Track Day
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From: Phoenix
Track Day
The Mrs. and I went to the track this weekend. Since I had never driven at Firebird, I was put back into driving school (at least I had a different instructor). Street cars were scheduled on the west track, but were moved to the east track because of construction.
Overall, the track was great. In St. John's, we basically had 4 long straights, 2 180 degree turns, and a short technical section. The east track is 1 short straight, 1 180 and lots of chicanes. I found this to be much more fun and easier on the car (no slamming on the brakes at 98mph).
The results:
- One spin for me, one spin for the wife. I lifted off the throttle in mid-corner, she forgot to brake for a chicane.
- 3 cars had to leave to bleed their brakes and/or change brake pads. If you take the class, you will definitely want to upgrade your brake fluid and probably your pads.
- A Mustang Cobra was the fastest car that I ran against. He killed me on straights and was faster on the curves, too. I didn't get to talk to the driver, but one of the other guys said that he had done a lot of suspension upgrades.
- A C4 vette, Mustang GT, BMW 330i (bad driver), and several Gen 1 RX-7's were all easy to pass. My wife actually passed the Vette in her MR2...she rode his bumper through all of the curves and lost ground on the straights, but not enough for him to ever get away. I was seriously impressed with her car.
- I ran into mcco99's gas gauge problem TWICE. Slowing down to exit the track, I watched my gas gauge go from 3 bars to 2 bars to 1 bar to no bars in 3 or 4 seconds. I ran out of gas the first time, with the car stalling 30 seconds after it said that I had 3 bars left.
- I ran a session with 100 octane gas. It did seem to help -- it was a bit over 100 degrees. I also felt like I had more power than at altitude in St. Johns.
The October 19-21 classes will be at the east track, too. I think you guys will enjoy it.
Tanq
Overall, the track was great. In St. John's, we basically had 4 long straights, 2 180 degree turns, and a short technical section. The east track is 1 short straight, 1 180 and lots of chicanes. I found this to be much more fun and easier on the car (no slamming on the brakes at 98mph).
The results:
- One spin for me, one spin for the wife. I lifted off the throttle in mid-corner, she forgot to brake for a chicane.
- 3 cars had to leave to bleed their brakes and/or change brake pads. If you take the class, you will definitely want to upgrade your brake fluid and probably your pads.
- A Mustang Cobra was the fastest car that I ran against. He killed me on straights and was faster on the curves, too. I didn't get to talk to the driver, but one of the other guys said that he had done a lot of suspension upgrades.
- A C4 vette, Mustang GT, BMW 330i (bad driver), and several Gen 1 RX-7's were all easy to pass. My wife actually passed the Vette in her MR2...she rode his bumper through all of the curves and lost ground on the straights, but not enough for him to ever get away. I was seriously impressed with her car.
- I ran into mcco99's gas gauge problem TWICE. Slowing down to exit the track, I watched my gas gauge go from 3 bars to 2 bars to 1 bar to no bars in 3 or 4 seconds. I ran out of gas the first time, with the car stalling 30 seconds after it said that I had 3 bars left.
- I ran a session with 100 octane gas. It did seem to help -- it was a bit over 100 degrees. I also felt like I had more power than at altitude in St. Johns.
The October 19-21 classes will be at the east track, too. I think you guys will enjoy it.
Tanq
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From: Phoenix
Good info. I'm going to try and do the Oct. 19th and 20th class. What time are things over on Friday morning? Also, do you have a recomendation for some brake pads that will also work for every day driving. If I switch, I'd like to get some that aren't too messy with all the dust. Do you have a recomendation on where to look for a helmet? Thanks.
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From: Phoenix
I did the Saturday schedule, which I think was slightly different from the Friday schedule. We had class 8-12:30, with 30 minute track sessions at 9:30, 11:30, 1:30, 3:30 and 5:30. An instructor will ride with you the first two sessions and is optional after that. Will and Peter are my personal favorites.
With regard to pads, we have been using the Porterfield R4-S. They have held up very well to 5 days of track time on my car and 3 months on the street. They do dust more than the OEM pads, but not as much as some of the other track pads. The dust is non-corrosive and I haven't seen any rotor wear. I had occasional squeel after really hard usage in St. Johns, but I fixed it by using more lube on the pad backing.
I love the Motul, too, especially after watching the Vette boil his brakes during our second session.
Bulletproof (site sponsor) is running some really good specials on helmets. Their GB last month had the best prices that I could find anywhere on the web. My wife has the Predator and several other AZ people have the F1. Size availability is sometimes a problem, so you should order ASAP. Bulletproof also has decent prices on Porterfield pads.
Like I said, I had a great time. There is enough straights to let us use our hp advantage on the weak cars, and enough curves to let us out-handle on the heavy musclecars.
Good luck,
Tanq
With regard to pads, we have been using the Porterfield R4-S. They have held up very well to 5 days of track time on my car and 3 months on the street. They do dust more than the OEM pads, but not as much as some of the other track pads. The dust is non-corrosive and I haven't seen any rotor wear. I had occasional squeel after really hard usage in St. Johns, but I fixed it by using more lube on the pad backing.
I love the Motul, too, especially after watching the Vette boil his brakes during our second session.
Bulletproof (site sponsor) is running some really good specials on helmets. Their GB last month had the best prices that I could find anywhere on the web. My wife has the Predator and several other AZ people have the F1. Size availability is sometimes a problem, so you should order ASAP. Bulletproof also has decent prices on Porterfield pads.
Like I said, I had a great time. There is enough straights to let us use our hp advantage on the weak cars, and enough curves to let us out-handle on the heavy musclecars.
Good luck,
Tanq
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From: Phoenix
AZ Owners,
Who is taking the class on Friday the 19th, and who is taking it Saturday the 20th? I have talked to several people who are planning to attend and am curious which days you will be at the track.
Thanks,
Tanq
The weekend schedule: http://www.nasa-az.com/nexteventsched.html
Who is taking the class on Friday the 19th, and who is taking it Saturday the 20th? I have talked to several people who are planning to attend and am curious which days you will be at the track.
Thanks,
Tanq
The weekend schedule: http://www.nasa-az.com/nexteventsched.html
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From: Phoenix
S2KPHX,
I don't know of any local suppliers. Bulletproof is running a special @ $170 for a full set, which is the best price I have found (see https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...&threadid=31186), and they expect to ship the same day that they receive electronic payment.
Tanq
P.S. -- For anyone who needs a helmet, they are having another sale on those, too.
I don't know of any local suppliers. Bulletproof is running a special @ $170 for a full set, which is the best price I have found (see https://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?...&threadid=31186), and they expect to ship the same day that they receive electronic payment.
Tanq
P.S. -- For anyone who needs a helmet, they are having another sale on those, too.
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From: Phoenix
I'm mid-way through the day at the track (its only a couple of miles from my house), and I am learning humility. My other track days have been with mostly guys still in the driving school; today there are mostly experienced people.
There's been no more blowing past Corvettes and 330i's with crappy drivers....I have been passed by a 2 Corvettes, a Boxster and a Camaro. The only cars I have been able to get by were an old RX-7 racer, a Lexus (?!) sedan, and an Integra.
I was talking to one of the RX-7 guys, and he is running lap times within a few seconds of mine with only 100hp...argh.
Tanq
There's been no more blowing past Corvettes and 330i's with crappy drivers....I have been passed by a 2 Corvettes, a Boxster and a Camaro. The only cars I have been able to get by were an old RX-7 racer, a Lexus (?!) sedan, and an Integra.
I was talking to one of the RX-7 guys, and he is running lap times within a few seconds of mine with only 100hp...argh.
Tanq