Best paint protection for track
 

I have a double problem because my car is Raven. I'm not sure it's worth the effort for me, even though I had it Opti-coated. Assuming I keep it...Colgan makes a very good bra for it, but I'm afraid dirt would accumulate in the bra and scratch the black paint. A local guy who is recommended, uses Sun-Tek clear bra material that's 8 mil thick with the adhesive included. It'll cost $650 for the front and fenders and half way up the hood. I wonder if, aerodynamically I should do the whole hood for another $250. Or I could go the 3" wide blue masking tape route. Lots of work and I don't know how it would withstand rain. I wonder what others have done.

Chipped off paint is free weight reduction

#bcuzracecar

That looks like pretty good stuff.
:thanks:

Best pain protection for track is garage :)

I've seen people use blue tape, whatever tape. I never bothered, but I just stop caring after the car got a bit older.

I think if you are really serious about tracking, just take cosmetic stuff as battle scars / big balls / or stupidity. Tracking isn't pretty sometimes.
I've seen a fair share of track cars that are far from hard parking instagram queens.

If you are that worried about paint, maybe going to a track isn't for you or your car.
Parkhard bro.

Therein lies the solution - ;)


humfrz

My question was about what black car owners do, since I've never owned one before and they magnify the tiniest blemishes. I've had dedicated track cars I didn't care about, but this one is a DD that I hope to keep reasonably nice looking while working in a few HPDE days a year.

My point was that I'm not sure it's worth owning a black car. I'm thinking I might sell it and find a nice silver BRZ, or maybe an earlier 911.

this is a cheap car that you are gonna beat on...ya hoping for some extra resale value?? personally I would just pick up a spare bumper from a part out and just replace it after the original one is toast..

...perhaps grabbing a Logitech G27, Oculus Rift and copy of Assetto Corsa might be the better route to go.

Sell it!

Get a better car for track days. You will not regret it.

Black cars are a full time job. I've owned exactly 1 lol They look great when clean though!

I have a silver FR-S and it's hides a lot. I was on track a lot last year and the only damage was to the front bumper, surprisingly. I have one nick in my hood but that was from a rock on the highway. I plan on filling the holes in the bumper, wetsanding and polishing it and then adding a clear bra prior to next season.

[QUOTE=Mr.ac;3167345 maybe going to a track isn't for you or your car.
Parkhard bro.[/QUOTE]

Not sure about that. My first time on a track was in 1958 when I was 21, and I've been an instructor for about the last 30 years.

I tracked two silver Porsches for about ten years. I just slapped on a Colgan bra and both held up fine. Well, until I decided I could do the downhill at Lime Rock in my turbo car by just lifting without braking. I did it for three laps and had a 2/3 success rate.

I just decided to drive the car and replace with a freshly painted bumper cover if it ever gets bad enough. My observations is 1 track day is as much rock chips as 1000 miles of freeway driving in my area; not terrible.

Yes, a silver car. I'm sure you have one similar this in stock or you can source one - :iono:


humfrz

YIKES! If I did the math correctly, that makes you about 82 years old - :eyebulge:

Is that right??


humfrz

:sigh:So soon you forget!. We had this discussion a while back. 81 last September. I was instructing for Chin at Sebring, before a 7-year hiatus to do some other projects. Now I hope to get a car track ready again before the Florida summer heat. That's when I take the bike to North Carolina and hit the twisties. Some of my motorcycle buddies have gone to trikes, but I'm not into training wheels. I've been riding for 64 years with only one hairline skull fracture 15 years ago, so I figure I have another 49 years before I have to worry again.

Living in a 1-car garage condo cuts into your motorsports options. That's why the DD has to do double duty.

Well, OK, my bad. I reckon our previous discussion fell into my "short term memory" banks - :(

Yep, I've been riding 2 wheelers for 60 some years also. Me and my red Cushman, that was a hand me down from an older cousin, was the terror of the country roads in my farming community... :burnrubber:

Fun times, huh!


humfrz

Oh, OK - I got the picture - :thumbsup:


humfrz

Guys with tape or bras on their car are screaming "TRACK VIRGIN"
The track is the cleanest road you will ever drive in your life.
You will get more rock chips going to the grocery store than on the track.
You will learn this within 20 seconds of driving on the track.

Boy, that Cushman brings back memories of high school. I remember you used to pull the starter lever up and stop down on it. Then let the planetary clutch take over when you twisted the throttle. Don't remember much about the brakes, if it had any.

The guys at the local cycle shop razzed me till they rode it...I had a Burgman 650 scooter for a time. It handled as well as my V-Strom, was almost as fast, and the brakes were better. It would be a great touring bike and I may get another.

Yepper, mine had a brake, the brake pedal was to the right front on the floor and it activated a drum brake on the rear wheel

Yep, at that age, before drivers license, my old Cushman was an expression of freedom. Evening rides, through the countryside, wind in the hair, with no helmet, smelling the honeysuckle vines, and the smell of new mowed hay - what a rush!

Then, a pit stop, because the chain would come off. Stop, put the chain back on, realign the engine, tighten it down and I was good to go for another five miles - :happyanim:


humfrz

I don't see any reason why a black car won't hold up jut fine. It's the front end that gets sandblasting and a bra will look after that.


Sure, it will look dirty in minutes but it doesn't really matter at the track, unless you think it'll bug you. I spend a lot of time in the corn, so...:cry: Rookies....

I don't know about the "virgin" part, but the rest of this were my thoughts too.

You will get far more damage from your daily commute than you will in your typical HPDE session.

The blue tape for AutoX I can almost understand since cones can mar the surface (heck, I had one tear a chunk of my fender liner out). But otherwise? I'd say you're good with what you've got.