Texotic

Well, this was my first track day and it was absolutely awesome, probably the most fun I've ever had! I only drove on Sunday because I worked a corner on Saturday for a work/drive.

I was kind of nervous starting off because almost everybody in my group had been there the previous day and, thus, already had a full day of experience on me. When i met up with my instructor he said I was probably going to need to wave a lot of people by since they were going to be more confident and I didn't really know the line yet. The class time we had was pretty much just question and answer time; they had covered all of the instruction material the day before so I didn't really get the benefit of that either.

I met up with my instructor after the first class and he drove my car while I rode during the Blue group session so i could. All I can say is WOW, these cars are very fast. I didn't realize just how competent they were on the track. The line made a lot of sense and my instructor was great. I was passing people on the second lap, but was having a little bit of trouble with the 5-6 combo. I didn't have to waive anybody by in the fist session and passed a few people. On the cool-down lap he told me I was way ahead of where a first-time green group student should be and that I did very well.

On the second run, I was doing awesome. I had at least a couple of passes per lap and still didn't need to waive anybody by. BUT I did have a little hiccup coming out of turn 9. Up until then, any time the back end kicked out, it kind of brought itself back in line, so i got used to that. Well turn 9 is apparently the only off-camber turn on the track and when the back end kicked out, I expected to come back in line like it had been doing, but I didn't realize it wouldn't until it was too late. It came around and I did "two feet in" ended up backwards and went into the grass. No big deal, nothing got messed up... it was actually kind of fun. I went straight into Pit to get checked out and went on my way.

Third session went amazing. Had to wave by one GTO that started a couple cars back, but that was the only person that passed me all day. I really got the 5-6 combo down. My problem was that i was apexing 5, which put me out of position on 6, so i started to use 5 to set up 6 so i could carry more speed through the back straight. I saw the purple flag (5 minutes left) and the next time around I didn't look for the checker because you should be able to do 2 laps in 5 minutes... well apparently the turn 2 station waved checker, but I missed it. I saw it at 4 and backed off for my cool down. My instructor said he was going to let me go solo on the last session, but I wasn't paying attention to my flags enough.

Fourth went great. That's it, nothing too exciting, had the regular passes and no more wave-by's. I felt like I was going a lot faster than i had been earlier in the day and I know I improved a lot.

Overall, it was awesome. The GTO was the only person in my group that might have been faster, but not by much. The GTO that i waved, caught me because i got held up by a spec Miata, he hung with me for a lap, so i let him pass, but he never really pulled away after that, I felt like we were fairly even.

The track seemed really fast. I didn't have to use my brakes a whole lot, but I boiled them once in the second session, but that was mainly because i was using them too much I think. I checked my tire pressure and lug nut torque, chucked the wheels instead of using the parking brake, and raised the hood to let the engine cool after each session.

Anyways, it was awesome. I know reading this long post won't be a whole lot of fun, so here are some pics:

Front Straight:


Pit after my runoff:


Behind a Cobra:


Good-Bye Cobra:


Behind IS300:


Good-Bye IS:


Fellow Stang:


He's the next one back, coming out of 9, down the hill:


Coming out of Turn 3:


The 3 sets of "passed" pics are in Turn 10 (The Carousel), except the last of the 6. That one is the straight between turn 9 and 10. Coming out of Turn 9 is where I spun; I went off driver's right into the Turn 10 infield.

Argonaut

Yes sir, these cars are competent on the track. Smooth, predictable, just enough power to have a great time without too much to get you in trouble (ask the Viper guys about that one).

What do you mean you "boiled" your brakes in the 2nd session - what did you experience?

Welcome to the club, sounds like you are all ready addicted!

Sleeper_08

Yep sounds like Texotic is addicted!

What I enjoy the most is when you come up to a car/driver combination that is just about the same as you and for a bunch of laps you are going at it "hammer and tong". Sometimes they gain on you and sometimes you gain on them. Then they let you past and they stay on yur bumper until one of you decides it is time to let the car have a rest!

