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Track days - Watkins Glen - 9/27 & 9/28
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Track Day
If you have ever wanted to see what your car can really do and want to improve your driving skills you should consider doing a track day. NASA Racing is doing a High Performance Driving Experience at Watkins Glen on September 27th and 28th. I realize that is a Monday and Tuesday but trust me when I say that the experience will be well worth taking a couple of days off from work. Oh and no previous racing experience is needed, you just need to have a desire to be a better driver. It is a little pricey but worth every penny. You will need to pay for a NASA membership which is $35 (includes an annual subscription to Grassroots Motorsports) and register for the track day(s). One day is $175 or you can do both for $325. Doing both days is highly recommended. :D You will also need a helmet that meets at least Snell 1990 (SA1990 or M1990) or newer. Once at the track you will be greeted by fellow enthusiasts and track officials. The morning starts with a brief drivers meeting and then you will have a 25 min. class about the driving line, passing areas, flags, and track rules. After that you have 25 min. to get ready and get your car to the starting grid. Then the real fun begins! You'll spend the next 25 minutes out on one of the best road courses in the East. If you are running in the Novice class you will have an experienced race driver sitting in the passenger seat coaching you around the track. In the Intermediate and Advanced classes you will be driving solo. When you pull back into pit row you'll head back to class to review the last session and the whole cycle starts again. In the end you will get 4 class and track sessions per day. This will provide you with a ton of driving experience that would be next to impossible to learn on the street. Lodging Longhouse Motel 3625 Route 14 (near Abrams Rd intersection) Watkins Glen, NY 14891 (607) 535-2565 $79/night - Standard room - two queen beds, cable TV, continental breakfast, etc... $94/night - Deluxe room - king bed, TV/VCR, fridge, microwave, breakfast, etc... If you are interested in going, please register with NASA Racing and reserve your room as soon as possible as space is limited. |
sounds like fun
too bad majority has to work. |
It is an absolute blast and yes, I have to work too. I just arranged to have those days off. :D
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Watkins Glen eh??
i think i *just* have to come up and run with NASA for a change (VIR gets kinda boring after you ran 2 events in a row :D ) |
Nice! It would be cool to get some 7s there too. I hope to see you there.
So what mods have you done to make your car track ready? |
not so much as in mods as just good maintenance like changing all vital fluids regularly, namely oil and coolant :)
the only real 'mods' are Hawk HPS+ pads and AP600 racing brake fluid, and Toyo RA-1 R-Compound tires :D everything else is pretty much stock! and i guess SS brake lines help a little too :D |
That is basically what I had in mind too. I'll be switching the brake fluid to Motul 600 and using a set of Carbotech Panthers for the pads. I wanted to try a set of Hawk Blue pads but the Carbotechs were the only pads available at the time so I figured i would give them a try.
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Sounds really tempting, but the cost is too hard core for me at this point. I'll just stick with the autocrosses for now :p
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dollar for dollar I think track days are more fun :)
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Asking for the days of right now! :)
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Cool! I put in for 3 days because I'm planning on driving over on Sunday and heading home on Wednesday.
Spin9k and Deslock mentioned that they may be interested in going too. |
Track time and hotel booked!
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Nice! It sounds like there will be at least three of us there.
Deslock & Spin9k are you still interested in going? |
I spoke with Spin9k yesterday and he said that he still wants to go. So there should be at least four rotary powered cars at the track that weekend. :)
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How critical are they on Helmet specs? I just bought a new one on line and it meets DOT FMVSS N.219. Does that meet their needs? I used it at Rotary Revolution 2004 at IRP. I am thinking of signing up for just Monday. (Nice scheduling, guys - for the unemployed, that is!).
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The helmet has to be at least Snell M95 or equivalent. I'm not familiar with the DOT ratings but I'll see if I can find an answer.
After a bit of searching I found that the SCCA does a better job of explaining the helmet guidelines.
Originally Posted by SCCA
You will probably want to buy your own helmet if you run many events. A helmet that meets the SCCA’s rules can be purchased for $50 to $100 dollars.
