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got off on a technicality
Feb 7, 2007

oh dear

c355n4 posted:

If you run HPDEs or TTs, what, if anything, keeps you from wanting to run sprint or enduro races?

...

What do you consider a good day? Personally, I like a day with no incidents for anyone on the track. Do you tend to always run with the same organization? Or do you just go by track? I know a few people who will only race at NJMP. What do you look for in a good organization?

What keeps me from actually racing is the somewhat increased risk of contact (ie. banging up my daily driver). Once I get the garage space to run a dedicated track car, I'll absolutely do it

I like organizers who will crack down on wanton misbehavior such as passing under a yellow flag or not pointing by (in CA, my favorites are NASA, Hooked on Driving, Trackmasters and Speed Ventures). Smaller run groups help, having instructors on hand is nice, and then there's the little things like arranging a discounted rate at a local motel and free water on a hot day. Having said that, I track when my schedule allows it and will run with pretty much any organization at any (relatively) nearby track if they've got an event on a weekend that I'm free

Stardotstar posted:

If you aren't making GBS threads bricks every time through Rainey curve you're doing it wrong. Also, it is one of those tracks that is for RACING, preferably in low-powered momentum cars with insufficient grip (read: Formula Vee)

Fair enough. I ran 1.51-1.52ish laptimes so I'm for sure leaving a bunch of speed on the table. I'll try braking less into that turn next weekend

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nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

j3rkstore posted:

Disregard this, get a full face with a visor.


Screw that, I have a full face at the moment and regret every moment.

drgitlin
Jul 25, 2003
luv 2 get custom titles from a forum that goes into revolt when its told to stop using a bad word.

SlapActionJackson posted:

I just retired this from dual duty:


Because I bough this as a track rat:


It came stripped and caged with all the right suspension upgrades already on it.

I took the porsche to the track for the first time a week ago and had to learn to drive all over again. It's got a radically different driving feel than my street M3. It was a whole bunch of track firsts in one: first time driving a rear-engine car, on track suspension, on DOT-R rubber, without ABS, in seats & harnesses, without power steering. After I got my 1st spin out of the way (on the 2nd hot lap, no less) I settled in and picked up the pace session by session as I got more confortable in the new car. By Sunday morning I was maintaining a quick enough pace that I actually got to actually pass someone - I'm in the advanced run group, so it takes a lot of hustle to keep up with those guys. Then I flat-spotted and corded a tire ending my weekend early.

New rubber is on the way, and the thrashing at the track revealed a few more maintenance items I need to take care of. Can't wait to get her back together so I can sign up for the next event.

That looks like it's awesome amounts of fun.

c355n4
Jan 3, 2007

This weekend should be fun. I'll be down at Summit Point doing timing for an FRCCA event. Those little formula cars scare the heck outta me. Not much between you and well... everything else.

DJ Commie
Feb 29, 2004

Stupid drivers always breaking car, Gronk fix car...

Admirable Gusto posted:

Fair enough. I ran 1.51-1.52ish laptimes so I'm for sure leaving a bunch of speed on the table. I'll try braking less into that turn next weekend

I think our fastest time in the Charade was 1:50.x, so I sincerely hope you do, unless a open diffed 200K mile LeMons car on 7 inch wide street tires is faster.

Salami Surgeon
Jan 21, 2001

Don't close. Don't close.


Nap Ghost
A good weekend for me is one I get to drive home from.
Most of my track days are with NASA, and it seems like a weekend without a racer or TTer moving a tire wall or dumping oil all over the track from a blown motor is a rare occurrence. As long as it's not me.

Dr JonboyG posted:

Yes, you need to use their software to get it out, but you get a copy and a license with the camera controller thingy. It's relatively intuitive but I do wish they'd make an OS X version. No, I don't think there's a way to get raw GPS data, but don't forget that the Traqmate can collect more than just GPS, you can also acquire data from the car.

