'm happy to know them and get their input.
I had a lot of fun though and again, I'm super happy with the choices I've made with the car. Obviously I could have made different choices to better suit track days, but for my originally intended purpose I'm happy and now I get to start on other areas outside of my expertise.
Some high speed passes showcasing my exhaust
Fastest lap of the day
Last lap of the day
Full session 3 (best session of the day, lap time of 2:15)