Open Track / HPDE question

[Relaxed Chaos]

I was at Balckhawk Farms yesterday for an open track day. It's about 3.5 hours from my house. The day went pretty good, but I found out the hard way that my Falken 615's were tired of being sticky.

Anyway, I find it pretty cool I can drive 3.5 hours to an event, run six 20 minute sessions, and then drive it home. With that said, I couldn't stop thinking about what the hell I would do if something actually broke. That and being distressed that I had no traction at all as I would watch Miata's pile up behind me in the corners.

So, for those of us that drive to the event in the car and expect to make it home at the end of the day, do you bring any spare parts with you? If so what do you bring?

I brought a bunch of tools, a jack and jack stands, a 12V air compressor, a bunch of hose clamps, some brake fluid, some duck tape, twist ties, etc, figuring if it were something major I'm in it for a tow home anyway, regardless.

Should I be stocking up on any other spare parts to ease my anxiety?

 

[SLPRCTM]

I would toss in a couple extra lug nuts. Just incase you are having a bad day and need to take a wheel off and while doing so, trip and kick your lug nuts all over the place. Also an extra quart of oil, a hand held tuner or odbII scanner, power steering fluid, jumper cables, ez-up and a folding chair, glass cleaner, towels and some detailer spray.

Funny thing is I did one of those a couple weeks ago and all I brought was a couple sodas and some sun screen. Lol! Knowing how everything on my car is built, if anything went wrong, it would be on a flatbed truck on the way to the body shop. Haha!

 

[LTHL VNM]

I recently joined a friend for an event that he was an instructor at, and he took me for a ride during the lunch break in his CTSV. My goals with the car have changed, I am now extremely excited about taking my cobra out for an on track event in the near future. I am also looking to put together a track parts shelf in the garage for all the things i'd need to take with me for an event. I've done some searching on the site, but some input from Terminator owners would be very helpful

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

I was at Balckhawk Farms yesterday for an open track day. It's about 3.5 hours from my house. The day went pretty good, but I found out the hard way that my Falken 615's were tired of being sticky.

The newer 615Ks are a better version choice for track events since the first version of the 615s will grease over when hot. If you are a newb this isn't necessarily a bad thing because the more times you slide and catch the car the better your car control skills will become. Unless you grew up in snow country MOST people have not experienced catching a car in a slide.

Anyway, I find it pretty cool I can drive 3.5 hours to an event, run six 20 minute sessions, and then drive it home. With that said, I couldn't stop thinking about what the hell I would do if something actually broke. That and being distressed that I had no traction at all as I would watch Miata's pile up behind me in the corners.

I have not broken at a track yet. This isn't drag racing, so unless you have a really bad OFF or over heat really bad, things that need a tow just are not all that common, don't worry about it, enjoy your track time.

Don't worry about who stacks up behind you, if they are there for very long at all, you need to just point them by and get back to watching your own turns and not your mirrors.

In the beginning you cannot tell who might be fast on track, by what the car is. In general guys in Miatas are probably going to be fast in turns, though if they grouped by experience there probably won't be any spec racers or instructors driving Miatas in your run group..... if there is, just point them by and get it out of the way. A general rule is if someone is RIGHT UP IN YOUR MIRROR, it's not because they are slower, it's because you are. POINT THEM BY!!! If they are back a ways ignore them.

So, for those of us that drive to the event in the car and expect to make it home at the end of the day, do you bring any spare parts with you? If so what do you bring?

I brought a bunch of tools, a jack and jack stands, a 12V air compressor, a bunch of hose clamps, some brake fluid, some duck tape, twist ties, etc, figuring if it were something major I'm in it for a tow home anyway, regardless.

Should I be stocking up on any other spare parts to ease my anxiety?

This should be required reading for all open track nembs, it is loaded with excellent info! In fact click it right now and read it right now and then come back and finish reading here.
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/open-track-racing-203/301453-open-track-primer-great-read.html

Stuff to bring:

The absolute most important thing to bring is--> The attitude that you are going to learn to be a better driver and have as much fun as possible while doing it!

Water: (lots of it! stay hydrated, drink mostly water and maybe a gator aid every third bottle or so.)
Tire Pressure gauge: Most tracks have compressed air available, check before you go. I have never brought an air compressor to the track, if you have one that is easy to bring bring it.
Sunscreen, Long sleeved cotton t-shirts (preferably a light color- If you have enough bring one for each session), BRAKE FLUID, some premixed coolant, a quart of oil, windex and paper towels, a roll of painters tape, a roll of duc(k)t tape, white shoe polish(optional)
A turn by turn guide if you can find one for the track:
Turn by turn guide to the Blackhawk Farms track - Trackpedia

LEAVE YOUR EGO AT HOME!
Be prepared to have your smile muscles still hurting three days after the event, if that does not happen you are taking things way too seriously!

OOPS EDIT!!!--> Bring an in car camera(go-pro or whatever), so you can relive the event at home on your couch any time you want!

 

[ac427cobra]

Without a lot of seat time, you'd be surprised how many Miata's can pile up behind a Terminator on a road course, especially a road course like BFR.