That stinks. I'll be using multiple cameras. Overlaying to make one video, then taking that and using it with the Traqmate software would be too much work.

TheGoatTrick
Aug 1, 2002

Semi-aquatic personification of unstoppable douchery
Getting ready to do my second track day. My first was running Streets of Willow Counterclockwise; we are running it clockwise this time. I felt pretty good in my last two sessions, but seeing as how the track will be completely different this time around am I better served running in the beginner group again?

eriddy
Jan 21, 2005

sixty nine lmao

nm posted:

Screw that, I have a full face at the moment and regret every moment.
Why do you regret it? Reduced vision? I'd rather get a full face helmet that would double for motorcycling as well, but if there's a good reason to get an open face helmet I'd like to know what it is.

SlapActionJackson
Jul 27, 2006

hedge posted:

Getting ready to do my second track day. My first was running Streets of Willow Counterclockwise; we are running it clockwise this time. I felt pretty good in my last two sessions, but seeing as how the track will be completely different this time around am I better served running in the beginner group again?

Did you get promoted out of the newbie group last time? Just run with whatever group you ended the day with last time. Most groups will put you there by default anyway.

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

eriddy posted:

Why do you regret it? Reduced vision? I'd rather get a full face helmet that would double for motorcycling as well, but if there's a good reason to get an open face helmet I'd like to know what it is.
Visors fog up.
Heavy.
Bad ventilation.
Don't have to gently caress with glasses.

If you're in a street car without other gear (just OEM protection), a full face helmet isn't doing you any good.

Pr0kjayhawk
Nov 30, 2002

:pervert:Zoom Zoom, motherfuckers:pervert:

nm posted:

Visors fog up.
Heavy.
Bad ventilation.
Don't have to gently caress with glasses.

If you're in a street car without other gear (just OEM protection), a full face helmet isn't doing you any good.

I can't understand why anyone would want to use an open face helmet at any time. Around here you're required to run with the windows down, I'd imagine any HPDE is like that. We had one guy catch a small rock in his left eye, it was pretty nasty. Luckily he didn't lose vision but he was sporting an eye patch for a couple months.

The first and third points are covered by buying a quality helmet. I used an old POS Snell 2000 helmet for the first two years of HPDE and I hated it. The visor fogged up, I had to wear sunglasses, and it just wasn't comfortable. This year I bought an HJC AR-10II (Snell 2010) for $310 and it's a night and day difference. I also bought the tinted visor to go with it. I can now run with the visor down, not have to dick with sunglasses, and it has yet to fog up on me during a session with the visor all the way down.

I got it from soloracer.com (http://www.soloracer.com/hjcar10ii.html) and they throw in a free helmet bag with it. Highly recommended.

Salami Surgeon
Jan 21, 2001

Don't close. Don't close.


Nap Ghost
Good ventilation is key. I have a cheap Bell but it still keeps my head cool enough. I heard a tale of an in-car fire taking someone's vision, and ever since I've run visor down.

MomJeans420
Mar 19, 2007



When are you required to have a roll cage? I got the impression it was just with certain clubs or series, or when you started doing wheel to wheel, but I really have no idea. I've read a lot of conflicting information on the safety of cages in cars you're going to be driving on the street, and there's no way I'd want a cage in even my weekend/fun car if it meant it was unsafe to be driving around without a helmet.

Maybe a better question is if there's a point in trying to compromise and have a track car / weekend driver, or if you really need a dedicated track car.

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

Pr0kjayhawk posted:

I can't understand why anyone would want to use an open face helmet at any time. Around here you're required to run with the windows down, I'd imagine any HPDE is like that. We had one guy catch a small rock in his left eye, it was pretty nasty. Luckily he didn't lose vision but he was sporting an eye patch for a couple months.

