Got a track related question? I'll try to answer.

[Tainen]

I'm an instructor at The Ridge and Pacific Raceways for a couple different groups. Your synthetic oil won't have a problem with our cool temps and that track. PR isn't hard on oil temps and it's not too killer on brakes either. The Twins want a 0w-XX oil. So instead of going to 5w-20 from 0w-20 you should instead have gone to a 0w-30 or a 5w-30. Either of which will be fine.

And yes, Turn 5 through 6 can be a widow maker. Don't hit the curbs and if you set 2 tires off just keep the wheel straight and then gradually merge back onto the track!

Epic. Can I run the 5w20 this track event and switch later, or is the 5w20 a no-go?


Planning on running the BMW HPDE May 16th.

[ddeflyer]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

It's not "too big", but you'll lose a lot of steering feel, and likely wear the edges more.



I'd recommend turning off all the aids. 1. this instills fear in you, so you're more attentive and careful and 2. most novices will NOT recognise when the VSC kicks in, except in extreme circumstances, and think they saved the spin on their own by lifting and/or going neutral on the steering.

For me anyway, I have to disagree; I can usually feel the aides coming on when I mess up. My first two days on track I think they saved me because I got myself in trouble without even knowing I was in trouble. At the beginner level your realization of issues can come well after things can be saved.

I can only imagine what would have happened without traction control when, on my second day of my first track event, I touched the brakes at the top of turn one at Laguna Seca (basically a panic reflex at seeing the normal line without lifting through the straight (also in my car (civic si) before the BRZ)). That moment when the car got squirrely I knew I was just along for the ride. The traction control got the car stabilized and nothing bad happened but I learned a very major lesson about weight transfer at speed which could have been a very, very expensive lesson without it. going sideways at 95 MPH would not have been fun. Also, I didn't even realize that the track had those dynamics until I saw it at that speed.

By all means turn off the traction control once the tunnel vision is gone and you've experienced a few hiccups (and be aware that the amazingly well put together car saved your freshman ass), but don't add more distractions to an already hostile alien environment. I've seen the looks of a driver after they mangled the side of their car on a tire wall in the beginner group; it is better to take a little longer to learn and not go through that than to rush things and go home with your car merely a reflection of its prior glory.

It is a fantastic thing that we have cars as forgiving as we do in order to learn with.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

If you know where the dangerous corners are, then you know to slow down and take them more carefully than the others.

Remember, the goal is to become a better driver, not put down scorching lap times. Know your limits.

+1

As many clubs remind you in the AM driver's meeting: you want to drive your car home at the end of the day, so watch out for the red mist.

Originally Posted by ayau

Based on experience and research, it seems like it's a gentleman's rule if someone runs into you. If the person was at fault, then he/she would be the one "responsible" for the repair cost. That's not always the case though.

Boy, you certainly cannot count on that fixing your bent car. I've seen cases where not just the drivers involved, but the other drivers in the vicinity, too, cannot agree on what actually happened, much less who was at fault. However, that was before everyone started running cameras. That said, there's a reason that World-Challenge requires three cameras in the cars so that officials can figure out after the fact just what happened.

I think we should assume that in the case of an on-track incident with another car, each driver is going to be responsible for his or her own repairs. Unless I've done something totally irresponsible, I'm not chipping in to fix a GT3 or any Ferrari. It is worth noting that these incidents are exceedingly rare - virtually all of the bent sheet metal at HPDEs is due to driver error, and it takes place in single-car incidents.

Originally Posted by Tainen

Planning on running the BMW HPDE May 16th.

Cool. If your BMW club runs its HPDEs anything like the clubs in the Northeast (which I very much suspect it will), you'll get adequate to excellent instruction with an emphasis on learning the basics before focusing on how quickly you can lap the circuit. Of all the clubs in the Northeast, BMW club HPDEs are the most buttoned-down, and for a driver's first ten or so days on-track, I think that's a good thing. As an instructor, I am not thrilled to learn that I'm in the car with a novice or intermediate driver who wants to find out what his car can do.

[ddeflyer]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Remember, the goal is to become a better driver, not put down scorching lap times. Know your limits.

+1 on this also, I just fear that there are many limits a beginner won't have any idea about (I certainly didn't know about them when I began).

Also, make sure you have an instructor for the whole day, they are great at pointing out when you start approaching a limit/doing something not good.

[wparsons]

If you're doing your first few HDPE days and the instructor lets you get so far into trouble that you hit something, then they failed you miserably or you weren't listening to them.

If you're just going out onto a new track and driving at 8-10 tenths, then its 100% your fault if you get out of shape. You should ALWAYS take a couple laps at like half speed (and a track walk if you can) the first time on a new track, then build speed as you get comfortable with it.

[THEmailman]

Mike,

I really wore out the outsides of my front tires after two days at Texas World Speedway this weekend and the tires only had ~1500 miles on them before it. Temps were in the high 70s to low 80s and I was trying to maintain hot pressure in the tires at 36 PSI. My mods are: ATE brake fluid, ProjectMu Club Racer pads, SS brake lines, Whiteline camber bolts, Kosei K4R 17x8 wheels and Bridgestone S-04 225/45 tires.

