How would guys at the track help u with noise regulations?

 

I'm not sure what they did as I run a stock exhaust, but I read that some people were too loud and were helped to get back on the track. I have no experience with it, just what I read. Do what you can ahead of time to avoid any issues.

 

I'll be running Megan downpipe, megan resonated test pipe, and catback Cobb Exhaust. Crossing fingers!

 

Typically they use turn-downs on the muffler tip to point the exhaust noise at the ground

 

I doubt you will have any sound issues at all..And the preferred use of the "turndowns" is to find out which side of the track the Mic. is for the sound reading..and point the turndowns the other way ! Pete

 

Well, with an open wastegate, Lime Rock is out for me.

 

I've used DS2500's, without cooling ducts. They are massively superior to the stock pads on the track. I did get some fade and have since switched to Pagid RS29 track pads. Cooling ducts will obviously help, jid2 seems to get along just fine. So, if you want one pad for street and track, I think DS2500's are a good choice, but be aware of the possibility of fading on the track.

 

I would only use the DS2500s in cold weather, with cooling ducts. In warm weather, you'll get pad transfer. The car will still stop, but you get the bouncy brake pedal like the ABS going off.

In anything above 60F, I recommend something more aggressive than the DS2500s in a car with slightly more power than stock. If you're making a lot more power than stock, say 300+whp, then go straight to a better track pad.

 

Didnt really look at the thread entirely. Ive responded to a few threads like this, so im going to reiterate what ive said before. Aftre competing in NASAs TT series for 2 seasons, im now a racer. Compared to most, im actually really new to motorsports and racing. However, i think i can provide some good advice. Here is the best advice i can give. Its quite general, but i think youll get the idea:

I understand where you are coming from because not too long ago i was a complete noob to motorsports. One of the many important qualities ive learned is patience. Its best to spend less on your car, and more on the driver. The driver will reward you more success than anything else. If you have money to spend, instead of modding your car, spend that money on instruction and running an entire season of HPDEs. That will be more expensive than you may think you know. However, that experience will be significantly more rewarding than any tricked out car with all the fancy bits. So the question is, do you want to be a really fast driver a year or two from now, or have a fast car right now that you will never learn how to drive properly?

If you want to be fast at the track, you need seat time, because experience will reward you faster lap times in the long run. And in order to get plenty of seat time, you not only need a car that is setup well for your level of experience, you also need it to be reliable so that you can participate in many events without any headaches. Therefore, the last thing you want to do at this juncture is add power to your car. Im sure this doesnt sound at all appealing right now, but you will understand better in time with what im saying here. Extra power is not only going to mask your mistakes, it is also going to overwhelm you (which will entail more mistakes). Beyond that, mods will prevent you from improving. Why? As a noob there is a great deal to be learned. Your mods will not allow you to know how much youre improving. And you will not know what needs to be adjusted when you get to that point because you will not know what those mods provided in the first place since you never learned how much youve improved vs what the mods have done for you. Most importantly, you will not have learned how to drive properly so you will end up with one huge confusing puzzle.

Most life lessons, like dont jump in head first, apply here also. You want to proceed with caution. So start off simple, and take your time. The more money you spend on mods, the more you take away from what you could have learned. Besides, if this is something you really get into, in time you will realize what really matters (which is pretty much what ive covered here). At a competitive level, even for weekend warriors, the factors that are a necessity $$$$$, generally speaking include tires, gas, fluids, entry fees, rotors and pads. Not to mention all the tools, replacement parts, and miscellaneous items you will need. So be careful on what you spend your money on now, because the more parts your mod/add, the more $$$$$ you will spend later for maintenance, because everything needs maintenance. So the more mods you have, the more you will spend to maintain, repair, or replace it. And if something expensive breaks and needs to be repaired/replaced, your expenses will go through the roof. Luckily i never made those mistakes, but ive seen quite a few people go down that road.

I know youre looking for more specific info. Either way, i wanted to share a little bit of what ive learned over the last 2 seasons, and as a rookie racer. In closing, i want to say one other thing. Im going to have to steal this quote from an instructor. All too often we hear the saying, practice makes perfect. Consider this also...practice makes permanent. So if you want to spend money, spend it on the driver. Anyone can drive fast, but not everyone can do it properly.

 

Yeah, got a few also. Some car parts related, some driver learning parts related.

