What tires are you running?

They should be 205f/225r if OE Potenza S-02's. Otherwise they should be 205f/245r.

(This is because the 225 S-02's are really about the same size as most 245's).

If you're running non-S02's in 205f/225r, you're likely to experience some oversteer, which is not optimal for someone with no track experience.

Also, you have a six year old car, and unless you've checked it recently, no way of knowing what your alignment is. I'd go in and have it set to the UK specs.

 

Preventative/necessary maintenance:
1. Fresh brake fluid
2. How old is your coolant, is it Type I or Type II?
3. Change your trans. fluid and diff. oil if you dont know when the last time you did this was.
4. Change engine oil
5. Morning of track day - check/set COLD tire pressures

THings to bring to the track:
1. 2nd set of pads - you will either have changed these berfore you left or at the track - and believe me you WILL go through a front set after a full day or two at the track.
2. Tire pressure guage.
3. Floor jack and comonly used tools
4. If you have wheel locks DO NOT forget to bring the key for them
5. Some guys bring painters tape to protect the nose/headlights
6. A cooler with plenty of water - no caffinated drinks at the track as they are diaretics and will dehydrate you quickly and make you very nervous on runs.

Out on your runs:
1. Make sure you ride with an instructor - keep your eyes and ears open and keep your mouth shut. Be open to trying things you dont "feel" are correct.
2. Dont get frustrated when you have to let drivers by - it will happen.
3. Depending on how much you do it, dont worry about heel/toe for your first few runs, just let the clutch out in a straight line AFTER your braking has been done. You can try matching revs later when you have the course layout down.
4. Be sensative to the car, primarily brake pedal feel and oversteer/understeer. The later you will want to try and correct first through driving line, then through tire pressures.
5. Check tire pressures immidiately after each run and be aware of what the max psi is for them - you dont want to exceed this.
6. When you come back to the padock after a session, go very slowly and try to use the brakes as little as possible. Once parked, keep it in gear and do NOT use the hand brake. Pop the hood and leave it up til the next session.

 

wow thanks guys i do have a couple of questions after those pointers

1.) what tire pressure should i set it? cold tires and after lapping?

2.) what are type 1 or type 2 coolant?

3.) what brake pads should i go with i know ebc is a no no

4.) what is the UK alignment specs?


i've flush other tranny engine etc fluids already.


thanks a lot , cant wait to go for the event and update to let u know how was it =)

 

oh and my tires aren't potenza it's hankook K106 i think , it came with the car =\

if im getting stock pads dp i have to break it in or bed in?

 

For pressure, look in the manual - I think its either 35 all around or 32, usually you will have to run lower than that at the track, but just make sure they are all even before you drive it. Once you do your first run, check to see if the pressures have exceeded the tires recomended maximum (on the sidewall).

For pads, go with OEM and bed them in by taking the car up to about 80mph and braking to 50 - allow 1-2 minutes of cool off in between at 60mph, then 80 down to 30, finally 80 down to 0 and back up to 60 quickly to cool them off. That is usually what I do, but I dont know if it is a big deal if you dont.

The UK alignment specs are gonna be a more aggressive set up all around that should stabilize the car more under load than US spec with the sacrafice of increased tire wear. We run our camber maxed out negative front and rear with 1-2 degree toe in at the rear. We also have afront bar and Koni's. This setup works pretty good in just about any condition but some guys prefer more negative camber at the rear. I wouldnt worry too much about it right now - just make sure you are not way out of spec- ie. wheel pulls when you let go on a even road.

The Honda Type I coolant came in your MY01 and by now should have been flushed and refilled with Type II. The Type I is supposed to be changed every 3 or 4 years, the Type II is newer and is supposed to last 6 years. Either way, I am not sure if it would be a problem to run the Type 1 stuff that may have been in there for 6 years, but you never know. If you do, just keep an eye on the engine temp, 1 bar over the first 3 = alot of temp.

 

BTW with beding in pads, there are a few schools of thought. I bought a set that came with instructions that said to do 50-30 3 times, then do 80-50 2 times. I had another set that said to do 50-30 a few times, then 30-0 and back up to hwy speed to cool them off. Either way, the point is that you want to heat them up quickly and cool them off quickly, so your first few laps on the track may do this for you.

