I did my first track event last weekend. I went to VIR with the PCA club . It was a DE event
and it was the first time i had my evo on the track. Evo has 330 to the wheels on a mustang dyno. Its an MR and i have springs and a rear sway bar. Put new brake pads (hawk HPS), new lines and new fluid. (huge improvement in stopping power). I run the nittos nt01 . Had the car aligned with - 1.5 front and rear and a little bit of toe on the back.. i was happy with the way it handled. very preictable and with the right PSI on the tires did not have understeer.. My best lap was 2.21.
I was in green group and on the second day i was signed of to run alone. It was a three day event. a lot of people were impressed with the car. on the back straight i happened to get next to a GT3 and in 4 th gear i was pulling away which was surpisingly nice... guy came to see the car after the run session... IT was a very nice first time event and cant wait to get some more experience under the belt... Track racing is the thing.... now its even harder for me to understand drag.

 

Your doomed for life now - welcome to REAL racing. However, I don't recommend -1.5 camber front AND rear. -2 to -3 up front with -1 to -1.5 in the rear, then try toe out in the front with 0 in the rear. Otherwise, you're looking good, but it would have been far better for you to be on street tires your first time out as opposed to very nice r-comps. I suggest trying to get several events under your belt on street tires, so you can learn better car control. Right now, you probably have a false sense of security due to how much the tires hide poor technique. Believe me, I know first-hand.

All in all, you have found the Evo's true calling, so kudos.

 

thanks for the reply. I thought about running street tire but i purchased the nittos with rims and it was a good deal so once i got them i could not afford to get other tires. i understand what u are saying about starting with r compaunds and i will try street tires in the future just to see where i really stand. R- comps do feel awesome. its a huge advantige.. I never felf the car so solid in turns. it just wanted to go in and in . As for the alignment i had a porsche shop do it for me. I wanted to get as much as possible from the front and about 1 on the rear but when i went they did totally different so i did not have the time to have them change it... I know u know a lot about suspenssion and now that i have gotten into track racing i think my next thing will be coilovers.. what would u recommend me ??? I can spend between 1000 and 2000.

thanks for the info

 

In that range, I'd go with the pre-configured PIC coilovers. I think they have 3 different types to choose from, and you'll have to choose the one you prefer. I think that's the best choice under 2k.

 

thanks i will look into them...input greatly appreciated.

 

+1 on tires. I spent first few years on street tires. There is much to learn.

Also, I have a hard time believing PCA signed you off to solo on the second day. I am not being negative or condescending. Not at all… but 1 day of HPDE is way way way too soon. PCA usually has quality instructors so I am shacked to hear that someone let you fall through the cracks. Each instructor has a different style and focuses your attention on different aspects of performance driving. A good instructor is worth his/her weight in gold.

Welcome to the club.

 

well i was surpised myself too but what could i do... he did not want to believe me that it was my first event. plus all other instructors were booked so i could not get anyone else to ride with me. He was helpfull at first cos i was not familiar with the track but then after 2 hours of driving on the same track he did not think there was anything else he could teach me ...

 

Congrats on your first trackday!

 

come one dont bash the guy.
Yes, pickup the book.
Try to sell the nittos and get some street tires.
What springs are you on?
Next time insist on more instruction and pointers, ask ALOT of questions.
Congratulations on your first track day!

 

i have the eibach springs on... thanks guys. pointers are welcome and appreciated.

 

congrats on your first track day, its a whole new world of racing now!

I agree 100% with the street tire comment. if you can on your next event leave the NT01's at home and run on some regular street tires if you can.

 

Well, you can always ask event coordinator for an instructor. However, running in a novice group you should’ve never been put into a position of having to ask for anything. I’ve run with many clubs in the past – PCA, BMW, Audi, SCDA, etc., novice groups always run with an instructor. As far as I know, by clubs' rules, if they want to let you solo they have to bump you to at least intermediate run group.

I was not there so I do not want to be hypocritical of your instructor. May be you are some sort of driving protégée. However, based on the info you provided it sounds like your instructor was not up to the task. After only 1-day, most people have difficulty consistently seeing flaggers, let alone seeing far ahead and trough turns, or use proper braking technique, or consistent steering inputs, etc., etc., etc. There is a very high chance that by letting you solo so soon, this guy created a safety hazard for you and everyone else in your run group.

Anyway, let me ask you. How many cars were in your run group? On second day, how many did you pass and how many passed you? BTW these questions have nothing to do with your ability to solo. I am curious about the run group itself. Thanks.

 

Well in my group we were like 35 cars. On the first session i started in the middle and everyone was taking it real easy and most of the people were getting used to the passing signals. Still i passed a lot of cars . the sessions were 30 mins each. on the second run i started first and i got passed only by carrera 4s and i kept up with him till the end.. we lapped a few cars. on the third session of the first day i started last and i passed a lot of cars. fast cars like gt3 and caymans were given the blue flag cos they were arrogant enought to not show me passing signal. on the second day in the first session and last with my instructor i started in the middle behind the carrera 4s which previously passed me. bu the end i passed all cars infront and i could not see the carrera behind me.... i got a few compliments by instructors from other cars that i was doing great. on the second session of the second day i got my pca log book signed off and i was allowed to run solo plus he checked that i could run i higher group. so i run in green till the end when they combined us with blue in the very last session of the last day. I will have the pics soon and i will post them .... I will be only one in the car unless someone photoshoped an instructor in it. btw there are ten flaggers on vir

 

Well, it sounds very impressive. It also sounds that you could have been bumped to an intermediate run group. Usually, not always, if some cars pass you, and you pass some, you are in a right group, but if you consistently doing all the passing than it’s a sigh you should be moved to a faster group.

 

It sucks to wait for a point-by, but it’s not always because the driver in front is arrogant. Remember you were in a novice group and as I said before, most newcomers are overwhelmed by everything they have to do on track. Watching mirrors often gets neglected.

Instructors in turn too have their hands full. And although most instructors pay close attention to mirrors, with some students it is tough to keep everything under control and letting someone pass is often not a high priority.

Than again, some people are just jackasses.