The first and third points are covered by buying a quality helmet. I used an old POS Snell 2000 helmet for the first two years of HPDE and I hated it. The visor fogged up, I had to wear sunglasses, and it just wasn't comfortable. This year I bought an HJC AR-10II (Snell 2010) for $310 and it's a night and day difference. I also bought the tinted visor to go with it. I can now run with the visor down, not have to dick with sunglasses, and it has yet to fog up on me during a session with the visor all the way down.

I got it from soloracer.com (http://www.soloracer.com/hjcar10ii.html) and they throw in a free helmet bag with it. Highly recommended.
I have a fancy, then expensive Bell M3.
I've never had an issue with rocks or something even though i run visor up and windows down.

With glasses, the fog is worse, plus you have to deal with putting glasses on on a closed face helmet, which sucks.

got off on a technicality
Feb 7, 2007

oh dear

MomJeans420 posted:

When are you required to have a roll cage? I got the impression it was just with certain clubs or series, or when you started doing wheel to wheel

...

Maybe a better question is if there's a point in trying to compromise and have a track car / weekend driver, or if you really need a dedicated track car.

Well with NASA I believe you're allowed to compete in time trial with just a fire extinguisher, but you need a cage for wheel to wheel. As to your second question, after 22 or 23 track days I very much regret having to compromise. I would probably be better off financially with a spec miata and a separate DD, and happier without having to constantly worry about crashing my one (moderately nice) car at the track

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."
If you have a dedicated track car, you probably should have a cage and all that jazz (even if you never race), but I would not want one for a street car.
If you're not in a helmet, harness, etc, they will do more hard than good.

It is unfortunate that you kind of have to choose. If I had more money and more time for track days, I'd get a real track car. Cheaper in the long run and safer.

Pr0kjayhawk
Nov 30, 2002

:pervert:Zoom Zoom, motherfuckers:pervert:

Admirable Gusto posted:

Well with NASA I believe you're allowed to compete in time trial with just a fire extinguisher, but you need a cage for wheel to wheel. As to your second question, after 22 or 23 track days I very much regret having to compromise. I would probably be better off financially with a spec miata and a separate DD, and happier without having to constantly worry about crashing my one (moderately nice) car at the track

I agree with this 100%. I've been tracking the Elise for about two years now and I've spent an embarrassing amount of money on it. If I had to do it again I'd go with a spec class and just enjoy the poo poo out of competing with other drivers and their skill rather than their wallets.

It would also mean I'd have a truck by now and those tend to come in handy every once in a while.

c355n4
Jan 3, 2007

MomJeans420 posted:

Maybe a better question is if there's a point in trying to compromise and have a track car / weekend driver, or if you really need a dedicated track car.

What is your weekend driver capable of on the track? If I had a beater that wasn't capable of 100+ (some arbitrary #) mph on long straights, I personally would not worry too much about a cage. Honestly, the cars that scare me are the heavily power modified turbo cars with no extra safety. These things are often capable of turning VERY fast lap times. That is not the sort of crash I'd like to be in without a cage.

InitialDave
Jun 14, 2007

I Want To Believe.

eriddy posted:

I'd rather get a full face helmet that would double for motorcycling as well
Note that the design parameters and certification are different for car and motorcycle helmets. Motorcycle helmets don't need to help you survive bouncing off a rollcage, for example. I don't know anything about US law, but I would be very surprised if wearing a non-motorcycle helmet on a bike were legal, and if wearing a non-car helmet at a track would be accepted.

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

InitialDave posted:

Note that the design parameters and certification are different for car and motorcycle helmets. Motorcycle helmets don't need to help you survive bouncing off a rollcage, for example. I don't know anything about US law, but I would be very surprised if wearing a non-motorcycle helmet on a bike were legal, and if wearing a non-car helmet at a track would be accepted.

A few companies make SA2010 and DOT approved helmets.
Note that DOT legality makes it legal, not safe.

Aurune
Jun 17, 2006

nm posted:

I have a fancy, then expensive Bell M3.
I've never had an issue with rocks or something even though i run visor up and windows down.

