First track day and I'm terrified
 

Hi all

I have my first track day/HPDE coming up on 10/4 and I'm starting to get super anxious/nervous about it.

It's at NYST, it's a more private event with only about 15 people total (nearly all are way faster/more expensive than my 86)

I've done like 10 autocross events total in the past 10 years.

Any advice? I have an oil cooler, run e85 and will be running EBC yellow stuff and ATE fluid as that was all I could get under short notice. I don't expect to be a phenomenally fast driver so I think I will be okay? I'm more scared of fucking things up for other people making sure I get out of the way etc. Does anyone have a video or anything they recommend for etiquitte?

Just watch your mirrors and be predictable. Know the passing zones(if it is not open passing). If you feel you wronged someone by holding them up go talk to them. Everyone remembers being the new guy.

Talk to the other drivers before you get on track to make sure they know you're new to HPDE and they will understand. I've only done 1 HPDE it wasn't open passing there were passing zones and a point by passing system that as a newbie I got too excited and couldn't wait for the point by to pass someone [emoji28] luckily the HPDE I went to was instructor led every car had an instructor and it was most people's first time doing that style of event. Just remember the driver's meeting and the rules on the track I'm sure they'll go over everything for the ones that are new to track driving and everything will go great.

Don't slow down if you notice cars coming up behind you maintain speed and as said in the previous comment be predictable don't just swerve to get out of someone's way but leave room for passing.

Every track has different rules and everything on passing so mainly pay attention to the driver's meeting and remember as much of it as you can.

I hope you have fun and get to learn your car better.

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Is it an actual HPDE event? Will you have a coach?

Either way, you're already way ahead of the curve by reaching out here.

Oil cooler is good.

E85 is fine if you're on a tune for E85.

EBC Yellow doesn't belong on a track. It might be okay for your first event or two, but be mindful of your brakes. If they stop responding consistently, cool off the brakes by cruising.

Relax and have fun! I’d normally recommend being considerate and aware of other drivers on track, but from your first post I don’t think that’ll be an issue for you. Might take some time to get to know the flags if you don’t know them yet.

https://www.racewrl.com/pdfs/flags.pdf

I haven’t heard the best things about EBC yellows so might want to keep an eye on them and back off if you feel them start to fade.

Also don’t be this guy!

http://youtu.be/b7iUKaPlBl8

Different organizations have different rules for passing/point bys.
Make sure to go attend the drivers meeting, pay attention, and ask for clarification if there's anything you don't understand.
If it's an event with instructors, great! If not then ask others if they're willing to ride along and give you advice.
No need to stare at your mirrors, but give them a check on short straights prior to the main passing zones, as well as when you're in the passing zones.
If you're not in an approved passing zone, don't try to point them by. I've had it happen in the past where I pulled up on someone rapidly and they tried to point me by mid-corner! No bueno.
If you mess up, talk to the person later in the paddock.
Bring water and snacks.


Be safe, have fun! :party0030:

You're going to have a good time! Most important thing is to realize this: you are not going to KNOW the track after one session. Until you *know* the track, just pretend like you're going kinda fast on backroads. You don't *have* to go fast and be at the limit, and you shouldn't try to be fast until you know that track. So don't sweat it, just be cool and remember it's better to be "slow-in/fast-out" than "fast-in/slow-out", or "didn't-make-it-out"!

Most everything has been covered already. I'll add; let the organizer/group lead know that it is your first time out, he/she will share with rest of the group to be cognizant of that. You can ask to start at the back of the group (or just do it) so you can focus on your driving, braking, racing lines, and less about traffic.

Biggest thing is be predictable in your driving, as mentioned, no sudden changes in line, braking, or speed. The passing driver has the responsibility to make a safe pass.

Finally, don't worry too much about "way faster/more expensive" cars. That's no guarantee that the driver knows what they are doing. Keep awareness up and go out and have fun.

Exactly, I went to my first HPDE and ended up passing a Mustang GT500 just because it's faster and more expensive doesn't mean the driver is a race car driver.

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Keep within your limits and *keep your head up*, i.e. keep looking *ahead* of where you are, towards where you *want* to go. This is *THE* most important thing! You will naturally tend to end up where you are looking, so always be looking where you *WANT* to go, not where you are *afraid you might go* (never look there!).

+100 to these pro tips. :cheers:


Man, everybody's bringin' the love. So cool.

