I am going to do a driving school on 8/15. I am a total newbie.

Any advise for a newbie?

Also, a couple of questions:

Suggested tire pressures?

Do I need a special tool to swap out front pads on the evo? In the service manual, it refers to a special tool.

My car has 2500 miles on it. Will I burn thru tires or brake pads?

It is at Blackhawk Farms. Anything at that track to watch out for?

Thanks

search for some posts in this section about "Putnam Park"

Most tracks recommend about 36 psi all the way around for awd cars. You have performance tires, so you might like a little more than that. Generally, on street tires you want to run as low air pressure without rolling the tire onto the sidewall. Mark 3 lines on each tire from the tread down onto the sidewall with chalk, if the chalk wears off the sidewall, you need more air. If the car slides around a lot, you could try less air.

If you drive like a maniac newb, braking late and hard, you will probably toast your pads. If you learn smooth braking, smooth steering, and smooth throttle and avoid making panic decisions, I am sure your brembos will do quite well. "The fastest way around the track often feels like the slowest" (quoting almost every driving instructor and fellow racer I've ever talked to)

That's about all I can help you with, since I don't own an Evo and don't know about its parts. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks Urbanknight and Mayhem.

I amd going on Friday. Looking forward to it. I have heard your fastest/slowest quote. Hopefully in the heat of the moment, I remember that!

You can still brake late and hard smoothly. That's what you're supposed to do.

It is a school. GO their to learn, not damage and abuse your car.

Smooth is paramount. Hope it rains! When you get smooth and later quick in the rain, in dry is a piece of cake!

Reember you're out to learn car control skills, not to race. NOt saying you shouldn't enjoy a little bit of the competiveness, but dont' chew off your tires and wear the brakes completely down. Most instances I have seen such results, the driver didn't get any better, and usually they learned bad habits, thinking destroying the car is what it takes to try and go fast.

Go slow to go fast.

GET A HARNESS! ASAP! If you've only got a day or two, quickly spend ~$200 to get a good harness and get the mounting hardware and any needed bits to get it in!

flinging around the car and using the steering wheel to hold you in place will not help you learn anything.

I went to school last month and I talked to the fastest instructor.
He said he has been to eight events this year with the same brake pads.
At least two of the students replaced their pads after one day!

I was referring to braking TOO late. If you're turning the wheel and still on the brake, you were too late and will lose traction, or at least scrub off speed in the corner. Even though it dosn't feel like it, it is faster to be accelerating out of the turn that slowing down into it. And yes you can brake hard, but not so much as to lock up the brakes, that's the easiest way to spin around and off the track (did it at my last autocross... too much tire pressure on a slurry sealed surface). But it also depends on how long you're running. If you're doing 10 min. sessions, brake fade and such are not as important, but if you're in an enduro, like 45 min plus, you have to conserve or you will lose your car to mechanical problems. Just to clarify.

A few comments about racing harnesses, since I saw it mentioned above. It has been reported that in the case of a roll over, a harness in a car without a roll bar can cause your head to not be able to get out of the way of a collapsing roof. However, not veyr many rolls occur, so it's a small risk but can have terrible results. In my opinion, although the harness will help you stay put and focus on driving, you have an Evo and your seats will do a rather decent job of that as well. Or you could get a more serious racing seat. I believe a good seat will do more than a harness, and you could always take the oem seatbelt and give it a yank to lock you in place before your session. I do that in my Lancer, because our seats don't hold you in place at all.

Well.....It went very well!

This car is a track star. The car was awesome. It is such a forgiving car with AWD and neutral suspension set up that it allowed me to be a little sloppy and still be very safe.

Brakes were incredible. I never had any fade. I love Brembo's.

I didn't buy a harness and totally agree with urbanknight. The Recaro's kept me locked in.

Lots of positive comments from other people at the event regarding the EVO.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I can't wait to go back.