With glasses, the fog is worse, plus you have to deal with putting glasses on on a closed face helmet, which sucks.

I too had a fogging issue but found that a little bit of visor tape to allow the tiny air gap solved the problem. Getting my glasses on isn't that much harder than open face and my sunglasses don't fit in any helmet so, being able to fit a smoke visor saves me a bit of cash.

However, none of that factored into my initial choice. It's also my karting helmet.

Never had a rock hit me on the track. Had it happen plenty of times on the road.

eriddy
Jan 21, 2005

sixty nine lmao

nm posted:

A few companies make SA2010 and DOT approved helmets.
Note that DOT legality makes it legal, not safe.

Yeah there are helmets that meet the requirements for both motorcycling (not racing, just as a commuter) and for the track in a car.

I think I'm gonna get a full face helmet - the thought of a stray pebble hitting me in the eye is too frightening tbh.

jamal
Apr 15, 2003

I'll set the building on fire
I think some of the faster classes of Time Trial require a cage or roll bar.

Here is the NASA CCR:

http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/ccr.pdf

Which has just about everything you would want to know about going to track days and time trials and car safety prep in the US.

Some Random Asshole
Apr 30, 2006

HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS
So hey given the nature of this thread I'm probably stating the obvious but just in case some lurker doesn't know here goes

Quick Warning Re: Tires and Track Days

Unless you are driving a car that has a fully race-prepared driveline and suspension (down to spindles, hubs, reinforced mount points etc.), DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER, PUT SLICK TIRES TO YOUR CAR. YES THEY ARE MUCH FASTER. YES YOU WILL LITERALLY RIP YOUR SUSPENSION OUT OF YOUR CAR AT HIGH SPEED. YOUR STREET/SEMI STREET CAR ALMOST CERTAINLY CANNOT HANDLE THE STRESSES OF THE ADDITIONAL GRIP. DON'T gently caress YOUR poo poo UP. SAY NO TO SLICKS.

Left field post yes, but I'm really not joking. Even most amateur/club racer stuff isn't really designed for any kind of extended exposure to the forces that slick tires can generate. Seen one too many people rip a lower out and go sailing off track at some inopportune spot, with often disastrous and expensive results. Remember kids, too much grip can be a very bad thing! Nice thread btw, looking forward to following it :)

champagne posting
Apr 5, 2006

YOU ARE A BRAIN
IN A BUNKER

Will I need to bring additional tires to a track day or can I use my normal ones as long as I don't thrash them?

Some Random Asshole
Apr 30, 2006

HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS

Boiled Water posted:

Will I need to bring additional tires to a track day or can I use my normal ones as long as I don't thrash them?

Depends on the tire but the general answer will fall somewhere between "Yes bring track tires" and "You don't have to but go easy." Forget grip and wear, your average street tire is not built to withstand the constant and elevated heat buildup of track running, which increases wear exponentially and can lead to other not-fun problems

E: and on that subject, either invest in performance brake pads or be veeeerry easy on the brakes. If you roll with stockers, the second you start to feel the rotors glaze over back it down and pull off the track. Once they glaze over, the brakes are not coming back to you until they get all the way cool, nothing you can do about it on-track. Also don't hold onto the brake in the pits when you're fresh off the track until they cool down a lot. Good way to warp a rotor fast, that is.

Some Random Asshole fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Jun 20, 2012

Phone
Jul 30, 2005

親子丼をほしい。
If you have autocross street tires, you'll be OK.

got off on a technicality
Feb 7, 2007

oh dear

Boiled Water posted:

Will I need to bring additional tires to a track day or can I use my normal ones as long as I don't thrash them?