The current SCCA rules require the helmets to have a Snell rating 2000, 1995, or 1990. Snell usually releases standards every five years and the SCCA requires the current standard or the two previous, so in 2005 the 1990 helmets will no longer be usable (you will need a 2005, 2000, or 1995). Snell also has sub-ratings. The SCCA accepts M (motorcycle) and SA (Special Application). This may sound a bit confusing, so I’ve included a list of the currently accepted combinations below: Snell 2000 (SA or M) Snell 1995 (SA or M) Snell 1990 (SA or M) Please note that helmets that only have a DOT (Department of Transportation) rating are not legal in Solo II. Some helmets have both a DOT and a Snell rating, and they would be acceptable providing that the Snell rating meets the criteria outlined above. Also, the M helmets are usually much cheaper than the SA helmets. The SA helmets are required for road racing because they are rated for multiple impacts and have fire resistant linings. If you think you may want to do some road racing you may want to consider spending the extra money for a SA helmet (M’s aren’t legal for road courses). Also, the newer helmets weigh less than the older ones, so the latest rating will probably be easier on your neck. Most of the on-line vendors have a sizing chart so that you can measure your head and get the correct helmet. Local vendors will usually be more expensive, but you can try the helmet on before buying. |
>VIR gets kinda boring after you ran 2 events in a row
Although I've never been to VIR before, I would only imagine VIR is a more challenging (and fun ;-) track than the WS. Would love to join you guys if its not a weekday event. Besides, I'll need to sort out the problem with the backend loosing under hard braking. I just have the alignment check at the dealer over the weekend and was told everything is in spec. Maybe I should try using stock pad at the back to see if that would make any difference! |
RotaryZZ,
Sorry, it is a Monday/Tuesday event. :( Do you know the exact readings of your alignment or did the dealer just say that everything was within spec? You should try to get in touch with Alex at Casual Racing (AlexJ on the forum). They have been racing a pair of RX-8s all summer and have got the cars setup pretty well. I'm sure that he would give you some pointers on getting the car setup properly. |
SpeedRacer,
The dealer just told me everthing is winthin spec! I kinda trust them as they seems pretty professional. >You should try to get in touch with Alex at Casual Racing ........ Do you have his web site, email, phone number etc?? Btw, I thought you've similar problem at the track too, right? Did you do anything so far to mitigate that?? I went to Summit Point about 2 weeks ago and the same thing happened there, so it really has nothing to do with the track surface itself. |
I went back through some of the older posts and found Alex's settings:
Full neg. camber in the front about 1.6 deg. and 2.0 deg. neg in the rear. Caster is set to stock spec. set the front toe to just slightly out 1/16 to 3/32 with nothing in the rear. Yeah, I was running into some issues while I was late braking into the bus stop at the Glen. I think that part of it had to do with my level of experience and also the very soft suspension. With the stock setup the front really wants to dive and transfer the weight under extreme braking. I hope to have corrected some of that with the coil-overs that I installed. I guess that I'll find out on the 27th. |
>I hope to have corrected some of that with the coil-overs that
>I installed. I guess that I'll find out on the 27th. I've talked to Ground Control before and they believe its due to the insufficient rebound of the OEM shock. Btw, what coilovers did you installed? And please let me know if that help with the high speed braking at the track at all. TIA, Pete |
>Full neg. camber in the front about 1.6 deg. and 2.0 deg. neg ........
What suspension pieces did he have? |
Huff at Vivid Racing talked me into going with the JIC Magic coil-overs. It took a while to get them dialed in but I'm really happy with them now. The car is much more settled through the corners and at higher speeds.
At the beginning of this season, SCCA rules really limited what Alex could do to the car. So the first couple of races the only difference to the suspension was Koni shocks and a different alignment. Alex told me that he was really impressed with how well the car handled right out of the box and I think that means a lot coming from him (previously raced BMWs and also won the Formula-Vee championship). Half way through the season an amendment to the rules was passed and it allowed them to install Mazdaspeed springs, rear sway bar, and a SpeedSource adjustable front sway bar. |
>...........and it allowed them to install Mazdaspeed springs,
>rear sway bar, and a SpeedSource adjustable front sway bar. I don't think SpeedSource is selling any of their speed parts to the general public. Btw, did you do any alignments to your 8 after putting in the JIC coilovers? |
If you gave them a call you might be surprised.
No, I haven't done an alignment yet. With its current settings the car turns in nicely and holds the line well. I guess that I should at least have it checked so that I will know where it is set. |
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