Trackday Preperation Questions

[ch4ng]

Hey guys, I'm planning to attend trackday at Pukekohe soon. Wondering if you guys have any pointers for me.
I'm a trackday virgin so I don't know how hardout to go and how much to bring.
http://www.countiesracing.co.nz/motor-racing/?contentid=13&bookingid=1316
Thats the controlled testing day info link. Anyone is welcome so if you're free, would be cool to see you there.

Question time.
What to bring?
My list so far.
Car, entry $, spare oil, water, some tools, jack and wheel brace, overalls and helmet.

I have a pair of Dunlop DO1J for the fronts I plan on using. Is it a bad idea to be running semi slicks on the front and street tyres (Firenza st-05) on the rear?

Any tips for getting round Pukekohe?

Cheers

[Dell'Orto]

Change your brake fluid before you go, and make sure your pads have plenty of life/put some new GOOD pads in. Make sure your oil is full before you go out!

[Boosted_162]

Change your brake fluid before you go, and make sure your pads have plenty of life/put some new GOOD pads in. Make sure your oil is full before you go out!

Wouldnt be a bad idea to take along a set of spare pads, cheap and nasty ones will do, just to get you home incase your old ones fail.

[holden_fan2005]

I found this a while back. Best if a track guru looks over it fist but that's what I'm going from.

http://planetsoarer.com/trackday/trackday.htm

[Truenotch]

Sounds like you're on the right track ch4ng.

I usually have spare oil&water, a basic set of tools (sockets, pliers, spanners & screwdrivers), cable ties and race tape.

Changing brake fluid (or at least a good bleed) and fitting new pads is always a good move if it's your first go. Keep the old pads for spares in case you cook the new ones.

Don't park with your handbrake on after running because it will warp your discs.


There's no real issue with running semi's on the front only in an FWD, but it might make it hinge towards oversteer - not always ideal for lower experience levels. The benefit is you'll stop a lot better, turn in faster and it will save your road tyres from being shredded.

[KinLoud]

I recommend you have identical tyes front and rear of your car.
Different tyres will have different levels of grip = oversteer if you have more grip on the front
I sure wouldn't want any oversteer if you were driving fast over the "mountain" onto the front straight... the wall isn't forgiving!

New brake fluid (doesn't have to be race fluid)
Check your brakepads
Take a spare set of brakepads
Make sure the oil is full!

Don't go off the track until your 5th lap (just work up your pace gradually)

Take food and drink

Have fun

Ken

[sergei]

FUEL!!! don't do my mistake when I went first time on track and had only half a tank of gas to start with, made 5 laps and had to go home.

[touge_ae101]

sounds like you have got it sorted.

i am of the opinion that your car will go a lot better with semi slicks on the front and road tyres on the rear as for a fairly standard road car, it will get rid of the understeer and make it a lot more fun to drive. i have found my car goes better with semi's on the front and road tyres on the rear rather than road tyres all round. (big rear swaybar will fix this )

but in saying that depends where you skill level is and always remember to be prepared for oversteer and make sure you stay focused the whole time you are out on track - may seem simple but when you are driving fast for long periods of time it really does take a bit of practice to keep focussed.

might pay not to run your car under say half - 1/3rd of a tank also or you run the risk of fuel surge.

+1 for extra brake pads + checking them. not fun having brake pads fall out due to being worn (had plenty of pad at beginning of the day but after 350kms of hard braking they dissintegrated) we were lucky it didn't come out somewhere too high speed and managed to save it from hitting the wall but could have been much worse.

other than that just relax and enjoy yourself!

[fxgt race]

With ken on ya tyres.

The semis will have a lot more grip, Your go around one of the fast corners feeling theres plenty of grip up front only to have the rear let go.

[Girvs]

Sunblock because you won't be in your car all day.
Pump and air pressure gauge, because your tyres WILL increase in pressure the more you drive the track, esp the more you work them.

I'm with Ken, I wouldn't run mismatched tyres. But given you wont' be thrashing your car from the get go (at least I hope you don't) then it will give you time to build your confidence up.

[Leon]

Where's that photo/slideshow thing of that Civic on mismatched tyres being turned into spare parts at Pukekohe when you need it ...

Not saying that's what *will* happen, but unless you're an old hand on the track, running lots more grip at the front can increase the risk of that sort of crash.

