I'm prepping for my first-ever HPDE the first weekend in June and have a couple of questions. I've found a good thread on car prep, though I'm going to run the car stock for a while -- I figure the car will be far more capable than me, so why mess with it until I have the skill to notice a difference. My questions:

1. What tire pressures are recommended for the stock Potenza RE050s? I've found a thread on AutoX, but given the much longer time on the track for an HPDE (~20 minute sessions or so) I'd like to know if AutoX tire pressure settings are the place to start.

2. What sort of support equipment do you recommend bringing along? Anything from tools to comfort items ...

3. Any track prep recommended (not modification) beyond removing loose items? Taping front bumper, etc?

Thanks!

 

It's that season again. The more time people post asking the same questions all over again, the more they are either going to be ignored or snapped at.

All of this is discussed in multiple threads, over and over again. The answers are still valid.

But I'm feeling magnanimous because the Mariners just beat the Yankees. Bring water (or make sure you can get it there). Lots of water. Some food. Bring sunscreen. Bring rain gear. Bring a tire pressure gauge. (I have no idea what the RE050 is like.)

Make sure the oil is topped off and the brakes have lots of life left.

If you have them, you want to bring spare brake pads, spare brake rotors, and tools to change them out. But that's not crucial for your first time.

Basically, this is mostly going to be about *you*, rather than the car.

Over time, people assemble a kit of things that they bring every time, but that kit varies from person to person.

 

Prep:

Try to clean your engine bay as much as you can. This way, you can tell if anything is amiss after each run when you inspect it.

I don't know how the stock brake lines perform, but I just ran my first HDPE with my newly acquired S yesterday and I can say the stock brakes are half decent. You can't beat on em for long, but they aren't bad for stock pads.

I didn't bring any tools with me except for a torque wrench; mainly becuase I knew I was just going to cruise to see how the car behaves in a "spritied" drive anyway; I did bring spare engine oil, and brake fluid. Also brought glass cleaner, brake cleaner and end-dust (I HATE seeing dirt on my car)

As far as personal stuff goes, I had lots of water and snacks.

 

[QUOTE=Borbor,May 7 2007, 07:18 PM] Try to clean your engine bay as much as you can.

 

If it were me, I'd change the brake fluid and put some street/track brake pads on. You're unlikely to need them yourself, but you might let an instructor take the car out with you as a passenger to show you what the car is capable of. That was a real eye opener for me.

 

Hmmm. Most instructors are not going to "show you what your car is capable of". Most of them will dial it *way* back when driving a student's car. They are more likely to give you a good ride in their own car, which they know a lot better. Even then, they will probably dial it back substantially over what it would be if they were alone (or being coached themselves).

And they should be plenty good enough to recognize the limitations of stock brakes.

 

If your brake fluid is more than a year old, then Id change the brake fluid to DOT 4 like ATE or Motul. With a 2006 car you can prob run as is.

My first event I started out 35/35 psi with the RE050......way too high! I was over 40 psi by the end of the 25 min runs. Last event at Texas Motorsport Ranch (16 turns), I got an instructor that tracks an S2000. He recommended 30 psi front, 28 psi rear. I went down in pressure during the weekend but couldn't bring myself to run such low pressures until my last run. It definitely hooked up better and the wear pattern was OK. Having said all of that I'd prob. start 32 psi front and 30 psi rear and go from there.

Listen to Mike Gs advice and take a couple of extra quarts of oil as well.

Have fun and remember to give the pass signal to faster cars.

 

I did my frist HPDE last weekend. Brought the stock tire change kit, the spare tire, sunscreen, pop tarts, fold out chair, hat, shades, helmet. Drank about a bottle of water after every session. Good thing they gave those out.

Checked the oil every time, it didn't move at all. 06 is good like that

Tire pressure on the RE05's, start at 30 for your fist session. Then after you've cooked some rubber, look at the little triangle mark on the tire. That is where the contact area should go up to. Let some air out and see how much close to the triangle you are on the next run.

Hope your CDV is out and remember to turn off your A/C and VSA.

As you're driving, feel the weight shifting and be as smooth on the transitions as possible. Do not lift or slam on the gas, do it gradually. Also, you can brake a lot harder than you think.

 

I've never driven an S2000 with VSA, but how intrusive is it, really? General rule on the P-cars and BMWs etc. is that novices should leave that stuff on. When it eventually starts getting in their way, then they should start experimenting with turning it off.

A lot of very good drivers leave those systems on in the wet.

But yes, turn the A/C off. And do the hack that lets you turn the windshield defogger on but keep the A/C off.