Track Day 6/14/11
06-07-2011, 10:02 PM
#1
Mr. Örange
Thread Starter
Track Day 6/14/11
I just signed up to drive at Pacific Raceways on Tuesday the 14th (June.) It is a High Performance School Day, so if you have ever been interested in tracking your car, this is a great place to learn. If you have already been through an HPDE day, you can drive in the afternoon along with the students and me 
I have already been through the school so I will be driving in the afternoon.
To take the school, it costs $555 for the whole day. The morning consists of car handling skills training, two slow laps (50 MPH) with your instructor driving your car showing you the line, and then two slow laps with you driving and learning the line. After you go to lunch you get track time at full speed (whatever you feel comfortable with.) Normally it is three 25 minute sessions.
If you already have HPDE experience, you sign up as an Afternoon Lapper. The cost is $245, which gets you one full hour on the track from 12:30-1:30 while the students go to lunch. Then the students (normally two groups, each group gets a 25 minute session) take the track for the first time from 1:30 until 2:30. Then the afternoon lappers get the track along with the students from 2:30 until 5:00. That's right, Afternoon Lappers get 2.5 hours of solid track driving (unless they close the track to set up cones or other emergencies.) Take advantage when the student groups exit the track, the lap traffic dissapears for about ten minutes! If you haven't driven with Proformance, you will need to hire an instructor to get signed off to drive solo. I beleive it costs an extra $135
What to bring:
several quarts of oil (always top it off before going onto the track (I have burned more than one quart in 50 minutes of driving))
Tire pressure gauge. Probably should add 4 or 5 pounds to the tires before taking the track
Water (drinking fluids)
Helmet (they have helmets to borrow if you don't have one)
A full tank of gas!!! Students make sure you fill your car up all the way when you go to lunch. You will need every drop on the track and will need a full tank to make it through the day. You will have used too much in the morning to complete the day. (I ran out of gas at 100 miles on one full tank, so I don't push 90 miles (this was not on a school day)) I think it works out to 1 mile per minute, with three 25 minute sessions you'll drive 75 or so miles.
It is pass by permission only in four designated zones where it is safe to let cars by, signaled by the slower car sticking an arm out the window.
No arm, no pass!
Proformance runs a great school and they have great instructors. If you can't make this one they run all summer and into the fall. Check them out at:
http://www.proformanceracingschool.com/
Hope to see you out there
I have already been through the school so I will be driving in the afternoon.To take the school, it costs $555 for the whole day. The morning consists of car handling skills training, two slow laps (50 MPH) with your instructor driving your car showing you the line, and then two slow laps with you driving and learning the line. After you go to lunch you get track time at full speed (whatever you feel comfortable with.) Normally it is three 25 minute sessions.
If you already have HPDE experience, you sign up as an Afternoon Lapper. The cost is $245, which gets you one full hour on the track from 12:30-1:30 while the students go to lunch. Then the students (normally two groups, each group gets a 25 minute session) take the track for the first time from 1:30 until 2:30. Then the afternoon lappers get the track along with the students from 2:30 until 5:00. That's right, Afternoon Lappers get 2.5 hours of solid track driving (unless they close the track to set up cones or other emergencies.) Take advantage when the student groups exit the track, the lap traffic dissapears for about ten minutes! If you haven't driven with Proformance, you will need to hire an instructor to get signed off to drive solo. I beleive it costs an extra $135
What to bring:
several quarts of oil (always top it off before going onto the track (I have burned more than one quart in 50 minutes of driving))
Tire pressure gauge. Probably should add 4 or 5 pounds to the tires before taking the track
Water (drinking fluids)
Helmet (they have helmets to borrow if you don't have one)
A full tank of gas!!! Students make sure you fill your car up all the way when you go to lunch. You will need every drop on the track and will need a full tank to make it through the day. You will have used too much in the morning to complete the day. (I ran out of gas at 100 miles on one full tank, so I don't push 90 miles (this was not on a school day)) I think it works out to 1 mile per minute, with three 25 minute sessions you'll drive 75 or so miles.
It is pass by permission only in four designated zones where it is safe to let cars by, signaled by the slower car sticking an arm out the window.
