O SHXT, or O Face?

 

I've been hanging on to this link for a couple years. :P I love to watch it. It's a BMW 325 going around Calabogie with the camera equipment and gps they offer for a fee. http://www.racedv.com/u/1611/140/

Spin9k is right, the straights there really aren't as long as they look. Nothing like Mosport. What I love about this track is how it's a series of turns. Mosport is turn, straight, turn straight... Calabogie is like shannonville and mosport had a baby. How's that for a simile?

 

Mosport only real long one is the one between turn 5 and turn 8...anyways, from the video, it looks like a very good track for the rx8 indeed since there are multiple turns.

And yes your anology is good...shannonville and mosport had a bastard child...why the fck is that so far away DOH

And Footman, I am sure you will spend more than ONE tank of gas at the track. All those times I was there last summer, I never get less than ONE tank refuel at the track...talk about mpg hog lolz

 

True.... at the track, I won't go below 4000 rpm anyways.... so more than one tank of fuel.. it's going to be FUN FUN FUN!

oh ****.. WALL WALL WALL!!!!

 

last summer i went on a mini vacation with my family to Calabogie while there i noticed an abundance of 911's and various other Porsche's some with full race decals and towing little trailers with race tires. i was so annoyed i was that close to a track and with out my 8 and unable to do some lapping. shannonville i get pretty constant 28L/100km while other shorter tracks where i'm staying closer to redline like dunnville im getting 32L/100km. cant wait for the season to begin.

 

So... assuming no one on this thread is able/willing to book Calibogie and organize a lapping day there, does anyone know about any track days scheduled for 2009? It sounds AMAZING!

... and for those contemplating how much gas they'll use at a track day; you also need to add the wear on your tires and brakes and the potential of damage to the equation.

Its BIG fun, but there is a big cost... and there are risks.

Say, for you experianced RX8 track day drivers... how hard are our cars on tires at the track?

 

I had one track day at Mosport on my stock tires, and ended up having to buy new rubber when my original tires only had about 20k on them (best guess...)

So yeah you will wear down your tires... but its soooo worth it!!

 

I recommend www.motorsportsreg.com

....as that is where you register for many events everywhere from many different clubs. Once there, go the 'calendar' I would choose 'open track' and 'driver school', then put in your zip or Canadian postal code and the correct distance you are willing to go (make sure calabogie is within that range) and do the search.

Once you have the results, see if you can get into those events. There's not usually much to go thru, maybe a signup, or in some cases a small memebership fee. To actually signup on the website you need to setup a free acct and put in your particulars, then do the online registration. It sounds complicated, but most clubs don't want to be bothered with these details, so this site takes care of all the signup work for them.

 

As far as tires, there is some IF you are really going 8-10ths, but if your new, naw, it's nothing really. Your instructor won't let you go crazy anyway!

As for brakes and the car itself...... pads last a long long time, even my race pads last easily a whole season...as for car damage, don't let anyone hit you, don't be crazy and hit anyone or anything else, basic self preservation instinct should keep you in one piece, again your instructor will help. Good luck....and have a blast!

 

Cool video...looks almost like a video game with the GPS lol.

Dude I have NO problem organizing and booking a day trip or even a weekend one at Calibogie or a whole track to ourselves for a day, just need the interest by enough guys. I will be hitting the track this year and my guess a small few will come here and there. But for a big track day (track to ourselves) we would need lots of ppl 20-30 prob. Need the interest before I would spend time researching and organizing. Al tries and he can only seem to get a couple hand full of ppl.

 

20-30 people from 8 club never going to happen. i track fairly often the most ive seen is like 6-7 people at track meets. a set of pads last me a season i'm hard on brakes and do 50k a season

 

Also if just your REALLY are simply interested in a lapping day check here http://www.calabogiemotorsports.com/...id=54&Itemid=8

I personally would recommend & rather be there with other cars to chase around like Audis, Porsches, BMWs and the like, it's far more fun to be in the mix. And Calabogie especially, you really really truly want to get instruction, be out there with an instructor talking you around the track, many times in fact. It is NOT an easy place to navigate, or remember what to do when, the whole thing being 22 turns is not just nice simple circular turns.... Each turn, curve, and straight is DESIGNED to throw you off line and give results different to what you might expect and can lead to unpleasant results (witness the many many skid marks leading off track at many points around the loop!).

The difficulty is why it's fun, being a real challenge and all.... but the fun comes from listening and learning the line from someone with experience and then trying to master it yourself.

Sure you can just go have a lapping day, but you'll not learn much, plus you be more of a danger to yourself and others out there. Lapping days are really for the more advanced who want to hone their skills or tune in their latest chassis setup IMO. Or not...

 

Spin, I've only been there 2 days so let me ask you... On the loop ("Temptation"), do you square off the the turn into 2 smallers turns or do you drive deep into the turn, lose a bit of speed, and take a straighter line out? Or perhaps a third option.

Also, what brake pads do you use? I'm trying to recall if it's you who uses or was using the Cobalt Friction GTs.

 

I KNOW It would be awesome if we could tho!!

I agree especially for those that haven't lapped before. New track with an instructor +10000 a must for safety!!

