I was there as well, in novice, in the silver AP2 with the hardtop. I was behind you in the session right before lunch but they black flagged me (for being too loud of all things) and I had to come in. I tried to find you to say hi but never ran across you in the paddock.

As great as the MVP event was, for a true first timer it lacked instruction compared to other events I've been to. Most other organizers will assign an instructor in Novice that you keep for the entire weekend, which lets you build on skills learned from session to session. There is also typically a classroom session that helps teach basics and things to keep in mind that help instill a mindset of safety, rather than self preservation.

This was my 4th track weekend and I can definitely see a TON of improvement in my confidence, car control, and speed over just a few months. Road Atlanta is an intimidating track for someone with limited experience as there is very limited runoff and most of the track is lined with concrete walls. Stick with it and you will shock yourself how quickly you improve.

See you at the next one!

 

Yeah I noticed there were a lot more novice drivers than there were instructors. I was only able to get an instructor for two of my five full speed runs. I left at 3:00 before the final two runs, so I really only went out with an instructor once.

 

IMO instructors should be mandatory for someone in novice who is at a given track for the first time, or until more than one instructor has given a check ride to solo. The other 3 events I've done all ended in me getting cleared to Intermediate, but I still ran Novice at RA because I hadn't driven the track (video games don't count!!!) and hadn't run with MVP.

 

Good stuff! I wish I was closer to a track like Road Atlanta. Tough track though to be out there for your first time, but great venue to be able to attend. As for the spin, IMO, that's the typical student mistake. Most students aren't used to braking hard so they under brake at first. The good thing is that you got to feel what it's like for the car to be out of control, you did it within a safe environment, and no damage to the car. The more seat time you are able to get, the more comfortable you'll get. Despite the lack of full time instruction, I hope you had a good time. You might check your regional NASA group and drive with them. You'll definitely get good instruction: http://nasa-se.com/

 

hey rd atl is realy throwing yourself in at the deep end for a first trackday but is it a fun!

If you want to get to safer/cheaper tracks to get to grips with the car checkout little taladega, roebling road
The smaller tracks/events you can usualy find for $200 with plenty of time and less dangerous than rd atl so you can realy get to grips with the car.

 

Instruction, instruction, instruction. Get as much as you can. But....try to vet your "instructor" as much as possible. I've found most so called "instructors" may be fast drivers, but suck at instruction and teaching.

 

Agreed wholeheartadley. You can really mess up handling by making a bunch of wholesale changes with a bunch of parts.

The only things I'd say otherwise is switching from the stock suspension to the CR suspension (springs, shocks, front sway) was like a dream come true. To me, it literally transformed the handling of the car. I was far more confidant, wasn't scarred of spinning all the time, and faster as well. The change was worth every single penny.

 

Agreed wholeheartadley. You can really mess up handling by making a bunch of wholesale changes with a bunch of parts.

The only things I'd say otherwise is switching from the stock suspension to the CR suspension (springs, shocks, front sway) was like a dream come true. To me, it literally transformed the handling of the car. I was far more confidant, wasn't scarred of spinning all the time, and faster as well. The change was worth every single penny.
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The only parts of the suspension which isn't very similar to the CR is the damping rates (Koni Yellows, on full soft), ride height (stock - 1") and rear sway bar (AP1, slightly stiffer than CR). Everything else is similar.

I like the idea of a full CR suspension, but I'm not sure if it would drastically affect the nature of the car at this point. Maybe?

Besides, this being my very first time on the track, I'm sure there were mistakes I made which instigated the spin-outs. As for the "floaty" sensation at high speed, aero is going to be about the only thing which changes that.

 

I wish I had more than one run with an instructor. The guy I had was pretty good, but I found it difficult to focus on driving and trying to process what the instructor was telling me at the same time.

 

My 2 cents. Learn to drive before spending any money on equipment. Tune or return your car's suspension as close to stock as possible. Then upgraded brake pads.

Spend you money on track days. Get seat time. Maybe tweaking your alignment, tire pressure etc. based on experience.

At some point, you'll think you have reached your limit. But you haven't. You'll reach "the limit" half a dozen times, thinking that you can't possibly go any faster. But you'll be wrong. The car has plenty of mechanical grip if you know how to use it - even on performance street tires. It takes a long time to gain the experience and confidence to go through a corner fast - to learn to successfully correct when you have to. Then you may to move to racing compounds. Still plenty of mechanical grip.

I'm no expert, but aero grip is different than mechanical grip - and it needs to be tuned. Unless you are going through a corner really, really fast, it is of little benefit. Probably just another complication for the novice track star who should be developing his skills. Before aero, you'll want a roll bar, then harnesses, then racing seats. Stuff you can actually use.

Don't get me wrong. I think it's great that you've gotten out on track. But you weren't born knowing how to do drive fast safely. You can only build up your skill set and confidence level by driving, not by high tech equipment.

Early on, I asked a fellow racer what upgrades I should make to that race car in my avatar to improve my lap times. He responded that unless I was running flat out all the way around the track, that the car had more in it than I was using - spending my money on performance would be a waste. Four seasons later, I can say that he was absolutely right.

Don't mean to lecture. Just want to give you the benefit of my experience (I still run the S stock). Get your carcass to your next track day asap. And have fun out there!