Pezhead

Drew, lots of open spaces left. I think just cause it is near the holidays people are holding out. I've instructed the committee to look into getting some other folks to join us for a great day out. More updates on that soon. So if you want to get a spot get in as soon as you can cause once these other's start coming through it should fill out fast. I think some of the RENEW boys are going to come out for a play again too.

yup - sure is. We're meeting at the Villawood Kartatak at noon. There are spare vouchers if you'd like to come along.

We're actually booking the date for next year right now. And we are looking at a cooler part of the year So as long as we get the numbers we see this as an annual event for SAU.

Anybody that hasn't gotten you DVD, please PM Matboy. He's a top bloke and I'm sure would get right on it. As for number, the number of spots is set by Sydney Dragway. Not by SAU. They have a VERY fixed format and cost structure. But thanks for the suggestion.

I've got a friend coming and I think AggroDave is coming with a couple of his mates too if they can make it. Should be good fun and hey, there will be extra vouchers if you want to buy them and go for another round of sessions. Am I right! Of course I'm usually knackered after 30 minutes of running (Weak!)

Can't remember if they do jumpsuits. better bring full clothing just in case - or call them.

Time change to noon (due to morning party) Still plenty of spots left folks - runs rain or shine.

I've been to open days when groups were >20 and others where they were <5. All Pot luck. As Gregor said, we ensure our groups are small with similar cars and lots of opportunities for new drivers to get seat time with an instructor. Also wasn't my intention to turn this into an open debate on events. Just wanted to make sure you knew that SAU:NSW have some fun events coming up soon too. Hope you enjoy the day.

xactly! You can even sleep in on sunday now and still make it!

Hey everybody, I just called them and there is a small time change since they have a party booking in the morning. NEW TIME: 12:00

I should also add that the new contour GPS and Plus (is HD and GPS) have integrated action camera and GPS in one. Add $50 software "DashWare" and you are easily doing those telemetry style videos with overlay of speed, time and lap position. It can event do G-force too! I'll be upgrading to one of those soon as my current method for video required import/export from 4 programs and then manually sync up - a real pain in the bum. Benm just got one so hopefully he can post up a review here soon.

Why not come to our Texi in November and then Wakefield trackday in December?

A few of you have heard me talk about my QStarz GPS logger in use a laptimer. The unit is smaller than a phone and is a selfcontained 5 hz (that's 5 times per second) GPS logger. The logger function starts saving GPS data as soon as it has sync'd up with the satellites. It comes with several pieces of software including QRacing which does Rally stages, Drag Race and Circuit times. I've found that the lap timing is very good - probably to within around 0.1 seconds when compared to Natsoft timing. The drag times are very close too - within a few hundreths, but I did notice that the 60 foot times were about 0.2 off. This might be because it starts timing from the moment you move which is being tracked at 0.2 second intervals. I did try it at the Texi and well, it didn't do so well there. The tight spaces are a bit to confined for the accuracy of GPS. The unit has to be connected to a computer with the software to download and process the GPS data. But once there you can assign sector split times (you set the sectors of the route / track) and you can view individual or compared laps to see what your entry/exit speed and times are. This is VERY handy when trying to understand if you are losing top end speed by scrubbing too hard around a corner. The unit runs around $175-200 but you will need to bring a laptop if you want to view the data at the track.