No arm, no pass!
Proformance runs a great school and they have great instructors. If you can't make this one they run all summer and into the fall. Check them out at:
http://www.proformanceracingschool.com/
Hope to see you out there
Last edited by TANKERG; 06-07-2011 at 10:06 PM.
06-08-2011, 09:07 PM
#2
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Thanks tankerg, I can't make it to this one but I hope to hit up one of these in July or so. My problem is my wife and I both race and we only have one car. I guess we will both need go to one on separate days, although spending the $1150 to race an Elise could be fun since we are considering getting one of those to race in the future.
06-09-2011, 06:36 PM
#3
Mr. Örange
Thread Starter
^ Hey, no problem The elise looks like a lot of fun too.
Proformance is also going to be holding some track days at ORP and PIR later this year (you'll already need to go through an HPDE day for those days.) ORP looks like a blast!
The elise looks like a lot of fun too. Proformance is also going to be holding some track days at ORP and PIR later this year (you'll already need to go through an HPDE day for those days.) ORP looks like a blast!
06-09-2011, 09:46 PM
#4
Mr. Örange
Thread Starter
Oh, I just thought of this, both you and your wife should be able to use the same car at the school on the same day ( both of you will have to pay $555.) When I took the school, some friends shared a Miata. You'll need to figure a solution to get gas. They have fuel onsite, but I don't know the cost. You'll share the car during the morning classes, and then when it comes to driving in the afternoon, you'll drive in the first group and your wife in the second, or the other way around.
Also when you sign up to go back for a full day, you can register one car with two drivers. You register the car and not the driver (as long as each driver has been cleared to drive.) It will cost $285 for the whole day and you get a 25 minute session every hour, so it works out to be about 8 sessions in the day with each of you getting four or however you split it up.
Also when you sign up to go back for a full day, you can register one car with two drivers. You register the car and not the driver (as long as each driver has been cleared to drive.) It will cost $285 for the whole day and you get a 25 minute session every hour, so it works out to be about 8 sessions in the day with each of you getting four or however you split it up.
Last edited by TANKERG; 06-09-2011 at 09:50 PM.
06-10-2011, 06:19 PM
#6
Mr. Örange
Thread Starter
Track days are actually a better value than autocross.
Autocross: $35 for 3.5 minutes of driving = $10 per minute driven
Track Day: $285 for 200 minutes of driving = $1.425 per minute driven
BONUS: NO COURSE WORK
Couple quarts of oil $20
40 gallons of fuel for the day $160
Track Day fee $285
Rev limiting 3rd gear, dropping into fourth, and putting your foot to the floor without looking over your shoulder for cops..... priceless
Autocross: $35 for 3.5 minutes of driving = $10 per minute driven
Track Day: $285 for 200 minutes of driving = $1.425 per minute driven
BONUS: NO COURSE WORK
Couple quarts of oil $20
40 gallons of fuel for the day $160
Track Day fee $285
Rev limiting 3rd gear, dropping into fourth, and putting your foot to the floor without looking over your shoulder for cops..... priceless
06-11-2011, 10:18 AM
#7
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If you are racing an RX-8 we will probably spend less on oil and more on fuel since we have a 400hp piston motor. Hmm maybe we will spend less on fuel too
.
06-15-2011, 07:50 AM
#11
Mr. Örange
Thread Starter
I had a blast out there today. There were only 6 students, which meant only three per group. There was hardly any track traffic at all!
I had at least 2.5 hours of track time, and including the runs to the gas station, I drove 212 miles.
I got some cool video I will post later. The was a Porsche RS America out there that blew out some pretty cool flames.
I had at least 2.5 hours of track time, and including the runs to the gas station, I drove 212 miles.
I got some cool video I will post later. The was a Porsche RS America out there that blew out some pretty cool flames.
06-15-2011, 05:46 PM
#14
Mr. Örange
Thread Starter
Here is the video of the Porsche
The fire is at :55, I included the lead up to show how fast he was going
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9d4r6ehXbg
The fire is at :55, I included the lead up to show how fast he was going
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9d4r6ehXbg
