The purpose of this thread is to provide useful info for those about to drive on a racetrack for the first time. I wrote it with the S2000 in mind, but many of the tips apply to any car/driver. If anyone who reads this thread learns something then I guess the thread's purpose will be fulfilled. (Note: I first posted this at s2kca.com. I've edited it a little and updated it with some of the other good ideas that were posted afterwards.) I hope this helps!

When I went to my very first racetrack event, I knew very little. In fact, I didn't even know how little I knew! During the dozens of track days since then I picked up a few things and would like to pass them along so the first-timers that read this might be a little more prepared than I was. For those of you who know a lot about tracking your car, please feel free to add some things to the list (tips are not listed in any particular order)... Oh, and if you have a different opinion on any of this, please speak up so we can get a discussion going.

1. If you are really hard on your brakes, you might want to bring an extra set just in case your stock pads don’t last. Consider upgrading to brake pads designed for racing or autocross. Hybrid street/race pads are great when you're first learning.

2. Flush your brake fluid and replace it with ATE SuperBlue or Motul 600. The stock fluid can boil (fluid fade), causing your brake pedal to get mushy and compromising your car’s ability to slow down properly.

3. Read "Going Faster" or "Speed Secrets" to familiarize yourself with racetrack driving and the physics of what you'll be feeling out there. It's way, WAY different than driving hard on even the twistiest road. If you think your highway & byway skills will automatically translate to the track you're sadly mistaken.

4. Get familiar with how to bleed your brakes. If your fluid boils you might have to bleed them at the track.

5. Remember to be real easy on your brakes during the cool-down lap so your brakes can well, cool down. In fact, try to avoid using them at all for a full lap, and then drive around the paddock awhile before parking. Failure to cool them down sufficiently can cause your fluid to boil and/or crack your brake rotors.

6. Speaking of rotors, do NOT put your parking brake on right after you come in from a track session. Doing so when your brakes are hot (yes even if you've cooled them down on the cool-down lap) can result in warped rotors.

7. Make sure you check your tire pressure after each session, especially the first one. Be sure to let a little air out as the day goes on. The tires get really hot out there and with the heat come increased air pressure. With higher pressures come decreased traction and the possibility of a tire failure.

8. Learn the racing line at each track you run. (For those of you on the left coast, you can view turn-by-turn descriptions of Thunderhill, Laguna Seca, Buttonwillow, and Sears Point at this Porsche Club website: http://www.pca-ggr.org/ttvenues.html#thunderhill)

9. Please understand that you are not going to be actually "racing" out there. If that's what you're expecting, you'll be disappointed. Take it slow and easy, building speed throughout the day as you become more comfortable.

10. Slow the hell down! There are a number of cliches out there, and none are more true than "slow down to go faster." It's all about smoothness: Be gentle with the steering input (don’t jerk the wheel,) and remember to go easy on and off the pedals.

11. Tracking your car involves risk to your car and your person, so check with your insurance company about coverage in a "non-competitive driver education event." Don't be surprised if they say tough luck. Nevertheless be assured that if you drive well within your limits there's little chance that you'll need to worry about insurance.

12. Get your tech inspection done by a reputable race garage or knowledgeable mechanic-buddy. Have the inspection done at least a few days before the event, just in case something is wrong and needs to be fixed.

13. Ask the event organizers for in-car instruction before the event. This is very important no matter how well you carve up twisty roads. Racetracks are a totally different animal, and are WAY MORE FUN TOO!!!!!

To put any of this to the test, check out www.leadfootadventures.com, or any other reputable HPDE/track group.

 

Nice post man, I learned a few things!

 

Glad to help, bud.

 

Good Call

 

14) Work up to speed at your own pace. Pushing beyond what you are comfortable with is the fastest way to a crash. When I take a student out for that first session, I tell them "start off at the same speed you would drive through your neighborhood." It will help you find reference points, help you relax, and take the strain off of feeling like you "must" go fast..

Jon K
www.seat-time.com

 

15) Understand the concept of a friction circle.

Scorke

 

This is a great post, there is alot of good info in here, I plan on starting to track my car, in about a month or so for the first time ever. I will have to get a copy of that book, because the last thing I want to do is take my car out with the name of my new business all over it, and crash it into a wall. Thanks again!

 

to the creator of this thread! Excellent idea. I hope this thread grows and grows. I am an absolute novice when it comes to "tracking" my car, and I am spending as much time as I can reading and studying techniques etc. before I even get to the track. I'm in the middle of reading "Going Faster" right now and man, that's some great information.


Anyway, thanks for creating this thread, and I ask, and hope that some of the more experienced will continue to add to it.

 

16) Keep things simple.
Braking point, Braking zone, turn-in point, apex, track out.

Leave trail braking, slip angles and other such stuff till you get those things consistant. Some instructors tend to get overzealous and try to make a student drive like he does at that point, without thinking about how he/she got there. It's like building a house, you can't put the windows and doors in till you get the frame built.

Jon K
www.seat-time.com

 

^ Good point Jon, thats something that the driver NEEDS to get down before worrying about anything else.

Another one that most are likely to skimp on is heel and toe or blipping on the downshifts. People do not realize how much not matching the rev's can upset a car, luckily because our cars are AWD the drivetrain shock is handled via all 4 wheels however if you mess up a shift badly in a RWD car you are going around and around. It's a skill that hard to learn while in the midst of trying to learn a track, so it's best to practice far in advance to your track-day.

Scorke

 

Thanks for the great additions to the list. I too hope they continue!

With regards to heel/toe braking, I don't teach novices to do this. Most of the students I've taught have been in RWD cars, and scorke is absolutely right about how bad downshifts can loop the car. Still, there's enough to think about when you're new out there than to worry about heel/toe techniques. To avoid upsetting the car with a funky shift, I tell them to brake in a straight line and shift only when the car is slowed down enough to enter the corner. After the clutch is out and the driver is able to balance the car then they should turn in.

Once the driver has gotten enough track days under the belt to really establish a comfort level out there then I start talking about heel/toe. Usually this isn't until they've driven in the intermediate group for a couple days though.

 

^ That is exactly what I do. My last few experiences with instructing have been in two c5 zoh's and a m3, one of the guys in the zoh couldnt revmatch and when he didnt and let the revs dropped we spun doing about 80, the other zoh driver coudlnt either but always downshifted in a straight line as per my requests, the m3 driver was a star.

I agree with what you said 100percent, as per my first post I said just about the samething, however it really is a nice thing not to worry about being killed by your driver not knowing how to do a simple thing

Scorke

 

Amen to that!!

 

I find teaching heel-toe and such to be from necessity and driver habits the first day. I try to stress the straight line stuff, and then as I see they got it, introduce blipping, or usually at the very end of the day (after the last session) demonstrate in the paddock, and tell them to practice it on the street.

However.. I had a student once who was SO bad about locking the rear wheels up in downshifts, I worked on just that for 3 sessions.

In my 5-step above, the "Braking zone" is the area I stress getting downshifts and straight line braking done.

Of course there was the student that couldn't remember the track each lap and which way each turn went.. so every lap was like the first.. but we could make another thread on student experiences.

Jon K

 

If you are a new driver don't let yourself get caught up in trying to go with traffic or keep up with your buddies. Master your technique and speed will come. On the other hand you keep up with your buddies, with bad technique and you may be holding traffic up for a while.

As Scorke implied some guys are natural, some have to earn it.