Starting Out With Track/club Days

[Clandestine]

Hi Guys,

I set a new years resolution to take part in at least one track day before the end of the year, it's something I've wanted to do for years and seems to be something I'm able to put off indefinitely. I've had a couple of runs in a mates pro kart and absolutely loved it, but don't have the storage space for a kart at the moment and want to get my car out there.

I've been looking into places, times and preparation required, but I'm coming up short on a few chunks of information. There seems to be a number of people on here who frequent these kind of events, and since half of my questions are Tasmania based I thought this would be the best place to ask.

Things I'd like to know are:

- Are there any track events coming up this year which would suit a first time, and where the hell do you find this information? (I'm in the south, but am willing to travel if need be)

- What sort of preparation would I need to do?

My car (R33 gtst) is pretty much stock and I'm planning on keeping it like that for the moment, but things like bleeding the brakes, changing the oil, perhaps installing a few braces, tyres etc.

- Is there anything I need that I might be missing? (i.e. helmet, racing suit, fire extinguisher, driving skill)

- Will I need to buy a cams licence or similar for the day, if so is it best to buy on the day?

When I say track events, I'm happy to do basically anything car based (hill climbs, motokhana, etc.) as long as it's noob friendly and there's a good crowd of people. Also, if there is anyone else who's in for the first time I'd love to have someone equally nervous and petrified on the day to hang with, so drop me a message and we'll catch up.

There's a slightly massive chance that I've completely over thought this, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jay

[jangles]

im looking at getting into it this year too!!

[The Bogan]

http://www.southernsportingcarclub.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40&Itemid=100

Some info from a club that we play with, it pertains to super sprints but it gives a good idea of what you need, its not as much as it seems and hitting the track is the most fun you can have with your pants on.

[Funz]

hey man, feel free to PM me, i do all the hillclimbs and quite a few track days down here in the south :-)

Things I'd like to know are:

- Are there any track events coming up this year which would suit a first time, and where the hell do you find this information? (I'm in the south, but am willing to travel if need be)

www.cmitas.org has all hillclimb listings :-) next one is march 20th at collinsvale.

- What sort of preparation would I need to do?

Car needs to pass scrutineering basically, no major leaks, seat belts, brakes and all safety stuff works.

My car (R33 gtst) is pretty much stock and I'm planning on keeping it like that for the moment, but things like bleeding the brakes, changing the oil, perhaps installing a few braces, tyres etc.

- Is there anything I need that I might be missing? (i.e. helmet, racing suit, fire extinguisher, driving skill)

aus approved helmet, properly mounted extinguisher, long sleeved clothing.

Would recommend keeping brake fluid constantly fresh (especially doing track days) and same with changing oil.

- Will I need to buy a cams licence or similar for the day, if so is it best to buy on the day?

yes you need a cams 2S license, so you need to sign up with someone like HSCC (hobart sporting car club - approx $60 a year) then apply for CAMS 2S ($95 a year i think)

this allows you to enter any hillclimb and also track days at a lower cost ($70 compared to like $120 approx per outing) Hillclimbs are generally $100-110 entry.

drop me a line, im regularly heading out there with several mates for track days and hillclimbs, and everyone ive met at these events has been awesome.

[zoidbergmerc]

Yeah I met Funz and few other guys from hobart at a hill climb in Burnie, they're all really top blokes and know how to have fun.

I did my first hill climb in a pretty bog stock WRX and I had a blast, realized I was going to need a lot more and bought my self a R33 GTS-t too.

If you're interested in Drifting there is a practice day on the 19th of feb. I'll hopefully be there trying to slide.

[Funz]

id recommend doing a track day first (i plan to do one in the next few weeks i reckon) get to know your car under faster conditions (not just street driving or 'spirited' driving)

Collinsvale was my first hillclimb, its a daunting run with the steep bank on the right hand side so you'd want to make sure your comfortable in your car at speed, through fast left rights with a big bank to your side (saw a supra go down there 2 years ago)

[Clandestine]

Hi Guys, thanks for all the replies, really helpful and makes me even more keen to get into it

@jangles We'll have to catch up at an event or something! If I plan out which day I'll let you know the date and what's going so you can come along too if you want, I have a couple of mates who have been meaning to do this for a while as well so I'm tempted to see how many I can coax out.

@mlr Thanks for the info mate, I had actually always heard of Supersprints and knew the style of racing but had never put two and two together somehow. Good list of requirements, I'll be making a checklist over the next day or two to make sure I don't leave anything out (slightly paranoid I'll turn up and realise I've forgotten something crucial, like the car).

