track hack minimum spec?

[rollaholic]

looking at putting together a car to beat on at some track days. in particular an AE82. just wondering what everyone would consider a minimum of mods to keep things fun? apart from the common sense stuff, good set of brake pads, new fluid, etc etc 'service' type items... not concerned about being competitive or whatever at this stage.

obviously some semi decent tyres would be a good start

but what else? adjustables considered a requirement?

looking to get the missus behind the wheel cos shes a bit of a terror on the roads! let her get some of that crazy out in a safe place

[cogent]

nice/good cond shocks
nice springs
fresh/good pads
fresh brake fluid
good condition/reliable engine
fixed back bucket/race seat
4/5 point harness
properly mounted 1kg fire extinguisher in metal bracket
good rubber

should be a good starting point with lots of potential for fun!

right now I run

90 mx5
deleted cat, factory airbox, ARC intake pipe/resonator
BC coilovers
stock 14s
street tires
bucket seat
4 point harness

and it gives me lots of fun times.

[rollaholic]

how do you secure a harness on a car without a cage anyway?

how much value do you place on the BC's? do ya reckon a good set of shocks and springs would be equivalent? cos i'd be able to avoid a cert that way... and keep the car road legal to drive to and from events.

what sort of tyres are you using? and what kind of cost is involved there?

[cogent]

I would say that a GOOD set of shocks and springs will be BETTER than the BC's which I have now. The only reason I run the BC's is because they came with the car when I bought it, and I have other things that need attention (read as: $$$) first.

You can secure the harnesses to seatbelt mounting points, I have a rollbar in my car which the shoulder straps secure to, but there will be someone here who can help out. I know that jakesae101 is running a belt setup with out a cage in his ae92

[Malcolm]

depending on what you want to get out of it, I think it would be a good idea to try and build some adjustability into your suspension so that you can play around a learn a bit about suspension tuning. At the least look to have adjustable camber and adjustable anti-roll bars front and rear - those will allow you to work on setting up the balance of the car and trying to get the most out of your tyres. I wouldn't bother with adjustable dampers unless you can get good quality ones, it would be better to buy non adjustable ones that were well matched to your springs.

[rollaholic]

yeah i have no doubt the first time we get it on a track i'll discover a thousand things i want to change. which for me really is where the fun is at, tinkering with the car!

so that kind of stuff will come, for now though im wanting to keep things as basic as possible just to get the ball rolling.

[mr30%jr]

just trailer it, race it, see how it goes youl know what you need after a few track days.

my aw11 is resonably fun car with a blacktop, good pads, good brake fluid, toyo prox ra1 rubber

no bucket seat
no harnes
just a cheap 5 dollar helmet from a garage sale

[rollaholic]

you got standard suspension in that thing then?

[Leon]

Bang for buck performance:

Good tyres (with bad suspension, you'll fXck the tyres fast though)
Springs
Shocks
Adjustable rear sway bar (awesome beyond words)
Wheel alignment
Bushes
Brake pads, fluid, new discs.

Inside
Harness
Seat

Then develop your driving. At the point where you can drive the pants off your car all day every day in any conditions, then start looking for power.

[Mike228]

Not much choice out there when it comes to after market suspension in the AE82's. Though as mine is yet to see a track I can't add much more than that sorry.

[pc]

I started with king springs, KYB shocks, some semis, and new brake pads... you can race anything in any condition, but on an old car I would concentrate on making sure the factory stuff is working up to factory spec first... then go from there as the budget allows.

You may want to look at safety items next, like a cage, seat, harness. These cost a bit, but it depends what direction you want to go as to how important it is to you.

[mr30%jr]

i just run kyb excel G replacements and some jamex springs. nothing spectacular.

[Truenotch]

You can have a ball in a pile of crap.

I took my standard EP71 to Manfeild for a trackday about a month ago... Stripped out the rear for a laugh, threw my 15's on it with decent (worn) road tyres, a set of 2nd hand brake pads and new fluid. It was an awesome day! The shocks are dead and the 2E was smokey and hot but I'd bet we had more fun than some others with more hi-tec cars. We also got down to 1:33/34's with a top speed of 150kph at the end of the straights... That's getting close to a friend with an FXGT with suspension, tyres, good alignment, half cage and 6 speed.

My advice would be to fit decent pads and bleed with good fluid (Bendix ultimate pads and motul RBF600 fluid).

Keep it standard and develop it from there. Start with the things it does worst and improve bits as you go along. You will likely end up doing suspension and tyres first and move on to the engine stuff later on.


Remember, seat time is more beneficial than shed time! So get out there and do as many trackdays as you can.

[mr30%jr]

You can have a ball in a pile of crap.

I took my standard EP71 to Manfeild for a trackday about a month ago... Stripped out the rear for a laugh, threw my 15's on it with decent (worn) road tyres, a set of 2nd hand brake pads and new fluid. It was an awesome day! The shocks are dead and the 2E was smokey and hot but I'd bet we had more fun than some others with more hi-tec cars. We also got down to 1:33/34's with a top speed of 150kph at the end of the straights... That's getting close to a friend with an FXGT with suspension, tyres, good alignment, half cage and 6 speed.