[Distrb]

Sunblock because you won't be in your car all day

this^ and lots of drink for you. need to keep fluids up.

i'd add in your brake bleeding tools (spanners, hose, bottle, spare fluid etc) in addition to the previous mentions of extra pads etc..

[touge_ae101]

Where's that photo/slideshow thing of that Civic on mismatched tyres being turned into spare parts at Pukekohe when you need it ...

Not saying that's what *will* happen, but unless you're an old hand on the track, running lots more grip at the front can increase the risk of that sort of crash.

as i understand that civic was mismatching tyres side to side as well as front to back - which doesn't sound like a good plan AT ALL.
having grippier tyres on the front doesn't sound like a good idea until you try it and realise it gets rid of the strong understeer in a standard FWD car.

anyway thats my 5c. give it a go if you feel confident after a few laps i say.

[Girvs]

I think the point that Leon is trying to put across is not that it will happen, but it comes down to driver experience with the car and the track. Someone new to the track may be better off on a balanced setup than pushing the boundaries by mismatching and having better grip in one area and less in the other. I can see the advantage to having more grip on the front, but to get that grip you also need to push the tyres more and heat them up. For a first timer I wouldn't be giving it my all.

[Leon]

I think the point that Leon is trying to put across is not that it will happen, but it comes down to driver experience with the car and the track. Someone new to the track may be better off on a balanced setup than pushing the boundaries by mismatching and having better grip in one area and less in the other. I can see the advantage to having more grip on the front, but to get that grip you also need to push the tyres more and heat them up. For a first timer I wouldn't be giving it my all.

This is exactly what I was thinking

[touge_ae101]

i tend to dissagree. i had semi's on the front for the first 5 or so track days when i first went to the track and only stopped using them cause they wore out to the point where they aren't a lot better than a road tyre.

i think understeer is more dangerous than oversteer in a FWD car. oversteer can easily be solved by holding the clutch in and steering out of it if it gets a bit snappy.
understeer is more dangerous for a first timer as you don't realise it is understeering until its sledging across the track, at which point it is too late.

you won't get nasty oversteer unless you lift off and brake hard. and even then its not uncontrollable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGytTRCBmN4

that vid was on the back track at manfeild where the surface is super slippery and it was a result of lifting off quickly and braking too hard over the finish line which was on a bend. kind of a worst case scenario for oversteer in a FWD car.

[Leon]

i tend to dissagree. i had semi's on the front for the first 5 or so track days when i first went to the track and only stopped using them cause they wore out to the point where they aren't a lot better than a road tyre.

i think understeer is more dangerous than oversteer in a FWD car. oversteer can easily be solved by holding the clutch in and steering out of it if it gets a bit snappy.
understeer is more dangerous for a first timer as you don't realise it is understeering until its sledging across the track, at which point it is too late.

you won't get nasty oversteer unless you lift off and brake hard. and even then its not uncontrollable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGytTRCBmN4

that vid was on the back track at manfeild where the surface is super slippery and it was a result of lifting off quickly and braking too hard over the finish line which was on a bend. kind of a worst case scenario for oversteer in a FWD car.

Yes, but you're a confident person on a track, whilst the original poster has stated he is a track virgin ... so I'd suggest conservative approach at least until track confidence is gained.

Plus, we don't know for sure the level of grip difference in his tyres. He might have *uber* sticky semi's, and fairly old hard rear rubber, which might result in a helicopter with wheels scenario.

[Girvs]

you won't get nasty oversteer unless you lift off and brake hard. and even then its not uncontrollable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGytTRCBmN4

Looks like someones trying FWD drifting

Leon beat me to it. Confidence and experience are the key here, not so much the choice of tyres Though they will in some aspect play a large part dependent on the first two mentioned items

[Adoom]

Sunblock because you won't be in your car all day.

Yep, even if it is cloudy, you will get sunburnt if you forget sunblock.

[1I1]

Plus don't forget you tend to drive like a mad man Rhys
+1 for matched tyres all round.
If Ch4ng finds the car understeery / oversteery he can always play around with tyre pressures.

Try to ensure you slowly increase your pace throughout the day rather than early on in the day too. The walls apear to be pretty damn close to the track in places

Probably wouldn't hurt to watch some old race footage to get an idea of race lines too