Just to give you a specific data point, my very recently deceased set of Hankook V12s lasted ~12,000 miles including 5 track days (this includes a 100+ degree day at Willow Springs where I went 4 wheels off and ripped the hell out of the tires). I used to overdrive my tires constantly and then realized they last a lot longer if they're not making sounds all the time :)

e:

quote:

YOUR STREET/SEMI STREET CAR ALMOST CERTAINLY CANNOT HANDLE THE STRESSES OF THE ADDITIONAL GRIP. DON'T gently caress YOUR poo poo UP. SAY NO TO SLICKS.

Also, slicks have less predictable breakaway characteristics compared to street tires. They won't howl like street tires do at the limit either. If you don't need to find every last second, stay the hell away :)

got off on a technicality fucked around with this message at 02:13 on Jun 20, 2012

SlapActionJackson
Jul 27, 2006

Boiled Water posted:

Will I need to bring additional tires to a track day or can I use my normal ones as long as I don't thrash them?

Assuming you're a beginner you should definitely do your fist few events on normal street tires. Any decent summer performance tire will be fine to begin with. It's safer and better for learning this way. Many of the DE orginaztions are starting to require beginners to run street tires (it's always been encouraged) because novice driver + sticky rubber = recipe for spectacular offs.

Longpig Bard
Dec 29, 2004



No you don't need track tires.

I mean, yeah if you have some really crap all-seasons, I could see getting a set. But if you have any acceptable stock tires, then no.

jamal
Apr 15, 2003

I'll set the building on fire
Some good street/track tires:

Hankook RS3
Dunlop star spec
Advan AD08
Nitto NT05
Federal 595RSR
Michelin Pilot super sports

If you are new to track days and want a good tire you should have one of the above.

Some good DOT treaded R-comps (that will certainly not destroy your suspension):

Hankook Ventus TD
Nitto NT01
Toyo R888 (actually same compound as nt01)
BFG R1 (more of a slick than the others)

Unless you are doing TT or Time Attack or something there's no reason to go to a full slick. It's just going to be more expensive- you will go through tires, brakes and wheel bearings much more quickly.


While I'm on the subject of tires, if you want to get the most out of them you should have a good tire pressure gauge and a way to measure tread temperature. Have a notebook and record your pressures before every session. After every session record your pressures and the temperature on the inside, center, and outside of the tread. This will help you adjust your alignment and pressures for optimum performance and tire life. For example, if the center of the tread is much hotter, the pressure is too high. if the outside of the tread is much hotter (and it will be) you need more camber and/or stiffer suspension and possibly a bit more pressure.

Under hard cornering, the car rolls and the tire rolls over and the outside of the tread does all the work. If you just go out and drive a stock car around you are going to destroy the outside of the tires. So a good start before a track day on an average sedan is to crank the front alignment to max negative camber to keep the tread flatter on the ground while cornering.

jamal fucked around with this message at 02:51 on Jun 20, 2012

aventari
Mar 20, 2001

I SWIFTLY PENETRATED YOUR MOMS MEAT TACO WHILE AGGRESSIVELY FONDLING THE UNDERSIDE OF YOUR DADS HAIRY BALLSACK, THEN RIPPED HIS SAUSAGE OFF AND RAMMED IT INTO YOUR MOMS TAILPIPE. I JIZZED FURIOUSLY, DEEP IN YOUR MOMS MEATY BURGER WHILE THRUSTING A ANSA MUFFLER UP MY GREASY TAILHOLE
I've been really happy with Nitto NT01's. They worked great in my Miata and they even fit :)



Now that I'm just about done building my E30 track car I'll try some Hankook Ventus R-S3 in 225/45-15, just because they're cheap and when they wear out maybe move up to some DOT race rubber.

kill me now
Sep 14, 2003

Why's Hank crying?

'CUZ HE JUST GOT DUNKED ON!