Car Parts: Royal Blue is complete junk to me. I'd boil it all day long running PF 2 piece fronts and PF 97 pads. It turns into a waxy gunk. Bad. I ran RBF600. No Problems, unless I made problems. (was not running ducting)

Stick with reasonable tires when getting ready for track days. A decent summer compound is fine. You don't need r-comps when starting. The most fun i've had on track wasn't clicking the quickest tenths, but was going out on 235 400+ wear street tires, and re-realizing the limits of the car. You'd be amazed how you can pick up time, but running crap tires for a session, then going back to your Toyo's, or nittos.

Driver Parts: First thing I did when I started, was bought a traqmate. When you start, you can't feel whether you're doing better, going faster, scrubbing speed. It's a learned senstation. Being able to review your data, analyze it, and see exactly what you're doing, is PRICELESS. If you're serious about learning, and getting into any kind of TT, racing, or whatnot, Get it, or one of the other ones. I prefer'd traqmate.

And patience. Nothing's worse from an instuctor standpoint, than to be with a guy/girl that's constantly overdriving the car, and not realizing what they're doing.... I pull them in the pits. You have to become consistant, and consisant mens being patient. Hitting your braking marks, so that next time by, you can hit your marks in the NEXT corner, etc.

Last thing... Make sure you're ready for a loss. HPDE's are dangerous events, an accident can happen at anytime. Just check youtube and the hundreds of videos. A lot of wanna-be heros out there, trying for that last tenth that had a case of "driver ran outta talent". Just realize what CAN happen, so you can do what you can to PREVENT it. If you total your car, what happens tomorrow morning? If you're injured, what happens tomorrow morning. Not trying to scare anybody, but it does happen, and when you least expect it.

 

to keep alert, stay hydrated, remind yourself to drink water. get enough rest the night before. caffeine is not a good way to stay alert. eat smart foods and not much at the track, you need the blood in your head not your tummy.

 

Well that sucks...I'm sure everyone appreciates it when no one reads their posts.

Perhaps not, I've done more trackdays on a dedicated trackbike than I can count working my way from beginner to intermediate to advanced levels. I think I'm geared to understand a lot of things quickly w/ the evo as a lot of the concepts should transfer over. We'll c.

Agreed, I'm not rich, but I guess I'm in a position to do some basic power mods, basic suspension and brake mods, and afford the trackdays in the same sentence. This car is a DD, and I want the power mods for the street fun as well, so I'm going to attempt to "do it all."

I've never wanted a "really fast" car. If you look at my list of power mods you'll see they are very basic and perhaps less than most. When u mod for power, you lower reliability, but I have reasonable assurance the EVO is stout enough with my small amount of mods. I have no wish to pour $ into upkeep on a high maintenance car. In fact mods in the brake are are meant to preserve the car, not cost me more over the long haul. So my answer is...I'll learn properly from instructors and have some fun with the mods too.

Like I said above, the goal is to have a little more pep and still maintain relative reliability. I don't think I'm going overboard there by a long shot in terms of reliability with the uber strong EVO platform. If the car can't be reliable w/ my power mods then I've been drinking some tainted Kool-Aid over the past few years reading on EVOM, haha.

I think this is doubtful in my case. I will have complete faith in my coaches to correct me through the corners and braking zones if need be, regardless if I am going 100mph or 150mph down the straights. In fact, even with a monster of an EVO in the power dept., I'd fully expect my instructor, and myself, to dial it back as I'm sure his sense of mortality is just as good as mine. Again I'm not throwing in a GT35 here...

I appreciate the advice. Though I think I'm in a little bit different situation than you with previous track experience on a MC and no desire to race, I still appreciate anyone who takes the time to type all that out.

 

WarmPepsi...nice idea with the traqmate. W/ motorcycles we used lap timers and a transponder in the side of the track. Do you need a transponder w/ the traqmate as well? Very good idea, I'll look into it.

I agree about the loss. I've always been told don't track anything you're not willing to throw in the dumster at the end of the day. It's a cold reality! It'd suck to lose the evo, but hopefully everyonedriving during my trackdays will be thinking the same about their cars.

 

no, traqmate and some of the others are GPS based.... can be setup to log nearly anything.

This also helps for insurance or other purposes... some events you're not allowed to place timing equip, because then it becomes a "timed event". this is self supported in your own car. good stuff.

it has dual accelerameters (sp?) inside, measures G loading, makes a virtual track map, so you can see when you're hitting your points, etc.

I've even used it for aircraft flight testing. Not the cheapest unit, but the utility of it is great.

 

Is there a simple, inexpensive lap timer? One of those where you put a sensor in your car and a device along the trackside?