Nope the old time was 6:30 before for a 7:00 am depart. Already pushed it back 1/2 hour so do NOT read Pat's revision. Also updated the date (thanks) Correct information: Sydney Meeting Point: Date: Friday 28th October Starting Location: Pheasants Nest Mobile Starting Time: Meet up @ 7:00 for a 7.30 AM SHARP! departure. We WILL leave right at 7:30 am so don't miss the bus.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. To those that haven't seen the discussion that went on in here - needless to say there was a simple misscommunication that has now been resolved. We do try to put on events that will appeal to most of our members at the absolute best price possible. Our members do deserve to know some more detail on how we structure our track days so here is a run-down: SAU:NSW Track Day Guidelines: #1 Objective: Provide a fun & safe envronment for all our members & guests to enjoy a great light hearted day. Financial: We target track days at break-even (that's $0 earned) for 90% entry rate. Anything earned above that goes back into the SAU:NSW account to help cover days that don't break even, cover club running costs or else invest into equipment to make our days even better (example are the cabana's at the Texi days - believe me, nothing worse than standing in the rain all day or getting burnt to a crisp on a sunny one). At our track days we have scruitineers, flag marshal, sign-on coordinator, group marshal, etc. All these people give their time and the costs to get to the track out of their own. NO club executives or helpers are paid as per the guidelines in our constitution. Safety & Timing: SAU:NSW targets our track days a driver training days. As such we are allowed to have passengers as instructors or instructees. It is our insurance guidelines that allow this on a Non-competitive day. As soon as timing is done for competition (excludes personal timers) then we cannot have passengers, full stop. Timing of an event changes the nature A) of people driving really pushing the envelope & competiting and B) the rules on insurance required to cover the event e.g. no passengers. Most of our track days are not timed for this simple reason. Personal timing devices are allowed. Allowing passengers is at our discretion but must comply with the guidelines of our insurance cover (e.g. min 13 and above + parent/guardian sign off, etc). Safety is one of our most paramount items. We make sure like experence and speed cars are grouped together. We ensure that newbs have ample opportunity to get an instructor for their first sessions to understand the basics. What really impressed me with the first SAU track day was the way scruiteneering was conducted efficiently and methodically. I've been to several other track events from other organisations and most had little or no scruiteneering done. I was shocked, how do I know the other cars driving around me are safe? Why do we focus on light hearted fun track days rather than competition? Simple, it is more attractive for more of our members. There are lots of options if you want to compete for lap times. Or even if you just want to go to a fully timed event. There are few options where you can just rock up with a bunch of your mates or fellow club members and not only drive your car but get to ride in theirs and others for experience. Want to see what it's like to ride in a 300KW+ GTS-T/GTT/GTR? no problem or S15/180/200/300zx/etc. Want to compare the experience of different suspension/tyre/power levels - no problem. There are few times or other events where you have that kind of opportunity. If you're interested in timed events check out Circuit Club, SuperSprints and loads more options. There are plenty of fully timed events where you can compete solo or even door to door. Friendly club Atmosphere - that's what this is about: Anyone I've ever invited to one of our club events has been amaze at how open and friendly our club events are. One friend had a number of mechanical issues at a Wakefield day and a few of us missed our session to help him out. He was amazed and thankful. And it was a good thing too, because his brake lines were scrubbing his rims - he was only a few sessions from a brake failure! I've been to track events of other organisations where you didn't get that kind of help. Where people are only interested in getting their time on the track and barely make time to have a nice chat. I know this is a long post, but I need to make sure that everyone can understand why there is so much passion from the execs and helpers about our events. This is just a fraction of what goes on behind the scenes. I'm sure many of you didn't realise so much thought, planning and decisions go on behind the scenes to make it all seem to just happen and flow when you rock up to an event. That is by design. The SAU:NSW Committee, execs and helpers to all this to make sure everything seems so simple for you when you come to our events. Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way. Eric Yamashita, President SAU:NSW 2011-2012 If you want to push your car's limits, take it to the track. And remember to support the club that supports you.

I know that a lot of you confuse Terry and I since we are both distinguised asian fellas, but that was Terry And Yes, Matt now owns Terry's prior Black R34 GTR. Nice grumble exhaust note on that car. Love it! Thanks all for your participation and all the weeks of effort that went on behind the scenes to make this all look so effortless on the day. Sorry I couldn't make it for the cruise but the pics look absolutely fantastic! Agree - bring on a picture of the cake.

Whoa there big fella (pun is funny - am I right?). I know that so many of us pour our soul and personal finances into supporting the club. While most of our members appreciate it I know that they don't know how much it takes to pull these things off. It's really kudos to everyone involved cause it looks so easy when it is all that hard work behind the scenes. As for paying for passengers, I'm not a fan. So long as we can make the track rental through drivers I'd rather not go there. However, if we have difficulty rasing the funds we'd need to look into other funding options. We cannot afford to run events at a loss, and tracks are very expensive to rent on weekends. I have similar frustration about the photo DVD deal. We have two top notch Photographers who are willing to do near charity work for us and yet most are unwilling to pay and would rather have lower quality shots done by friends. I know so many people on SAU here expend a lot of themselves both in time and finances - many times choosing to come to help out rather than entry fee for an event. Things have gotten out of hand on this topic cause of a few vocal folks. Like it or not, our constitution is clear that we don't pay our volunteers and that we run our club events as a non-for profit deal. We have a unique offering and we should be proud of how we run our events. We can't make everybody happy, but we do a dam fine job. I'm proud to be representing such a fine club. I ask that all members and SAU community remember that all of this stuff happens because of the volunteer work and our strong supportive member community. Please consider that and support the club that supports you. Now, back to getting on topic folks. Track days are great fun and SAU runs a fantastic one. Come along and find out.