If you see another twin 99% chance you have made a new friend.

You're making and others are making this way too complicated. It's an amazing experience and you're about to experience nirvana. Get on the track and it will all fall into place. If you have a sim rig with the track run a bunch of laps before going. The thing to understand is more experienced drivers welcome new guys and are some of the most awesome and helpful people you'll meet. You'll most likely be in a beginner group so everyone learns together. Congratulations on doing something that most of the entire population would love to do.

You're running slotted brake rotors, right?

thank you so much for all of suggestions/encouragement. Very helpful! I'll let you guys know how it goes 8)

yes!

full mods are maperf oil cooler, e85 with flex tune, eibach springs with koni yellows, camber bolts, rear lca, slotted front stoptech rotors, currently running ebc reds but I have yellows coming in the mail tomorrow (everything seems out of stock, unfortunately? So that was all I could source last minute. Might have to hit up @CSGmike next season if I get hooked) For tires I have champiro sx2's.

lololol.... fuck yeah. :cheers:

clearly the most important mod :bellyroll:

:bellyroll::bellyroll::bellyroll::bellyroll:

lololololol

Can''t

Breath

Be curious, and pay attention to these nudges. Brakes feel even a little weird? Cool 'em down. Not sure its ok to pass? Don't. It's ok to wonder if you really needed to play it safe.

There's a chance it'll be just as terrifying when you're done. I enjoy the driving, but don't have fun when there are others out there... It stops being fun. I probably won't go out on a real track again. Though we'll see.

I'd probably still have my original BRZ if I'd paid attention to the nagging doubt that conditions were shit and the tires too far gone for a codriver his first time out to be pushing that hard his first run... And maybe I'd have said something. It can feel like turning back 100M from the Everest peak. It's right there. But turn back, you can try again tomorrow. Push on? Might not make it back down.

As everyone else has said, relax and have fun. Review track videos. There are usually some out there with an instructor giving an overview of the track while driving at speed. Know where the flag stations are. Try to get in the habit of glancing at them as you approach especially if it's a blind hill or corner.

Can confirm. Four days on these...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/6tknjqpHiE9M9FZr6

You'll be fine for this event, but have a look at them afterwards and judge if you want to keep them for the street and put on something a little more robust next time out.

EDIT: For context, my brake pad history went like this:

1. Stock
2. Hawk hybrid street/race
3. EBC yellows
4. (Reinstall Hawks)
5. Winmax W3
6. CSG Spec C1

Drive within your limits, no reward for being a hero, you have nothing to prove, go out and enjoy driving the car at speed.

Worried is not bad.

Get an instructor or well experienced driver to ride with you.
If it is within your comfort zone to have someone else drive your car, have an experienced driver take you for a ride around the track. You will be very surprised what these cars can do.
These cars are very capable in pure stock form,
It is doubtful that you will be able to out drive the cars capability in bone stock form your first time out.

After you know this is something you like, start preparing your car for future events with the modifications mentioned above.

Return those Yellows and get some C1/C2 action, cuz I know they're in stock.

I regret to inform you C2 rears (non brembo) are now out of stock. Should be restocked shortly.

CP rears are still available, as are other options.

You pretty much have a very good starting point. As others have send. Pay attention to drivers meeting, stay with in your limits, and most of all have fun! Because cause once your hooked it's like a legal drug. I need a fix at least 1 a month during good weather.

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I was in the same boat earlier this year. I was super anxious about the same stuff. Your car has the right mods for you to not have to worry about mechanical issues, so you're fine there.

Nobody wins an HPDE event, so you don't have to worry about ruining other people's times. just hold the racing line, especially when someone is passing. Make them go around and as mentioned, stay predictable.

You will have a blast!. My first event was in April this year, and I did one more in June, and have another later this month. You won't want to look back to autocross, I know I don't.

I was going to write this but I've found that while the best planned and organized events tend to go by this rule, which puts the passing individual on the inside for the upcoming corner, not all organizations work this way. Some prefer to have cars being passed pull off the racing line instead. While I agree that staying on the racing line is the preferred method, if in the drivers meeting they say they want cars which are being passed to pull off the racing line then that is what the cars approaching you will be expecting you to do. Being predictable (following the procedure outlined in the drivers meeting) will be the best and safest method. :thumbsup:

Different organizations do things differently... but I disagree with the comment above. Highly organized events will grid you by lap time... in the lower groups usually the first session includes people who either don't have lap times or lie about them... this leads to far more passing in the best situations, and can ruin the session for other drivers if you do not allow others to pass.

