True that

Only car Sharkbite couldn't handle was the Accord

Scorke

 

400-450 seems to be a good goal to obtain...one day. Put the money into yourself first before you ball up the car and lose all that hard earned Canadian cash on parts.

 

Learn to drive the car stock first. Its fast enough for HPDE to have a lot of fun. The biggest improvement in lap times can simply be in a driver change. I am in the same situation as you. I recently joined NASA and have signed up for a few HPDE's in the up coming season. I bought a SAE2005 helmet, tires, new rotors, track pads, street pads, SS lines, sway bar, ETC. And that is just for the first event. Then there is fluids, more tires, more brakes, and extra cash in case stuff breaks. A budget for those wear items is a neccesity. Dont waste your time and money worrying about power, when you can improve some much more usable stuff(your driving ability). Dont take that personally, because I know I need alot of improvement too, lol. Good luck and have fun!

Craig

 

i've tracked my daily driver many times, it puts down ~ 500 at 32psi, but i would always turn the boost down on the track to the 24-25psi range because i was afraid of brake fade at the higher power level. even at the 25psi i've boiled them over though, but it only happened 2 times. in my opinion the 25psi tune (my guess is low 400whp) is very managable on a full weight well equipped car (coilovers, brake mods, good pads, good tires, harnesses). keep in mind it was with a very lazy 35r turbo on the stock 2.0L, so full boost in 3rd gear was around 4800rpm. the laziness of the turbo definately keeps things more managable mid turn, and the only thing to watch out for was entry speed. i never felt unsafe in the car.

on to the time attack car we are building.... this car has a 2.3L with the hta86 making 580whp at 29psi. we did extensive weight reduction, down to 2600lbs. the first time out we ran it at 17psi (wastegate pressure, 400whp), the car felt fine controllable, and a blast to drive. this last weekend i cranked the boost to split the middle from wastegate and full tilt. it was around 24psi, or around 500whp. for some reason the car is a totally different monster now. the speed and acceleration are scary. in addition to this, on the first hot lap around i went to brake on the back stretch of eagles canyon, and it must have been cold brakes/tire or the very rough/bouncy surface, but ti threw the car straight into the dirt at 100+mph spinning around and back onto the track. it very easily could have rolled. i got lucky the damage was a few zip ties on the bumper and that was it. after that off i was MUCH more careful on entry speeds and the accelerations down the straight. now the car isn't touching another track until i get a cage in it. the power and acceleration of the car is now officially at dangerous levels for me. totally different car from a stock weight 400whp car.

 

I agree with mouseIX, learn to drive it stock, then take progressive steps up in power/tire/brake/suspension mods. Most of these mods will make the car react differently and knowing how it reacts is crucial for your safety and fun that you'll have on track.

KevinD didn't mention it in his post, but his first track days in his DD evo were with minimal mods and street tires (before the 35r set-up), he worked his way up from there. My first track days were completely stock and at that time, it was as much as I could handle. Just work on the driver mod first, you will be happy!

 

^ very true. i started with a completely stock evo first track day. worked my way up, started with harnesses, rear sway bar, then exhaust, then cams, and all the other bolt ons. did a bunch of track days with that setup, then added the turbo, then stickier tires, then track pads. i've done HPDEs at just about every stage up mods i've done.

 

That's important to note since we are talking about power for a complete track noob, not a time attacker.

 

with that said, whats the most power experienced drivers are racing around on?

 

For most of us in our club, we are just doing open track days, there is no competition/winner. So the upgrade path is dictated by the amount of time that you spend tracking and maximizing your set-up. The majority of us are below 400whp, which for me, is a point where the car is still very reliable and quite enough power to hang with just about anybody on the track. It is a blancing act of power/handling/ and ability that makes for an enjoyable experience.

 

a bad driver in a fast car is slower than a good driver in a "slow" car.

See the sticky in this forum

This weekend, @ 370hp/tq in a heavy X, I had no problems with anything but KevinD's rock chunker.

 

Post or email me your in-car footage and i might be able to help you out.

 

I race in Super Touring, and my racecar has made anywhere from 320-350whp.

 

QFT. you can shave big numbers off your times by learning optimal braking/accel lines, apex's, and knowing your suspension and how the car reacts in situations (oversteer/understeer, etc.)

 

having difficulty with that its an old camera that uses firewire. apparently no computers are made with firewire anymore my desktop i used to video editing took a dump, and the new one doesn't, nor do any of the laptops i have. instead of buying more equipment to transfer the data, i'm just going to buy a newer camera (gopro HD).

 

the AMS time attack car is upwards of 700whp i believe. i think gates was well into the 500's. mine for the most part will be 650whp tops i think. not sure what the sierra sierra car makes, but its very fast as well.