Some Random rear end in a top hat posted:

Quick Warning Re: Tires and Track Days

Unless you are driving a car that has a fully race-prepared driveline and suspension (down to spindles, hubs, reinforced mount points etc.), DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER, PUT SLICK TIRES TO YOUR CAR. YES THEY ARE MUCH FASTER. YES YOU WILL LITERALLY RIP YOUR SUSPENSION OUT OF YOUR CAR AT HIGH SPEED. YOUR STREET/SEMI STREET CAR ALMOST CERTAINLY CANNOT HANDLE THE STRESSES OF THE ADDITIONAL GRIP. DON'T gently caress YOUR poo poo UP. SAY NO TO SLICKS.

uhhh what?

I ran through numerous sets of pirelli grand am slicks for a few years and never had any sort of major issues. I also know lots of people who run slicks like conti scrubs, hoosier R6/A6/R100 that have never had any issues beyond eventually developing some play in their wheel bearings or having to replace a tie rod.

You are over exaggerating this as an issue. Maybe don't run slicks if you're driving some 20 year old rusted out E30 but there isn't some epidemic of slicked up track cars having massive on track suspension failures.

If you're tracking your car you should be going it over with a fine toothed comb before you get to the track as well as looking it over as well as you can between sessions. I caught some play in a tie rod one day (I was on street tires) while checking over the car during the lunch break. I ended my day early and that was that, had I not looked over my car then there may have been a bigger issue.


To be contrary to everyone else, as long as you've had some prior track time and are confident with your car slicks are awesome and can be super cheap if you get once used scrub slicks from a race team.

Slicks + dedicated track pads = Serious fun

Salami Surgeon
Jan 21, 2001

Don't close. Don't close.


Nap Ghost
One my very first track day, my car had to pull double duty with a slightly more experienced driver. With NASA, I was in Group 1, and he was in Group 2. It had regular stock pads (not sure on the compound, very likely OEM) and regular summer tires (BFG g-Force sport). Both held up.
On your first track day, in a normal street car, you will probably not be fast enough to necessitate anything above stock. Do a weekend, then assess what you need.

Yeticopter
Nov 19, 2004

Everybody's favorite urban legend, now airborne.

kill me now posted:

uhhh what?

I ran through numerous sets of pirelli grand am slicks for a few years and never had any sort of major issues. I also know lots of people who run slicks like conti scrubs, hoosier R6/A6/R100 that have never had any issues beyond eventually developing some play in their wheel bearings or having to replace a tie rod.

You are over exaggerating this as an issue. Maybe don't run slicks if you're driving some 20 year old rusted out E30 but there isn't some epidemic of slicked up track cars having massive on track suspension failures.

If you're tracking your car you should be going it over with a fine toothed comb before you get to the track as well as looking it over as well as you can between sessions. I caught some play in a tie rod one day (I was on street tires) while checking over the car during the lunch break. I ended my day early and that was that, had I not looked over my car then there may have been a bigger issue.


To be contrary to everyone else, as long as you've had some prior track time and are confident with your car slicks are awesome and can be super cheap if you get once used scrub slicks from a race team.

Slicks + dedicated track pads = Serious fun


Thanks for posting this, most people I've done track events with think slicks are no big deal, as they should because after a bit of racing even the most aggressive summer street compounds just aren't gonna cut it. I guess the lesson to take from that is if it's your first or second or third time on the track in your mostly stock DD, don't bother with slicks. You get a lot more grip but it's also a lot less forgiving so if you start losing grip at previously untouched speeds you could get yourself in a bad situation. I've seen a lot of people make the mistake of bringing some heavily modified street machine like a WRX with tons of boost but no safety or even brake upgrades, and either cook the poo poo out of their tires/brakes or have a really bad off. Like a lot of people have already said, once you bring your car to the track you have to learn to drive it all over again. Don't start investing money in modifying it until you know exactly what you want to change about its driving characteristics.