Be courteous: if someone is on your tail, let them pass. Even if you are in a faster car (not much to worry about with a stock twin). Like another poster, I have been behind a GT500 that was afraid of the corners. Sure, they walked away from me on the straights, but ultimately they got the blue flag, and then the black flag for not letting me past.

In the last event I almost went home after the second session because the grid was so messed up by two drivers that did not follow rules, lied about their experience level, and ultimately both got booted from the track (3 black flags and you are out for the organizations I am familiar with).

Other than being courteous and following the rules, I do have one other piece of advice that I try to follow:

On the first lap you are usually on a yellow flag while your tires warm and drivers get familiar with the course... I make a point of trying to wave to all the track workers as I pass - both to thank them for making my sessions possible and to remember where to look for them.

Pay attention and you will have a blast!

Man just reading the comments gets me pumped. I'm mostly terrified about tracking my car. I don't mind pushing it on backroads, but a no-shit track would be exhilarating. I think I had someone from the forum contact me about it because he's an instructor. Which it would be a must for me. Someone with experience with the platform. I wish you the best of luck on your track day. Maybe I can gather the courage necessary next year to bring the car to the track.

I haven't found this to be any better for HPDE :iono: Some guys build up to speed, or may have setups that require a bit more warm up. That and the variation in ability/car is pretty wide for most HPDE events. When there is me in my NA BRZ and a 488 GT4 and 570 GT4 in the same group, no amount of grid organization is going to keep the GT4 cars out of traffic for more then the first few laps in of grid of 25-30 cars. In TT/TA it works okay.



As far as holding the line vs yielding the main line, that comes down to experience. If you know the person/car and feel comfortable helping facilitate the pass, go for it, just make sure you are communicating your intentions well. If it is a car or person you are not familiar with, just drive your line.

There are passing zones in the lower groups and point by's also in some. It isn't the wild west out there. You won't be getting passed in corners. If you're thinking of signing up with with an organization with open passing in lower groups, don't.

I think you missed the point I was trying to make... gridding the cars by lap time will minimize passing, not eliminate it... but the point is, if you are a jerk and hold up a train of cars, you are in fact degrading the experience for the other drivers. Follow the rules and be courteous! Even though there is no "winning", every driver out there is trying to improve and have fun, and an inconsiderate driver really can affect the experience for others.

This has only happened to me once, but it was so bad that had they not been booted from the track I would have left after the second session, even after having driven 3 hours to the track, paid for a hotel, and paid for the track time. It was that bad.:mad0259:

Don't you run with SpeedSF down there? I was surprised they allowed pointby anywhere at TH in low intermediate when I was there 4 years ago.

I did get your point, that wasn't my experience with it. Maybe my organizer didn't do it right.

No. I haven’t run with them however I’ll tell you that once you enter the braking zone you shouldn’t be looking in your mirrors you need to be looking through the corner.

As you improve you’ll develop situational awareness and just leave racing room if you know someone’s along side. In the lower groups there should never be passing in corners. Speed SF is run by a very good and experienced driver and possibly he forgot that a lot of people aren’t quite there yet on passing comfort. They seem to cater to more of an advanced clientele. I know a lot of those guys and they are good drivers.

So there was approx 18 cars today, the drivers meeting given by the track kind of sucked. It also poured rain all day. They didn't really explain anything. A guy in the group ended up giving a way better drivers meeting and explained flags, passing, etc. I ended up driving solo for the most part but I did some ride alongs and learned a better line so I improved by 12 seconds by the end of the day (2:30 to 2:18). I'm fairly confident I could have cut off another few seconds, but I just did not feel comfortable in the rain. FTD was between a porsche 911 turbo and s4 at ~1:50 with absolutely bonkers drivers.

Also a turbo nsx with an external dump on their wastegate sounded INSANE.


Someone totaled their m3 unfortunately, but they were able to walk away and he also purchased track insurance.

Come :)

Depends on the org.
HOD: beginner groups only allow passing on straights in zones designated with colored cones, and only on the left.
Speed SF: I've seen a train of cars passing another train of cars while entering T1 at Thunderhill West.