Whoa there big fellas - easy. Seriously, Matt is just trying to lay out some of the financials and the alignment of our track days as a Club. There are a few guys like you that are really looking for track times. However for most of our club members a track day is just a fun day to get out and flog the car with a few of your mates along for the best ride ever. This topic has been heavily debated and one of the reasons that the partnership with RENEW didn't go smooth sailing. When we ran the club challenge days together each club had responsibilities and timing was managed by RENEW. Official timing hasn't been a focus for SAU due to the strong "Casual Racer" following we have in the club. I've gotten the business contacts to find out the costs and booking involved. However, the additional cost of having official timing adds to the day and for the number of people where it is absolutely a deal breaker is pretty few (yes, you may be one of them Michael). We are looking into the cost to have official timing there but if the costs are prohibitive, then we will just be running this as a normal SAU fun club day. I am already concerned about numbers as we aren't gettting the take up we need. Running track days is a very hard job. There is lots of competition with other clubs and vendors as well as ensuring we are meeting the core needs of the majority of our members. That is the job of the committee with feedback from people like yourself and others to ensure we are staying true to our focus. If getting times is all important I suggest you stay in touch with Circuit Club and some of the other "race" oriented clubs. They put on great days and include Natsoft timing. Also, because those organisations don't specialise in one make/model of car (like we do) they pull larger numbers which means more cars but also more affordable days and spreading of the costs, but also a few more cars/less sessions. Price performance you get more track time at our events because we run them just to break even, keep the number of cars low and groups small. On the off-topic of my GPS timer, I am in no way saying it is the end all beat all. However it did show me a few things I could clearly see I did better which helped me string together some much better laps. 1) I divided the track into sectors so I could see sector splits and which ones were my best - therefore my theoretical best time 2) I could bring up a lap and use the mouse to see my exact speed and time in the lap at that point 3) Using those first two items on my best laps I could see how at a few key corners I was trying to carry too much speed through the corner. I thought I was being "Smooth and Fast" by carrying the speed. In reality my speed around that corner was faster, but because the car was still sliding out (slightly) there was a few 1/10s where I couldn't get on full power/full traction. This hurt my speed at the end of the straight and another key area. Slower entry into the corner, resulted in my ability to get out smoother and ultimately be faster down the line. 4) I can compare two laps with very different approaches and styles to see exactly where I gain or lose time. Now, am I doing this to become the ultimate racer? Naw, I don't have the skill or budget to really chase down that goal. However, I am really interested in getting better and better. I've found this as a tool that allows me to do just that in my style of analysing and critically assessing what I am doing. BTW I also took some in car footage where now I look at my sloppy driving and will be working on that too. I Spend way too much time holding the gear shifter anticipating the next shift rather than being more precise with my steering. This is an approach that has worked for me, and the few people that I shared it with at the MDTC day (including a tarmac rally team) thought it was a good investment for $200. There's always more than one way to approach things and this is just one way to improve your times. Now, I hope I've answered the discussion items. I'm happy to discuss but boys, take it down a few pegs. This is about fun - remember? And the committee will be getting back to you folks as soon as we can about the format of the day. I know it is important but I don't have enough information at the moment to lock it down.

OK so the trip details are updated. Turns out Google back-tracked one leg so I've pushed the start time back 30 minutes and trimmed the pit stops to bare minimum. I know a lot of you long haul trip runners can do this no sweat in a quick run, but this is a group convoy. We have to plan for health breaks and there will be a few more stop/starts than if you just ran it solo. If it's getting on your nerve - then just go ahead of the group. The whole point of this road trip is to make it enjoyable for the group.

Tell him to drive like this: 4wheel drifing really is about learning to "kick" the car sideways with lots of rev's and a bit of clutch sidestepping. It actually isn't all that hard. But if he wants to get into drifting - why did he buy a 4wd car that is better suited to rally drifting?

Hey folks don't forget about the time change tonight either.

This is some good advice mixed in here. First even though it seems like a long time off getting through your P's isn't that long. As Aggroman has said, he could have bought a much nicer car for what he's put into his car. A typical build up of a car while you use it as your primary driver vehicle will take a couple of years. What Aggro isn't telling you is that he's cut most of the cost on his build by doing the work himself. He has countless hours into the car which if you were paying a shop would pay for a GTR a couple of times over. Each car will have it's limit in capability. So if your aim is to have a decent modified car always start from the best base that you can. But unless you are really good at planning your modifications and have the $$ to back them, odds are that you will end up with something less optimal than a car that started out as a good performer with some small mods. Get a decent NA car - the more displacement the more power but also less fuel economy. You need to figure out your budget and match. My son's friend has just gotten an NA supra. Decent car for the money, just a bit heavy (look who's talking about heavy hehe). My two schools of thought are if you want a fast car start as light as possible. It is much easier to make a light car quick (as in zippy and fun to drive). MX5's, 180's and hot hatches are all light with a reasonable amount of power and can be very fun to drive. Or if you are addicted to the "Raw power" sensation there is nothing like the feeling of a lot of horse power. But usually it's the bigger heavier cars that have donk's with the potential for bigger power. But your ability to translate the power around corners is limited by the weight and handling of the car. So really it all depends on what you want to do. Quick = power -vs- weight so some hot hatches or small imports will do better if you want quick Fast (as in top end speed) = power, which for NA engines is displacement and efficiency

Hey Tats, bet you're going to pull the sub this time

I'm a bit late into this thread but I have been first hand witness to a mini-truck that ran into a horse. This is about two decades back in Seattle @ 4 am (was on my way for a fishing trip). The horse had escaped a paddock and wandered onto a road. The whole cab of the mini-truck was smashed in and the driver was incoherent. Poor horse was still lying on the road huffing his last breaths. We had to keep reassuring the driver that help was on the way but he should stay put. He was dazed and almost in shock. His head was all bloody and I was concerned that he might have spinal damage from the extent of the damage. Basically when you hit an animal that size (but more about height - like a cow, horse or deer) their legs go and their body comes right up the bonnet and into the windscreen. It was a really scary scene. When the first aid came I had to leave to meet up with my buddy. So do take care when driving at night where there is wildlife about.

That's cool - at this point is wide open to all.