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[Relaxed Chaos]

Yeah, having grown up in Minnesota and spent many a Saturday after a fresh snow fall nothing but sideways, I feel pretty comfortable with it. This was my 5th time a track and I guess I was just dissapointed with the lack of traction these tires had left in them. Above 5K anywhere on track and feeling the rear end starting to slide out is a little concerning, not to mention getting a bit sideways on every corner exit with heavy throttle feathering. This car rotates great though, and is a blast to drive.

I guess I should pat myself on the back a little for not going off track. There were plenty that did... but then again maybe this is becasue I'm not pushing hard enough? Dunno, but in any case I had fun.

Just want to be prepared the best I can for any mechnaical issues that others have experienced.

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

Yeah, having grown up in Minnesota and spent many a Saturday after a fresh snow fall nothing but sideways, I feel pretty comfortable with it. This was my 5th time a track and I guess I was just dissapointed with the lack of traction these tires had left in them. Above 5K anywhere on track and feeling the rear end starting to slide out is a little concerning, not to mention getting a bit sideways on every corner exit with heavy throttle feathering. This car rotates great though, and is a blast to drive.

I guess I should pat myself on the back a little for not going off track. There were plenty that did... but then again maybe this is becasue I'm not pushing hard enough? Dunno, but in any case I had fun.

Just want to be prepared the best I can for any mechnaical issues that others have experienced.

My last track event before I switched over to OT slicks was on Sumitumo HTRIIIs and I had an absolute blast on them!!! They were better than the OE Goodyears were but that's still pretty loose.They were very predictable and very cheap and that counts with these cars because they can eat tires up pretty fast.

I have often thought about doing a few more events on street tires just for the significant fun factor that is almost guaranteed!
I am fairly comfortable with the car and sliding a little bit, can be a BOAT LOAD OF FUN!

 

[SLPRCTM]

Man, you guys are making me feel like something went wrong on my track day. Ran at Infineon raceway in Sanoma. I was on nitto 555 street tires, only had the rear slide out once and saved it, was passing miatas on every lap and never had any traffic behind me keeping up. Not sure what to make of it. Lucky day maybe?

 

[ac427cobra]

Yeah, having grown up in Minnesota and spent many a Saturday after a fresh snow fall nothing but sideways, I feel pretty comfortable with it. This was my 5th time a track and I guess I was just dissapointed with the lack of traction these tires had left in them. Above 5K anywhere on track and feeling the rear end starting to slide out is a little concerning, not to mention getting a bit sideways on every corner exit with heavy throttle feathering. This car rotates great though, and is a blast to drive.

Can I assume you're on an OEM rubber bushed IRS that has not been bumpsteered? That would contribute immensely to a loose condition of the rear end of your car. Of course the tires are responsible for a portion of that as well.

There are few things more disheartening than trying to negotiate a factory IRS through a turn at speed! :fart:

FWIW

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

Can I assume you're on an OEM rubber bushed IRS that has not been bumpsteered? That would contribute immensely to a loose condition of the rear end of your car. Of course the tires are responsible for a portion of that as well.

There are few things more disheartening than trying to negotiate a factory IRS through a turn at speed! :fart:

FWIW

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

Good point! All that sliding on 220 street tires I was talking about was made much easier on Bruce's Delrin.:beer::rockon:

 

[MGC]

All good advice in here. It's great to see more Terminator guys go out to open track events, it's to hard capture in words how fun it is, but everyone should try it at least once. :beer:

I don't have a whole lot of advice other than what's already been said, but as your experience increases so will the ability to handle your car when it's sideways, and use that to your advantage, stay on street tires until you get more experienced, even though it is frustrating. You need to learn how to get the most traction out of the tires you have on there now, otherwise if you go to a say R compound tire too soon you all of a sudden have an abundance of grip and don't know where your traction limit begins and ends. By the time you figure it out, it's not forgiving.

As long as you have fun, and don't break anything I'd say that's a good day. Make it a habit to TQ your lugnuts, and check brake lines and all fluids before and after each session. Pay attention to the car, if it overheats or something doesn't feel right (you know how your car should act), go into the pits and check it out, you're not racing and don't need to push the car past it's limits.

 

[Relaxed Chaos]

Yep, still have the stock IRS. I am thinking about putting in the FTBR bushing kit this winter.

Current mods are MM full length subframe connectors, brake cooling ducts, Magnaflow catback, and SS brake lines.

I need to pull my brakes apart and inspect them. I suspect they are all used up. I'm going with Carbotech Bobcat's up front and AX6's in the rear and will swap to XP8's or XP10's on the front for track days.

Can I assume you're on an OEM rubber bushed IRS that has not been bumpsteered? That would contribute immensely to a loose condition of the rear end of your car. Of course the tires are responsible for a portion of that as well.

There are few things more disheartening than trying to negotiate a factory IRS through a turn at speed! :fart:

FWIW

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[sonic cobra]

The carbotechs will be a big improvement. I like them alot. I used 10/8 with street tires and 12/10 with the r compounds and bobcats all around on the street. You should concentrate on your own car placement on the track and hitting your marks. Once you start looking in your mirror or looking at the car in front of you that you are trying to catch, you are no longer focused on your own proper car placement. If somebody shows up behind you, point him by and eliminate that distraction. Just work on improving your own driving skills and when you catch someone , and you will, take the point by and set up for your next mark.
terminators are prone to getting hot on track. if you don't have a proper temp guage. learn to use the temp guage in the odometer. Its in celsius so you need to remember the conversion at certain key temps. 110*C = 230*F