With only -1.0 degrees of camber in the front, my guess is that I still do not have enough camber and the extra wear is coming from the tires rolling too much to the outside. I would prefer to stay on the stock suspension as long as possible as I find it quite capable for my abilities; so with that said, what are other routes for me to maximize front camber with the stock suspension? I appreciate the help.

[juliog]

Camber plates would let you dial in more front camber.

Springs would increase static negative camber all around (how much depends on how low you go), with the benefit of lower cg, less roll..

[PoWn3d_0704]

Hi @CSG Mike,

I just got done with my first AutoX and am looking to run racing slicks like the Hoosier A6's.

Is there anything like that for cheaper that is 'good enough' for short AutoX runs? My slowest lap of the weekend was a 50.2, and there is quite a bit of cooldown time between each run. (To give you an idea of the application.) With that said, I do plan on attending a drivers weekend at Portland International in the summer, and I'm betting slicks are the way to go for that.

So are the Hoosiers what you would buy? Secondly, I already have a Wilwood BBK that fits under the stock rim, is it a better idea to stay at 17"(17x9, proabably as that is the max in my class) to have the most rubber?

Can you recommend a AutoX brake pad?

I'm on stock supension.

[smbstyle]

Originally Posted by THEmailman

Mike,

I really wore out the outsides of my front tires after two days at Texas World Speedway this weekend and the tires only had ~1500 miles on them before it. Temps were in the high 70s to low 80s and I was trying to maintain hot pressure in the tires at 36 PSI. My mods are: ATE brake fluid, ProjectMu Club Racer pads, SS brake lines, Whiteline camber bolts, Kosei K4R 17x8 wheels and Bridgestone S-04 225/45 tires.

With only -1.0 degrees of camber in the front, my guess is that I still do not have enough camber and the extra wear is coming from the tires rolling too much to the outside. I would prefer to stay on the stock suspension as long as possible as I find it quite capable for my abilities; so with that said, what are other routes for me to maximize front camber with the stock suspension? I appreciate the help.

Off-topic, did you run with Chin Motorsports at TWS? If so, how was the event? I know they just recently expanded to the mid-west and run a lot of their events over here in the Southeast.

My feedback on this, for what it is worth - I have run -1.6* camber up front on Pilot Super Sports using camber bolts on stock suspension, and still corded the shoulders.

Using OEM tophats with the RCE T2 coilovers, I was at -2.0* camber up front with Nitto NT01s, and am still scrubbing the outside of the tire.

I just bought some Ground Control camber plates and aiming for -3.0* or more camber up front to help with the outside shoulder wear.

[THEmailman]

Originally Posted by smbstyle

Off-topic, did you run with Chin Motorsports at TWS? If so, how was the event? I know they just recently expanded to the mid-west and run a lot of their events over here in the Southeast.

My feedback on this, for what it is worth - I have run -1.6* camber up front on Pilot Super Sports using camber bolts on stock suspension, and still corded the shoulders.

Using OEM tophats with the RCE T2 coilovers, I was at -2.0* camber up front with Nitto NT01s, and am still scrubbing the outside of the tire.

I just bought some Ground Control camber plates and aiming for -3.0* or more camber up front to help with the outside shoulder wear.

Hmmmm....so I'm going to have some shoulder roll until I really up the camber.....I feel my wallet getting lighter haha

Chin ran a pretty good event! I just joined their club and will be using them a lot when I head back east in a few months. They ran every group on time and they had four sessions of 30 mins each for every group (four groups but only three run groups), plus an additional hour of open track at the end of the day and a short warm up session before things began in the morning so I was not wanting for time. They really only provide enough instructors for the novice group, but that seems to be pretty much par with any club and if you find one, they were definitely willing to go with you. They had a good focus on safety and were not over-aggressive with flags. Overall, it was a good time and I would recommend them. I know they have at least one other TWS event scheduled (maybe two), COTA and I believe one at MSR Houston so they are definitely trying their best to get the track time in. Shame TWS is scheduled for demo, I would totally buy it if I could figure that out

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Tainen

Epic. Can I run the 5w20 this track event and switch later, or is the 5w20 a no-go?


Planning on running the BMW HPDE May 16th.

You'll be just fine. Have fun!

[ayau]

Originally Posted by THEmailman

Hmmmm....so I'm going to have some shoulder roll until I really up the camber.....I feel my wallet getting lighter haha

Might be the tire too. The S04 are rated max performance summer. The extreme performance summer tires (RE11A, AD08R, Direzza II) might have stiffer sidewalls.

[THEmailman]

Originally Posted by ayau

Might be the tire too. The S04 are rated max performance summer. The extreme performance summer tires (RE11A, AD08R, Direzza II) might have stiffer sidewalls.

That was another thought I had but the tires were a great buy on TireRack so I had to go with them this time...it'll definitely be more thought out next time, I was just hoping these tires would last a little longer haha

[Tainen]

Originally Posted by THEmailman

That was another thought I had but the tires were a great buy on TireRack so I had to go with them this time...it'll definitely be more thought out next time, I was just hoping these tires would last a little longer haha

Good tire buy right now at tirerack- the DZ101s in 225/45/17 are $73 a pop. incredible. I'm struggling on impulse buying them for an upgrade over stock for the rest of the year's track days...