And yeah, definitely want to emphasize the pre-track inspection part as well. I don't really have the means to swap pads and wheels myself, but if I swing by my mechanic's place a day or two ahead of time he can give me the all clear. It really helps a lot to have the peace of mind that your car is in 100% good working order before you start beating the crap out of it. I didn't do this with a recently purchased 280z a couple summers ago, and whatever lovely brake fluid was in the reservoir lasted about half a session before fading out and sending me into the grass backwards at NHMS. I ended up backspinning the motor too and that tired old bitch completely poo poo the bed a few weeks later on I-95. What a failed project that was.


On a different note, what's the best source for getting a quality racing helmet? I've been using my motorcycle crash helmet for years but I want to upgrade to something more legit with built-in communicators and such. My main fear of ordering one online is that it won't be sized right, and a bad fitting helmet will gently caress me up on the track worse than anything. I have an auto-X opportunity this weekend so I really need to figure this out soon.

Yeticopter fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Jun 20, 2012

nm
Jan 28, 2008

"I saw Minos the Space Judge holding a golden sceptre and passing sentence upon the Martians. There he presided, and around him the noble Space Prosecutors sought the firm justice of space law."

Yeticopter posted:

On a different note, what's the best source for getting a quality racing helmet? I've been using my motorcycle crash helmet for years but I want to upgrade to something more legit with built-in communicators and such. My main fear of ordering one online is that it won't be sized right, and a bad fitting helmet will gently caress me up on the track worse than anything. I have an auto-X opportunity this weekend so I really need to figure this out soon.

If you live in any really large metro area or near a track, there's a good chance there's actually a shop that sells higher end racing helmets. I think that is the best way to go if you're going to drop a lot of money.

Some Random Asshole
Apr 30, 2006

HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS HATS

kill me now posted:

uhhh what?

I ran through numerous sets of pirelli grand am slicks for a few years and never had any sort of major issues. I also know lots of people who run slicks like conti scrubs, hoosier R6/A6/R100 that have never had any issues beyond eventually developing some play in their wheel bearings or having to replace a tie rod.

You are over exaggerating this as an issue. Maybe don't run slicks if you're driving some 20 year old rusted out E30 but there isn't some epidemic of slicked up track cars having massive on track suspension failures.

If you're tracking your car you should be going it over with a fine toothed comb before you get to the track as well as looking it over as well as you can between sessions. I caught some play in a tie rod one day (I was on street tires) while checking over the car during the lunch break. I ended my day early and that was that, had I not looked over my car then there may have been a bigger issue.


To be contrary to everyone else, as long as you've had some prior track time and are confident with your car slicks are awesome and can be super cheap if you get once used scrub slicks from a race team.

Slicks + dedicated track pads = Serious fun

Eh, I guess our experiences have been different then. Maybe I catch a rattier bunch, but 2 or 3 times I've seen catastrophic suspension failure lead to some pretty nasty wrecks, all on cars that were mostly-stock track rods with some form of slick rubber on em. Feel free to disregard what I've said, and you're absolutely right about nutting and bolting the car before every outing. Sorry if I sounded overly-dramatic, I've just seen a pattern between slick tires on possibly under-equipped machinery and some seriously expensive incidents V:shobon:V

kimbo305
Jun 9, 2007

actually, yeah, I am a little mad

jamal posted:

So a good start before a track day on an average sedan is to crank the front alignment to max negative camber to keep the tread flatter on the ground while cornering.

Don't some cars have pretty good camber gain under load?

SlapActionJackson
Jul 27, 2006

kimbo305 posted:

Don't some cars have pretty good camber gain under load?

Yes, but nothing comes from the factory with enough static camber to be properly set up for the track, and very few cars have the adjustment range to get there without aftermarket camber plates.

Like most things, it's not a big deal for beginners since they'll be learning fundamentals, but more adavnced students will either want proper camber or need to learn to deal with the handling and tire wear consequences of not having enough.

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CommieGIR
Aug 22, 2006

The blue glow is a feature, not a bug


Pillbug
I've run race slicks on my TDI. No issues. I just knew I couldn't cause them to break away, and they made it really fun to take corners.

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