@zoidbergmerc I'm going to try to stay out of drifting for a couple of years at least, I turn up to watch most rounds but don't think I could justify the costs in maintenance and tyre's at the moment I sometimes come along to the practice days, and I'm very keen to see what other people have done with their R33's, so if you're going to come down drop me a message and I'll come along for sure. I was actually thinking of going the reverse to you (getting a cheap WRX for track days, as I love my R33 too much to crash it) but that will be in the very, very long term. Do you suggest against WRX's?

@Funz I'm pretty keen to get out on a track rather than do hill climbs to begin with, I don't like the idea of being too close to a bank/edge on my first run. I've seen enough Targa Tasmania growing up (and held back tears in Love The Beast) to know what can happen to my beautiful car on these roads I'm damned sure of staying on my side of the road and generally within the speed limit, having never run against the clock I'm pretty certain this would be a completely different style of driving to anything I have experienced on the road If you're heading out in the next few weeks I'm keen as anything for a drive, though I'm run off my feet at work for the moment so weekdays are unfortunately out for the next month or so.

Another small question, what constitutes a "properly mounted" fire extinguisher, and is there any type that I should be getting over others?

Thanks again for all your help everyone

Jay

[Funz]

all good, ill prob hit up the track on a weekend if anything as im busy with work too lol.

properly mounted fire extinguisher is a good solid mount. my one used to be mounted on a plate in front of the passenger seats off the bolt holes :-) private track days you dont need one, but Hillclimbs and events you do.

private track days are great, just go out there and drive at your own pace! me and mate helped this other guy improve his lines by him following us around for some casual laps then we followed him, recorded it too so he could look over the footage :-)

[zoidbergmerc]

@zoidbergmerc I'm going to try to stay out of drifting for a couple of years at least, I turn up to watch most rounds but don't think I could justify the costs in maintenance and tyre's at the moment I sometimes come along to the practice days, and I'm very keen to see what other people have done with their R33's, so if you're going to come down drop me a message and I'll come along for sure. I was actually thinking of going the reverse to you (getting a cheap WRX for track days, as I love my R33 too much to crash it) but that will be in the very, very long term. Do you suggest against WRX's?

haha, nah I'm the complete opposite of you, I love my WRX to bits and I've got the R33 to thrash

The WRX is my daily and I can't live with out it. I got my R33 very cheap and the body it already pretty beat up so yeah..

the only bad thing about WRXs is that they're hard to get big power out of, but if you're doing rally that's not really a problem because you have to have an inlet restriction anyway (like 35mm I think)

Horses for courses really.

[Scando]

I'm pretty keen to get out on a track rather than do hill climbs to begin with, I don't like the idea of being too close to a bank/edge on my first run.

Very wise to start off on the circuit before you do a hillclimb.

Another small question, what constitutes a "properly mounted" fire extinguisher, and is there any type that I should be getting over others?

Go to Tas Fire Service on Melville St and say what it's for and they'll get you the right one. I think it's a 900gram one from memory.

[Funz]

I got my 2 extinguishers from Autocraft as a good mate of mine works there (Jamie with the black GTR that does hillclimbs)

[Clandestine]

@Scando & Funz Thanks guys, I'll take a look on the weekend and see what I can find. Not too certain what the wife will think of a fire extinguisher blocking her leg space, but I should be able to hook it up in a way that's pretty easily removable hopefully.

@zoidbergmerc The long term plan (10 or so years) was to get into Targa at some point, probably just the southern stages to begin with but hopefully the whole thing eventually. I couldn't bare the thought of crashing the 33, so before I get serious and try to push any limits I will need to buy a (most likely cheap) car to do this with that I don't care as much about but still is slightly competitive, WRX came to mind because I like the concept of AWD for a track car and they come up cheap at times.

[Funz]

@Scando & Funz Thanks guys, I'll take a look on the weekend and see what I can find. Not too certain what the wife will think of a fire extinguisher blocking her leg space, but I should be able to hook it up in a way that's pretty easily removable hopefully.

@zoidbergmerc The long term plan (10 or so years) was to get into Targa at some point, probably just the southern stages to begin with but hopefully the whole thing eventually. I couldn't bare the thought of crashing the 33, so before I get serious and try to push any limits I will need to buy a (most likely cheap) car to do this with that I don't care as much about but still is slightly competitive, WRX came to mind because I like the concept of AWD for a track car and they come up cheap at times.

my105 usually has a lot of good priced tarmac rally cars available eg:evo's wrx's, there was a targa spec 32 for sale recently too which looked tuff

[Scando]

my105 usually has a lot of good priced tarmac rally cars available eg:evo's wrx's, there was a targa spec 32 for sale recently too which looked tuff

Yep, keep an eye on my105 if you're after a tarmac rally car. You'll pick up something there that's already built and sorted heaps cheaper than you can build a car for yourself.