 

Yea Temptaion...what a bitch of a thing. I've never felt like I've got it exactly right but what I try to do is stay far right and come in deep past the bend at the begining, then take a straight path across the track towards the white rumble strip on the inside, continuing to eventually reach the other side and then turn once more before powering out onto the straight. Sometimes I can do something like that, sometimes I blow it or chicken out

I do use Cobalts, only the best

 

I'm having trouble remembering now as I was last there in summer 2007 but I'm pretty sure I did something similar. Dive in deep, turn sharp and exit my turn just after where the track splits on the right (coned off) which I guess is the turtles and power out of there. This was at a driving school and I'd outrun many people there who would take it as two turns. Make note all of you! :P

Now to the pads... This could be a PM thing but I thought i'd let it be searchable for future owners. Do you switch them at the track or do you drive there and back with them? Do they eat your rotors when cold or both hot/cold? Also, do you have stock or aftermarket rotors?

I have the same pads but I haven't used them yet as I only hit one track day last season.

 

I just leave my track pads Cobalt XR2/XR5 on 7/24 (now 2 yrs). It's a pain to change pads out constantly, even the front. The race pads work fine all the time, hot or cold, or freezing, and the rotors are fine, no appreciable wear and they are Racing Brake 2-piece slotted. The wheels get a bit dirty from the dust that's the only downside as far as I can see plus a tiny bit of noise.

 

hmm... Those are serious pads too. I have the GTs which I noticed they don't make anymore. The the operating range says minimum 10C. Shirley, your braking must be poor in freezing weather. Do you daily drive year round?

 

Don't forget that's pad temp not air temp...it takes but a moment to produce much higher than that at the pad-rotor surface under even slight braking. So I've never noticed any lack of bite...if anything there's always too much bite!!

But mostlymy 8 is a 3 season car, not that I couldn't drive it in nasty weather (ok well the tires would suck like teflon) but I'd never let my baby get that dirty w/salt and sand a all that crap, as far as I can, I even hate to get it rained on however that hasn't proved very workable. Like last time I went to Calabogie I had to drive back in like 4 hrs of drenching monsoon thunderstorms lol. I think it got wet

And yea I just noticed the GT Sports are now ...

 

Calabogie now has their own lapping days, i.e. booked directly with the track.
http://www.calabogiemotorsports.com/...id=54&Itemid=8
A bit pricey though at $350 a day.

Other Calabogie lapping days with MCO (Motorsports Club of Ottawa) at $300 non-members or $250 for members. The 2 lapping days are Friday, May 1st and Thursday, July 23rd. I'll be there on May 1st!

Also, 3 ***** Racing does an annual lapping day at Calabogie. No date set yet, but pricing last year was excellent at $225. Good fun group with a good caravan of guys that come from the US.

I'd love to have some more 8's out at the track (never seen another on a lapping day).

To add to what qtwre and spin9k were saying, the track flows beautifully from turn to turn, nice smooth asphalt so it's easier on the tires and the straights are only there for a few seconds break from the turns. Very technical and deceiving track; you can think you're going fast through the turns but the right lines will make you even faster.

 

Slick, I'll definately get there for one or more of those days at Calabogie... thanks for the info. Would love to get to the May 1st day... will have to think about logistics...

Spin, very interesting to see you are using the brake set up I've been considering. Would you buy the 2-piece front rotors again? Do you think they're worth the extra cost for the 4lbs weight savings and do they actually reduce fade? Enquiring minds want to know!

Can't wait to get on the track... its been too long!

 

These are hard things to quantify. I had a project goal of weight reduction / improved braking feel / reduced brake temps. I think the OEM brakes certainly were ok, stopping wise.

So I got 2-piece rotors (-4lbs + cooling) , Enkei 18x9.5s (-4 lbs) and the Cobalts GTSports (before the XR2/XR5).

Picking one thing I would say the pads made driving (stopping really) the most different. The OEMs pads were ok at 1st, then I had Hawk HP+ - I think that was a downgrade. I'd say both the GT Sports, then the XRs are worth it 200%, no make that 300% . Anyway Cobalts bite/modulate/stop so differently - ask anyone that has them.

The weight thing you just take for granted. I'd have to drive 2 cars stock/moded to make a judgement. The fade issue (after-track day numbness) went away with Cobalts.

The cooling I can measure; the 2 piece rotors and the cooling vents I added made a big dif in brake temps overall. I was getting close to 500 deg at the caliper, now it 350-400 deg.

 

HERE IS A LIST OF TRACK EVENTS IN ONTARIO I KNOW OF:

Kensai, Dexter and 6th Gear do Mosport track days

BMW Trillium do 3 schools at Mosport

BMW Ottawa do 2 schools at Calabogie

Genovese BMW does 1 school at Mosport

Hanson Intl: Does 4 schools at Mosport DDT

Solo Sprint does school all over, they usually have a school day followed by solo competition at Mosport and Calabogie

Saab Club does two school at Dunnville

Ian Law Car Control does DDT and some other tracks

Battle Endless and Touge do track days at most ontario tracks except Mosport and Calabogie

Events are posted on maxbimmer forum "track" section and CASC forum "extra events" section.

Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame does one charity event at Mosport, where pro drivers take you out for a few laps in exotics / race cars and then sometimes will go out with you and give some instructions.

http://www.mytrackschedule.com/ gives info on track days but is mostly south of the border



Safe and happy track season...

 

Wow... lots of info here and I've already signed up for two days (Calibogie and Mosport).

Thanks to all who contributed.

Got my Dunlop Star Spec's on order, brake pads, brake lines... just need that alignment done and I'm good to go! Can't wait!!