I'm not denying wider tires will grip better in corners. But it's a trade-off. Some corners will go by quicker if you can slide the car a bit. And some tracks have mile-long straights, where tire drag can become a real issue. You have to optimize your set-up for the specific track. And wider rubber is not always the answer.

Emre

 

well like i said im just getting into track time but how do you guys get to the point where you are able to attain sponsors? does the car have to be somewhat modified plus driving skill or all driving skill..... just wondering. also being new to the track some advise on track tires would be cool on a stock evo.... wet and dry tires that i can try out myself

 

You don't really just start going to the track and get sponsors. There's no exact formula, but it all boils to how you can help vendors make money. If there's something about you that brings in business, then you can gets sponsors. For some, that is supreme driving ability. For others, it's massive amounts of money spent to make a car look fast but not ever really racing it, because there are so many ricer fans out there who will spend their money to be like that car. For still others, it's their influence on the community. Of course, there are some who have combinations of some or all of the above.

Basically, you need to be good at something, then you need to get known, then you need to exploit that notoriety to help bring business to those who sponsor you. For now, since you've never done anything like this, just worry about learning how to drive and have fun.

As for tires, the stock Advans are awesome. I wouldn't recommend worrying about any other tires until you learn to drive to the max on your stock suspension and stock tires. When you decide how you want to progress (HPDE, time trials, or actual racing), then worry about getting a nice set of tires. I wouldn't worry about tires for wet right now either. Yes, it's a good skill to learn, but you would typically avoid wet events when you're starting out. I don't think it will be worth it to get a set of tires just for wet conditions.

 

awesome thanks for the advise thats what i was looking for

 

super crappy tires are the best. Limits your speed and keeps you in line normally.

 

The stupidest thing you can done on a HPDE is crash your car and go home. There's no trophy in HPDE, even you make a all time fastest lap record, no one will know!

 

It all depends on what you want. The rewards from HPDE are mostly internal. If you run a camera in your car, you can review it with a stopwatch to check your lap times. Then you can compete with yourself to get faster each time you return to that track. A camera set up in the back seat can also show your steering input, which is a great learning tool.

Warrtalon gives great advice in his post above. I would differ with him though when it comes to events in the wet. As an instructor for HPDE, I can tell you we LOVE to teach in the rain. Driving in the wet forces you to be smooth, and smooth leads to FAST when the road dries out.

If you're just starting out, I recommend bmwcca.org and audiclubna.org. There should be a local chapter in your area that runs HPDEs at tracks nearby. You don't have to own a BMW or Audi to join. I drive Japanese and instruct for both clubs.

 

I have also been told over and over how much one can learn while driving in the wet. We had a wet day two at BeaveRun last weekend which seemed to scare the instructors a bit in that they like folks taking it easy and learning the line with focus on being smooth. As things dry they say that the lessons learned in the wet make you much faster AND safer in the long run.

For as easy as I was going in the wet Sunday morning it did help me focus on the line I had learned and it also gave me more time at places on the track to soak in more detail. That detail helped a great deal and as a result inspired a great deal of confidence.