Texotic

When I say "boiled," I was coming in fairly fast into turn 3 and got on the brakes really hard and i got a little stopping power, then the pedal dropped to the floor and there was nothing there. By turn 4, they were back and worked fine the rest of the day. I was under the impression that boiling the brake fluid does that...

And yes, I am addicted. I'm already trying to figure out when I can get out again, but I want to change my brake fluid and pads. I also need to get my rotors turned, they were shaking pretty bad once we got out even during the first session. AutoX is a bitch i guess...

Argonaut

Yep, that sounds like fade due to the fluid. Stopping 3500 lbs of car can do that. You are pushing it hard enough that fluid, SS lines and track pads are in your future. Your rotors may not be warped, that would be surprising. What frequently happens is you get uneven deposits of pad material on the rotors and it causes the vibration. The solution may be as simple as a set of good track pads (I use Hawk HT-10 and they wear like iron) and a proper bedding procedure. I think Sleeper can address this, he had a similar situation with his brakes - thought the rotors were warped but it turned out to be the pads.

Texotic

Well, when my instructor drove it, he said the rotors needed to be turned. I may get some different pads and see what happens. What kind of fluid should get? ATE Super Blue, step up to Motul, or is that Castrol SRF stuff really worth $75 a liter? I just don't know how high temp fluid I need. Also, should I try to run a pad that will work on the street and track or maybe go with Carbotech and use their Bobcat pads on the street and get a set of their race pads for the track? Do our rotors withstand warping well enough for it to not make sense to upgrade them? And one last question, do SS lines help with fade or just improve pedal feel?

Texotic

Texas World Speedway is 2 exits away from my house. It took me maybe 10 minutes to get from my driveway to the paddock.

Argonaut

I use ATE Super Blue, its worked well this year for me and its reasonably priced. The Castrol is overkill. The best option is to have a set of track pads and track rotors and then a set of street pads and street rotors. But - its a bit of a pain to change them out everytime you go to the track. I did this for the first half of the summer. Then I got lazy and left the track pads and rotors on all the time. They are noisy and dusty but stop just fine on the street. Kind of depends how much street driving you do and if you can tolerate the noise. I still would be surprised if you actually warped the rotors...but its possible. You do not need to "upgrade" to some expensive rotors. Lots of racers use the stock rotors. They are dirt cheap compared to the alternatives and hold up well enough. I can get at least 8-10 track days out of a set...if not more, depending on the tracks I visit. But I also have brake ducts. The SS lines will not noticeably change the feel of the pedal. They are insurance. Under extreme pressures and heat the stock lines can bulge or worst case burst. The SS lines give a little extra insurance to prevent that.

Regards brake ducts: before I installed them, I could literally smell the brakes cooking on hard stops. Since the installation, not a wif of brake smell. I'm pretty confident they are increasing pad life, rotor life and decreasing the chances of fade. A worthwhile upgrade if you really want to get into this.

Sleeper_08

In my case what was happening was uneven splotches of deposits of pad material on the rotors. My suspicion is that they are caused by the ABS cycling. I got rid of them by rebedding the pads. Here are some instructions on pad bedding http://www.zeckhausen.com/bedding_in_brakes.htm and here is an article on "warped" rotors http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp...rakedisk.shtml. These links came from David Zeckhausen of Zeckhausen Racing and he convinced me not to buy new rotors from him as i didn't need them!

After one full season of 6 track days the rotors are still fine.

I used ATE Super Blue, usually found at European shops, as it clearly shows you when all of the old fluid is out of the lines. SS lines are about $200 a set but worth it. The next step would be a brake cooling kit. Mine is from Quantum Motorsports.

Texotic

Who are you guys using for SS lines? And are your brake ducts only for the front, or did you route something to cool the rears?

The reason I was thinking of going with Carbotech pads is because they claim you can swap between their street and track pads without having to bed them. That way I wouldn't have to have a separate set of rotors.