I'm going to be heading to streets of willow (beginner level) towards the end of may with an auto club from my university and I was hoping to get some advice about the track itself. I'm running on S-03's (fairly new ones) on my 2003 S2k.

I already know how to heel toe by heart, and I can kinda play with trail braking here and there but takes some thought to do that. I just had my car serviced fairly recently but my brake pads are down to about 75% or so.

We will be running the track CW - outer ring.

Any advice on servicing I should do before I go to the track, ways I can prepare for the track day driving wise, and cornering/driving info for the track itself would be much appreciated (what gear for which turns, ect ect)



Here's a pic of the track for anyone who hasnt run it specifically, but might have some tips from the map.

Thanks everyone

 

I was just there on Friday, but we ran it CCW, so I don't have any good advice afterall. Car ran beautifully though.

 

I was there friday too running CCW. (first time for me)
I was mostly in 3rd gear, 4th on the straights, occasionally dipping into 2nd gear (bottom right corner and middle and bottom left corners).

As far as servicing I made sure my brakes and tires were ok. I brought an extra set of OEM front pads just in case. I also brought extra oil just in case I burned some (didn't need to use). Otherwise the car held up great, and I had a great time.

Just make sure you bring plenty of water for yourself (gets hot!).

 

Until you've driven it, most of what we might say will not be very useful. If it's your first time at a race track, your tires and equipment won't matter a whole lot. You may have problems with brakes overheating. A flush and fill with ATE or another high-temp brake fluid will take care of that.

Streets is a very technical track, which means there are a lot of turns, and how you take the turns (the line you drive through them, the point where you turn in, using all of the track width, etc.) will make a lot more difference to a beginner's lap times than any amount of horsepower or other technilogical stuff. You'll probably be very frustrated with it for the first three sessions or so. There are a lot of turns to learn, and it takes a while before the whole course gets 'burned in' to your brain.

Be patient, don't turn in too early, brake earlier and harder than you think is right, and focus on getting back on the gas at earlier and earlier points as the day goes on. If the group has instructors available, take advantage of them as much as is allowed. It's the quickest way to get fast on a track.

Throughout the day, you'll be making a lot of mistakes that come from the habits we get driving on public roads. A part of your brain will think that the only way to get fast will be to brake late, overcook the slow corners and squeal your tires a lot. Then you'll see someone sail past you who's braking more, turning in less, and rubbing off a lot less rubber in the process. Learn from them. Try to learn the driving line more than anything else. When you're starting out, this is the most important thing to get down.

Don't worry about heel-and-toeing or trail braking. They will not make you faster when you're first learning to drive on a track. They'll only distract you at that point. Focus on the line and being smooth.

And did I mention get an instructor to go out with you?

My first-ever track day was at Streets of Willow. I was very slow at first, but I worked with an instructor and ended up being the fastest guy there by the end of the day. A big part of the reason I ended up that way was probably because I had the lowest-horsepower car. It forced me to be disciplined while everyone else was acting wild.

 

Look at some of the vids here:
http://www.gofastvideo.com/gallery/album/v...mond%2c-ca.html

 

I was there on friday as well. I was driving the Silver S in the intermediate group.

I will make another tread and post the video I took.

Driving the track clock wise is different.

SuperDyu make sure your car is in good shape. Change oil. If it has been awhile since you changed the differential oil change that as well. Make sure coolant is full and your tires have enough tread. Tire pressures should be higher than on the street.


Brakes are the most important thing. Make sure you have enough pads and bleed the brakes.

Drive slow in the first session. Brake early. Learn the track. You're pretty much going to be in second and third gear. You may hit 4th in the straight.

You may spin but it's not big deal.

Watch some of the track videos to learn the track before you go.

 

Thanks for the heads up guys - keep it coming. I'm fairly decent at figuring out apex's and what not so that will help, and I've been watching a video of the course 10+ times a day.

I know it doesnt mean much to be watching the vids so often but I guess and hope it'll help somewhat to feel comfortable. I'll definately be sure to ask for instructors, and take it slow (was planning to run it out of vtec the first few times).


Thanks again!

 

No kidding? I was in the stock silver 05 in the intermidiate group. I don't remember seeing you out on the track with me, which is probably a good sign. I was tripping over people far too often

 

Just to clarify what someone said earlier, tire pressure should be higher than on the street WHEN HOT. I haven't driven street tires on the track for a while, but I'm pretty sure you will have to let air out first so you don't exceed the 38 psi or so when hot that you want. Maybe some of those who track a lot on street tires can comment. The best practice is to check your pressures immediately every time you get off the track, and adjust them then to your target (e.g. 38 psi). It's important to do this every session because the track conditions change throughout the day (usually getting hotter so need to bleed air) and, as a novice you will hopefully be getting faster with time, working the tires more resulting in higher temps/pressures just from this alone. (Interestingly, as you get much, much better and smoother, the reverse can happen.)

 

I run street tires most of the time. I drop pressures down to about 31F/33R, which produces hot pressures of close to 40. But I have a weird rear-engine car -- an S2000 might want more pressure in front than rear?

I bleed further after the first session. (I also check peridocally as the day goes on.)

Most street tires do best at 38-40 psi hot, but not all. (I have some street tires that I run 24F/28R hot.)