[Clandestine]

Thanks guys, I'm not exactly sure how I didn't know about my105 before, seems to be some awesome deals and a decent amount appear to have reg still (which I wasn't expecting). Will definitely be keeping an eye on the site over the next few years, though I can't really justify any price until I'm solidly into track days and driving half decently at speed.

I was reading up on another track day post (which I somehow missed previously) and one of the hints was to not put your handbrake on when stopped after a couple of laps. This seems obvious now that I've heard it, but I hadn't even thought of it, and definitely would have just chucked my handbrake on.

Is there anything that you guys have broken/would avoid doing which may seem obvious to you now but missed on the first day?

Thanks,

Jay

[Funz]

brake pads, brake fluid.. i would suggest making sure you are running a good set of pads with good brake fluid and even do a full flush before hitting the track.

yeah, dont use hand brake when coming back and parking in pits, a good cool down lap helps, and also when you do park, roll your car back and forward after a few mins to stop heatsoak on the rotors.

[zoidbergmerc]

yeah, dont use hand brake when coming back and parking in pits,

This, Trashed my rear rotors doing this

[Clandestine]

Okay, so I've been building up a few supplies since last time (helmet, extinguisher etc) and have decided I need to bite the bullet or I'll never do it. I was thinking of my first day being the 17th of this month (Supersprints at Baskerville with MGCCT/MCCT) which gives me exactly 2 weeks to get everything ready to go.

I was wondering is this a good event to start at, or is this a bit more serious than I realise? I read through the documents on the MCCT website and I think I have most of what I require, but have to admit the 10 car limit at Baskerville scares me a tiny bit, I've seen it with up to 3 which seems like a nice space between cars, but 10 at a time seems more like a race than a time trial? I was quite happy with the whole idea until I came across this video...

where I decided some people are a little bit more serious than I am and would most likely get annoyed with my grandma driving skillz. Interested to hear from anyone who has done one of these events before

The one thing I have left to do (other than a bonnet restraint, blue rectangle and taping the lights) is securely mounting the fire extinguisher within reach of the driver. I'm looking at using the driver seat bolts for this, but does anyone have any better ideas or suggestions? Also, if there is anyone around Hobart that wouldn't mind taking a quick look over the car on the days leading up to the 17th it'd be awesome, could drive around to wherever for like a 5 minute look over. My main concern is getting worked up about the day, turning up to scrutineering and be refused because I misunderstood a regulation

Thanks,

Jay

[woolls]

Hi Jay.

The clip is from a Tas super series round, not a super sprint.

I havn't read the regs, but normally they only run 4 cars on the track at one time.

Don't get yourself too worried about it all. Its great fun.

You will do a timed lap, after that, just get in a group that runs similar times.

With scrutineering, As long as your car is road worthy and hasn't got oil leaks you will be fine. Just follow the regs.

Just do it, you will have a great time. Its not about being first.

cheers

Leigh

[zoidbergmerc]

Okay, so I've been building up a few supplies since last time (helmet, extinguisher etc) and have decided I need to bite the bullet or I'll never do it. I was thinking of my first day being the 17th of this month (Supersprints at Baskerville with MGCCT/MCCT) which gives me exactly 2 weeks to get everything ready to go.

Do it mate!

I'll be there for my first ever sprint too on the 17th, I'll be in my Skyline.

Sounds like you've got all the boxes ticked to pass scrutineering, just make sure your battery is secured and you've got your coolant overflow dumping into a bottle, not the ground. Even if you've missed something there will be lots of friendly people there to help you out to make sure you get out on the track The whole "secondary method of securing the bonnet" is a little meh sometimes. Pack an old belt if you havn't got something else already . I'm pretty sure though that you don't need anything unless you've got an aftermarket bonnet, I know I've never needed anything.

At the end of the day you're not racing against anyone else, just against the clock, and that's still heaps of fun But when you're out there you'll be matched with others of similar driving calibre.

You'll need a blue triangle, not rectangle, lol, the sides need to be 150mm long, just use blue electrical tape or contact like you'd use to cover your old school books

If you're really anxious about it you can come round to mine on Friday\saturday night and we'll give it the once over and spin a few yarns with you. My housemate is also a Sprint virgin like you and will be taking his skyline for the first time too.

Edited April 3, 2011 by zoidbergmerc