TANKERG

Hey JantzenRX-8, it was nice talking to you about the track day. It's really cool to compare the different turns with the same type of car. Sounds like you were flat out moving.


The wall I was talking about and that everyone is blind to is at :06 and at 1:52 to the right. I don't know how no one see's it, and it's a lot bigger looking in real life than in the video. The wall freaks me out!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CfMbFcyljI

JantzenRX-8

iTrader: (9)

Oh that tire wall. Yeah didn't see it. I must have just been looking through the cone towards turn 8 every time. Sweet video though. He was taking much different lines than me in a few places.

dondo

iTrader: (7)

why does that wall freak you out? i was more concerned about the concrete one near the entrance to that turn, past the tire wall..

TANKERG

I guess it freaks me out because it's all I see coming out of 6 and after cresting the hill. That turn also feels very fast and if the car were to slip, well you're eating tires. The concrete would be worse to meet, I guess I feel in control there and not in turn 7.

If you're talking about the slow down into 3/A it's because the left side of the entrance to 3/A is bumpy. I go about a third from the left, he takes it to the extreme. He's a fast driver and it looks like it works for him.

TANKERG

Hello everybody. I'm signed up for the all day lapping at PR on Wed. 08/26/09, anyone else intersested in going? Also a BMW crashed?? and ripped open his oil pan on the 28th of July. You can see the kitty litter and the clean up at 1:21 of the video. I guess it happened on the last run of the day, so they shut down the track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZabwGIMXjGU

It's also fun to watch this guy rip up the track.

shin

I wanna go but is there requirements!??

CodingParadox

Yeah -- don't do this:

shin

Wow is that ur car??

124Spider

TANKERG

What turn and what happened? That sucks!

Shin, yes there are requirements for the track day. I don't know if other lapping days with other clubs count, but I'll ask. I know for sure for the day I'm going you have to take their one day high performance driving class. Then on your second time back at a regular lapping day you have to hire an instructor for an hour to get your solo license. Also with your car having a slow leak on your tire, it has been compromised and I wouldn't take it on the course and risk a blow out. I know they say you can't go out with a repaired tire.

There is a one day high performance school on the 17th and the 25th of this month.
http://www.proformanceracingschool.com/

TANKERG

You know you want to come out and join me

Lavious

17th you say...hmmmmmm

TANKERG

Hey fellers, I just wrote and recieved an email from the people at Proformance, if you've driven with Porsche or Alfa you can drive with Proformance. If you're an instructor with them you can waive the 50 min. instruction, if not your first time with them you have to hire one. It's $260 for the all day lapping plus it'll be $125 for the coach. It works out to two sessions with a coach.

You are put into two groups and you go out every half hour. Also all four let by zones are used.

Just thought I'd throw this info out there.

124Spider

No, I have absolutely no interest. One of the things racing does is make almost all track days, especially on a track you know well, simply excruciating frustration. Not only can nobody drive really well, but you're not even allowed to.

I hope you enjoy it; I did for a couple of years. Don runs a great school. But once you've tasted wheel-to-wheel racing, and attained solid mid-pack status in a highly competitive class like Spec Miata, there's no going back.

Anijo

I've heard that from people who do club racing before, what about the advanced days where you're allowed to pass anywhere?

dondo

iTrader: (7)

noobs like us can still have loads of fun at track days

124Spider

I don't know of any such days around here. I did a couple down in California in March, as a way of learning Infineon/Sears Point and Thunderhill, and it was fine. But my run group at both places was almost all racers, who have a better-than-average track awareness, and don't mind letting a Miata by. The right to pass anywhere still isn't the same thing as the abilit to do so, since it's practically impossible to pass in turns, and a more powerful, less well-drive car can still be a PITA if they aren't nice.

I may do a track day sometime, like when I'm seeing if my car is working ok, but I don't anticipate doing any local track day just for track time.

Not sure why the "thumbs down." If you think I was trashing track days generally, you didn't read my posts very carefully. Track days are great (especially Proformance days), and stay that way for most people. But once you start racing, very few people come back for track days with any regularity. That's just a fact.

TANKERG

What is different from Proformance days compared to Alfa and Porsche days?

124Spider

I've never done a Porsche day, but I suspect that there would be too many Porsches for my taste at a Porsche day (Porsches almost have a monopoly on the horrible combination of (i) being slow relative to the ability of the car, and (ii) thinking they're fast, so that they don't ever give point-bys).

I've done a couple of Alfa days, and they're fun. But Proformance gives you more track time, professional instruction, turn studies, and just a top-flight level of professionalism. Sure, you pay for it, but you do get what you pay for. I suspect that, aside from the attitude of too many Porsche drivers, Porsche club days are similar to Alfa days; fun, but not as much track time, and amateur instructors (people like me). Not bad, but you'll get better, earlier doing Proformance days than either Porsche or Alfa days.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Have you been to ORP...I really enjoyed the last one I did there..and will surely go back

The track is a blast...and takes some learning to get it right

124Spider

No, I haven't been to ORP. I hear great things about it, and I will go there for a track day or test day sometime to learn the track.

Problems with ORP: (i) no local hotels; (ii) no local gas stations; (iii) a long, long way from Redmond.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

There are hotels about 20 miles away....

Gas is definitely a problem..especially decent octane fuel. Best available is also about 20 miles away..and its 92

So there are logistical problems that really require a trailer...but the track is an absolute blast and worth the troubles.

124Spider

I have an enclosed trailer for the car, but I don't want to sleep in it, and I don't want to drive 20 miles each way each day for a hotel. Likewise, in a typical race weekend, I use 25 gallons of fuel or more (especially if I do the test day on Friday). I'm not all that interested in taking 40 gallons of gas with me in my trailer (I typically do take 20 - 25), or in driving almost an hour round trip to get more gas. I race with 92 octane, so that part is fine.

If the track were "only" three hours away, I'd be more tempted. But it's much farther than that, so I'm waiting for the infrastructure to catch up.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

I'm not sure the lodging problem will change quickly.....but I think someone is providing fuel now? I was supposed to be at a track/test there today..but stuff got in the way

It's 5 hours 15min from my house to the track ...but PR and Portland are both a long drive as well

TANKERG

Well, I finally was able to post some video on youtube of my track session out at PR on 10/09/09. I built a pretty cool camera mount using the mounts for the child seat hooks behind the rear seats. I still have some work to do to perfect it. I used the idea from Rx-8 Putih and expanded on it and I use both mounts with a bar all the way across so you can mount the camera anywhere along the back of the car.

https://www.rx8club.com/nw-rx-8-forum-33/my-custom-camera-mount-182370/


Here's a clip of some really nice sounding engines at the track that day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAvw5Xx9bv8

Here is a clip of three laps. At the end of the first going into turn 8 I was going a bit faster than I would have liked to have been going (93 MPH) and I hit the brakes a bit too hard, I also thought I was heading into the grass. I got lucky with a little help of the stabilty control I stayed in the track. My final lap I clocked it in 1:46 my fastest of the day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQALQv4TEj0