 

thanks a lot for those awesome advise slipangle , man i love this forum the best i've even been in since 4 years ago and hondatech suck

for the UK alignment specs , are there any numbers ? cause i doubt my local tire shop knows it

so u guys use coolant from the dealer and u dont use coolant like redline water wetter or the yellow ones u can buy in autozone?

i dont have a fsm , do u know where i can buy or download one?

i ended up buying hawk HPS pads as i searched the whole town for pads ( exclude autozone etc) , honda dealership wont have them in by next week and the hps are the only one available before tmr night.

=\ , comments on those pads? i read through a lot of thread but nothing much on them

 

Best advice I can give you is NOT go nuts with too many mods out of the gate.
Perhaps skip the euro alignment and the track pads. Run stock. Get to know the car as it is set up right now. While you drive your car on other HPDE events, you'll naturally drive faster, better, and will demand more performance. Start stock, then next event, go with say... a euro alignment and note the changes. Next time, add race compound brakes... note the changes, and so on. One thing at a time.

Do change the fluids... engine, tranny, and diff because you'll probably spend a lot of time in VTEC. If the brake fluid is clean, leave it alone. Get to understand brake fade... Once you feel brake fade, then for the next event, flush your brakes with Motul RBF and note the change. You don't want to miss those steps.
Just do one thing at a time.

DO the oils and make sure your oil filter and air filter are clean.
If you don't have an instructor... this might help. Read it...
http://www.turnfast.com/index.shtml
Pay very close attention to shifting techniques. I see LOTS of people leaving their shifting hand on the shifter after shifting... and NO quick shifts. Keep it smoothe to not spank your tranny. Match revs... I go on... It is all in the document.

Don't overload yourself for the first session. You won't be doing any Mario times, so nothing should break and you should NOT be going off track. Take your time and work up. That's what I did and it is like watching a baby mature under my parentage. Beautiful shit.

After three seasons, I have to say that my car is as set up wonderfully. My S is now a Time Attack competitor!
Here is my progression as the events went by...

1. STOCK - totally impressed with what this car can do out of the box. Did note brake mushiness ... brake pedal mushiness due to heat of fluid.
2. Motul - eliminated brake pressure mushiness.
3. Cobalt Race compound pads - noted greater stopping power.
4. HR springs and euro alignment - best bang for the buck I'd have to say!
5. Cold air intake and KN cotton filter
6. Spare set of AP1 wheels strapped with new and shaved Toyo RA1s... WOW!
7. Test pipe.
8. KW Variant 3s - WOW!
9. Spare OEM exhaust cut after first silencer - cut about 30 pounds.
9. Wing ... yum!
10. SS brake lines... love 'em!
11. Bought another set of AP1 rims, bored out the rears to fit up front and am running 245s on all four corners. Absolutely spiritual.

Drive your car stock and go from there. You shouldn't have to follow my progression, but I garauntee you that you will come up with your own demands after every event. Make mods in steps and evaluate them at the track.

DO make sure you bring a portable chair and plenty of water and Gatoraid. If you can fit it, and need it, shade too! I wouldn't worry about bringing out any major tools other than a tire pressure guage and a torque wrench, and oil if your car is a smoker. (make sure you check your lugs after the first event... I always find my rears a bit loose.)
Check your hot pressures right off the track first ( no greater than 39 lbs hot), then after a few minutes, recheck your lug nut torque. Should be 85ft lbs...

This is still a lot of info, but remember to keep your first event simple and get to know your car as it is in street stock setup and go from there.


Baby steps.

 

SPLNDID: man that is awesome man , it should be a tutorial/guide for newbies. Never had i seen something so structured out. But i couldn't agree more with you =) , I plan to not overpush my limit and drive stock and feel what the stock car can do.

i've experienced boiling fluid when brake pedal just go all the way to the metal and no stopping ( this was back in my crx when i joined endurocross).

another reason why i love the S so much is because of you guys =) and i know its a track machine than any other thing ( feel sad for people who try to drift it or launch it hard etc and beat the shit out of it)

cheers

 

I agree with the idea of doing only one or two mods at a time.

But I don't consider having fresh brake fluid or having decent pads "mods", more like basic necessities! Reportedly the stock pads are OK, HPS's will be fine as well.

I don't see any reason at all for going to the track with old fluid just to get the "experience" of a mushy pedal. PLENTY of other stuff to worry about, not the best idea to throw inconsistent braking into the mix.

I did my first track day with who-knows-how-old brake fluid, and it was not amusing when it went compressible on me...

Baby steps, yes, but there are basic requirements for taking a car to the track, and appropriate pads and fresh fluid are at the top of that list.