My advice would be to fit decent pads and bleed with good fluid (Bendix ultimate pads and motul RBF600 fluid).

Keep it standard and develop it from there. Start with the things it does worst and improve bits as you go along. You will likely end up doing suspension and tyres first and move on to the engine stuff later on.


Remember, seat time is more beneficial than shed time! So get out there and do as many trackdays as you can.

trust in markku hes used to racing in full blown track demon. and if he can have fun in an old EP you can use anything, just pick something light and nimble, old EE rollas or ae82s

[B1NZ]

how do you secure a harness on a car without a cage anyway?

Had a quick skim read and didnt see this answered so correct me if I am wrong but, You can use a harness by using the eye bolts that usually come with a new harness, remove the front and rear seatbelts and you can attach the eye bolts where the old seatbelts were, so the rear shoulder straps attach to where the rear seatbelts were and the lap belt where the front belts were anchored.

Bear in mind this wont be legal on the road unless you get an authority card through MSNZ so may pay to swap them over at the track

[gurutasker]

Remember any MSNZ track day you will need to meet Schedule A requirements.

http://www.motorsport.org.nz/Regs/manual.htm#Live

Also, if you want to give the car you have a go without spending much on the track, see if any local car clubs are running a sealed Auto-X event. They are a great way to get started on a budget.

[Truenotch]

Re Harnesses:

To secure a harness with no cage you run eye bolts and anchor them with a metal plate on either side of the body. They have to be around 65x65mm and 3mm thick.

Everything you need to know about safety standards is in Schedule A of the motorsport Manual.

[KinLoud]

I've thought about how to do this sort of thing on the cheap...
Objective - to get out on the track with minimum stress/cost/effort and to maximise fun/driving skill/experience

Car
- get car with factory sport motor (4age etc.) you get the bigger brakes and (slightly) stiffer suspension without having to do much work.
- get common car so replacement parts/panels/lights are easy/cheap to get

Engine
- don't overhaul it just drive it. if it dies put another one in
- always make sure it has oil topped up before any "spirited" driving (this is what often kills 4age motors)

Brakes
- new semi metallic pads
- new fluid (dot 4 is ok if it is replaced before each trackday/event)
- push hard on the pedal!

Suspension - nothing fancy needed here! Just follow the basics
- new shocks or "freshen up" old shocks with some trans fluid. I ran new kyb excel G shocks (like mr30%jr) in my racecar for about 4 seasons, ask anyone who came for a ride how it handled!
- start with standard springs, maybe find a slightly stiffer spring for the rear (fwd cars) to reduce understeer a bit)
- swaybars... standard to start with

Tyres
- find 15" rims, nothing fancy, doesn't need to be bling! steel will do
- make an effort to get 4 tyres of the same brand/type/size so that your handling bias (over/understeer) can be sorted by suspension
- avoid cheap brands (especially chinese)

Wheel alignment
- just use factory settings

Seat
- factory (presuming car is the sports version)

Seatbelt
- factory can be a good starting point... in the past I have put the seat back one notch from my usual position, pulled the belt tight then "locked" it by pulling so the inertia lock activates and then sliding the seat forward to the usual position = nice tight seatbelt that holds you in position.
- OR get a 3/4 point harness similar to this http://www.racing.sabelt.com/index.php/ ... CatID/986/
I had one in my trueno GTZ... I just had bolted it under the factory belt using slightly longer bolts (pick a part) so I could use factory belts on the road and harness on the track. the shoulder harness bolted to a rear seatbelt point. it was hidden by the rear floor mat... just removed rear seat cushion on trackday so shoulder harness could go straight to my shoulders.

Then get out there and drive

[KinLoud]

More of my thoughts...

Get an AE101 Levin or trueno - they are pretty cheap now.
Many AE92's are the same price but older/less power/ less common! Also, many AE92 and AE82's are rust traps!
Make sure it is a manual

Make sure it has a wof or can get a wof easily - not being able to drive it to get tyres/wheel alignment/bed in brakes is a real pain. Also you won't need a trailer to get it to the event
Use ST182 rear springs (approx 1 coil "removed") to get a stiffer rear end to balance out understeer

Figure how to increase negative camber on front and rear of the car for free (can be done by slotting holes a VERY small amount if you know what you are doing)

If you go for an AE92/101/111 toyota then talk to me as I have set up a couple of great handling cars for very little $ (plus I'm sure to have some useful bits lying around)

Get out there and drive!

[Leon]

You could also do what I did.

Get given 1984 Pulsar 1300cc.

Bolt in extinguisher.

Enter every event possible for 18 months in a row.

Sell Pulsar still in great condition, but with VERY unusual tyre wear patterns. Standard suspension, 45psi front tyres at Manfeild, so much lean that it took all the writing off the sidewalls. Rotate tyres on rim. Repeat.

I raced the car a week after I was given it, and my modifications were to strap a toy mouse to the front grill. I also chucked 20 litres of av into it, as it hadn't been driven more than 10km in a row in around 9 years. Start of the day it wouldn't rev past 5000rpm. End of the day I was pulling 7500rpm in third down the front straight (redline was 6000rpm).

You can race anything. It just depends if you're worried about going fast.