I've got my first track session coming up on Sunday. This will be the first time taking the 8 on the track. Only auto-x. Any tips, pointers, i'm all ears.

I am approaching this with a complete novice mindset.

 

Take it slow and work on being smooth, not setting the best lap time.

As you get more and more comfortable, you will most likely over-brake your car and overheat the pads so work on braking late and heavy rather then early and long. ( I can't tell you how many times I had smoke billowing out of the wheels early on)

Oh yeah, and don't lift mid corner!

Have fun!

 

I assume you have a good set of tires and brake pads?

 

for autox your first time there are only three things you need to remember. look ahead, look ahead and lastly look WAY ahead. Once you master that everything else kinda falls into place.

 

Read the OP. He's done Auto-x. This is his first real track day.

 

and dont forget to put good brake fluid in...i learned that the hardway my first time lol

 

^ my bad, I thought "only autox" meant it was only an autox.

In that case, looking ahead still applies. But more importantly you need to be on the line, as in hit EVERY marker your instructor tells you. I like to 'show' my students the line if its their first time on a track as some will have a better idea if you visually show them rather than tell them from the passenger seat where to place the car. Don't be afraid to let an instructor drive your car either, they'll only do it a <5/10th and can tell you if there is something wrong with your setup that might cause a problem as you pickup speed.

Lots of threads on the subject, but the basics are:

Look ahead
Hit all your marks (turn-in, apex, track out)
be smooth with all your inputs (steering, brakes and throttle)

do those three things and you'll have an absolute BLAST your first time out.

what track are you going to?

Good luck OP and report back with how you did.

 

^^^Good point about letting an instructor drive your car first. 2 things you need to do is learn the CORRECT line, and know where your safety stations are. Once you get the correct line down, and is getting faster, I would recommend lettign teh instructor drive again, this time at a faster pace. This allows you to follow what else they are doing, and expose the capabilities of the car you may not have noticed. Thats not to say they will beat on it, but have them drive it maybe 8-9/10ths.

 

You are already doing the most important thing right here. Go in willing to be taught and you will have a better time, learn more, and go faster than the guys who are convinced they are amazing already.

Focus on smoothness and safety. Be aware of flags, traffic in front and behind of you and basics like hand positioning. As you get more experience you can start identifying areas that are slowing you down and start working on them in order of maximum gain. Listen to your instructor and he/she can guide you to the next thing you need work on.

Above all, get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water and have FUN!

 

Guys,

Thank you for all the tips. As far as maintenance and brakes, etc. I'm all set. 60K service was done last week along with a whole slew of other things. Doing an oil change today as well.

The track I'm headed to is at Ft. Devens in Ayer, Ma. Old WW2 base that SCCA uses for a ton of thier events. I am familiar with the base from time in the USMC, but at the same time I know there are hundreds of unexploded ordinance pieces just lying around.....

 

damn i've been to devens a ton of times and never knew there was a track there

 

Update,

The course was a pretty fricking big auto -x course. The SCCA pulled out the all stops for this one.

- First run was terrible as I was so focused on trying to remember where everything was and where I was supposed to go. Had an instructor with me and he was about 14 years old. He just sat in the car holding on for dear life and didn't say ****.

- Second run was 20 seconds better better but still focused on control.

- Third run felt great....then POOF...blew clamp off the throttle body coupler.

Spent lunch fixing that and having bees invade my peanut butter sandwich.

-4th run was ok but I didn't get on it hard as I was still feeling out my hose clamp repair.

-5th and 6th runs were my fastest times over the day but car wouldn't boost above 11psi....slower is faster was the mantra. But now I need to figure out why I'm having boost issues (*****).

All in all it was a good day and extremely long day as well. 12 hours in total.

 

sounds like a boost leak. Probably with that throttle body coupler. Do a test to be sure. Make sure all your vacuum lines are on as well.